MILLENNIUM "Into the Abyss" by Karl Horberg (paranoia97@aol.com) --- Introduction- Ted Bundy once said- "We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere. And there will be more of your children will be dead tommorrow." How right he was. In the last just three decades these killers have averged three people a month. The U.S supplies more than 3/4 of the worlds killers, and by the close of the millennium it is estimated that serial killers will claim a total of eleven lives a day. Of course or own FBI has not declared war unarmed. Sixty feet below ground in Quantico, Virgina may lay their most powerful weapon against this crisis, The Investigative Support Unit. "I smell blood and an era of prominent madmen" - Wyston Hugh Auden "Welcome to the Abyss" Murder is nothing new.The first serial killer ever recorded was in the fifth century in Aden. A man named Zu Shenatir lured young boys into his home and raped them then killed them by throwing them out a window. He was only stopped when a would-be victim stabbed him. Today we have things that could amplify that by millions. Of course today we have a elite task force to make sure those kind of things won't happen. John Douglas and Robert Ressler had both been in the army. Douglas went to collage in Montana and Ressler went to Michigan. They both have families and were stricken by work related illnesses. Sound like regular job right? Wrong. The two men work with the FBI as "profilers" using extremly educated guess in producing a unique mental state of the killer or killers the profile could include the race, occupation, gender, life style, car type and even more details about the offender. One of the very first profilers Dr. James A. Brussel gave this profile of New York City's "Mad Bomber"- "Look for a heavy man. Middle-aged. Foreign born. Roman Catholic. Single. Lives with a brother or sister. When you find him chances are he will be wearing a double-breasted suit. Buttoned." When they found Geogre Metesky a disgruntled employee of ConEd he was living in Waterbury, Connecticut with his two sisters,he fit the profile to a "T". When the police told him to get ready to go for a ride he came out with a double-breasted suit. Buttoned. Through the years profiling has progressed. Today all over the world in places like South Africa and Japan have asked Ressler to assist in some cases. As Mr.Douglas put in his book "Journey into Darkness" he has to guide people through his job, he has to take them on his journey at least a little bit. "....the visible world seems formed in love, the invisble spheres formed in fright" - Herman Melville "We Work in the Dark" Homicide is worse enough but examining a crime scence for different kinds of murders such as sadistic, insurance/inheritance, hero, or revenge must be more frustrating. One very common from of homicide I will examine is sexual homicide. There are two kinds of sexual homicide, disorganized and organized. Organized Sexual Homicide- Most organized sexual homicides have a stalker who eventualy escalates to murder. The killer is a white male in their mid to late twenties who have a blue-collar job. The offender stalks a woman (sometimes it could be young boys or girls) the woman is a child like figure that way the offender can demonate her easily. Although other times the victim is a a beautiful woman the offender stalks and kills to keep her only in his fantasties. In the case of John Wanye Gacy he targeted young boys. Although the victim is usally single, lives alone, and is employed. Most victims are high-risk (ex. hitchhikers and prostitutes). Low-risk victims tend to live a daily life style unnoticed by killers unless the killer is a friend or relative. The offender does not know the victim, the offender chooses a victim by certain critera. The victim would probaly represent a nagging mother or wife in the way she was killed. In such a case as repressed anger towards a mother or wife is shown by slitting of the throat or complete destruction of the vocal cords. In the case of Ed Kemper he killed many young women before finally killing his mother then throwing her vocal cords down the garbage compactor. He later commented it was poetic justice the compacter threw the vocal cords back up. The risk factor is also affected by how much the offender wants to gamble the risk of killing the victim. The crime scene usally has three main places- the location of contact, the scence of death, and the body disposal spot. The confrontation spot could be the victim's home most often the second floor (there are many other spots the ofender will confront the victim but the second floor of the home is the one investigators record the most.) The offender then will transport the victim to an off-site location to experiment with sexual abuse or torture. Weapons or tools such as ropes, chains, bars or other unusal objects are brought to the second crime scene by the offender and then later removed. Most organized killers use restraints to show control over the victim and methodical timing. An organized killer uses unusal practices such as using the same kind of rope to bind his victims together. This shows a person who thinks things out, a compulsive person someone who likes to be in control. The second crime scene is also a very important one the police find fingerprints, blood, and even semen at this scene. Missing from this crime scene and even the victims body will probaly be jewelry, pictures from a wallet of the