Long Island serial killer: Portrait of cunning criminal slowly emerges - CSMonitor.com: "'The No. 1 way serial killers are apprehended is by a surviving victim,' Louis Schlesinger, a forensic psychologist at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, at City University of New York, tells Time. 'Especially early on in a killing series, where the offender has not yet perfected this technique ... somebody may survive.'"
This killer is only going to get caught when, or if, and they slip on their ability to prevent leaving evidence a the crime scenes, as the article points out about another recent serial killer from the area, "But as in the case of Joel Rifkin, a Long Island resident who killed at least nine prostitutes in New York City between 1989 and 1993, serial killers are often caught on a fluke or a small blunder. In Mr. Rifkin's case, his car's license plate fell off, leading to a police chase in 1993, after which he was apprehended. In the case of famous serial killer Theodore Bundy, he began to act erratically and was finally caught while driving a stolen Volkswagen van." Patrik Jonsson CS-Monitor.com
Another case that can illustrate this idea is the Zodiac. Now I know that he was 40 years ago and people probably do not remember much about his antics unless they lived it or studied it. He was immortalized in a few films but usually not by name. It was not until the 2007 movie The Zodiac with Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. (both did a great job I might add as well as the movie was well written but more on that later) that the full context of his crimes were represented to the public. This man, assuming that the MANY witnesses are correct, remains uncaught although the police do have a prime suspect. They were simply waiting for strong evidence to back their suspicions. Unfortunately, they never got it and the case later went to the cold face files for those who were investigating the case.
There were two men who survived the attacks as well as three teenagers who witnessed the killing of Paul Stine a taxi driver, their front yard and reported it to the police. Despite all these witnesses the killer was never caught. Another killer who left surviving victims in their wake was Theodore Bundy who when failing to coerce certain girls to aid him would simply move on to other victims. The same was the case with the Green River Killer Gary Ridgeway. Both of these men were caught through hard evidence due to what can be called carelessness or over confidence depending on the point of view of the person you are discussing the incidents with.
Bryan Hartnell a survivor feels that his story is vary accurately portrayed in the film and believes it is a fairly accurate portrayal. He does however according to the article by Scott Bowles in Army Times "he would have preferred that the film not be made. But he knows the lurid nature of the crimes keeps the story alive in the media. And he was impressed with the lengths Fincher took to re-create the 1969 attack. “He went to the same spot on the lake, on the same day it happened,” he says. The “Zodiac,” Hartnell says, pulled a gun on him and Cecelia Shepard, 22, as they sat by a lake in Napa County. The attacker, who wore a hood with a zodiac sign around his neck, hogtied both of them. When Hartnell felt the first knife wound to his back, “I was positive I was going to die.” He was stabbed seven times. But the attacker fled and Hartnell and Shepard untied each other. Shepard died a day later." Scott Bowles of Army Times.
For those who are looking for a slasher thrill may want to pass on this flick in that it is more a dramatic true crime mystery then a slasher gore shocker flick, actually reminiscent of the crimes was the murders were clean execution style murders." “Zodiac” is relatively free of the action, quick cuts and high-tech camera work that made Fincher a favorite of crime film fans. If anything, “Zodiac” is nearly three hours of people talking and chasing dead ends and bad leads." Bowles in Army Times.
As I previously mentioned about "Zodiac" the movie there are those who feel that the movie was not a complete representation of the facts. This may be true as that is the right of the directors, producers, and writers. If the movie is not a documentary, as most do not claim to be, then it is expected that some of the facts are fudged and some of the events may not have happened but were added for cinematic effect. I caution as I will with every movie that if readers to watch the movies I discuss to do so for entertainment purposes then if your curiosity is peaked conduct your own research. I will try at the end of each posting to include sites that I find informative and interesting for a start into your own inquiry.
Zodiac Killer.com- Zodiac Killer | The Zodiac Movie | Zodiac Murders | California Serial Murder
Tru TV.- The Zodiac Killer / Zodiac Murders - Full Story — The Zodiac Killer — Crime Library on truTV.com
Zodiac Movie.com- Zodiac Movie | A David Fincher Film | Official Movie SiteArmy Times.com- Survivor of Zodiac attack praises film’s accuracy - Entertainment, Movies - Army Times
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