Invisible Monsters: Serial Killers in America (2021): Season 1, Episode 1 - Part 1: The Perfect Storm (1972-1974) - full transcript
Weaving together the stories of five of America's most notorious serial killers--Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, the Green River Killer and BTK--those closest to the crimes analyze the overlapping societal factors that allowed these killers to claim hundreds of victims while evading capture.
- IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE
THAT SOMEONE COULD SLIP IN
AND ABDUCT A YOUNG WOMAN
RIGHT OUT OF HER BEDROOM
AND WITHOUT ANYBODY
HEARING A THING,
BUT THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED.
ALL RIGHT, SO LET'S ROLL SOUND.
SOUND SPEEDS.
AND AVP.
WE'RE GOOD, STEPHANIE.
- WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE
GOLDEN AGE OF SERIAL KILLERS,
IT ALL STARTED IN
THE EARLY TO MID '70S
WITH THIS GROUP OF FIVE.
LIKE GACY AND 33
BODIES UNDER HIS HOUSE.
BUNDY TRAVELING
ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
RADER TERRORIZING OVER DECADES
AND TAUNTING LAW
ENFORCEMENT AND THE MEDIA.
JEFFREY DAHMER.
EVEN TODAY, WE FIND HIS CRIMES
TO BE ON THE EXTREME
END OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR.
GARY RIDGWAY, THE
GREEN RIVER KILLER,
CONFESSED TO 71 MURDERS OVER
THE COURSE OF SEVERAL DECADES.
- FIVE OF THE MOST
PROLIFIC SERIAL KILLERS
IN AMERICAN HISTORY WERE
ALL OPERATING AT THE SAME TIME.
- IT'S EASY FOR US
IN HINDSIGHT TO SAY,
WELL, WHY DIDN'T THAT
PERSON GET CAUGHT,
OR WHY WEREN'T PEOPLE
LOOKING FOR THEM?
I THINK WE HAVE TO KEEP IN
MIND HISTORICALLY, THE ERA.
- IN THE '70S IN
THE UNITED STATES
WAS AN INNOCENT SORT OF PLACE.
- YOU FIND THIS SORT OF
TRUSTING ENVIRONMENT.
- IT WAS NORMAL FOR PEOPLE
TO JUST HANG OUT WITH STRANGERS
AND TO HOP INTO STRANGE CARS.
THE MURDER OF PEOPLE IN SERIES
HAS POLICE DEPARTMENTS
ACROSS THIS COUNTRY WORRIED.
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
DIDN'T HAVE A DEFINITION
FOR SERIAL KILLERS.
- THOSE POLICE
OFFICERS BACK IN THE '70S
JUST SIMPLY DID
NOT HAVE THE TOOLS
THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT
OFFICERS HAVE NOW.
- BEING ABLE TO QUICKLY
RUN A NAME IN A DATABASE,
THAT'S SOMETHING
THAT DIDN'T EXIST.
- THERE WERE NO COMPUTERS.
- NO INTERNET.
- NO CELL PHONES.
- NO DNA.
- THERE WERE NO
SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS.
- RECORD KEEPING WAS IN THE
BACK OF EVERYBODY'S DRAWER.
- WE DIDN'T YET HAVE
THE 9-1-1 SYSTEM.
AND THESE KILLERS TOOK
FULL ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
JOHN WAYNE GACY'S CRIMINAL...
TED BUNDY IS STILL ALIVE...
BTK MIGHT...
JEFFREY DAHMER...
GREEN RIVER KILLER.
GEORGANN HAWKINS.
- STEVEN TUOMI.
- LYNDA ANN HEALY.
- KATHRYN BRIGHT.
STEVEN HICKS.
SHIRLEY VIAN.
- HE TOOK ME BY THE SHOULDER
AND SAID, "FOLLOW ME."
THREATENED TO KILL
ME IF I DIDN'T COMPLY.
- I THOUGHT THAT HE
WAS JUST A NORMAL MAN.
AND I WAS JUST THINKING,
I'M GONNA GET HOME AND
EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE FINE.
LITTLE DID I KNOW IT WAS
GONNA BE MY WORST NIGHTMARE.
- WE KEPT TRYING TO TELL HIM,
BUT HE'S A KID, HE'S A KID.
HE SAID, "WELL, HE'S
TELLING US HE'S NOT A KID,
SO WHO SHOULD WE BELIEVE?"
BELIEVE THE WHITE GUY.
- THESE FIVE KILLERS
DON'T COME ACROSS TO THE
OUTSIDE WORLD AS FROTHING LUNATICS.
- AND YOU COULD SIT
NEXT TO HIM ON A BUS,
OR A TRAIN, OR A PLANE.
YOU WOULD NEVER ASSOCIATE THEM
WITH BEING THE WORST
SERIAL KILLERS IN US HISTORY.
- DEEP DOWN INSIDE IS A MONSTER
THAT YOU COULD NEVER SEE.
- MY MOTHER HAD TOLD ME
THAT THE ONLY THING SHE
EVER PRAYED FOR FOR HERSELF
WAS TO DIE PEACEFULLY
IN HER SLEEP.
AND THAT'S THE ONE
THING SHE DID NOT GET.
- WICHITA WAS A VERY CALM CITY.
A CITY BACK IN 1974 OF
ROUGHLY 300,000 PEOPLE
WITH A LARGE AGRICULTURAL BASE.
WE DIDN'T THINK ABOUT CRIME.
NOBODY THOUGHT ABOUT CRIME.
CRIME HAPPENED IN THE BIG CITY.
CRIME DID NOT HAPPEN
IN WICHITA, KANSAS.
- MY FAMILY WAS A LOVING,
CARING FAMILY OF
TYPICAL AMERICANS.
MY MOTHER AND MY FATHER
WERE CHILDHOOD SWEETHEARTS.
MY MOM WAS A GOOD CATHOLIC GIRL.
THAT IS WHY THERE
WAS FIVE OF US,
ONE AFTER THE OTHER
AFTER THE OTHER.
I REMEMBER WALKING HOME.
I REMEMBER THE SNOW
BEING ALMOST KNEE DEEP.
OPENED UP THE BACK
GATE TO THE YARD
AND I SAW MY DOG LUCKY OUTSIDE.
SO I SAID, "HEY, LUCKY,
WHAT ARE YOU
DOING OUT HERE, BOY?
YOU OKAY?
COME ON."
I OPENED UP THE KITCHEN
DOOR AND THERE WAS NO SOUND,
NOBODY.
AND SO I WAS LIKE,
I YELLED OUT, "IS ANYBODY HERE?"
AND ONE OF MY
SIBLINGS YELLED OUT,
"CHARLIE, COME QUICK.
MOM AND DAD ARE
PLAYING A BAD TRICK ON US."
I RAN DOWN THE HALL,
WENT THROUGH THE
DOOR IN THEIR BEDROOM,
AND SAW MY MOM AND
MY DAD THERE TIED UP
AND DEAD.
I COULD SMELL THE
FEAR AND THE PAIN
THAT THEY HAD GONE THROUGH.
I COULD FEEL IT ALL IN THE ROOM.
THE PHYSICAL PAIN IS LIKE,
IF SOMEBODY PRIED
YOUR CHEST OPEN.
- THE POLICE HAD
RESPONDED TO THE HOUSE.
THEY OPENED A SPARE BEDROOM
AND THAT'S WHERE
THEY FOUND JOEY JR.
- THE POLICE BELIEVE
THAT HE SAT ON THE CHAIR
AND WATCHED THE CHILD SUFFOCATE.
AND EVERY TIME I
THINK ABOUT THAT,
IT'S TOUGH, YOU KNOW?
- SO THEN, THE SEARCH
WAS ON FOR JOSEPHINE.
THAT'S WHEN THE
OFFICERS REALIZED,
THIS HOUSE HAS A BASEMENT.
AN OFFICER WENT DOWN THERE,
HE DIDN'T KNOW WHERE
THE LIGHTS WERE,
AND HE WAS KIND OF
SWEEPING HIS ARM,
TRYING TO NOT BUMP
INTO SOMETHING.
AND HE WENT AGAINST SOMETHING
THAT HE THOUGHT WAS A PUNCHING
BAG HANGING FROM THE CEILING.
AND THEN WHEN HE FOUND A LIGHT,
IT WAS JOSEPHINE WHO HAD
BEEN HUNG FROM A SEWER PIPE
IN THE BASEMENT OF THE HOUSE.
- SHE WILL REALLY STRUGGLE.
AND THEN AS SHE STRUGGLES,
HE WILL DESCRIBE MASTURBATING.
- IF I'D HAVE SEEN
JOEY AND JOSIE,
IT MIGHT'VE DROVE ME MAD.
THANK GOD I DIDN'T SEE IT.
THANK GOD.
- THE CRIME SCENES
BACK IN THE '70S
ARE NOT LIKE THEY ARE NOW.
THE OTERO CRIME SCENE,
THAT IS A CRIME SCENE THAT
WOULD NEVER HAPPEN TODAY.
YOU HAD MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA
WANDERING THROUGH THE HOUSE.
YOU EVEN HAD A UH,
HIGHER UP OFFICIAL IN
THE POLICE DEPARTMENT
DECIDE TO MAKE HIMSELF
A DRINK OF WATER.
AND SO HE HAD LEFT THE
ICE TRAY ON THE COUNTER.
AND SO PEOPLE THOUGHT,
WELL, THE ICE HADN'T
MELTED COMPLETELY,
SO THAT MUST'VE BEEN
THE KILLER WHO DID IT.
- BACK IN 1974, WE
COULDN'T EVEN SPELL DNA.
THE TECHNOLOGY
DIDN'T EXIST BACK THEN.
BUT AT JOSEPHINE'S
FEET, THERE WAS A POOL.
THE CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATOR
HAD AN INCREDIBLE IMAGINATION
'CAUSE HE DIDN'T
KNOW WHAT IT WAS.
HE DIDN'T KNOW
WHAT ITS VALUE WAS,
BUT HE KNEW HE
WANTED TO PRESERVE IT.
SO HE TOOK A PILLOWCASE
AND HE CUT IT UP INTO
SEVERAL SMALL PIECES.
AND THEN HE DIPPED
IT IN THAT POOL.
31 YEARS LATER,
A GENETIC PROFILE WOULD BE DRAWN
FROM ONE OF THOSE
PRESERVED PIECES OF EVIDENCE.
- THE POLICE DEPARTMENT
THOUGHT AT FIRST
THAT THIS WAS A DRUG MURDER.
THEY TOOK SEVERAL
PEOPLE INTO CUSTODY
AND IT TURNED OUT THEY WEREN'T
RELATED TO THE CASE AT ALL.
- IN 1974,
THE IDEA THAT SOMEONE
WOULD KILL FOR PLEASURE
WAS UNHEARD OF.
IT JUST WASN'T SOMETHING
THAT EXISTED IN ANYONE'S MIND.
- THERE HAD TO BE SOME MOTIVE.
WHY DOES SOMEBODY
JUST PICK OUT THIS FAMILY
AND SLAUGHTER FOUR PEOPLE?
AND SO A LOT OF
OPINIONS WERE SOUGHT
FROM PSYCHOLOGISTS OF THE DAY,
THINKING THAT THEY
WOULD HAVE SOME INSIGHT
AS TO WHAT WOULD
MOTIVATE A PERSON TO DO THIS.
- DENNIS RADER, AS A CHILD,
HAD A PERFECTLY
NORMAL UPBRINGING.
HE SAID, "I WAS NEVER ABUSED.
