Have we entered a sort of "quiet phase" with regard to serial killers?

[CuriousMind90]

Maybe it's because we don't have shows like UM active anymore, but it doesn't seem like random abductions and murders, or even serial killers, are a seeming epidemic like they were from the 70s to the early 90s. It just seems like for whatever reason you had all these creeps running around abducting/killing people during this period and then suddenly it stopped.

UM would show us abductions, murders and suspicious disappearances that happened in obscure, tiny towns. I doubt many of us would ever have heard of Angela Hammond, Tammy Lyn Leppert, the I-70 killer, Crystal Spencer, Tara Calico, Kathy Hobbs or countless other abducted and murdered women and men if not for UM. They turned local tragedies into national news--And for that reason I feel UM was more than a TV show, it was a form of Public Service.

But back to my main point: Do you think we've come to a lull in the types of crimes mentioned above--the random abductions, murders, disappearances, cases like Hammond's or Hobb's--Have we entered a time where serial murder is a thing of the past? Or do we simply not hear of such tragedies today due to UM or a show like it not covering local situations?

[robyrob]

i would think that the advances in DNA and crime scene forensics would make it a lot tougher for a serial killer to make that "leap" and get started in today's world.

[1990 UM fan]

I mentioned it before that reality TV and other mainstream garbage has replaced most crime shows and people's interest in missing persons and fugitives. If only there was a way we could get more of these cases out there in the public eye again, like the disappearances of Angela Hammond, Kristi Krebs, Leah Roberts, etc. and criminals like Sharon Kinne, I-70 killer, New Orleans killer, etc.

[Zlatko]

Originally Posted by 1990 UM fan

I mentioned it before that reality TV and other mainstream garbage has replaced most crime shows and people's interest in missing persons and fugitives. If only there was a way we could get more of these cases out there in the public eye again, like the disappearances of Angela Hammond, Kristi Krebs, Leah Roberts, etc. and criminals like Sharon Kinne, I-70 killer, New Orleans killer, etc.

Another issue is that most crime shows on TV are based on "solved" crimes. There needs to be more shows like Disappeared and less shows like Deadly Women.

It really bugs me that Discovery ID has not made more shows on unsolved murders.

[lowell3]

I do think that the advancement of technology (not just forensics, but also cell phones/smartphones and such which make it more difficult to commit a crime and not be caught) is one factor in the seeming decrease of the kind of mass killings seen throughout the 70s and 80s and such.

But these things are still happening. Just this past week in Vermont, that schoolteacher who was murdered by this sick couple. Speaking of, there seems to be a lot of unsolved disappearances in the Vermont/NH area over the past decade alone. I think basically whether there's a huge decrease in serial killing since 20-30 years ago is hard to say; one thing's for sure, and that's that the media doesn't seem to cover these missing persons cases with nearly the amount of fervor they used to in the 80s and 90s (or even early 2000s, i.e. Elizabeth Smart, Holloway, etc)

Is everyone just perpetually distracted by trivial things? The latest gadgets? I hope we get our heads together. There's been a lot of troubling disappearances in the past year (Holly Bobo, Katelyn Markham, Amy Ahonen, Lauren Spierer, Michelle Parker, etc). None of these seemed to get much national coverage at all, unfortunately.

Perhaps the main "problem" is that not everyone watches TV anymore, or certainly not everyone watches the news. Most people just aren't aware of these types of cases, and probably aren't interested in finding out. With the increasing balkanization of media and culture (smartphones, the internet, Tivo/TV program recording, video games, music, movies, etc.), the inevitable result is that we're all not on the same page in terms of what's going on in the world. We're separated, involved in our own little isolated technological-bubble worlds.

[JamesG]

No, it's still going on.

Near me we have the "Long Island Serial Killer" still on the loose.

It makes the news around here a lot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island_serial_killer

[SheRaaa]

I do think technology + forensics has made it much, much harder for serial killer-wannabes to actually become "successful" serial killers nowadays. From cell phone pings to DNA evidence to various digital trails to the fact that almost everyone has a camera on their phone, committing multiple murders over time would be tough to do now.

It seems like the 70s - 90s were a heydey of sorts for serial killers, random abductions, and crimes that will never be solved. Prior to that, society was much more "safe," in certain ways, and after that, technology has made it so much easier to catch criminals. I don't think we'll ever see the degree of violent crimes from the 70s - 90s ever again.

[Blackout]

it's great to hear we still have serial killers running around

you guys had me worried lol

[UMFaninMD]

Along with the focus on shows featuring solved crimes and advances in technology, it seems when the media covers crimes, it's more of a focus on single disappearances of women and toddlers. Of course that's not a bad thing because missing people need to be found. But serial killers have a tendency to prey on vulnerable populations that modern day media apparently believes isn't interesting or would generate much public sympathy, such as young gay men, prostitutes, people from working class backgrounds, etc.

Another reason could be that hitchhiking, which was a way for serial killers to easily find victims, is no longer prevalent as it was during the 70's and early 80's, and with a lot of towns and suburbs that don't have stores and shopping centers within walking distance these days, you either have to drive or use public transit instead of going on foot to get where you need to go.

[LaurierCrimmajor]

What we've learned in University is that the prevalence of serial killers has always been widely over-exaggerated along the lines of 'if it bleeds, it leads' mentality of the media.

