Perfect Pizza, Dead Prostitutes, and a call from "Clay"...

Welcome back Readers to Kev's Crime Corner!

It was Sunday and I woke up after only two hours of rest. The sleep I did actually get felt like a trip to the devil's disco. My hangover was like listening to a heroin addict who just found a drum kit. I take a look in the mirror and my reflection resembles a junkyard dog. I tell myself I gotta stop the booze. My morning was no day at the beach either. I was stuck on a homicide case. The client was holding back evidence but I could do little about it. The walls were crushing my overworked obsessive mind so I decided to get myself a perfect pizza from the best pizza place in the known universe. I hit the streets bruised and in hunt of perfect pizza. It was wet hell outside that day and I battled the heavy wind like a Spanish bullfighter with poor eyesight to get to the only church I can still count upon. Rudy's pizza, a glorious palace for the hungry, the lost, the curious, and for those with a tongue for great quality! I entered as usual with a warm welcome from my Italian brothers and the world's best pizzaiolos. A fast heeled waitress greets me kindly with my usual refreshing jug of ice water to kick my hangover sideways and I signal to my Sicilian brothers I am ready for them to work their magic (that's "magico!" in Italian). My Italian brothers work hard and are extremely dedicated to their delicious craft. I watch in awe as they create masterpieces before my very eyes as my hunger increases. These warm hearted pizza masters are not only highly focused but also incredibly diligent at creating the absolute best Neapolitan pizza you might have the privilege to eat. To watch these artists of the Neapolitan craft make perfect pizza before me with such skill, love and humanity is a daily honour and almost restores my faith in the human race (almost). Faith in the human race is not an easy thing to keep when you see such regular visceral examples of inhumanity as a crime scene analyst:

Kev's Crime Corner Readers should take note that - pizza ain't just dough and toppings! For some of us, pizza keeps the subjective wolves from the door. For me, without pizza to keep the regular struggles of being a self employed professional forensic analyst in perspective - it's almost impossible to keep my informed forensic worldview from brutally knocking out the already fading determined optimism that I need to solve violent crimes:

For any committed crime scene analyst, the worst daily sucker-punch has got to be working with a seriously fractured legal system that frequently disregards deductive logic like its a french kiss from a rattlesnake:

Lady justice is frequently stood outside the courtroom blindfolded.

In other words, sometimes all you have as a forensic analyst to keep your soul out of the rusty blender we call life is a cold beer, a beautiful smile from your favourite Italian girl

or...

- Perfect pizza.

With this mind...

This article is thus a very warm tribute to all my buddies at...

Rudy's Pizza has two locations in Merseyside. Sab (who manages the Bold Street location) guides the excellent waiters and waitresses towards the end of each evening with warmth and motivation while keeping the pizza chefs supplied with much needed life saving espressos. She is a fantastic host making all visitors feel like they just arrived home ready for dinner. The Castle Street location is directed with the masterful expert skill of a concert pianist and Salvatorai the manager who treats all customers with the professional integrity of a true gentleman . In both locations the true treasure is found in the kitchen! This is where the laws of physics bend to the fingers of the pizzaiolos! These wizards of the dough ask me what pizza I want. I order my usual and I sit and wait for my tasty salvation. While I am waiting, my favourite waiter notices me and comes over to say hello. We greet each other warmly and talk about pizza and criminal behaviour. In the midst of his keen interest he asks me if I ever saw The Howard Stern Show. I tell him I used to watch it religiously as a younger man but not since becoming a forensic analyst. He suggests I check out the episode that includes a call from a mysterious man called "Clay" who claims to be a serial killer. I tell him I shall check it out. I eat my masterpiece presented personally by my hardworking Sicilian brother and pizza maestro behind the counter and my interest in this mysterious call from "Clay" builds as I chew. I devour the wonderfully made delicacy with longing only a broken hearted man can truly understand. I then warmly thank my favourite flour flinging Italian brothers and their skilled Indian protégé as they slide another masterpiece into their giant oven and tell my waiter buddy that I shall let him know what I think about this "call from Clay"...

The real question is could this call from "Clay" be the real thing?

If this "Clay" is indeed the real thing, what motivates him to kill? Does he leave interesting clues after each homicide? How does he select and kill his victims?

Lets explore these questions using this mysterious call from

The Howard Stern Show...