EVERYTHING WAS
NORMAL IN MY FAMILY."
BUT THEN HE SAYS,
"I KNEW FROM A YOUNG
AGE THAT I HAD FACTOR X."
"FACTOR X IS THE DEMON
INSIDE OF ME," HE SAYS,
"THAT CAUSED ME TO HAVE TO
TORTURE PEOPLE AND KILL PEOPLE."
- RADER WILL DESCRIBE
A SPECIFIC INCIDENT
WHEN HE WAS A KID
WHERE HE WAS AT SOME
KIND OF FAMILY OUTING,
AND THEY TIED A
CHICKEN TO A TREE STUMP
IN ORDER TO KILL THE CHICKEN.
AND THE TYING OF THE
CHICKEN TO THAT STUMP
CAUSED HIM TO HAVE
WHAT HE WOULD DESCRIBE
AS SEXUAL FEELINGS.
- DENNIS RADER WAS CULTIVATING
THIS PERSONA OF CHURCHGOER.
HE WAS MARRIED.
HE WAS RELATIVELY YOUNG.
HE WAS 28 YEARS OLD.
RELATIVELY HANDSOME.
SO HE SHOULD HAVE
EVERYTHING GOING FOR HIM.
AND SO WHEN HE
LOSES THIS JOB IN 1973,
THINGS WEREN'T PERFECT.
HE WAS NOT IN CONTROL.
AND SOME WAYS THAT PEOPLE
MAY TRY TO OVER-CORRECT FOR THAT
IS BY GAINING CONTROL IN SOME
OTHER ASPECT OF THEIR LIFE.
AND YOU KNOW,
PERHAPS IT TRIGGERED
HIS NEED TO CONTROL
SOMETHING OR SOMEONE.
- WHEN THE OTERO
FAMILY WAS KILLED,
THE WAY HE TELLS IT,
HE WAS BETWEEN JOBS, WAS BORED,
DIDN'T FEEL GOOD ABOUT HIMSELF,
SO FACTOR X CAME OUT.
- WHEN YOU LOOK BACK
AT THE FIRST KNOWN KILLS
FOR THESE FIVE SERIAL KILLERS,
YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT
THEY HAVE BEEN
FANTASIZING ABOUT KILLING
FOR A LONG TIME.
IT STARTS WITH DEVELOPING
VICTIM PROFILES IN THEIR HEAD.
WHERE THEY WOULD
GET THESE VICTIMS,
HOW THEY WOULD CONTROL THEM.
RADER'S LIFE CENTERED
AROUND A LOT OF FANTASY,
BUT YOU CAN ONLY
FANTASIZE SO LONG
BEFORE YOU CROSS THAT LINE.
AND THAT WAS THE CASE
WITH JOHN WAYNE GACY.
- IN MY MIND,
JOHN GACY WAS THE WORST
KIND OF A KILLER YOU CAN IMAGINE.
YOU KNOW, LIKE A SHARK
SWIMMING AROUND DOWN THERE.
HE WOULD LAY HIS EYES ON
SOMEBODY WALKING
DOWN THE STREET.
AND THEN IN HIS MIND,
THAT PERSON WAS DEAD.
JOHN GACY FREQUENTED
HOMOSEXUAL AREAS IN CHICAGO.
THERE WAS A COUPLE OF AREAS,
ONE CALLED BUGHOUSE SQUARE
AND THE OTHER CALLED BOYSTOWN.
HE PATROLLED DOWN THERE.
I MEAN, HE WOULD GO
AROUND THE BLOCK,
LOOKING FOR SOMEBODY TO PICK UP.
HE HAD A BLACK OLDSMOBILE
WITH A SPOTLIGHT
ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE.
HE HAD SOME PHONY BADGES.
A LOT OF THE KIDS
THAT HE PICKED UP,
A LOT OF THEM WERE HOMOSEXUALS.
MANY OF THEM, HE
TOOK TO HIS HOUSE.
AND MANY OF THEM,
THAT WAS A ONE-WAY TRIP.
- GACY PICKED UP 16-YEAR-OLD
TIMOTHY JACK MCCOY
AT THE GREYHOUND BUS STATION.
- ACCORDING TO GACY,
WHAT HAPPENED WAS HE
OFFERED HIM MONEY FOR SEX.
HE GOT HIM BACK TO HIS
HOUSE, GACY'S HOUSE.
WHEN HE WAS IN BED,
THEY DID WHAT THEY
DID WITH ONE ANOTHER.
- HE WAKES UP IN THE MORNING
AND THE KID'S STANDING
AT THE FOOT OF HIS BED
WITH A BIG BUTCHER
KNIFE IN HIS HAND.
AND HE THINKS THE KID'S
COMING AFTER HIM TO ATTACK HIM.
HE JUMPS OUT OF
BED, FIGHTS WITH HIM
TAKES THE KNIFE AWAY FROM HIM,
AND STABBED HIM
IN THE HEART TWICE.
KILLED HIM.
- WHAT'S INTERESTING ABOUT THIS
IS THAT FOR MOST NORMAL PEOPLE,
YOU WOULD PROBABLY CALL SOMEBODY
BECAUSE NOW YOU'VE
JUST KILLED SOMEBODY.
AND GACY REPORTS BEING AROUSED
AND ORGASMING IN
THIS MOST INTENSE WAY.
- HE GOES INTO THE KITCHEN,
AND THERE, THE KID'S
BEEN PREPARING BREAKFAST.
HE WAS SLICING THE BACON.
THESE ARE GACY'S WORDS,
BUT HE SAID THAT HE
PROBABLY WANTED TO KNOW
HOW THICK I WANTED
MY BACON SLICED.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY, HE DIDN'T
TAKE IT THAT WAY AT THE TIME,
AND HE SAYS, DEFENDED
HIMSELF AND KILLED HIM.
BURIED HIM IN THE CRAWL SPACE.
- THIS IS WHEN
GACY CROSSES OVER,
WHEN HE HAS HIS FIRST KILL.
AND NOW, HE RECOGNIZES THAT
POWERFUL AROUSAL COMPONENT
OF CONTROLLING SOMEBODY'S LIFE,
ESSENTIALLY PLAYING GOD,
DECIDING WHETHER
THEY LIVE OR DIE.
AND THAT'S WHERE
HE THEN STARTS THIS
COLLECTION OF YOUNG MEN
WHO HE TORTURES
AS A SEXUAL SADIST
AND EVENTUALLY KILLS.
SO WHEN WE LOOK BACK
AT THE SERIAL KILLERS,
WE'RE TYPICALLY LOOKING
FOR A TRIGGERING EVENT.
BUT IN GACY'S LIFE,
THERE WAS, I THINK, A SERIES
OF THINGS THAT WERE GOING ON.
- JOHN GACY WAS GIVEN
THE MIDDLE NAME OF WAYNE.
HIS FATHER WANTED HIS
SON TO BE THIS TOUGH GUY
NAMED AFTER THIS HERO COWBOY,
JUST LIKE JOHN WAYNE.
WELL, WHEN HIS SON
WANTED TO SPEND MORE TIME
WITH HIS MOTHER AND
DO MORE GARDENING,
GACY'S FATHER WOULD
VERBALLY ASSAULT,
EMOTIONALLY ASSAULT,
AND PHYSICALLY ASSAULT
JOHN WAYNE GACY JR.
- JOHN WAYNE GACY, AROUND
THE AGE OF FOUR OR FIVE,
IS AT HOME UPSTAIRS
WITH A NEIGHBOR GIRL
WHO WAS MUCH OLDER THAN HIM,
A TEENAGE GIRL.
AND APPARENTLY, SHE
WAS FONDLING HIS GENITALS
OR TOUCHING HIM IN
SORT OF A SEXUAL WAY.
WELL, BOTH MOTHERS COME
UPSTAIRS AND DISCOVER THIS.
THE MOTHER OF THE GIRL
STRIKES HER IN FRONT OF GACY.
A MOMENT LIKE THIS
IS REALLY SIGNIFICANT
IN THAT YOU HAVE SEXUALITY
BEING JOINED WITH SHAME,
BEING JOINED WITH
PHYSICAL AGGRESSION.
A COMBINATION LIKE THAT
WOULD PRODUCE SOMEONE WHO
IS CAPABLE OF ACTING IN A WAY
THAT IS BOTH SEXUAL, AND
AGGRESSIVE, AND SHAME INDUCING.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT
JOHN WAYNE GACY DID.
- I WAS MOLESTED
WHEN I WAS A BOY.
IT'S HARD TO THINK BACK ON IT
AND ADMIT IT EVER HAPPENED.
IT TAKES AWAY FROM HOW YOU
LOOK AT YOURSELF AS A MALE.
AND THAT WAS PART OF THE REASON
I NEVER TOLD ANYBODY
FOR ALL THOSE DECADES.
WHEN I WAS NINE OR
10 YEARS OLD IN 1956,
MY MOTHER AND I WENT UP TO
RESORT IN ELKHORN, WISCONSIN.
A FELLOW NAMED
JOHN, HE WAS ABOUT 16.
HE WORKED THERE,
HE DID ODD JOBS.
I DIDN'T HAVE ANY BUDDIES
UP THERE TO SPEND TIME WITH
AND SO HE BEFRIENDED ME.
HE HAD SOME TIME OFF
AND HE WANTED TO KNOW IF I
WANTED TO GO IN A BOAT WITH HIM.
SO HE TOOK ME OUT IN A BOAT.
I'D NEVER BEEN IN
A ROWBOAT BEFORE,
SO THAT WAS FUN FOR A
LITTLE NINE OR 10 YEAR OLD BOY.
WE TIED UP THE BOAT.
HE AH, HE TOOK ME IN
THE THICKET AND UM,
AH, HE DID A TERRIBLE THING.
HE DID A TERRIBLE THING.
HE TOOK ME BY THE SHOULDER
AND SAID, "FOLLOW ME,"
THREATENED TO KILL
ME IF I DIDN'T COMPLY.
AND I TURNED AROUND.
HE SAID, "OPEN YOUR MOUTH."
I OPENED MY MOUTH AND UM,
THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED.
THANK GOD IT WAS OVER QUICKLY.
IT WAS OVER QUICKLY.
IS A PERSON BORN EVIL?
DO THEY BECOME EVIL?
I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR THAT.
- SERIAL SEXUAL KILLERS DO
NOT SNAP AT 30 YEARS OF AGE
AND BECOME SERIAL KILLERS.
IT EVOLVES OVER TIME.
AND THAT TIME BEGINS
WHEN THEY'RE QUITE YOUNG.
AS THAT DESIRE FOR THESE
VIOLENT SEXUAL FANTASIES CONTINUE,
OFFENDERS CAN LOOK FOR
MORE AND MORE OPPORTUNITIES
TO SATISFY THOSE
URGES AND COMPULSIONS.
- IN THE 1960S,
GACY STARTED EDGING
CLOSER AND CLOSER TO MURDER.
HE HAD SEXUAL RELATIONS
WITH TEENAGERS, UNDERAGE KIDS.
THIS WAS HIS MO OUT THERE.
ONE OF THESE YOUNG KIDS
WAS DONALD VOORHEES JR.
HE WAS THE SON OF A STATE
REPRESENTATIVE IN IOWA.
GACY WOULD SHOW
HIM SOME STAG FILMS.
THEY DID HAVE SEXUAL ACTS
TOGETHER NUMEROUS TIMES.
- WHEN THE BOY FINALLY TOLD
HIS FATHER WHAT HAD HAPPENED,
HIS FATHER WENT RIGHT
TO THE STATE POLICE
AND DEMANDED THAT GACY
BE ARRESTED AND TRIED.
