Originally posted by John G
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The danger area here lies in profiling individual killers, where we know from experience that profilers have gotten things totally wrong at times. I have little doubt that Dougas et al made their call because they leaned against an idea of an unhinged killer, a disorganized one, if you will, to a large degree, depending on the combination of the eviscerations and the public spaces used for killing, involving great risk. It is a fair and logical assessment on their behalf too. And they opted for Kosminski, as I remember things; a tycial representative of that group.
They could also have opted for a man like Issenschmid, who became unhinged over time - but who was married nevertheless, his marriage attaching to a period in life where he appeared sane.
There are examples of when profilers have gotten it eerily correct, but there are equally examples of when they have gotten it ridiculously wrong in individual cases, and that is something that needs to be weighed in. Looking at Chikatilos victims, they would make the same call as for the Ripper and for the same reasons - but he was a married teacher.
As for Ressler, he did NOT speak of an individual case, he spoke of his combined experience from a long life in profiling, and therefore his verdict was grounded on the basic facts. And he arrived at the conclusion that the typical serialist was in his late thirties, a family man and with a steady job.
That was not based on an educated guess, it was based on the facts. Therefore, it carries a lot more weight as an overall established "truth".
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