From the 60s-90s, there were many serial killers who were caught and put into custody. But then, it just kinda... stopped? I'm aware that the amount of serial killers is unknowable, but surely, with increases in forensic technology and surveillance, there would be even more caught. But there aren't. What happened?
Spree/mass shootings seem to have taken their place
More sophisticated forensics catching killers before they get the chance to become serial killers?
Killers picking victims cops don’t care about - they don’t get reported - no serial killer
There’s been more than one cop/ex cop serial killer with inside knowledge of police tactics to evade getting caught at the scene even when there is an immediate police response
Killers picking victims cops don’t care about - they don’t get reported - no serial killer
Iirc this was a big reason Bruce McArthur took so long to get caught, he targeted people from Toronto's gay village. People from the area knew there was a serial killer targeting them, but the police actively denied that there was any reason to believe that until they caught him. They had questioned him 5 years prior in connection to one of his victims after he made a post online saying he had
killed and eaten a man from Toronto's gay village around the same time a man from Toronto's gay village went missing, but was let go, and another of his victims was a homeless man who was never reported missing in the first place.Green river killer did this too, almost all his victims were sex workers and teenage runaways
Spree/mass shootings seem to have taken their place
Such shootings might be like the SEO of murder. Serial killing isn't as efficient so maybe it's fallen out of practice among the murder inclined.
Oh yeah, I do remember that, when I was a lib in college, I took digital forensics (I fucking hate the whole field now, I grew), and my ex-FBI professor did mention that she was on the case that arrested a Drexel University security guard that had an obsession with woman's shoes. He would steal woman's shoes, and write so many fantasies on his computer about killing women for their shoes. Once, he finally actually killed a woman for her shoes, but he got caught. He's probably textbook serial killer, and would likely have not stopped after his first victim had he not been caught. So there may be many more that never got the chance to become serial.
Killers picking victims cops don’t care about - they don’t get reported - no serial killer
That was definitely the case of Anthony Sowell, who killed 11 women between 2004-2009 in Cleveland. His victims were all Black women, so nobody cared enough to do anything.
The last serial killer I read about was an ICE cop who preyed on sex workers in border towns. This was like 4 years ago
If you're a serial killer type, becoming a cop is probably the easiest way to do it.
Yeah as far as I know they haven't gone anywhere. Every time a police department is forced to test some of it's rape kit backlog they discover a bunch of serial rapists.
Cops suck. There are probably just as many serial killers as ever.
Bear in mind a lot of serial killers lore is "after returning the victim, Officer Thumb told Jeffrey Dahmer to have a nice day"
The US government was kind enough to corral them all in one place: Fort Bragg
Serial killers got screen related brain rot just like the rest of us, so now they're spree killers doing mass shootings.
edit: oh also, cops are super bad at finding killers, so there's probably still a bunch of real serial killers out there being ignored by the cops that we'll find out about in thirty years or something
Retirement homes becoming a hotbed for serial killer battle royales because they all get bored and live long enough to become senior citizens. 7 grannies and grandpas dueling to see who gets to be the one to kill the only normal retiree in the cafeteria
I killed them all over the course of several years. It became a Highlander thing.
I think the lack of lead paint, as well as head injuries becoming less common, might play a part.
But I don't know shit, I'm just a corgi with a laptop.
Lead paint / gasoline for sure
Additionally there are a lot of shit parents but society seems to be a lot more vigilant about mercilessly abused kids, which tends to be a common denominator
They still kind of exist in parts of the global south. Quite a few in Central America that usually pick on migrants, homeless people, and women. My town is a hotspot for them because of our proximity to MS-13 and El Salvador.
Because instead of killing people 1 at a time they shoot ups a school or something