- HE WAS CHARGED WITH SODOMY
OF A 15 YEAR OLD BOY.
- THEY THREW THE BOOK AT HIM.
HE GOT GET THE MAXIMUM 10 YEARS.
- WELL, I'M JOHN GACY.
I'M FROM WATERLOO, IOWA.
AND YOU'RE A MAN OF
THEM AUTHORITY HERE.
WHAT IS YOUR TITLE?
- WELL, I'M FIRST COOK.
- GACY WAS NOT ONLY A
MODEL PRISONER AT ANAMOSA.
HE ALMOST SEEMED
TO RUN THE PRISON.
THE PAROLE BOARD LOOKED AT
GACY'S ACTIONS WITHIN THE PRISON
AND SAID, WELL, OKAY,
HE COULD PROBABLY
BE A MODEL CITIZEN.
LET'S RELEASE HIM.
OUT OF HIS 10 YEAR SENTENCE,
GACY ONLY SERVED 18 MONTHS.
- IN THE 1970S,
THERE WAS NO SUCH THING
AS A SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY.
IT JUST DIDN'T EXIST.
SO ESSENTIALLY, GACY IS
ALLOWED TO GO TO CHICAGO
AND BEGIN HIS LIFE
WITH A CLEAN SLATE.
- IF GACY HAD SERVED
HIS FULL SENTENCE,
THAT WOULD HAVE BROUGHT ABOUT
ONE OF THE GREAT IRONIES
AND SAD IRONIES TO THIS CASE,
MEANING THAT 33 YOUNG
LIVES WOULD NOT BE GONE.
- THE CASE STANDS OUT
BECAUSE IT WAS SO BRAZEN.
I MEAN, THERE WERE OTHER
ROOMMATES IN THE
HOME AT THE TIME.
NO ONE HEARD ANYTHING.
IT WAS HARD TO BELIEVE
THAT SOMEONE COULD SLIP IN
AND ABDUCT A YOUNG WOMAN
RIGHT OUT OF HER BEDROOM
WITHOUT ANYBODY HEARING A THING.
BUT THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED.
- IN 1974, THERE WAS A
NEW FREEDOM FOR WOMEN.
LAW SCHOOLS, MEDICAL SCHOOLS,
YOU KNOW, WERE FORCED TO
ADMIT WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR.
AND IT WAS ABOUT TIME.
IT WAS A TIME WHEN YOU
COULD ASPIRE TO ANYTHING.
- IN 1974,
TED BUNDY WAS A GRADUATE OF
THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
AND HE WAS ATTENDING LAW SCHOOL,
BUT LIVING IN THE UNIVERSITY
OF WASHINGTON DISTRICT.
HE WANTED TO BE A FAMOUS LAWYER,
HE WANTED TO BE A POLITICIAN.
HE WAS TRYING TO BECOME
AN UP-AND-COMER AMONG
PEOPLE HE ADMIRED.
- LYNDA HEALY.
SHE WAS A UNIVERSITY
OF WASHINGTON STUDENT
WHO WAS ABDUCTED FROM
HER BASEMENT BEDROOM.
SHE JUST DISAPPEARED
WITHOUT A TRACE.
- LYNDA HEALY LIVED OFF CAMPUS
IN A HOUSE WITH SOME
OF HER GIRLFRIENDS.
AND HER APARTMENT
WAS IN THE BASEMENT.
- HER ROOMMATES HADN'T
SEEN HER FOR A DAY OR TWO.
AND FINALLY, ONE
OF THEM WENT DOWN
AND WENT INTO HER ROOM.
AND IT LOOKED LIKE
SHE HAD BEEN THERE.
HER BED WAS PERFECTLY MADE.
THEY SPOTTED SOME BLOOD THOUGH
AND OPENED A CLOSET
AND FOUND A NIGHTGOWN
THAT HAD THE BLOOD ON IT.
- SHE WAS MISSING.
NOBODY KNEW WHERE SHE WENT.
LYNDA WAS JUST GONE.
THE CRIME SCENE,
THE PLACE WHERE LYNDA
ANN HEALY DISAPPEARED FROM
WAS PROCESSED TO SOME EXTENT
BY THE SEATTLE
POLICE DEPARTMENT.
- WE DIDN'T HAVE CRIME
SCENE TECHNICIANS.
WE DIDN'T HAVE DIGITAL CAMERAS.
AND I REMEMBER MY
LIEUTENANT TELLING ME,
YOU HAVE FILM, IT'S EXPENSIVE.
YOU'RE USING FLASH
BULBS, THEY'RE EXPENSIVE.
DON'T TAKE A LOT OF PICTURES.
SO CRIME SCENES, YOU KNOW,
EVEN A HOMICIDE CRIME SCENES
MIGHT ONLY HAVE
LIKE 20 OR 30 PICTURES.
AND TODAY, WE HAVE HUNDREDS.
- THERE WEREN'T ANY PARTICULAR
SUSPECTS AT THIS POINT.
THAT WAS KIND OF A ONE-OFF CASE.
- IT WAS THE BEGINNING
OF THAT SERIES
OF YOUNG WOMEN DISAPPEARING
FROM COLLEGE CAMPUSES
AND OTHER AREAS AROUND
THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST.
- OUR SON IS THE BEST
SON IN THE WORLD.
HE'S A VERY NORMAL, ACTIVE BOY.
HE DID ALL THE THINGS
THAT MOST BOYS LIKED TO DO.
- TED BUNDY WAS KNOWN TO HAVE
HAD A VERY UNUSUAL CHILDHOOD.
HE WAS CONSIDERED
AN ILLEGITIMATE BIRTH.
THE MOTHER WAS NOT
MARRIED AT THE TIME.
AND THEN HE WAS RAISED FOR
THE FIRST FEW YEARS OF HIS LIFE
IN THE HOME OF HIS
MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS.
- TED BUNDY WAS BROUGHT
UP ON THE ASSUMPTION
THAT HIS GRANDPARENTS
ARE HIS PARENTS
AND HIS MOTHER IS HIS SISTER.
HE'S SORT OF BROUGHT INTO
THIS WORLD OR WEB OF LIES
AND STARTS FORMING
HIS PERSONALITY
BASED ON THIS FAMILY DYNAMIC
THAT IS REALLY AN
UNHEALTHY DYNAMIC.
- I KNEW TED BUNDY FROM THE
TIME I WAS FIVE UNTIL I WAS 15.
MY BROTHER WAS TED'S AGE,
SO MOST OF THE BOYS
HUNG OUT TOGETHER
AND I WAS THE TAG
ALONG LITTLE SISTER.
MY BROTHER TOLD ME VERY
EARLY ON TO STAY CLEAR OF TED.
HE WAS JUST A MEAN SPIRITED KID.
TED LIKED BUILDING
HOLES IN THE GROUND
WITH SHARP STAKES POINTING UP.
AND THEN HE'D MAKE
THIS BIG THING OF LEAVES,
AND STICKS, AND TWIGS
SO THAT YOU COULDN'T
TELL THAT IT WAS THERE.
AND ONE OF THE GIRLS FROM
A COUPLE OF STREETS UP
WENT THROUGH ONE
AND GOT THE WHOLE SIDE OF
HER LEG GASHED UP REALLY BAD.
HE LIKED THAT.
HE LIKED SCARING PEOPLE,
ESPECIALLY LITTLE GIRLS.
AND HE LIKED HURTING THEM.
AND HE LIKED HURTING ANIMALS
THAT WERE SMALL AND HELPLESS.
THERE WAS A CAT IN
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD
THAT WAS HANGING
FROM A CLOTHES LINE
AND IT WAS ON FIRE.
HE'D LIT IT UP WITH
GASOLINE, WITH LIGHTER FLUID,
AND SET IT ON FIRE.
AND YOU COULD HEAR
THAT CAT SCREAMING.
IT WAS HORRIBLE.
- IN TERMS OF THE FIVE SERIAL
KILLERS WE'RE DISCUSSING,
ANIMAL CRUELTY MAY BE
SORT OF A PRACTICE RUN
FOR VIOLENCE AND
AGGRESSION AGAINST HUMANS.
IF AN INDIVIDUAL HAS THE
CAPACITY TO HARM AN ANIMAL,
IT'S REALLY NOT
MUCH MORE OF A LEAP
FOR THEM TO HARM
ANOTHER HUMAN BEING.
WE CERTAINLY SEE
IT WITH RIDGWAY,
WE CERTAINLY SEE WITH RADER,
THE SAME WITH GACY
AND THEN BUNDY.
- HIS BEHAVIOR SPOKE VERY
LOUDLY OF WHO HE WAS.
AND I DOUBT IF ANY OF THE
PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
WERE SURPRISED WHEN
TED WAS KILLING WOMEN.
- BY THE TIME TED BUNDY
WAS A YOUNG TEENAGER,
HE WAS SHOPLIFTING,
HE WAS LYING.
HE WAS A PEEPING TOM IN
TACOMA NEIGHBORHOODS
WHEN HE WAS 14 OR SO.
HE APPLIED TO THE
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
AND STARTED ATTENDING.
AND HE LEARNED IN
A PSYCHOLOGY CLASS
THAT PEOPLE WILL HELP SOMEBODY
WHO APPEARS VULNERABLE.
- PRIOR TO TED
BUNDY'S FIRST KILL,
WE WANT TO LOOK AT
WHAT'S GOING ON IN HIS LIFE.
HE'D BEEN DATING A WOMAN
NAMED STEPHANIE BROOKS.
- STEPHANIE BROOKS REPRESENTED
EVERYTHING THAT HE WANTED,
BUT REALLY JUST COULDN'T
ACHIEVE ON HIS OWN.
UPPER CLASS LIFE,
ACCESS, BEAUTY.
AND BEING WITH HER, HE
HAD THOSE THINGS BY PROXY.
- SO, BUNDY'S LOW
VIEW OF HIMSELF
WAS REALLY ELEVATED BY
DATING STEPHANIE BROOKS
UNTIL STEPHANIE
BROKE UP WITH HIM.
THIS WAS A REAL
TURNING POINT FOR BUNDY.
IT WAS DEVASTATING FOR HIM.
HE FELT ABANDONED,
HE FELT BETRAYED.
AND IT'S THIS POINT WHEN BUNDY,
WHO HAS BEEN FANTASIZING
OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME,
ACTUALLY DECIDES
HE'S GOING TO ACT OUT
AND TRY TO CAPTURE
HIS FIRST VICTIM.
- IN BUNDY'S CASE,
IT'S OFTEN DISCUSSED
HOW HIS VICTIMS HAD
A PHYSICAL SIMILARITY
TO THE WOMAN THAT
BROKE HIS HEART BASICALLY.
AND THAT PERHAPS,
AND IN THAT REGARD,
IT MIGHT'VE BEEN MORE
REVENGE, OR RETRIBUTION,
OR ALONG THAT LINES.
- HE WAS SO ANGRY AT
HER FOR BREAKING IT OFF
THAT THIS ENTITY IN HIM,
THIS COMPULSION TO
KILL WOULD TAKE OVER.
HE REALLY COULDN'T CONTROL
HIS IMPULSES ANYMORE.
AND A FEW YEARS LATER,
LYNDA ANN HEALY WAS KILLED.
- THERE'S SOMETHING
ABOUT THE FIRST KILL
THAT MIGHT'VE SERVED A
PARTICULAR PSYCHOLOGICAL PURPOSE
THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE
BECOME ADDICTED TO.