Call Background:

In 1997 a call was made to the legendary Mr Stern and his witty co-host Robin Quivers. They received a call from a man claiming to have killed twelve prostitutes in the New Orleans area. During the call a man calling himself "Clay" recounts the murders of several victims offering insights into his claimed motivation and modus operandi. In the following sections, Kev's Crime Corner shall explore the details of this mysterious call looking at the suggested forensic victimology involved in these claimed serial homicides, we shall also explore the forensic indicators of serial killer behaviour, and the established scientific research involving psychopaths to determine if this "clay" is psychopathic or sociopathic .

The following is a small transcription of this "call from Clay":

Howard: "Ok, I got a guy on the phone who claims he's been killing prostitutes and he's wondering why he's doing it. So, maybe he thinks I have an answer.

Is this Ed? ...Ed?"

Clay: "No, this isn't Ed."

Howard and Robin: "Oh,..."

Robin: "You haven't killed any prostitutes?"

Clay: "No, I never said my name was Ed."

Howard and Robbin: "Oh..."

Howard:"...sorry."

Clay:" ...thats ok."

Howard: "What name do you use?"

Clay: "You can call me "Clay."

Let's start here: This first initial brief exchange from "Clay", is actually already revealing. The first inference that indicates "Clay" might be a real serial offender is his stated use of precaution. Serial killers and serial offenders generally (i.e. repeat offenders) typically develop a behaviour known to Behavioural Evidence Analysts as "precautionary acts" . For the reader's information, precautionary acts are any actions made by an offender that hinder investigations, in order to elude capture or hide the identity of an unknown offender. Here "Clay" protects his identity (instead using a seemingly fake name). Put another way, successful serial killers indeed develop a "modus operandi" (latin for "method of operation") which includes various "precautionary acts" which allows them to successfully enact their violent crimes repeatedly without increasing risk of capture. These acts (when detected in abundance) infer a skilled serial offender. During this call to Stern, "Clay" answers numerous questions and makes several statements that indicate "Clay" has indeed developed several "precautionary acts" over the span of serial homicides he claims to be responsible for. For example, during the call Clay is also asked what he did with the body of his first victim who was killed in a parking garage:

Howard: “ And…what did you do with the body? You dump that somewhere?

Clay: “Yeah actually, she’s probably one often ones that they found.”

This means that Clay already had a dumpsite selected for the crime. This is a precautionary act. Why does he do this? The reason offenders move their victims bodies from one location to another is either they have some paraphiliac desire for the body (i.e. post mortem mutilation and the like) or more likely they are associated with the place they moved the body from. Moving a dead human body is not an easy task and greatly increases the offenders risk of exposure and hence capture. Moving the body from the primary crime scene thus means that the relocation of the victim was important in some way to the offender. The only other reason a body is moved from one location from another is generally to deliberately have the victim found somewhere else. This too can also be a precautionary act or a signature act by the offender. The use of precaution by Clay is indicative of a more experienced and intelligent offender. Both these traits are indeed found in successful at large serial killers.

This interesting exchange continues when Stern enquires about "Clay"'s murderous motivations:

Howard: "Ok Clay, So what happened? How many prostitutes have you killed?"

Clay: "Twelve."

Robin"Jesus!"

Howard: "...And you're wondering why you do it?"

Clay: "I have a pretty good idea."

Howard: "Why? Did you Mom beat did ya? Did your Mom spank ya..did eh.."

Robin: "...was your Mom prostitute ?!?"

Clay: "No. Actually nothing like that."

Robin: "...what is it then?"

Clay: "I think I just do it for the sense of the power."

The two areas most interesting points that Stern and Quivers attempt to determine in this aspect of the call are 1) if the crimes are sexually motivated or 2) if any developmental factors “Clay” has experienced in early life are related to his murderous psychology. If this were the case “Clay” would be in psychological terms a sociopath. This does not appear to be the case. The difference between a psychopath and a sociopath is that sociopaths are the subject of social forces (i.e. bad parental relationships, children who grew up in economically poor areas with high crime rates or gang activity etc.). David Lykken, the world's foremost expert on differences between sociopaths and psychopaths notes that socialisation of children is the determining factor which creates sociopaths. The Psychopath and sociopath nonetheless are considered part of the same common antisocial spectrum with extra inadequate parenting on one end and innate cognitive factors which determine psychopathy on the other:

Psychopaths have different brain activity than the rest of us.