That's not to say that there are LESS serial killers than before today, however most serial killer victims are normally on the more marginalized periphery of society(prostitutes, homeless, drug addicts, drifters, mentally ill etc) and are more easily exploited by serial killers as there is a far greater likelihood that these people will be regarded as misssing and searched for. These people are known as the "Missing Missing", as there is nobody to report when they disappear.

Serial killers in general are more or less the exception not the norm with regards to homicide rates around the world and make up a finite minority of cases. They just happen to be excessively covered by the media, thus we think they're more common. Fear sells I suppose.

[TracyLynnS]

IMO the freaks are still out there. There are suspected serial killings in several US states and Canada being talked about online but they don't seem to get much coverage in the news.

Recently, the two male serial killers in OH were caught. They'd been luring people with craigslist ads for a job as a farmhand. Here in Detroit, someone is killing women, putting them in car trunks and setting the cars on fire. Craigslist/Backpage might be involved, can't remember. It does seem like if they can connect a crime to craigslist, it gets more attention in the news.

It sort of seems like most cases making the news recently seem to be a single time thing, like Susan Powell's disappearance and her (likely guilty husband) murdering his kids and killing himself. Casey Anthony wasn't a serial killer but her daughter Caylee's murder was huge news. Missing baby Lisa Irwin was most likely murdered by a family member and her case is not part of a serial killing spree. Same thing with Jhessye Shockley, Trenton Duckett, Hailey Dunn, and Kyron Horman, imo.

As others have said, technology is likely catching serial killers before they can actually start killing multiple people. The cell phones are tracking them, their DNA is identifying them, security cameras are catching their images on video, etc. I think the guy who killed Kelsey Smith was going to end up being a serial killer but technology helped catch him before he could get another victim.

[Clockworkhigh]

They are still out there for sure. Have they ever not been in modern times? Even in the 1960s there was the Boston Strangler, the Zodiac killer, etc. I think the difference between 2012 and the era I grew up (born in 1980) is that we are more paranoid than we have ever been for sure. Mothers drop their kids off at school and barely let them walk anymore for fear of abduction. I know in the 1980s my mom told me not to talk with strangers but can you believe that I started walking to school alone starting in Grade 1? I lived.

These kidnappings happen but in all honesty the "random" kidnappings are so extremely remote that its almost a million to one. Jaycee Dugaard or Michaela Galbrecht do happen once in a while, but it is so rare whether that be today or in the 1980s. The kidnappings that happen are more like parental ones, or Anthonette Cayedito who almost certainly got nabbed by someone she knew. Even what is big news in Ontario, the Victoria Stafford kidnapping in 2009 we witnessed from a school camera Victoria being walked away with a "mystery woman". Well both parties involved have been caught. While this shook up a small town in Ontario the truth is Victoria's mother knew these shady people. Bottom line, she probably is alive if the mother isn't associated with them, not that its the mother's fault. So yeah, random kidnappings are rare, always have been.

But don't be fooled, serial killers just need to be a little more creative today. Enter the internet world. No matter how much you preach to your daughter about never trusting someone on a chat site, she will anyway. That is the new way kids are being lured away. The killers just have to be more creative. The days of driving up to a kid on the street and snapping them up are gone because everyone and their mother has a cell phone/camera phone. Heck, even the kid you kidnap might

[chacha6581]

Yes!! There was a serial killer running around my city less than 2 years ago, and no one was frantic about it at all! They would talk about the S.K. in passing, all willy nilly,......Meanwhile I was privately investigating and researching AND I figured out his true ethnicity..... it was reported wrong..... the wanted posters looked nothing like the suspect at all.....

[Steve_uk]

Originally Posted by lowell3

I do think that the advancement of technology (not just forensics, but also cell phones/smartphones and such which make it more difficult to commit a crime and not be caught) is one factor in the seeming decrease of the kind of mass killings seen throughout the 70s and 80s and such.

But these things are still happening. Just this past week in Vermont, that schoolteacher who was murdered by this sick couple. Speaking of, there seems to be a lot of unsolved disappearances in the Vermont/NH area over the past decade alone. I think basically whether there's a huge decrease in serial killing since 20-30 years ago is hard to say; one thing's for sure, and that's that the media doesn't seem to cover these missing persons cases with nearly the amount of fervor they used to in the 80s and 90s (or even early 2000s, i.e. Elizabeth Smart, Holloway, etc)

Is everyone just perpetually distracted by trivial things? The latest gadgets? I hope we get our heads together. There's been a lot of troubling disappearances in the past year (Holly Bobo, Katelyn Markham, Amy Ahonen, Lauren Spierer, Michelle Parker, etc). None of these seemed to get much national coverage at all, unfortunately.

Perhaps the main "problem" is that not everyone watches TV anymore, or certainly not everyone watches the news. Most people just aren't aware of these types of cases, and probably aren't interested in finding out. With the increasing balkanization of media and culture (smartphones, the internet, Tivo/TV program recording, video games, music, movies, etc.), the inevitable result is that we're all not on the same page in terms of what's going on in the world. We're separated, involved in our own little isolated technological-bubble worlds.

There's more on the Lauren Spierer case here,two years after her disappearance.http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/06/01...est=latestnews

[Blackout]

i think our media is more interested in telling us the great things Obama is pretending to do right now