YOU SEE THIS WITH BUNDY AND
YOU SEE THIS WITH DENNIS RADER.
- AFTER THE OTERO MURDERS,
POLICE WERE REALLY BAFFLED.
THEY HAD ABSOLUTELY
NO SUSPECTS AT ALL.
THREE MONTHS AFTER
THE OTERO MURDERS,
DENNIS RADER DECIDED
HE WAS GOING TO KILL AGAIN.
- THIS TIME, IT'S A
WICHITA STATE STUDENT,
KATHRYN BRIGHT.
- DENNIS SAW KATHRYN BRIGHT
AND HE DECIDED THAT SHE
WOULD BE HIS NEXT VICTIM.
AND SO FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL
WEEKS, HE STALKED HER.
- BUT HE DIDN'T PLAN
FOR HER LITTLE BROTHER
TO BE AT THE RESIDENCE.
- WHILE HE'S THERE,
HE TIES THEM BOTH UP.
AND THEN KEVIN
GETS HIS FEET LOOSE
AND HE ATTACKS DENNIS RADER.
THIS IS TOTALLY UNEXPECTED,
NOT IN DENNIS
RADER'S PLAN AT ALL.
- AT THAT POINT, THE KILLER
MAKES HIS WAY BACK
OVER TO KATHRYN.
THERE'S QUITE A
STRUGGLE WITH HER.
AT SOME POINT
DURING THAT STRUGGLE,
A KNIFE COMES OUT AND KATHRYN
IS STABBED MULTIPLE TIMES
WITH QUITE A BIT OF FEROCITY.
KEVIN STILL SURVIVED AND
KEVIN RUNS OUT THE FRONT DOOR.
- KEVIN BRIGHT RUNS OUT,
RUNS TO A CONVENIENCE
STORE ACROSS THE STREET,
AND THE POLICE ARE CALLED.
- BY THE TIME OFFICERS ARRIVED,
KATHRYN IS ON THE FLOOR
RIGHT OUTSIDE HER KITCHEN.
AN OFFICER ASKED HER
INITIALLY, YOU KNOW,
DO YOU KNOW WHO DID THIS TO YOU?
AND SHE SAYS, NO.
THAT'S REALLY THE LAST
COMMUNICATION SHE MAKES.
SHE'S TAKEN
AND THEY TRY TO SAVE HER
LIFE FOR SEVERAL HOURS,
BUT SHE DIES LATER THAT DAY.
- HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN
CAUGHT, BUT HE WASN'T.
AND THAT'S WHY IN
THE FUTURE KILLS,
HE WANTED TO BE VERY CAREFUL
TO MAKE SURE, A, NO
MAN WAS INVOLVED,
NO DOG WAS INVOLVED,
THAT EVERYTHING WENT BETTER.
- THE DESCRIPTION THAT
CAME FROM KEVIN BRIGHT
PRETTY MUCH
MATCHES DENNIS RADER.
HOWEVER, THE DESCRIPTION
DIDN'T DO MUCH GOOD.
THEY'RE LOOKING FOR A LONER.
THEY'RE LOOKING FOR A CRIMINAL.
THEY'RE LOOKING FOR
SOMEONE OUT OF THE ORDINARY.
- THEY WERE LOOKING FOR SOMEBODY
THAT HAD A REASON TO
COMMIT THESE MURDERS.
AND EVEN THOUGH DENNIS
RADER'S RIGHT IN THEIR SIGHT,
HE IS A CHURCH GOER,
HE IS WELL KNOWN
IN THE COMMUNITY,
THEY DON'T SEE HIM
BECAUSE THEY DON'T
SEE HIM AS SOMEBODY
WHO COULD DO
SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
- IT STAYED A BIG NEWS
STORY FOR A LONG TIME.
THERE WAS A LOT
OF FOLLOW UP ON IT
AND THERE WAS SOME CONSTERNATION
WHEN THEY COULDN'T
FIND THE KILLER.
AND THAT BECAME A
SECONDARY NEWS STORY.
WAS THE POLICE
DEPARTMENT DOING ITS JOB?
WHY HAVEN'T THEY CAUGHT THE GUY?
WHAT ARE THE LEADS?
- NOW, YOU HAVE FIVE
HOMICIDES IN WICHITA, KANSAS
WITHIN A FEW MONTHS
OF ONE ANOTHER.
- WHEN WE LOOK AT LAW
ENFORCEMENT CAPABILITY,
WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND
THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES
THAT WE HAVE TODAY TO DETECT
OR EVEN MAKE CONNECTIONS
BETWEEN HOMICIDE CASES.
PARTICULARLY IN BTK'S EXAMPLE,
WICHITA, KANSAS IN THE '70S,
SMALL TOWN, SMALL POLICE FORCE.
THEY'RE NOT USED TO
DEALING WITH HOMICIDE CASES.
THEY'RE NOT TRAINED IN THAT WAY.
- IN THE EARLY DAYS,
NOBODY LINKED KATHRYN BRIGHT
AND HER BROTHER
TO THE OTERO MURDER.
THERE WERE MAYBE
SOME SIMILARITIES,
BUT EVERYBODY THOUGHT
THAT THESE WERE JUST
INDIVIDUAL MURDERS.
WE HAD NO IDEA THAT IT WAS
GOING TO TURN INTO SOMETHING HUGE
AND REALLY SOMETHING MONSTROUS.
- BY THE SPRING OF 1974,
TED BUNDY'S MO WAS
GOING TO COLLEGE CAMPUSES
WHERE HE FIT IN.
I MEAN, HE LOOKED
LIKE A STUDENT.
WELL, AT THAT TIME, COLLEGE
CAMPUSES WERE A SAFE PLACE.
A YOUNG WOMAN ON A
CAMPUS WOULDN'T THINK TWICE
ABOUT WALKING FROM
THE LIBRARY LATE AT NIGHT
TO HER DORM ROOM.
AND OF COURSE,
PARENTS OBVIOUSLY WANTED
TO SEND THEIR CHILDREN
TO SOMEPLACE SAFE.
- SUE WAS A DREAM CHILD.
VERY AMBITIOUS.
ALL SHE WANTED FROM
THE TIME SHE WAS TINY
WAS TO GO TO SCHOOL.
YOU KNOW, MOTHERS HAVE
A CERTAIN SECOND SENSE
WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR CHILDREN.
SHE WAS BOARDING THE AIRPLANE.
SHE TURNED AROUND
AND SHE LOOKED AT ME,
AND SHE JUST GAVE A LITTLE WAVE.
AND I TOLD MY HUSBAND,
I'LL NEVER SEE HER AGAIN.
- SUE WAS LOVING EVERYTHING
ABOUT COLLEGE LIFE.
SHE WAS SO HAPPY THERE.
THIS WAS HER DREAM
AND HER DESTINY.
SHE HAD MADE ARRANGEMENTS
TO MEET ANOTHER DORM MATE.
AND WHEN SHE DIDN'T COME
BACK FROM THAT MEETING,
HER ROOMMATE KNEW IMMEDIATELY
THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG.
SO THEY CALLED
THE CAMPUS POLICE.
- FOR HER NOT TO COME
HOME WAS JUST NOT RIGHT.
SHE JUST WOULDN'T
DO THAT KIND OF THING.
SHE JUST WOULDN'T.
- WHEN MY HUSBAND TOLD ME,
I JUST HAD THIS UNEASY FEELING.
HE SAID, "SUE'S MISSING
AND THEY CAN'T FIND HER."
AND I SAID, "NO, SHE'S DEAD."
IT WAS A DIFFERENT WORLD.
WE DIDN'T HAVE COMPUTERS,
OR DNA, OR AMBER ALERTS.
AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS
WERE NOT COORDINATING
WITH EACH OTHER.
AND WE WERE OUT THERE
BUYING ADS IN SEATTLE PAPER.
YOU KNOW, HAVE
YOU SEEN THIS CHILD?
- IN A LOT OF THE CASES AT
FIRST INVOLVING TED BUNDY,
PEOPLE SOMETIMES
SPECULATED THAT,
OH, WELL, THE GIRL IS
JUST OFF ON HER OWN
OR MAYBE SHE'S
SPENDING A COUPLE NIGHTS
WITH A NEW BOYFRIEND.
IN THE '70S,
THE CONCEPT OF A SERIAL
KILLER WAS SOMETHING
THAT PEOPLE PRETTY MUCH
ATTRIBUTED TO A HORROR MOVIE.
SO THERE WASN'T A REALLY
GOOD UNDERSTANDING
ABOUT THAT CONCEPT.
- AT ONE POINT, SOMEONE
ASKED MY HUSBAND,
"AREN'T YOU GOING TO FEEL SILLY
WHEN SHE SHOWS UP
MARRIED TO SOMEBODY?"
AND I THINK THAT KIND OF
WAS THE MENTALITY BACK THEN.
IT'S A DIFFERENT MENTALITY
NOW, THANK GOODNESS.
- DURING THE FIRST HALF OF 1974,
THERE WERE A SERIES OF MURDERS,
ABOUT ONE A MONTH,
PRETTY MUCH OF THE SAME AGE.
THEY LOOKED VERY
SIMILAR TO ONE ANOTHER
AND THEY LIVED
SIMILAR LIFESTYLES
AS YOUNG WOMEN IN 20S LIVED.
TED BUNDY'S MO WAS TO
TRY AND GET WOMEN TO TRUST HIM
AND GO WITH HIM.
HE WAS THE KIND OF PERSON
THAT COULD TALK A YOUNG
WOMAN INTO HELPING HIM,
A STRANGER.
HE WAS LOOKING FOR
THE EMPATHETIC FEMALE
SO HE COULD OVERPOWER
HER AND ULTIMATELY KILL HER.
- THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED,
SHE WALKED ACROSS CAMPUS
AND HE WAS STANDING
AT THE LIBRARY,
WHICH SHE HAD TO WALK IN
FRONT OF TO GET TO HER DORM,
WITH HIS ARM IN A SLING.
AND HE CALLED TO HER AND ASKED
HER TO HELP CARRY HIS BOOKS.
COULD YOU HELP ME TO MY CAR?
IT'S JUST OVER THERE.
WE TEACH OUR CHILDREN TO BE
COMPASSIONATE, TO BE HELPFUL,
AND TO REACH OUT TO
THOSE THAT ARE DISABLED.
YOU KNOW, WERE WE WRONG
TO BRING HER UP THAT WAY?
I DON'T THINK SO.
IT'S SO IMPORTANT FOR
THEM TO CARE FOR OTHERS.
AND THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED.
SHE HELPED HIM.
- CONTRARY TO
WHAT WE MIGHT THINK,
SERIAL KILLERS DON'T COME
ACROSS TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD
AS FROTHING LUNATICS.
- WE ARE NOT SOME KINDS
OF INHERENT MONSTERS.
WE ARE YOUR SONS AND
WE ARE YOUR HUSBANDS.
- DENNIS RADER HAD A BTK SIDE
AND HE HAD A DENNIS
RADER, THE FAMILY MAN SIDE.
HE MUCH PREFERRED THE BTK SIDE.
- WITH GUYS LIKE BUNDY,
YOU HAVE A SUCCESS, AND THEN
ANOTHER, AND THEN ANOTHER.
AND PRETTY SOON, YOU START
TO BELIEVE YOU'RE INVINCIBLE.
- JOHN WAYNE GACY
BUILT CAREFULLY
AN ENTIRE LIFE TO LIVE,
A FACADE, A DUALITY.
