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.
In an exclusive excerpt from 'The Menendez Murders,' journalist Robert Rand tells of the unlikely friendship between Lyle and Erik Menendez with the football star while all were being held on murder charges, and the personal conversations they had with the celebrity about his fears.