The real question here is what is”Clay” a sociopath or a psychopath?

If his claims are indeed genuine then he is undoubtedly a psychopath. At this point Kev’s Crime Corner shall educate readers on the various types of psychopaths known. There are in fact many types of sociopath and also many types of psychopath. The world's foremost specialist psychopathy Dr Robert Hare defines three major types of psychopath:

1. The Primary Psychopath: A “true” psychopath with no neurotic, psychotic or emotional tendencies. They are often identified only if their behaviour becomes criminal but smart primary psychopaths are virtually invisible unless others are aware of the psychopathic behaviour traits.

2. The Secondary Psychopath: Tend to commit violent acts due to emotional and behaviour problems. Their antisocial behaviour is considered a result of neurotic personality traits. These psychopaths can be the result of neurological problems.

3. The Dyssocial Psychopath: their aggressive behaviour and crimes are rooted in developments and social factors. The second two types are essentially sociopaths and those with mental disorders that appear as psychopathy.

Clinical Psychologists such as Million and Davis in contrast have identified ten subtypes of psychopaths which I shall only briefly cover here in order for readers to appreciate the various manifestations of psychopathy. The 10 subtypes of psychopaths are as follows:

The 10 subtypes of psychopaths are as follows:

The Unprincipled Psychopath:

This type of psychopath rarely ever becomes impulsive or violent enough to become criminal psychopaths and frequently are successful in hiding their psychopathic traits just below the level of law breaking (with the exception of a few occasional legal entanglements). Their behaviour is seen with narcissistic personality disorder patterns. They have a high degree of self worth, are arrogant, and additionally have a strong desire to exploit others. They are usually fearless in the face of threats and have little to any concern of any kind punishment resulting from their psychopathy. Their malicious tendencies tend to manifest in the home or in personal relationships frequently by getting vengeful gratification by humiliating others. They are opportunists who select or pursue social relationships only if they can play a game of outwitting the person they are involved with by debasing them. In terms of the types of crimes these types of psychopath are frequently associated with, they tend to get involved in low level insurance swindles, stealing life savings from partners with low self worth. The undisciplined psychopath has no sense of personal loyalty to others believing deception is nothing to be ashamed of. Their capacity for violent criminal behaviour is low but the personal emotional damage within personal relationships is high.

The Disingenuous Psychopath.

This is one of the more common psychopaths people encounter. They are thus sometimes difficult for most people to detect. These psychopaths hide behind a veneer of friendliness and frequently appear to be highly social extroverts. They reveal their psychopathy in their persistent seeking of attention and excitement and frequently seduce others into taking risks. Their relationships are shallow and often fleeting lasting only short periods of time. They closely resemble the characteristics of those wth histrionic personalities. They often unreliable, irresponsible and have short lived enthusiasm, the fading of which is often blamed on others whom they have interpersonal relationships with. Interpersonal relationships to this psychopath are seen only as stimulus giving entanglements and hence when more mature behaviours are required from them within their own relationships they display moodiness and often develop strong resentments towards those who they feel are giving them too many responsible duties. They then begin to plot against those closest to them. They are insincere, self-indulgent and gain pleasure from seducing others into psychological games of their own making due to the tensions and excitement that they believe they are in control of. They have a shallow sense of ownership and often scheme against anyone who has what they themselves covet. This is the case even when the undisciplined psychopath has actual little desire towards their object of desire. In criminal terms, these psychopaths are scheme creators which can lead to crimes of confidence trickery (economic low level short lived cons mostly). They are more dangerous than the undisciplined type because once their social manoeuvring has been uncovered they can be very quick to anger with bursts of rage and abuse but these are infrequent and short lived.