- MY BROTHER SAYS,
"ME AND THIS BOY ARE
WORKING TOGETHER
AND WE'RE DIGGING
AROUND GACY'S HOUSE."
WELL, IT ENDED UP THEY WERE
DIGGING THEIR OWN GRAVES.
THAT SOMEONE COULD SLIP IN
AND ABDUCT A YOUNG WOMAN
RIGHT OUT OF HER BEDROOM
AND WITHOUT ANYBODY
HEARING A THING,
BUT THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED.
ALL RIGHT, SO LET'S ROLL SOUND.
SOUND SPEEDS.
AND AVP.
WE'RE GOOD, STEPHANIE.
- WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE
GOLDEN AGE OF SERIAL KILLERS,
IT ALL STARTED IN
THE EARLY TO MID '70S
WITH THIS GROUP OF FIVE.
LIKE GACY AND 33
BODIES UNDER HIS HOUSE.
BUNDY TRAVELING
ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
RADER TERRORIZING OVER DECADES
AND TAUNTING LAW
ENFORCEMENT AND THE MEDIA.
JEFFREY DAHMER.
EVEN TODAY, WE FIND HIS CRIMES
TO BE ON THE EXTREME
END OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR.
GARY RIDGWAY, THE
GREEN RIVER KILLER,
CONFESSED TO 71 MURDERS OVER
THE COURSE OF SEVERAL DECADES.
- FIVE OF THE MOST
PROLIFIC SERIAL KILLERS
IN AMERICAN HISTORY WERE
ALL OPERATING AT THE SAME TIME.
- IT'S EASY FOR US
IN HINDSIGHT TO SAY,
WELL, WHY DIDN'T THAT
PERSON GET CAUGHT,
OR WHY WEREN'T PEOPLE
LOOKING FOR THEM?
I THINK WE HAVE TO KEEP IN
MIND HISTORICALLY, THE ERA.
- IN THE '70S IN
THE UNITED STATES
WAS AN INNOCENT SORT OF PLACE.
- YOU FIND THIS SORT OF
TRUSTING ENVIRONMENT.
- IT WAS NORMAL FOR PEOPLE
TO JUST HANG OUT WITH STRANGERS
AND TO HOP INTO STRANGE CARS.
THE MURDER OF PEOPLE IN SERIES
HAS POLICE DEPARTMENTS
ACROSS THIS COUNTRY WORRIED.
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
DIDN'T HAVE A DEFINITION
FOR SERIAL KILLERS.
- THOSE POLICE
OFFICERS BACK IN THE '70S
JUST SIMPLY DID
NOT HAVE THE TOOLS
THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT
OFFICERS HAVE NOW.
- BEING ABLE TO QUICKLY
RUN A NAME IN A DATABASE,
THAT'S SOMETHING
THAT DIDN'T EXIST.
- THERE WERE NO COMPUTERS.
- NO INTERNET.
- NO CELL PHONES.
- NO DNA.
- THERE WERE NO
SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS.
- RECORD KEEPING WAS IN THE
BACK OF EVERYBODY'S DRAWER.
- WE DIDN'T YET HAVE
THE 9-1-1 SYSTEM.
AND THESE KILLERS TOOK
FULL ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
JOHN WAYNE GACY'S CRIMINAL...
TED BUNDY IS STILL ALIVE...
BTK MIGHT...
JEFFREY DAHMER...
GREEN RIVER KILLER.
GEORGANN HAWKINS.
- STEVEN TUOMI.
- LYNDA ANN HEALY.
- KATHRYN BRIGHT.
STEVEN HICKS.
SHIRLEY VIAN.
- HE TOOK ME BY THE SHOULDER
AND SAID, "FOLLOW ME."
THREATENED TO KILL
ME IF I DIDN'T COMPLY.
- I THOUGHT THAT HE
WAS JUST A NORMAL MAN.
AND I WAS JUST THINKING,
I'M GONNA GET HOME AND
EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE FINE.
LITTLE DID I KNOW IT WAS
GONNA BE MY WORST NIGHTMARE.
- WE KEPT TRYING TO TELL HIM,
BUT HE'S A KID, HE'S A KID.
HE SAID, "WELL, HE'S
TELLING US HE'S NOT A KID,
SO WHO SHOULD WE BELIEVE?"
BELIEVE THE WHITE GUY.
- THESE FIVE KILLERS
DON'T COME ACROSS TO THE
OUTSIDE WORLD AS FROTHING LUNATICS.
- AND YOU COULD SIT
NEXT TO HIM ON A BUS,
OR A TRAIN, OR A PLANE.
YOU WOULD NEVER ASSOCIATE THEM
WITH BEING THE WORST
SERIAL KILLERS IN US HISTORY.
- DEEP DOWN INSIDE IS A MONSTER
THAT YOU COULD NEVER SEE.
- MY MOTHER HAD TOLD ME
THAT THE ONLY THING SHE
EVER PRAYED FOR FOR HERSELF
WAS TO DIE PEACEFULLY
IN HER SLEEP.
AND THAT'S THE ONE
THING SHE DID NOT GET.
- WICHITA WAS A VERY CALM CITY.
A CITY BACK IN 1974 OF
ROUGHLY 300,000 PEOPLE
WITH A LARGE AGRICULTURAL BASE.
WE DIDN'T THINK ABOUT CRIME.
NOBODY THOUGHT ABOUT CRIME.
CRIME HAPPENED IN THE BIG CITY.
CRIME DID NOT HAPPEN
IN WICHITA, KANSAS.
- MY FAMILY WAS A LOVING,
CARING FAMILY OF
TYPICAL AMERICANS.
MY MOTHER AND MY FATHER
WERE CHILDHOOD SWEETHEARTS.
MY MOM WAS A GOOD CATHOLIC GIRL.
THAT IS WHY THERE
WAS FIVE OF US,
ONE AFTER THE OTHER
AFTER THE OTHER.
I REMEMBER WALKING HOME.
I REMEMBER THE SNOW
BEING ALMOST KNEE DEEP.
OPENED UP THE BACK
GATE TO THE YARD
AND I SAW MY DOG LUCKY OUTSIDE.
SO I SAID, "HEY, LUCKY,
WHAT ARE YOU
DOING OUT HERE, BOY?
YOU OKAY?
COME ON."
I OPENED UP THE KITCHEN
DOOR AND THERE WAS NO SOUND,
NOBODY.
AND SO I WAS LIKE,
I YELLED OUT, "IS ANYBODY HERE?"
AND ONE OF MY
SIBLINGS YELLED OUT,
"CHARLIE, COME QUICK.
MOM AND DAD ARE
PLAYING A BAD TRICK ON US."
I RAN DOWN THE HALL,
WENT THROUGH THE
DOOR IN THEIR BEDROOM,
AND SAW MY MOM AND
MY DAD THERE TIED UP
AND DEAD.
I COULD SMELL THE
FEAR AND THE PAIN
THAT THEY HAD GONE THROUGH.
I COULD FEEL IT ALL IN THE ROOM.
THE PHYSICAL PAIN IS LIKE,
IF SOMEBODY PRIED
YOUR CHEST OPEN.
- THE POLICE HAD
RESPONDED TO THE HOUSE.
THEY OPENED A SPARE BEDROOM
AND THAT'S WHERE
THEY FOUND JOEY JR.
- THE POLICE BELIEVE
THAT HE SAT ON THE CHAIR
AND WATCHED THE CHILD SUFFOCATE.
AND EVERY TIME I
THINK ABOUT THAT,
IT'S TOUGH, YOU KNOW?
- SO THEN, THE SEARCH
WAS ON FOR JOSEPHINE.
THAT'S WHEN THE
OFFICERS REALIZED,
THIS HOUSE HAS A BASEMENT.
AN OFFICER WENT DOWN THERE,
HE DIDN'T KNOW WHERE
THE LIGHTS WERE,
AND HE WAS KIND OF
SWEEPING HIS ARM,
TRYING TO NOT BUMP
INTO SOMETHING.
AND HE WENT AGAINST SOMETHING
THAT HE THOUGHT WAS A PUNCHING
BAG HANGING FROM THE CEILING.
AND THEN WHEN HE FOUND A LIGHT,
IT WAS JOSEPHINE WHO HAD
BEEN HUNG FROM A SEWER PIPE
IN THE BASEMENT OF THE HOUSE.
- SHE WILL REALLY STRUGGLE.
AND THEN AS SHE STRUGGLES,
HE WILL DESCRIBE MASTURBATING.
- IF I'D HAVE SEEN
JOEY AND JOSIE,
IT MIGHT'VE DROVE ME MAD.
THANK GOD I DIDN'T SEE IT.
THANK GOD.
- THE CRIME SCENES
BACK IN THE '70S
ARE NOT LIKE THEY ARE NOW.
THE OTERO CRIME SCENE,
THAT IS A CRIME SCENE THAT
WOULD NEVER HAPPEN TODAY.
YOU HAD MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA
WANDERING THROUGH THE HOUSE.
YOU EVEN HAD A UH,
HIGHER UP OFFICIAL IN
THE POLICE DEPARTMENT
DECIDE TO MAKE HIMSELF
A DRINK OF WATER.
AND SO HE HAD LEFT THE
ICE TRAY ON THE COUNTER.
AND SO PEOPLE THOUGHT,
WELL, THE ICE HADN'T
MELTED COMPLETELY,
SO THAT MUST'VE BEEN
THE KILLER WHO DID IT.
- BACK IN 1974, WE
COULDN'T EVEN SPELL DNA.
THE TECHNOLOGY
DIDN'T EXIST BACK THEN.
BUT AT JOSEPHINE'S
FEET, THERE WAS A POOL.
THE CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATOR
HAD AN INCREDIBLE IMAGINATION
'CAUSE HE DIDN'T
KNOW WHAT IT WAS.
HE DIDN'T KNOW
WHAT ITS VALUE WAS,
BUT HE KNEW HE
WANTED TO PRESERVE IT.
SO HE TOOK A PILLOWCASE
AND HE CUT IT UP INTO
SEVERAL SMALL PIECES.
AND THEN HE DIPPED
IT IN THAT POOL.
31 YEARS LATER,
A GENETIC PROFILE WOULD BE DRAWN
FROM ONE OF THOSE
PRESERVED PIECES OF EVIDENCE.
- THE POLICE DEPARTMENT
THOUGHT AT FIRST
THAT THIS WAS A DRUG MURDER.
THEY TOOK SEVERAL
PEOPLE INTO CUSTODY
AND IT TURNED OUT THEY WEREN'T
RELATED TO THE CASE AT ALL.
- IN 1974,
THE IDEA THAT SOMEONE
WOULD KILL FOR PLEASURE
WAS UNHEARD OF.
IT JUST WASN'T SOMETHING
THAT EXISTED IN ANYONE'S MIND.
- THERE HAD TO BE SOME MOTIVE.
WHY DOES SOMEBODY
JUST PICK OUT THIS FAMILY
AND SLAUGHTER FOUR PEOPLE?
AND SO A LOT OF
OPINIONS WERE SOUGHT
FROM PSYCHOLOGISTS OF THE DAY,
THINKING THAT THEY
WOULD HAVE SOME INSIGHT
AS TO WHAT WOULD
MOTIVATE A PERSON TO DO THIS.
- DENNIS RADER, AS A CHILD,
HAD A PERFECTLY
NORMAL UPBRINGING.
HE SAID, "I WAS NEVER ABUSED.
EVERYTHING WAS
NORMAL IN MY FAMILY."
BUT THEN HE SAYS,
"I KNEW FROM A YOUNG
AGE THAT I HAD FACTOR X."
