Are there still serial killers today?

[frogswimming]

I'm just watching the Yorkshire ripper documentary. All the famous serial killers seem to be 1960s-1980s, Dennis Nielsen, moors murderers, Ted bundy, zodiac. Are modern ones just not publicised the same?

I think policing has improved so they tend to be caught before they get chance to carry out multiple murders.

Yes. I mean we haven't had one in a while that has done very high numbers but there was recently the man with two women's bodies in his fridges?

Yes. Ipswich murders in 2006 comes to mind.

I think they just get caught quicker. There have been some medical professionals though haven't there? There was an American one quite recently- Isaac someone.

Still pretty rife in the US I guess because it’s such a vast place, easy to run...

Not so common here. Did have this discussion with DH after watching it. I think last ones we remembered were crossbow cannibal and the Ipswich murders. Both were caught swiftly.

Yes, we just have not yet identified them or connected the dots. There will be at least a couple who are active.

I was about to mention Ipswich

People's psychology doesn't change. Like a PP said, they are often caught earlier. Internationally, it's still absolutely a thing. Plus if you look at the patterns, numerous serial killers target vulnerable women who 'won't be missed'. So who knows

2006 isnt really 'these days'.

I was thinking this the other day after watching The Ripper. It's so much harder to cover tracks and be anonymous these days. It's hard for the poor serial killers to get some traction going. (Joke, before anyone gets offended)

I watched a documentary which said there is around 50 active serial killers in the US at any given time

There was Harold Shipman, he was about 2000, the wests 1980's. Can't think of any in UK since then.

The Twitter Killer was only caught in 2017.

Apparently it's harder to be a serial killer now due to DNA and CCTV. There are still several in America that have yet to be caught - Long Island Serial Killer, The Doodler, I-75 Killer, Zodiac, Honolulu Strangler.

But more disturbing is the sheer number of unsolved murders In this country.

Ipswich murders and Joanna Dennehy are two 21st century examples that spring to mind. I just think they are identified more quickly these days thanks to improved techniques.

I read there is estimated to be about 50 in the US. The estimates for the UK were guessimates but between a couple and a handful were suggested. Isn't there someone who pushes people into canals in the north west still at large? Other than the Ipswich murders the more recent ones that spring to mind are medical professionals like Harold Shipman, Beverley Allott and the girl who is currently being investigated. I forget her name.

Here is a list if you scroll down to the UK

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listoffserialkillerssby_country

DNA evidence has helped hugely I suspect

I mean the list is of all UK serial killers and there are some in the last 20 years or so.

Did Joanna Dennehy not class as a spree killer rather than a serial killer?

I think probably 60’s to 00’s was a ‘golden age’ of serial killers where there was improved enough communication that patterns could be picked up and they could be identified, but before tech/procedures were good enough for them to be caught early. Before this, they probably just massively got away with it. Since then, the internet/DNA/CCTV has made it more likely theyre caught before they actually meet the serial part of the serial killer criteria.

But no, the pathology has always existed and will always exist.

Harold Shipman was found out in 1998/9 so that's more recent. 🙁 Gives me the chills.

Also this thread has reminded me how much I miss Criminal Minds

also I would hazard a guess that a lot of people who have this pathology can find ‘satisfaction’ to so speak through the dark web and so they don’t get to the actual killing.

A lot of this is based on dedicated criminal minds watching however so could be wrong!

Yes, If you look out estimates of how many are active in the USA, including FBI numbers, you come across stats that go from 25 to 3,000!

There was one in Cyprus, discovered in 2018.