By Katherine Ramsland, Ph.D.

(Continued)

advertisement

Another Act?

The case broke when an ex-con mentioned to his parole officer that he'd encountered a man who had wanted to tie him up as part of a sexual tryst with the man's wife.  The ex-con went to the trailer, but got spooked and left.  Given the number of bound homeless victims the police had found in the area, this seemed like a good lead.  With a description of the trailer and its location, investigators found it and then traced Dominique, who'd recently left, to a homeless shelter in Houma.

John George Haigh

When approached, he voluntarily provided a DNA sample, which connected him to two Jefferson Parish murders.  Yet he walked with a cane and complained of a serious heart condition that had caused several heart attacks in recent months.  It's possible this is yet another ploy he'd devised while awaiting eventual arrest.  Serial killer John George Haigh had been thus prepared, instantly offering an invented mental illness to mitigate his crimes, in the hope of getting into a psychiatric institution.  But the police are already aware that Dominique might be faking his condition, and they've continued to add more charges.

Ronald Joseph Dominique

Dominique shares with many serial killers a criminal record for other types of offenses.  According to Forbes, investigators said that over the years, Dominique had been charged at least seven times, mostly for minor offenses such as traffic violations, battery and disturbing the peace.  He had been arrested for forcible rape in 1996, going to jail for three months, but the victim disappeared so charges were dropped.  He didn't like sitting in a prison cell and apparently decided to be more careful: Killing his rape victims ensured their silence.  Given the high victim toll, however, it appears that he also just enjoyed having power over another male.

Andrei Chikatilo

Dominique resembles another sexual predator who managed to kill for over a decade before finally being stopped. Andrei Chikatilo, the "Rostov Ripper," a mild-mannered former school teacher with few social skills, had a similar MO.  He would hang out in train stations, looking for children who might be runaways or truants, and unlikely to be missed.  He killed 56 women and children (including boys) before the police finally figured out his trick and trapped him in 1990.

Next Page

Previous Page

By Katherine Ramsland, Ph.D.

For more daily crime news