"FACTOR X IS THE DEMON
INSIDE OF ME," HE SAYS,
"THAT CAUSED ME TO HAVE TO
TORTURE PEOPLE AND KILL PEOPLE."
- RADER WILL DESCRIBE
A SPECIFIC INCIDENT
WHEN HE WAS A KID
WHERE HE WAS AT SOME
KIND OF FAMILY OUTING,
AND THEY TIED A
CHICKEN TO A TREE STUMP
IN ORDER TO KILL THE CHICKEN.
AND THE TYING OF THE
CHICKEN TO THAT STUMP
CAUSED HIM TO HAVE
WHAT HE WOULD DESCRIBE
AS SEXUAL FEELINGS.
- DENNIS RADER WAS CULTIVATING
THIS PERSONA OF CHURCHGOER.
HE WAS MARRIED.
HE WAS RELATIVELY YOUNG.
HE WAS 28 YEARS OLD.
RELATIVELY HANDSOME.
SO HE SHOULD HAVE
EVERYTHING GOING FOR HIM.
AND SO WHEN HE
LOSES THIS JOB IN 1973,
THINGS WEREN'T PERFECT.
HE WAS NOT IN CONTROL.
AND SOME WAYS THAT PEOPLE
MAY TRY TO OVER-CORRECT FOR THAT
IS BY GAINING CONTROL IN SOME
OTHER ASPECT OF THEIR LIFE.
AND YOU KNOW,
PERHAPS IT TRIGGERED
HIS NEED TO CONTROL
SOMETHING OR SOMEONE.
- WHEN THE OTERO
FAMILY WAS KILLED,
THE WAY HE TELLS IT,
HE WAS BETWEEN JOBS, WAS BORED,
DIDN'T FEEL GOOD ABOUT HIMSELF,
SO FACTOR X CAME OUT.
- WHEN YOU LOOK BACK
AT THE FIRST KNOWN KILLS
FOR THESE FIVE SERIAL KILLERS,
YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT
THEY HAVE BEEN
FANTASIZING ABOUT KILLING
FOR A LONG TIME.
IT STARTS WITH DEVELOPING
VICTIM PROFILES IN THEIR HEAD.
WHERE THEY WOULD
GET THESE VICTIMS,
HOW THEY WOULD CONTROL THEM.
RADER'S LIFE CENTERED
AROUND A LOT OF FANTASY,
BUT YOU CAN ONLY
FANTASIZE SO LONG
BEFORE YOU CROSS THAT LINE.
AND THAT WAS THE CASE
WITH JOHN WAYNE GACY.
- IN MY MIND,
JOHN GACY WAS THE WORST
KIND OF A KILLER YOU CAN IMAGINE.
YOU KNOW, LIKE A SHARK
SWIMMING AROUND DOWN THERE.
HE WOULD LAY HIS EYES ON
SOMEBODY WALKING
DOWN THE STREET.
AND THEN IN HIS MIND,
THAT PERSON WAS DEAD.
JOHN GACY FREQUENTED
HOMOSEXUAL AREAS IN CHICAGO.
THERE WAS A COUPLE OF AREAS,
ONE CALLED BUGHOUSE SQUARE
AND THE OTHER CALLED BOYSTOWN.
HE PATROLLED DOWN THERE.
I MEAN, HE WOULD GO
AROUND THE BLOCK,
LOOKING FOR SOMEBODY TO PICK UP.
HE HAD A BLACK OLDSMOBILE
WITH A SPOTLIGHT
ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE.
HE HAD SOME PHONY BADGES.
A LOT OF THE KIDS
THAT HE PICKED UP,
A LOT OF THEM WERE HOMOSEXUALS.
MANY OF THEM, HE
TOOK TO HIS HOUSE.
AND MANY OF THEM,
THAT WAS A ONE-WAY TRIP.
- GACY PICKED UP 16-YEAR-OLD
TIMOTHY JACK MCCOY
AT THE GREYHOUND BUS STATION.
- ACCORDING TO GACY,
WHAT HAPPENED WAS HE
OFFERED HIM MONEY FOR SEX.
HE GOT HIM BACK TO HIS
HOUSE, GACY'S HOUSE.
WHEN HE WAS IN BED,
THEY DID WHAT THEY
DID WITH ONE ANOTHER.
- HE WAKES UP IN THE MORNING
AND THE KID'S STANDING
AT THE FOOT OF HIS BED
WITH A BIG BUTCHER
KNIFE IN HIS HAND.
AND HE THINKS THE KID'S
COMING AFTER HIM TO ATTACK HIM.
HE JUMPS OUT OF
BED, FIGHTS WITH HIM
TAKES THE KNIFE AWAY FROM HIM,
AND STABBED HIM
IN THE HEART TWICE.
KILLED HIM.
- WHAT'S INTERESTING ABOUT THIS
IS THAT FOR MOST NORMAL PEOPLE,
YOU WOULD PROBABLY CALL SOMEBODY
BECAUSE NOW YOU'VE
JUST KILLED SOMEBODY.
AND GACY REPORTS BEING AROUSED
AND ORGASMING IN
THIS MOST INTENSE WAY.
- HE GOES INTO THE KITCHEN,
AND THERE, THE KID'S
BEEN PREPARING BREAKFAST.
HE WAS SLICING THE BACON.
THESE ARE GACY'S WORDS,
BUT HE SAID THAT HE
PROBABLY WANTED TO KNOW
HOW THICK I WANTED
MY BACON SLICED.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY, HE DIDN'T
TAKE IT THAT WAY AT THE TIME,
AND HE SAYS, DEFENDED
HIMSELF AND KILLED HIM.
BURIED HIM IN THE CRAWL SPACE.
- THIS IS WHEN
GACY CROSSES OVER,
WHEN HE HAS HIS FIRST KILL.
AND NOW, HE RECOGNIZES THAT
POWERFUL AROUSAL COMPONENT
OF CONTROLLING SOMEBODY'S LIFE,
ESSENTIALLY PLAYING GOD,
DECIDING WHETHER
THEY LIVE OR DIE.
AND THAT'S WHERE
HE THEN STARTS THIS
COLLECTION OF YOUNG MEN
WHO HE TORTURES
AS A SEXUAL SADIST
AND EVENTUALLY KILLS.
SO WHEN WE LOOK BACK
AT THE SERIAL KILLERS,
WE'RE TYPICALLY LOOKING
FOR A TRIGGERING EVENT.
BUT IN GACY'S LIFE,
THERE WAS, I THINK, A SERIES
OF THINGS THAT WERE GOING ON.
- JOHN GACY WAS GIVEN
THE MIDDLE NAME OF WAYNE.
HIS FATHER WANTED HIS
SON TO BE THIS TOUGH GUY
NAMED AFTER THIS HERO COWBOY,
JUST LIKE JOHN WAYNE.
WELL, WHEN HIS SON
WANTED TO SPEND MORE TIME
WITH HIS MOTHER AND
DO MORE GARDENING,
GACY'S FATHER WOULD
VERBALLY ASSAULT,
EMOTIONALLY ASSAULT,
AND PHYSICALLY ASSAULT
JOHN WAYNE GACY JR.
- JOHN WAYNE GACY, AROUND
THE AGE OF FOUR OR FIVE,
IS AT HOME UPSTAIRS
WITH A NEIGHBOR GIRL
WHO WAS MUCH OLDER THAN HIM,
A TEENAGE GIRL.
AND APPARENTLY, SHE
WAS FONDLING HIS GENITALS
OR TOUCHING HIM IN
SORT OF A SEXUAL WAY.
WELL, BOTH MOTHERS COME
UPSTAIRS AND DISCOVER THIS.
THE MOTHER OF THE GIRL
STRIKES HER IN FRONT OF GACY.
A MOMENT LIKE THIS
IS REALLY SIGNIFICANT
IN THAT YOU HAVE SEXUALITY
BEING JOINED WITH SHAME,
BEING JOINED WITH
PHYSICAL AGGRESSION.
A COMBINATION LIKE THAT
WOULD PRODUCE SOMEONE WHO
IS CAPABLE OF ACTING IN A WAY
THAT IS BOTH SEXUAL, AND
AGGRESSIVE, AND SHAME INDUCING.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT
JOHN WAYNE GACY DID.
- I WAS MOLESTED
WHEN I WAS A BOY.
IT'S HARD TO THINK BACK ON IT
AND ADMIT IT EVER HAPPENED.
IT TAKES AWAY FROM HOW YOU
LOOK AT YOURSELF AS A MALE.
AND THAT WAS PART OF THE REASON
I NEVER TOLD ANYBODY
FOR ALL THOSE DECADES.
WHEN I WAS NINE OR
10 YEARS OLD IN 1956,
MY MOTHER AND I WENT UP TO
RESORT IN ELKHORN, WISCONSIN.
A FELLOW NAMED
JOHN, HE WAS ABOUT 16.
HE WORKED THERE,
HE DID ODD JOBS.
I DIDN'T HAVE ANY BUDDIES
UP THERE TO SPEND TIME WITH
AND SO HE BEFRIENDED ME.
HE HAD SOME TIME OFF
AND HE WANTED TO KNOW IF I
WANTED TO GO IN A BOAT WITH HIM.
SO HE TOOK ME OUT IN A BOAT.
I'D NEVER BEEN IN
A ROWBOAT BEFORE,
SO THAT WAS FUN FOR A
LITTLE NINE OR 10 YEAR OLD BOY.
WE TIED UP THE BOAT.
HE AH, HE TOOK ME IN
THE THICKET AND UM,
AH, HE DID A TERRIBLE THING.
HE DID A TERRIBLE THING.
HE TOOK ME BY THE SHOULDER
AND SAID, "FOLLOW ME,"
THREATENED TO KILL
ME IF I DIDN'T COMPLY.
AND I TURNED AROUND.
HE SAID, "OPEN YOUR MOUTH."
I OPENED MY MOUTH AND UM,
THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED.
THANK GOD IT WAS OVER QUICKLY.
IT WAS OVER QUICKLY.
IS A PERSON BORN EVIL?
DO THEY BECOME EVIL?
I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR THAT.
- SERIAL SEXUAL KILLERS DO
NOT SNAP AT 30 YEARS OF AGE
AND BECOME SERIAL KILLERS.
IT EVOLVES OVER TIME.
AND THAT TIME BEGINS
WHEN THEY'RE QUITE YOUNG.
AS THAT DESIRE FOR THESE
VIOLENT SEXUAL FANTASIES CONTINUE,
OFFENDERS CAN LOOK FOR
MORE AND MORE OPPORTUNITIES
TO SATISFY THOSE
URGES AND COMPULSIONS.
- IN THE 1960S,
GACY STARTED EDGING
CLOSER AND CLOSER TO MURDER.
HE HAD SEXUAL RELATIONS
WITH TEENAGERS, UNDERAGE KIDS.
THIS WAS HIS MO OUT THERE.
ONE OF THESE YOUNG KIDS
WAS DONALD VOORHEES JR.
HE WAS THE SON OF A STATE
REPRESENTATIVE IN IOWA.
GACY WOULD SHOW
HIM SOME STAG FILMS.
THEY DID HAVE SEXUAL ACTS
TOGETHER NUMEROUS TIMES.
- WHEN THE BOY FINALLY TOLD
HIS FATHER WHAT HAD HAPPENED,
HIS FATHER WENT RIGHT
TO THE STATE POLICE
AND DEMANDED THAT GACY
BE ARRESTED AND TRIED.
- HE WAS CHARGED WITH SODOMY
OF A 15 YEAR OLD BOY.