victim with relatives or even other objects that have personal value to the victim. The killer keeps such objects as trophies or reminders of his deed. In one such case Robert Hansen Alaska's prostitute murderer gave a necklace to his wife and kept other "trophies" under the floor boards of a room were he kept all the stuffed heads of animals he had killed hunting. Finally comes the disposal of the body. The offender will pick a spot he is familer with. The method of disposal is an interesting aspect in the case. For example if the body has been dumped in a lake completely naked it shows the offender shows no remorse and is probaly going to keep killing. If the victim is again dumped in the lake this time with a plastic covering it could show one of two things either the offender feels remorse or knows the victim personally. Of course the lake it self is a message it is a quick and methodical way of disposal, if the killer if is in fact organized he will keep dumping the bodies in the lake. If the offender dumps the body on land he probaly will dump it in the woods, a land he knows. The offender is probaly a loner than retreating to this spot to get away from his wife or mother. Staging at any scence could be present trying to distract police. Forensic findings are also another key. Most cases will find bite marks and/or semen on the body. Ted Bundy was in fact caught becuase he left bite marks on his final victim. Many offender are using asphyxial modality in which a rope or electric wire is used to strangle the victim until they slip in and out of conscious. The case of agressiveness is a very important factor in forensic findings. If sharp objects are repeatedly shoved into body orifices it shows the offenders hate towards women or a woman in general, not in fact at the victim. This agression could have been pinned up inside the offender could have been turned down for the prom or something as equally petty. Of course then we enter disorganization. Disorganized Sexual Homicide- The offender could be in his mid-forties and just sitting at home drinking a beer. He thinks about how much his wife nags him and how much he would like to smack her but she's not home. After finishing a second six-pack he goes for a ride. He sees a pretty blonde jogging on the side of the road at night. He asks her if she needs a ride and when she gets in the car he hits her on the side of her head knocking her out cold. Later he takes her to the park and revives her. She awakes to find herself naked and a man torturing her. He beats her around and starts to prod her body with a broken tree limb. In the morning investigators find her body with a broken tree limb shoved into her body that it tore through her abdominal organs, liver, diaphragm, and right lung. This actually happened to Lance Corpal Suzanne Collins on July 11,1985. She went out on a jog at 10:00 at a Marine Base on Millington, Tennessese. Her killer a white male named Sedley Alley who was picked up for DWI. He confessed shortly after the murder. This clearly outlines a disorganized killer, a spur of the moment descion choosing the victim because of the random chance that they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Richard Trenton Chase, the Vampire Killer, randomly chose his victims by trying all the doors on a street if a door was unlocked he entered and killed the resident. The victim of disorganized sexual homicide is known to the offender by employment, friendship, but most often geographic location. The killer will strike in a location that he is comfortable to him , when the stress builds up he will chose someone near or around him to vent on. The crime scence shows the spur of the moment killing it is usally symbolic of the anger the offender feels. Most often the blitz style of attack is used in which the killer attacks the victim from the back rendering them helpless. The blitz style is a symbol of the offender's lack of communication with women in general. Some blitz killers are known to have physical speech impediments which is why they choose this method of attack. The body is probaly depersonalized such as a pillow over the face of a naked body or the body rolled on the stomach. The weapon is a random weapon taken at the scence of death and left there. No chances are taken in disposing the body or even covering it up. At this scene fingerprints are scarce. The act of staging is not present in disorganized sexual homicide. The body is postioned in a way that is symbolic to the offender. Since most offenders of this crime have below-average intelligence they rarely try to confuse the police. He will use ritualistic postioning or even the kill to act out his sexual fantasies. Most of these crimes have signifigant overkill to send a message. Forensic findings are also very signifigant. They will show a blitz attack in such a form that the offender feels unconnected to the social world. It will show a number of blitz attacks giving the offender control over his victim. The findings will also show multilation and overkill. Only after death is any sexual acts taken, such as insertional necrophilia. Most often death is by blunt force or stranglation. The offender will live with one parent whom he loves dearly (most often a sister). He will work closely to the crime scence and has a poor work recored. The offender is usally sloppy and has an odd apperance. He will show a lack of communication skills and could date a young female with a child like figure to show his power over her. Most disorganized killers confess soon after the body is discovered. "His children are far from safety they shall be crushed at the gate without a rescuer" - Job 5:4 "Is Nothing Sacred?"