Crime Library: Criminal Minds and Methods

Former FBI profiler Gregg O. McCrary creates a criminal profile of the killer of Elizabeth Short, Hollywood's great unsolved murder case.

This major crime-solving discipline evolved around some very high-profile crimes, usually, but not always, with success. Updated with new chapter on the mission of the Behavioral Sciences Unit today.

Look for behavioral clues in this high-profile whodunit with two separate investigative threads.

On a chilly September morning in 1990, a woman's body was found along the bank of the Vitava River in Czechoslovakia, near Prague. She was lying on her back, nude, with a pair of gray stockings knotted around her neck. Left in a sexually suggestive position with her legs open, she was covered with leaves, grass and twigs. Those who found her ran to alert the authorities. On her finger was a gold ring.

It appeared that she had been killed recently, perhaps the night before. There were bruises all over her, signaling quite a struggle, but oddly enough, no sign that she had been raped. Her fingerprints were not on file.

As the investigating officer, where do you go from here? Come along and test your investigative skills.

An exclusive interview

Investigator, interviewer and author, he has landed interviews with some of the most well-known serial killers and is currently compiling a new book. In the future, his research could help pin down personality traits associated with serial killers. Today, it assists the police and FBI as they identify serial murders and search for killers.

Original FBI profiler of sexual crimes and serial rapists. Updated to include information from Hazelwood's new book Dark Dreams

According to former FBI profiler John Douglas, many serial killers are motivated by a "desire to create and sustain their own mythology." One of the most complicated cases along those lines, in which the geography of a series of murders seemed to play a part, was that of the Zodiac killer...

Katherine Ramsland interviews this former FBI expert on his Sheppard case analysis and how to deal with workplace and school violence.

Former FBI profiler Gregg McCrary examines the complicated factors in this high-profile unsolved murder.

Profiling experts John Douglas and Roy Hazelwood and true-crime author Stephen Michaud examine the personalities of sexual sadists and serial rapists, along with the career of this particularly brutal criminal.

The mysterious "Mad Bomber" was terrifying the people of New York with the bombs he had been planting for 16 years. The bomber's competence made tracing the devices nearly impossible. The detectives working the case were at their wits end and ready to try anything. The increasingly powerful bombs and his incessant, arrogant letters were a huge embarrassment.

In one of the earliest examples of profiling, a Manhattan criminal psychiatrist named Dr. James Brussel examined the bomber's letters and other forensic material and came up with an astonishing Sherlock Holmes-like description of the criminal which led police to the capture of George Metesky.

Profiler and star of I, Detective, explores and explodes 10 myths about serial killers.

Does it keep sex offenders locked up?

Former FBI profiler Gregg McCrary analyzes the behavior, personality, and motives of the notorious Zodiac serial killer who has remained unidentified for decades. The man who called himself the Zodiac was organized, intelligent and meticulous. He constantly changed his method of operating and openly admitted that murder was sport for him. Clearly, the killer wanted credit for them.

Katherine Ramsland interviews one of the most famous pioneers of the FBI's Behavioral Sciences Unit who actually coined the term "serial killer." He talks about his experiences on major cases, including Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Arthur Shawcross and William Heirens, the "Lipstick Killer."

Whether created out of boredom, therapy, or greed, violent offenders find a ready market for their drawings, paintings, poetry & song.

Understanding the victim can find the killer

South African serial killer is unusual in choosing both female prostitutes and adolescent boys as victims.

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