''Satan in a Skirt''

 Women serial killers tend to be much less common than men and even more importantly much less violent. However, in this particular case, things are different. The police said that they had never seen a woman commit such terrible and cruel acts. Therefore, they believed at first that they were actually looking for a man not a woman. However, Irina Gaidamachuk, who was later diagnosed to be mentally sane, was a woman and some. She would pretend to be a social worker and would then smash the skulls of her victims with a hammer or an axe for their money. Although she claimed that she wanted the money for vodka, the investigators discovered that, most of the time, the amount of money she would take from her victims was irrelevant compared to the crimes that she would commit. The alcoholic woman claimed that her husband would not give her the money for vodka so she had to find her own way of getting it. Irina murdered 17 pensioners before being found in 2010. During the search, police arrested and questioned more than 3000 people, and even wrongly arrested another woman, Irina Valeyeva. The town of Krasnoufimsk, where all of this happened, lived in great fear during Irina Gaidamachuk reign and even her relatives were choked when they learned than she was given a lesser sentence because she was a mother. Her entourage had never suspected anything and if she had not been seen at the moment of her last crime, she would have probably committed more without being caught. This case is proof that anybody could be a serial killer; mother, father, child, no matter how this idea seems illogical.

Here follows a picture of what the police expected Irina to look like ( a woman dressed like a man) , versus a real picture of her. For further reading here is the link to the article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2154900/Russias-worst-woman-serial-killer-dubbed-Satan-Skirt-murdering-17-pensioners-year-reign-terror.html

Written by Aimée Pocock

The Zodiac Killer

In the late 1960's to the 1970's mysterious murders were taking place in California. There was a total of five murders that occurred and nobody was charged. The case got stranger when police started receiving taunting messages, hidden messages and pictures. In 2004, the case was closed because no further evidence was every found. However, in 2007 the case was reopened when famous actor, singer and comedian Dick Van Dyke finally confessed. He claimed that he had killed over 37 people for them to become slaves to him in his after life. He claimed that he loved haunting people.In the media, this story turned into a circus. People were fascinated and yet so discussed that a popular Hollywood star, that appear nice and charming would ever commit such acts. He also could not understand how his views and costars did not receive the clues that he gave them to reveal his secret identity. When he finally called a press conference to admit his true identity he finish his statement with: " Even now, though, I’ll occasionally take a part in a movie, and I plan to keep killing people as long as I can,” he said. “The truth is, I’m really good at it. I killed three people yesterday. And I hope to kill more today."
This was his claim to fame. Had he never admitted his crimes it is very questionable whether the police would have figured it out. His lack of remorse and pride in what he did is a true definition of what a serial killer really is.
For more details on Dick Van Dykes "coming out" to the police visit: http://www.theonion.com/articles/dick-van-dyke-finally-confesses-to-zodiac-killings,33318/?ref=auto

Written by: Courtney Milonja

The come back

A man known as Thomas Quick is living in a psychiatric hospital in Sweden since he has been convicted of eight unspeakable crimes, 23 years from now. All along the multiple trials he had, Quick would talk about all the brutal crimes he did, going from stabbings to cannibalism, passing by stranglings, rapes, incests and way more. He would tell his stories to whoever would be willing to hear them. After he was convicted for his eighth and last crime, he became silent for about 10 years. Lately, Quick has been thinking about all the things he has done and said, and became comfortable talking about his past.

A reporter named Chris Heath succeeded to get an interview with him. Quick described to Heath all of the eight murders for which he was convicted. He also explained where his need to kill comes from. He talked about his childhood, how his parents treated him, how his dad abused him and how his mother tried to kill him several times. He talked about his dead brother which is the starting point of his killing. He explained how he tried to find his brother's remains hidden by his dad during all his life in order to eat them, and how he killed people so he could find a body to identify with. All of this figures in a book Quick wrote and published. Heath went to Sweden's psychiatric hospital several times to visit the serial killer, and talked a lot with him, trying to understand him. Thomas Quick is certainly one of the most talkative serial killer in history, yet he is still impossible to understand. Heath wrote this article in which he reports all his conversations and researches on Thomas Quick. 

Read More http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201308/thomas-quick-serial-killer-august-2013#ixzz2g7tuMimj

Written by Laurie St-Pierre

Frozen Heart

How can we explain the cold-hearted actions of a human being? The judge in Rodney Alcala's case seems to be eluded by this question. The 69 years old man was sentenced to 25 years to life for the horrible crimes of Cornelia Crilley and Ellen Hover. Furthermore, he was found guilty for more crimes and he was sentenced to the death penalty. The serial killer seemed to attack women and we could assume a pattern of attacking similar victims. Not only did Alcala committed the crime of murdering innocents, he took pleasure in raping and hurting them as much as possible before ending their life. The family members of the victims who were still under great shock were relieved to see that the judge was really emotional about the cases and that Rodney Alcala got what he deserved. We will never know how to explain such actions, but hopefully, such people as serial killer Rodney Alcala are found and punished for what they have done. To read the article, check out: 
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/nyregion/judge-cries-during-sentencing-of-serial-killer-rodney-alcala.html?ref=serialmurders

Written by Laurie St-Pierre

"Canadians don't count"

The serial killer Israel Keyes committed suicide in a canadian prison in Alaska. The FBI conducted a study on him without completely recovering all his victims. The serial killer made a few short trips pass the canadian border before he was found and arrested in Vancouver, on his way to Alaska. Although we know he killed multiple random people, he did not seem to attack canadian citizens, except the Alaskan barista he killed before being caught. The FBI found evidence that he seemed to be concentrating his killings in the U.S. However, the FBI does not exclude the possibility of him taking other canadian victims they just have not found evidence of it. Keyes was not open about giving information on his crimes and even threatened that if public information was released he would simply stop cooperating. The serial killer had planned everything out admitting in interviews the hidings of weapons in various locations that also gave insight on where some of the bodies were buried. To read the full article, check out:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/alaska-serial-killer-travelled-to-b-c-twice-fbi-says-1.1314240
Written by Aimée Pocock 

Is it like in the movies?

In an article posted in the British journal The Independent, a serious issue about how serial killers miss portrayal in television series and movies has been seriously misconceiving and inaccurate. In this very interesting article, the FBI reports that people's perceptions of serial killers are totally wrong. The media has portrayed serial killers to be deviant individuals who do not fit in with the society, which is not always the case. Social outcasts and extremely intelligent "monsters" are not exactly realistic perceptions. Serial killers do not all fit into the same box. The wide range possibilities of characteristics that one could have are incredibly numerous. The main purpose of the article is to try and unravel the myths and common beliefs around serial killers to make society more aware and educated about spotting criminal behavior. This article demonstrates that we must be very careful with the media's portrayal and be aware that our view of "typical" serial killers is almost completely molded by unreliable sources. Not everything in the media is reliable and we need to develop critical judgment to sift through the imagines we are presented. It is critical to form a general objective image of real serial killers, especially when it is a potential dangers to society. To read this article check out: 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/serial-killers-likely-to-be-family-men-not-freaks-says-fbi-863930.html

Written by Courtney Milonja