Serial Killers: Profiling the Criminal Mind (1999)

Serial Killers: Profiling the Criminal Mind (1999)

“Using deductive reasoning and basic clues to create a portrait of a killer…” – so goes the simple definition of what a ‘criminal profiler‘ does…

Former FBI agent John Douglas, the inventor of criminal profiling, leads the audience through a journey into the dark minds of some of 20th Century’s most notorious American killers.

This episode deals with the cases of Wayne Williams, Robert Hansen, Larry Gene Bell,  and Jeffrey Dahmer.

Dahmer, Gacy, Manson–these names have earned their place among America’s most notorious cultural icons. America is fascinated by its serial killers–who they are, what they’ve done, and how they got away with it for so long. Creating the mental picture of these killers is the job of criminal specialists known as profilers, people who analyze and dissect the intricate motives that fuel these frighteningly intelligent stalkers. In the four-part A&E series Serial Killers: Profiling the Criminal Mind, former FBI agent John Douglas walks you through up-close case studies of a few of the most savage men in the history of law enforcement. In the late 1970s and early ’80s a rash of murders took place in the heart of Atlanta. The horrific murder spree of Wayne Williams provided a unique opportunity for the FBI to legitimize and bring criminal profiling to the forefront of serial-killer investigations. In The Criminal Profiler, Vol. 1, former FBI agent Douglas discusses how the psychological profile of Wayne Williams was developed, which led to his capture and arrest. The FBI’s success with their new “tool” made the criminal profiler an asset to the criminal investigation team.  – Rob Bracco