- THEY THREW THE BOOK AT HIM.
HE GOT GET THE MAXIMUM 10 YEARS.
- WELL, I'M JOHN GACY.
I'M FROM WATERLOO, IOWA.
AND YOU'RE A MAN OF
THEM AUTHORITY HERE.
WHAT IS YOUR TITLE?
- WELL, I'M FIRST COOK.
- GACY WAS NOT ONLY A
MODEL PRISONER AT ANAMOSA.
HE ALMOST SEEMED
TO RUN THE PRISON.
THE PAROLE BOARD LOOKED AT
GACY'S ACTIONS WITHIN THE PRISON
AND SAID, WELL, OKAY,
HE COULD PROBABLY
BE A MODEL CITIZEN.
LET'S RELEASE HIM.
OUT OF HIS 10 YEAR SENTENCE,
GACY ONLY SERVED 18 MONTHS.
- IN THE 1970S,
THERE WAS NO SUCH THING
AS A SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY.
IT JUST DIDN'T EXIST.
SO ESSENTIALLY, GACY IS
ALLOWED TO GO TO CHICAGO
AND BEGIN HIS LIFE
WITH A CLEAN SLATE.
- IF GACY HAD SERVED
HIS FULL SENTENCE,
THAT WOULD HAVE BROUGHT ABOUT
ONE OF THE GREAT IRONIES
AND SAD IRONIES TO THIS CASE,
MEANING THAT 33 YOUNG
LIVES WOULD NOT BE GONE.
- THE CASE STANDS OUT
BECAUSE IT WAS SO BRAZEN.
I MEAN, THERE WERE OTHER
ROOMMATES IN THE
HOME AT THE TIME.
NO ONE HEARD ANYTHING.
IT WAS HARD TO BELIEVE
THAT SOMEONE COULD SLIP IN
AND ABDUCT A YOUNG WOMAN
RIGHT OUT OF HER BEDROOM
WITHOUT ANYBODY HEARING A THING.
BUT THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED.
- IN 1974, THERE WAS A
NEW FREEDOM FOR WOMEN.
LAW SCHOOLS, MEDICAL SCHOOLS,
YOU KNOW, WERE FORCED TO
ADMIT WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR.
AND IT WAS ABOUT TIME.
IT WAS A TIME WHEN YOU
COULD ASPIRE TO ANYTHING.
- IN 1974,
TED BUNDY WAS A GRADUATE OF
THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
AND HE WAS ATTENDING LAW SCHOOL,
BUT LIVING IN THE UNIVERSITY
OF WASHINGTON DISTRICT.
HE WANTED TO BE A FAMOUS LAWYER,
HE WANTED TO BE A POLITICIAN.
HE WAS TRYING TO BECOME
AN UP-AND-COMER AMONG
PEOPLE HE ADMIRED.
- LYNDA HEALY.
SHE WAS A UNIVERSITY
OF WASHINGTON STUDENT
WHO WAS ABDUCTED FROM
HER BASEMENT BEDROOM.
SHE JUST DISAPPEARED
WITHOUT A TRACE.
- LYNDA HEALY LIVED OFF CAMPUS
IN A HOUSE WITH SOME
OF HER GIRLFRIENDS.
AND HER APARTMENT
WAS IN THE BASEMENT.
- HER ROOMMATES HADN'T
SEEN HER FOR A DAY OR TWO.
AND FINALLY, ONE
OF THEM WENT DOWN
AND WENT INTO HER ROOM.
AND IT LOOKED LIKE
SHE HAD BEEN THERE.
HER BED WAS PERFECTLY MADE.
THEY SPOTTED SOME BLOOD THOUGH
AND OPENED A CLOSET
AND FOUND A NIGHTGOWN
THAT HAD THE BLOOD ON IT.
- SHE WAS MISSING.
NOBODY KNEW WHERE SHE WENT.
LYNDA WAS JUST GONE.
THE CRIME SCENE,
THE PLACE WHERE LYNDA
ANN HEALY DISAPPEARED FROM
WAS PROCESSED TO SOME EXTENT
BY THE SEATTLE
POLICE DEPARTMENT.
- WE DIDN'T HAVE CRIME
SCENE TECHNICIANS.
WE DIDN'T HAVE DIGITAL CAMERAS.
AND I REMEMBER MY
LIEUTENANT TELLING ME,
YOU HAVE FILM, IT'S EXPENSIVE.
YOU'RE USING FLASH
BULBS, THEY'RE EXPENSIVE.
DON'T TAKE A LOT OF PICTURES.
SO CRIME SCENES, YOU KNOW,
EVEN A HOMICIDE CRIME SCENES
MIGHT ONLY HAVE
LIKE 20 OR 30 PICTURES.
AND TODAY, WE HAVE HUNDREDS.
- THERE WEREN'T ANY PARTICULAR
SUSPECTS AT THIS POINT.
THAT WAS KIND OF A ONE-OFF CASE.
- IT WAS THE BEGINNING
OF THAT SERIES
OF YOUNG WOMEN DISAPPEARING
FROM COLLEGE CAMPUSES
AND OTHER AREAS AROUND
THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST.
- OUR SON IS THE BEST
SON IN THE WORLD.
HE'S A VERY NORMAL, ACTIVE BOY.
HE DID ALL THE THINGS
THAT MOST BOYS LIKED TO DO.
- TED BUNDY WAS KNOWN TO HAVE
HAD A VERY UNUSUAL CHILDHOOD.
HE WAS CONSIDERED
AN ILLEGITIMATE BIRTH.
THE MOTHER WAS NOT
MARRIED AT THE TIME.
AND THEN HE WAS RAISED FOR
THE FIRST FEW YEARS OF HIS LIFE
IN THE HOME OF HIS
MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS.
- TED BUNDY WAS BROUGHT
UP ON THE ASSUMPTION
THAT HIS GRANDPARENTS
ARE HIS PARENTS
AND HIS MOTHER IS HIS SISTER.
HE'S SORT OF BROUGHT INTO
THIS WORLD OR WEB OF LIES
AND STARTS FORMING
HIS PERSONALITY
BASED ON THIS FAMILY DYNAMIC
THAT IS REALLY AN
UNHEALTHY DYNAMIC.
- I KNEW TED BUNDY FROM THE
TIME I WAS FIVE UNTIL I WAS 15.
MY BROTHER WAS TED'S AGE,
SO MOST OF THE BOYS
HUNG OUT TOGETHER
AND I WAS THE TAG
ALONG LITTLE SISTER.
MY BROTHER TOLD ME VERY
EARLY ON TO STAY CLEAR OF TED.
HE WAS JUST A MEAN SPIRITED KID.
TED LIKED BUILDING
HOLES IN THE GROUND
WITH SHARP STAKES POINTING UP.
AND THEN HE'D MAKE
THIS BIG THING OF LEAVES,
AND STICKS, AND TWIGS
SO THAT YOU COULDN'T
TELL THAT IT WAS THERE.
AND ONE OF THE GIRLS FROM
A COUPLE OF STREETS UP
WENT THROUGH ONE
AND GOT THE WHOLE SIDE OF
HER LEG GASHED UP REALLY BAD.
HE LIKED THAT.
HE LIKED SCARING PEOPLE,
ESPECIALLY LITTLE GIRLS.
AND HE LIKED HURTING THEM.
AND HE LIKED HURTING ANIMALS
THAT WERE SMALL AND HELPLESS.
THERE WAS A CAT IN
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD
THAT WAS HANGING
FROM A CLOTHES LINE
AND IT WAS ON FIRE.
HE'D LIT IT UP WITH
GASOLINE, WITH LIGHTER FLUID,
AND SET IT ON FIRE.
AND YOU COULD HEAR
THAT CAT SCREAMING.
IT WAS HORRIBLE.
- IN TERMS OF THE FIVE SERIAL
KILLERS WE'RE DISCUSSING,
ANIMAL CRUELTY MAY BE
SORT OF A PRACTICE RUN
FOR VIOLENCE AND
AGGRESSION AGAINST HUMANS.
IF AN INDIVIDUAL HAS THE
CAPACITY TO HARM AN ANIMAL,
IT'S REALLY NOT
MUCH MORE OF A LEAP
FOR THEM TO HARM
ANOTHER HUMAN BEING.
WE CERTAINLY SEE
IT WITH RIDGWAY,
WE CERTAINLY SEE WITH RADER,
THE SAME WITH GACY
AND THEN BUNDY.
- HIS BEHAVIOR SPOKE VERY
LOUDLY OF WHO HE WAS.
AND I DOUBT IF ANY OF THE
PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
WERE SURPRISED WHEN
TED WAS KILLING WOMEN.
- BY THE TIME TED BUNDY
WAS A YOUNG TEENAGER,
HE WAS SHOPLIFTING,
HE WAS LYING.
HE WAS A PEEPING TOM IN
TACOMA NEIGHBORHOODS
WHEN HE WAS 14 OR SO.
HE APPLIED TO THE
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
AND STARTED ATTENDING.
AND HE LEARNED IN
A PSYCHOLOGY CLASS
THAT PEOPLE WILL HELP SOMEBODY
WHO APPEARS VULNERABLE.
- PRIOR TO TED
BUNDY'S FIRST KILL,
WE WANT TO LOOK AT
WHAT'S GOING ON IN HIS LIFE.
HE'D BEEN DATING A WOMAN
NAMED STEPHANIE BROOKS.
- STEPHANIE BROOKS REPRESENTED
EVERYTHING THAT HE WANTED,
BUT REALLY JUST COULDN'T
ACHIEVE ON HIS OWN.
UPPER CLASS LIFE,
ACCESS, BEAUTY.
AND BEING WITH HER, HE
HAD THOSE THINGS BY PROXY.
- SO, BUNDY'S LOW
VIEW OF HIMSELF
WAS REALLY ELEVATED BY
DATING STEPHANIE BROOKS
UNTIL STEPHANIE
BROKE UP WITH HIM.
THIS WAS A REAL
TURNING POINT FOR BUNDY.
IT WAS DEVASTATING FOR HIM.
HE FELT ABANDONED,
HE FELT BETRAYED.
AND IT'S THIS POINT WHEN BUNDY,
WHO HAS BEEN FANTASIZING
OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME,
ACTUALLY DECIDES
HE'S GOING TO ACT OUT
AND TRY TO CAPTURE
HIS FIRST VICTIM.
- IN BUNDY'S CASE,
IT'S OFTEN DISCUSSED
HOW HIS VICTIMS HAD
A PHYSICAL SIMILARITY
TO THE WOMAN THAT
BROKE HIS HEART BASICALLY.
AND THAT PERHAPS,
AND IN THAT REGARD,
IT MIGHT'VE BEEN MORE
REVENGE, OR RETRIBUTION,
OR ALONG THAT LINES.
- HE WAS SO ANGRY AT
HER FOR BREAKING IT OFF
THAT THIS ENTITY IN HIM,
THIS COMPULSION TO
KILL WOULD TAKE OVER.
HE REALLY COULDN'T CONTROL
HIS IMPULSES ANYMORE.
AND A FEW YEARS LATER,
LYNDA ANN HEALY WAS KILLED.
- THERE'S SOMETHING
ABOUT THE FIRST KILL
THAT MIGHT'VE SERVED A
PARTICULAR PSYCHOLOGICAL PURPOSE
THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE
BECOME ADDICTED TO.
YOU SEE THIS WITH BUNDY AND
YOU SEE THIS WITH DENNIS RADER.
- AFTER THE OTERO MURDERS,
POLICE WERE REALLY BAFFLED.