- The Story of Cassie Hansen On the night of November 10,1981 Cassandra Lynn Hansen a 6 year old girl went to the Jehovah Evangelical Lutheran Church in St.Paul, Minnesota. She simply asked her mother if she could go to the bathroom and was given permission. A female parishner was the last person to ever see Cassie alive. Her mother got worried when Cassie didn't return and a search was formed. Soon the police were called. Cassie's body was found in a Dumpster the next day behind an auto repair shop three miles from the church. Her black shoes were found two blocks away. The only other thing missing were two barrettes she had been wereing in her hair. Forensics found minute traces of semen of her thighs but no evidence of sexual assualt. The semen was type O blood which was a good lead considering Cassie was type B. The cause of death was strangulation, forensics found it was a belt that was used. Other findings were abrasions that were in her chest suggesting use of a restraint. The church member who last saw Cassie remembered a fifty to sixty year old male who was in the hall way. In February the ISU was called in to assist in the process of suspects. By March 3rd the ISU had a profile set of a white male with a history of obession with children. The offender was in the church to make some sort of alliance with God. He would have a poor self-image and over weight. The offender would follow the crime very closely he would probaly have scrapbooks with parts highlighted or underlined. He would make repeat visits to the grave site as trying to make peace with the departed. The disposal was symbolic it said that by putting it in the dumpster he was finished with the body it was a empty case and nothing more to him. After the profile one suspect stood out Stuart W. Knowlton. He had been picked up by the police when he was driving around the area of the church the abduction happened at. Knowlton was later let go on lack of evidence. Knowlton was later easy to keep tabs on because he was hit by a car soon after his interview. Dorothy Noga was also in the hospital at the same time as Knowlton. Noga was a massage therapist and was working at a spa the day Cassie's body was discovered. Knowlton came into the spa that day and asked Noga to be his alibi if he was arrested. Noga though nothing of it until Knowlton started reveling his life to her. Noga was getting more curious as it seemed Knowlton was obessed with the death of Cassie Hansen. Noga soon started talking to Knowlton on the phone daily for two hours at a time. One time Knowlton actually confessed to the murders and Noga began taping the conversations. On December 13th the conversations stopped. Noga was home perparing for her husbands birthday when she was stabbed repeatedly. She couldn't remember her assailant and was put under 24 hour guard. She finally moved to Florida and gave her tapes of Knowlton's coversations to the St.Paul police. Another woman who was a key to Knowlton was Janice Rettman a director at St.Paul Housing Information Office. Knowlton went to Rettman eight months before the murder. He was being kicked out of his apartment because of two strikes. The first warning came when Knowlton when he invited two fourteen year old girls to his room to play cards. Once there he talked about sex, how babies were born, birth control, and menstrution. Knowlton reportedly promised to show the girls his penis. The girls told their parents and Knowlton was warned. He was finally evicted when he asked a nine year old girl to take her pants off. When Rettman had heard the news of Cassie she immediately suspected Knowlton. She soon also had daily conversations with Knowlton who seemed obessed with Cassie's death. She took short hand notes and late typed them up and gave them over to the police. In May 1982 the police began to zone in on Knowlton. Noga had returned to talk to thge police about the day she was attacked. She said Knowlton came back to the spa and confessed how he had asked a little blonde girl in the church to play a game with him in the hall. He took her by the hand and led her outside. He made advances on the child and when she started crying he says he put his hand over her mouth and before he knew it she wasn't breathing. On May 26 Knowlton was brought into the courtroom. After the testfying of Noga and Rettman the entire trial took thirteen days and Knowlton was sentenced to life. Under Minnesota law he is up for parole (which sadly most sex crimanals make) in 2001. Knowlton was first put into Oak Park Heights State Prison but was later transferred to St. Cloud Reformatory becuase the guards feared for his life. Even other cons won't tolerate child killers in their prensence. Conclusion- You don't have to join the FBI to stop killers. You can stop them in a varitey of ways. Report such things as domestic violence or child abuse. The only way to stop murderers from being breed to break the circle they are created in. Bundy could have been right that they are everywhere, but as a good friend of mine once said we just can't sit back and hope for a happy ending. ----- In memory of Cassie Hansen, Megan Kanka, Polly Klaas, Amber Hagerman and Shawn Moore who's story's will live on forever in the depths of the abyss.