Need to Kill, The: Inside the World of the Serial Killer

by Egger, Steven A.

• ISBN13: 9780131433441
• ISBN10: 013143344X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-01-01
• Publisher: Financial Times Prentice Hall

Summary

The Need to Killrips away the myths and mystery associated with serial killers, shedding new light on the world's most terrifying individuals. Dr. Steven Egger, creator of the first statewide computer system for tracking serial killers, has been researching this phenomenon for 20 years. In this book, he brings a clear eye and real objectivity to questions that are rarely answered accurately in the press. Is there really a "profile"? Who do serial killers murder? How do they choose their victims? What motivates them? Are they "mutants from hell," or frighteningly like the rest of us. And why, exactly, are we so fascinated with them? Drawing on his unmatched expertise, Eggers profiles seven of history's most notorious serial killers, including John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Henry Lee Lucas, and Jeffrey Dahmer. Egger also profiles unsolved cases of serial murder from across the United States: the work of killers who may still be out there, planning to strike again. Finally, Egger takes readers behind the scenes with the investigators, exploring the tools at their disposal--and the obstacles standing in their way.

Author Biography

Steven A. Egger is a Professor of Criminology at the University of Houston Clear Lake and Professor Emeritus of Criminal Justice at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	IX
ABOUT THE AUTHOR	XIII
PREFACE	XV
PART 1 THE PHENOMENON
CHAPTER 1 THEY ARE ALL AROUND US	3	(26)
CHAPTER 2 WHY DO THEY KILL AND KILL AND KILL?	29	(16)
CHAPTER 3 THE VICTIMS	45	(18)
PART 2 THE KILLERS
CHAPTER 4 JOHN WAYNE GALY	63	(26)
CHAPTER 5 HENRY LEE LUCAS	89	(16)
CHAPTER 6 KENNETH BIANCHI	105	(16)
CHAPTER 7 THEODORE ROBERT BUNDY	121	(26)
CHAPTER 8 JERRY MARCUS	147	(20)
CHAPTER 9 JOSEPH MILLER	167	(12)
CHAPTER 10 JEFFREY DAHMER	179	(20)
PART 3 STOPPING THE HORROR
CHAPTER 11 COMPARING SERIAL KILLERS	199	(10)
CHAPTER 12 INVESTIGATING SERIAL MURDER	209	(22)
CHAPTER 13 SERIAL MURDER IN THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY	231	(4)
APPENDIX REFERENCES AND SOURCE MATERIAL	235