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Authors: John Douglas, Mark Olshaker
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would be in the area, he met with themand brought scads of material on all the cases they believed might be linked, as well as the investigation to date.
Two years later, in 1996, I was retired from the Bureau and traveling to New Zealand in connection with the release of
Mindhunter
. There, on the scene, I heard further about this case that had become the obsession of law enforcement and citizens alike. And as I learned more about the crimes of this rapist (which totaled at least fifty), I could easily see how he had captured so much attention and caused so much fear.
The rapist struck in the late-night and early-morning hours, generally breaking into homes through open windows or doors that were either unlocked or easy for him to pry open. His victims, often young girls like the one we’ve just described, were typically surprised in their beds, awakened by a man holding a knife to their throats. He usually covered the face of his victim or wore something to hide his own and set the scene to his liking before awakening his victims, if possible. He would unscrew lightbulbs, rip telephones out of the wall, find ways to barricade his victim or other family members who might try to help in their rooms, leave back doors open for his quick escape. On several occasions his attempted rape was thwarted when relatives in a house responded to the intended victim’s surprised screams.
There were other cases in which he abducted a victim on the street, or forced her to leave her home with him, taking her on a forced march in her night-gown and bare feet and raping her outdoors. Then, too, there were instances when girls and women awoke to find a stranger in their home who just said, “Hello,” if he spoke at all, and then left, never attempting to touch them. Even when the incidents did not involve rape, the intruder still terrified victims,robbing them of their sense of safety in their own homes.
The rapist could be physically brutal and emotionally cruel, especially when he encountered resistance. He punched some women, even young girls, hard enough to knock them unconscious or break teeth, sending several bleeding victims to the hospital. One young victim was left partially deaf from his blows. It’s particularly upsetting to think about the injuries sustained by one victim who wore braces, which cut the inside of her mouth when the rapist hit her in the face. But the rapes were vicious even when he didn’t strike his victims. He taunted many he didn’t beat with threats of his return.
Yet to other victims he was apologetic, talking to them by using their names, saying goodbye or kissing them on the cheek when he left, as though they were old friends. He verbally abused most victims—even eleven-, thirteen-, and fourteen-year-olds—calling them horny bitches or asking them in vulgar terms how they liked him sexually, but he also told them they were beautiful. If you can imagine it, think of how terrifying and confusing that juxtaposition would be to a victim—especially a very young one. How do you know what to do in that case? How do you try to respond so he won’t hurt or kill you? What does he want from you?
The rapist attacked young mothers while their husbands were at work, threatening to kill their children, who were often sleeping in the same room, if the mothers didn’t shut up and do what he said. In one case he broke into the home of a forty-year-old single mother with a twelve-year-old daughter and a baby. First he tied up and raped the mother on her living room couch, then raped her daughter at several locations throughout the house. Both victims heard theother’s cries as the rapist assaulted them but were powerless to stop him.
He also did something almost unheard of for a serial rapist: he returned to at least one of his victims and raped her a second time. Although most rapists do threaten to come back to their victims—particularly if the victim reports the crime to the police—and virtually all
Two years later, in 1996, I was retired from the Bureau and traveling to New Zealand in connection with the release of
Mindhunter
. There, on the scene, I heard further about this case that had become the obsession of law enforcement and citizens alike. And as I learned more about the crimes of this rapist (which totaled at least fifty), I could easily see how he had captured so much attention and caused so much fear.
The rapist struck in the late-night and early-morning hours, generally breaking into homes through open windows or doors that were either unlocked or easy for him to pry open. His victims, often young girls like the one we’ve just described, were typically surprised in their beds, awakened by a man holding a knife to their throats. He usually covered the face of his victim or wore something to hide his own and set the scene to his liking before awakening his victims, if possible. He would unscrew lightbulbs, rip telephones out of the wall, find ways to barricade his victim or other family members who might try to help in their rooms, leave back doors open for his quick escape. On several occasions his attempted rape was thwarted when relatives in a house responded to the intended victim’s surprised screams.
There were other cases in which he abducted a victim on the street, or forced her to leave her home with him, taking her on a forced march in her night-gown and bare feet and raping her outdoors. Then, too, there were instances when girls and women awoke to find a stranger in their home who just said, “Hello,” if he spoke at all, and then left, never attempting to touch them. Even when the incidents did not involve rape, the intruder still terrified victims,robbing them of their sense of safety in their own homes.
The rapist could be physically brutal and emotionally cruel, especially when he encountered resistance. He punched some women, even young girls, hard enough to knock them unconscious or break teeth, sending several bleeding victims to the hospital. One young victim was left partially deaf from his blows. It’s particularly upsetting to think about the injuries sustained by one victim who wore braces, which cut the inside of her mouth when the rapist hit her in the face. But the rapes were vicious even when he didn’t strike his victims. He taunted many he didn’t beat with threats of his return.
Yet to other victims he was apologetic, talking to them by using their names, saying goodbye or kissing them on the cheek when he left, as though they were old friends. He verbally abused most victims—even eleven-, thirteen-, and fourteen-year-olds—calling them horny bitches or asking them in vulgar terms how they liked him sexually, but he also told them they were beautiful. If you can imagine it, think of how terrifying and confusing that juxtaposition would be to a victim—especially a very young one. How do you know what to do in that case? How do you try to respond so he won’t hurt or kill you? What does he want from you?
The rapist attacked young mothers while their husbands were at work, threatening to kill their children, who were often sleeping in the same room, if the mothers didn’t shut up and do what he said. In one case he broke into the home of a forty-year-old single mother with a twelve-year-old daughter and a baby. First he tied up and raped the mother on her living room couch, then raped her daughter at several locations throughout the house. Both victims heard theother’s cries as the rapist assaulted them but were powerless to stop him.
He also did something almost unheard of for a serial rapist: he returned to at least one of his victims and raped her a second time. Although most rapists do threaten to come back to their victims—particularly if the victim reports the crime to the police—and virtually all
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