THEY HAD ABSOLUTELY
NO SUSPECTS AT ALL.
THREE MONTHS AFTER
THE OTERO MURDERS,
DENNIS RADER DECIDED
HE WAS GOING TO KILL AGAIN.
- THIS TIME, IT'S A
WICHITA STATE STUDENT,
KATHRYN BRIGHT.
- DENNIS SAW KATHRYN BRIGHT
AND HE DECIDED THAT SHE
WOULD BE HIS NEXT VICTIM.
AND SO FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL
WEEKS, HE STALKED HER.
- BUT HE DIDN'T PLAN
FOR HER LITTLE BROTHER
TO BE AT THE RESIDENCE.
- WHILE HE'S THERE,
HE TIES THEM BOTH UP.
AND THEN KEVIN
GETS HIS FEET LOOSE
AND HE ATTACKS DENNIS RADER.
THIS IS TOTALLY UNEXPECTED,
NOT IN DENNIS
RADER'S PLAN AT ALL.
- AT THAT POINT, THE KILLER
MAKES HIS WAY BACK
OVER TO KATHRYN.
THERE'S QUITE A
STRUGGLE WITH HER.
AT SOME POINT
DURING THAT STRUGGLE,
A KNIFE COMES OUT AND KATHRYN
IS STABBED MULTIPLE TIMES
WITH QUITE A BIT OF FEROCITY.
KEVIN STILL SURVIVED AND
KEVIN RUNS OUT THE FRONT DOOR.
- KEVIN BRIGHT RUNS OUT,
RUNS TO A CONVENIENCE
STORE ACROSS THE STREET,
AND THE POLICE ARE CALLED.
- BY THE TIME OFFICERS ARRIVED,
KATHRYN IS ON THE FLOOR
RIGHT OUTSIDE HER KITCHEN.
AN OFFICER ASKED HER
INITIALLY, YOU KNOW,
DO YOU KNOW WHO DID THIS TO YOU?
AND SHE SAYS, NO.
THAT'S REALLY THE LAST
COMMUNICATION SHE MAKES.
SHE'S TAKEN
AND THEY TRY TO SAVE HER
LIFE FOR SEVERAL HOURS,
BUT SHE DIES LATER THAT DAY.
- HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN
CAUGHT, BUT HE WASN'T.
AND THAT'S WHY IN
THE FUTURE KILLS,
HE WANTED TO BE VERY CAREFUL
TO MAKE SURE, A, NO
MAN WAS INVOLVED,
NO DOG WAS INVOLVED,
THAT EVERYTHING WENT BETTER.
- THE DESCRIPTION THAT
CAME FROM KEVIN BRIGHT
PRETTY MUCH
MATCHES DENNIS RADER.
HOWEVER, THE DESCRIPTION
DIDN'T DO MUCH GOOD.
THEY'RE LOOKING FOR A LONER.
THEY'RE LOOKING FOR A CRIMINAL.
THEY'RE LOOKING FOR
SOMEONE OUT OF THE ORDINARY.
- THEY WERE LOOKING FOR SOMEBODY
THAT HAD A REASON TO
COMMIT THESE MURDERS.
AND EVEN THOUGH DENNIS
RADER'S RIGHT IN THEIR SIGHT,
HE IS A CHURCH GOER,
HE IS WELL KNOWN
IN THE COMMUNITY,
THEY DON'T SEE HIM
BECAUSE THEY DON'T
SEE HIM AS SOMEBODY
WHO COULD DO
SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
- IT STAYED A BIG NEWS
STORY FOR A LONG TIME.
THERE WAS A LOT
OF FOLLOW UP ON IT
AND THERE WAS SOME CONSTERNATION
WHEN THEY COULDN'T
FIND THE KILLER.
AND THAT BECAME A
SECONDARY NEWS STORY.
WAS THE POLICE
DEPARTMENT DOING ITS JOB?
WHY HAVEN'T THEY CAUGHT THE GUY?
WHAT ARE THE LEADS?
- NOW, YOU HAVE FIVE
HOMICIDES IN WICHITA, KANSAS
WITHIN A FEW MONTHS
OF ONE ANOTHER.
- WHEN WE LOOK AT LAW
ENFORCEMENT CAPABILITY,
WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND
THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES
THAT WE HAVE TODAY TO DETECT
OR EVEN MAKE CONNECTIONS
BETWEEN HOMICIDE CASES.
PARTICULARLY IN BTK'S EXAMPLE,
WICHITA, KANSAS IN THE '70S,
SMALL TOWN, SMALL POLICE FORCE.
THEY'RE NOT USED TO
DEALING WITH HOMICIDE CASES.
THEY'RE NOT TRAINED IN THAT WAY.
- IN THE EARLY DAYS,
NOBODY LINKED KATHRYN BRIGHT
AND HER BROTHER
TO THE OTERO MURDER.
THERE WERE MAYBE
SOME SIMILARITIES,
BUT EVERYBODY THOUGHT
THAT THESE WERE JUST
INDIVIDUAL MURDERS.
WE HAD NO IDEA THAT IT WAS
GOING TO TURN INTO SOMETHING HUGE
AND REALLY SOMETHING MONSTROUS.
- BY THE SPRING OF 1974,
TED BUNDY'S MO WAS
GOING TO COLLEGE CAMPUSES
WHERE HE FIT IN.
I MEAN, HE LOOKED
LIKE A STUDENT.
WELL, AT THAT TIME, COLLEGE
CAMPUSES WERE A SAFE PLACE.
A YOUNG WOMAN ON A
CAMPUS WOULDN'T THINK TWICE
ABOUT WALKING FROM
THE LIBRARY LATE AT NIGHT
TO HER DORM ROOM.
AND OF COURSE,
PARENTS OBVIOUSLY WANTED
TO SEND THEIR CHILDREN
TO SOMEPLACE SAFE.
- SUE WAS A DREAM CHILD.
VERY AMBITIOUS.
ALL SHE WANTED FROM
THE TIME SHE WAS TINY
WAS TO GO TO SCHOOL.
YOU KNOW, MOTHERS HAVE
A CERTAIN SECOND SENSE
WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR CHILDREN.
SHE WAS BOARDING THE AIRPLANE.
SHE TURNED AROUND
AND SHE LOOKED AT ME,
AND SHE JUST GAVE A LITTLE WAVE.
AND I TOLD MY HUSBAND,
I'LL NEVER SEE HER AGAIN.
- SUE WAS LOVING EVERYTHING
ABOUT COLLEGE LIFE.
SHE WAS SO HAPPY THERE.
THIS WAS HER DREAM
AND HER DESTINY.
SHE HAD MADE ARRANGEMENTS
TO MEET ANOTHER DORM MATE.
AND WHEN SHE DIDN'T COME
BACK FROM THAT MEETING,
HER ROOMMATE KNEW IMMEDIATELY
THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG.
SO THEY CALLED
THE CAMPUS POLICE.
- FOR HER NOT TO COME
HOME WAS JUST NOT RIGHT.
SHE JUST WOULDN'T
DO THAT KIND OF THING.
SHE JUST WOULDN'T.
- WHEN MY HUSBAND TOLD ME,
I JUST HAD THIS UNEASY FEELING.
HE SAID, "SUE'S MISSING
AND THEY CAN'T FIND HER."
AND I SAID, "NO, SHE'S DEAD."
IT WAS A DIFFERENT WORLD.
WE DIDN'T HAVE COMPUTERS,
OR DNA, OR AMBER ALERTS.
AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS
WERE NOT COORDINATING
WITH EACH OTHER.
AND WE WERE OUT THERE
BUYING ADS IN SEATTLE PAPER.
YOU KNOW, HAVE
YOU SEEN THIS CHILD?
- IN A LOT OF THE CASES AT
FIRST INVOLVING TED BUNDY,
PEOPLE SOMETIMES
SPECULATED THAT,
OH, WELL, THE GIRL IS
JUST OFF ON HER OWN
OR MAYBE SHE'S
SPENDING A COUPLE NIGHTS
WITH A NEW BOYFRIEND.
IN THE '70S,
THE CONCEPT OF A SERIAL
KILLER WAS SOMETHING
THAT PEOPLE PRETTY MUCH
ATTRIBUTED TO A HORROR MOVIE.
SO THERE WASN'T A REALLY
GOOD UNDERSTANDING
ABOUT THAT CONCEPT.
- AT ONE POINT, SOMEONE
ASKED MY HUSBAND,
"AREN'T YOU GOING TO FEEL SILLY
WHEN SHE SHOWS UP
MARRIED TO SOMEBODY?"
AND I THINK THAT KIND OF
WAS THE MENTALITY BACK THEN.
IT'S A DIFFERENT MENTALITY
NOW, THANK GOODNESS.
- DURING THE FIRST HALF OF 1974,
THERE WERE A SERIES OF MURDERS,
ABOUT ONE A MONTH,
PRETTY MUCH OF THE SAME AGE.
THEY LOOKED VERY
SIMILAR TO ONE ANOTHER
AND THEY LIVED
SIMILAR LIFESTYLES
AS YOUNG WOMEN IN 20S LIVED.
TED BUNDY'S MO WAS TO
TRY AND GET WOMEN TO TRUST HIM
AND GO WITH HIM.
HE WAS THE KIND OF PERSON
THAT COULD TALK A YOUNG
WOMAN INTO HELPING HIM,
A STRANGER.
HE WAS LOOKING FOR
THE EMPATHETIC FEMALE
SO HE COULD OVERPOWER
HER AND ULTIMATELY KILL HER.
- THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED,
SHE WALKED ACROSS CAMPUS
AND HE WAS STANDING
AT THE LIBRARY,
WHICH SHE HAD TO WALK IN
FRONT OF TO GET TO HER DORM,
WITH HIS ARM IN A SLING.
AND HE CALLED TO HER AND ASKED
HER TO HELP CARRY HIS BOOKS.
COULD YOU HELP ME TO MY CAR?
IT'S JUST OVER THERE.
WE TEACH OUR CHILDREN TO BE
COMPASSIONATE, TO BE HELPFUL,
AND TO REACH OUT TO
THOSE THAT ARE DISABLED.
YOU KNOW, WERE WE WRONG
TO BRING HER UP THAT WAY?
I DON'T THINK SO.
IT'S SO IMPORTANT FOR
THEM TO CARE FOR OTHERS.
AND THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED.
SHE HELPED HIM.
- CONTRARY TO
WHAT WE MIGHT THINK,
SERIAL KILLERS DON'T COME
ACROSS TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD
AS FROTHING LUNATICS.
- WE ARE NOT SOME KINDS
OF INHERENT MONSTERS.
WE ARE YOUR SONS AND
WE ARE YOUR HUSBANDS.
- DENNIS RADER HAD A BTK SIDE
AND HE HAD A DENNIS
RADER, THE FAMILY MAN SIDE.
HE MUCH PREFERRED THE BTK SIDE.
- WITH GUYS LIKE BUNDY,
YOU HAVE A SUCCESS, AND THEN
ANOTHER, AND THEN ANOTHER.
AND PRETTY SOON, YOU START
TO BELIEVE YOU'RE INVINCIBLE.
- JOHN WAYNE GACY
BUILT CAREFULLY
AN ENTIRE LIFE TO LIVE,
A FACADE, A DUALITY.
- MY BROTHER SAYS,
"ME AND THIS BOY ARE
WORKING TOGETHER
AND WE'RE DIGGING
AROUND GACY'S HOUSE."
WELL, IT ENDED UP THEY WERE
DIGGING THEIR OWN GRAVES.