Researchers have found the vast majority of people who kill their families (familicide), are men with a history of violence toward their spouse and children. But what tips the scale from abuse to murder? And which men are most likely to kill? We spoke to a professor of forensic psychology for answers.
For Jeffrey Dahmer, it was watching certain movies. Dennis Rader, known as the BTK Killer, set the mood by pretending he was a spy. Ted Bundy liked drinking alcohol before some of his slayings. Not every serial killer has a signature routine, but some of them do engage in some sort of ritual or preparation before a killing.
On September 29, 1982, and in the few days that followed, seven people in the Chicago area died in Tylenol-related poisonings. The capsules were all laced with cyanide. The killer or killers have never been found.
Dr. Thomas Andrew, a medical examiner, says performing autopsies helped him understand the 'fragility of life.'
Read an excerpt from Michael Arntfield's true-crime book, 'Monster City,' about serial killer Tom Steeples, a computer store owner who found two of his victims, a newly married couple, at a dive bar's amateur showcase.
Although cannibals have always existed throughout human history as a cure for overpopulation, a means of survival during a famine, or even a way to contend with grief, what's more rare are murderers who kill for sport and then devour their victims. We talk to Dr. Eric Hickey, a forensic psychologist, on why some killers eat their prey.
With the national homicide-clearance rate below 60 percent, the odds are good that eventually a detective—even an excellent one—will run into a dead end: The case that goes cold, that leaves a family grieving without justice and a detective grasping for answers, even after retirement.
On May 23, 2009, Amanda Stott-Smith dropped two of her young children off the Sellwood Bridge in Portland, Oregon. One of them died. Read an excerpt from the book, 'To the Bridge: A True Story of Motherhood and Murder,' by Nancy Rommelmann, to learn about the immediate aftermath of Stott-Smith's horrific crime.
Journalist Robert Rand speaks with A&E True Crime about what really spurred the Menendez murders, Erik and Lyle's reunion behind bars and why he thinks they should be released from prison.
A&E True Crime looks at some of the most famous cases of abused people fighting back, sometimes with deadly results.