The Risk Taking Psychopath

The risk taking psychopath is stimulated by physical threat and danger. They have a constant need to feel "alive". They are not concerned with money or reputation that is not associated with courage or risk taking like other psychopaths who seek status and power to provide them with social resources that feed their narcissistic pathology. The risk taking psychopath is different. This type of psychopath is essentially a thrill seeker and seeks out treacherous situations. They are dangerous simply because of their extreme high degree of impulsivity, lack of self control and their bursts of uncontrollable behaviour. This type of psychopath becomes frustrated when they are forced be in situations which are not threatening or stimulating to them. They frequently put others at risk with their restless need for danger. Unlike the disingenuous psychopath who seduces people into schemes that can cause economic and personal lose, the risk taking psychopath creates situations which can cause high emotional stress, physical danger, and bodily harm. In psychological terms, they are a mixture of a histrionic personality with reasonable degree of antisocial tendency. In terms of what crimes the risk taking psychopaths are involved in, the types of crime are numerous. Armed robberies, car thefts, arson, drug dealing, and any number of shorter criminal enterprises which give them a sense of danger. They closely resemble various subtypes of sociopaths and many psychopaths of this type are involved in urban gang activity, extreme vandalism and other high risk crimes which is likely to fix them into a cycle of short spells of incarceration leading to reoffending. They are unpredictable and very dangerous.

The Covetous Psychopath.

This type of psychopath is one of the more dangerous types despite being not always directly involved in violent criminal activity. Psychologically the covetous psychopath believes that they have more entitlement to economic and social resources than others do. They feel that they have been deprived and are entitled to more interpersonal awards than they have experienced in earlier life. They believe others have been given more than they have received and seek retribution for this discrepancy. They are driven by high levels of envy and seek to take from others what they perceived to have been missing in their own lives even if this means taking things form others by forced. They frequently develop a smug attitude which allows they to reoffend and they see their violations towards others and society as them taking back what is rightfully theirs. They are highly manipulative and establish games of power with others which is filed by an ever present inner fear that they might once again lose what they have gained through manipulation. They are pushy, intrusive and greedy if found in workplaces, frequently betraying others if they are in the way of their psychopathic plot to a powerful position. They (like most psychopaths) have no guilt or remorse. No matter what they achieve in life they nonetheless feel high degrees of jealously and are envious of anyone who has any sense of calm contentment which the covetous psychopath then seeks to destroy using various manipulation tactics. They are hungry for recognition, power, display high levels of vanity and usually are very materialistic. The crimes of the covetous psychopath are usually committed within a social structure that can provide them with resources of power and often they become successful managers within organisations due to their extremely high level of arrogance towards their own priced level of superiority. They can have a deviating effect social structures or within organisations. These are one of the most dangerous of workplace psychopath types.

The Spineless Psychopath

Not all psychopaths are fearless power hungry risk takers. The spineless psychopath is one often few subtypes of psychopath that is in strong contrast to other psychopathic subtypes. The spineless psychopath is actually deeply insecure in psychological terms and are often cowards. They are nonetheless very dangerous because the spineless psychopath commits violent acts in order to overcoming their fears. Their acts of violence is not rewarding to them in the same manner as violence is to other subtypes of psychopath. Their aggressions considered a counter-phobic action. Other people are seen as threats to them and they develop internal hostile fantasies which cause the spineless psychopath to develop some degree of sadism towards others. They see themselves as potential victims. As such (in order to avoid acts of aggression against themselves) they seek to act out the very acts of extreme violence that they themselves fear in order to give them a sense of power. They paradoxically are the first ones to act strong and are loudest spoken in a crowd because their social anxiety is frequently under their facade of confidence. They are like little dogs which bark as loud as they can so they don't get bitten themselves. Unfortunately this means they often oct out extreme aggression to those are of little or no threat to them. After these acts of aggression or violent they often with subjectively for lengths of time. This can be seen in school playground bullies which is an early manifestation of this type of psychopath. The crimes of spineless psychopaths are those which give opportunities which the spineless psychopath gains some reassurance of fading power over others. They are often become overtly proud aggressive tyrants once their acts of aggression are successful. Those that become career criminals often establish external enemies which they persuade others are threats to a group or individual. They have been found been high amount in totalitarian power structures which wage war against less powerful groups. The spineless subtypes of psychopath are also found in politics and also within political organisations which give them opportunities of power such as the police, and the military. The proverb of a little man with big shoes who thinks his feet are large fits this psychopathic subtype.

The Explosive Psychopath

The explosive psychopath type is one which is all too common in daily life and one which has devastating effects on everyday people. The explosive psychopath typically expresses his psychopathic violence against those in his own home. The “wife beaters” of the world are often explosive psychopath types. They project their daily frustrations towards those closest to them often in privacy where no one can stop them. Their behaviour erupts suddenly and it is intense when it occurs. The victims of this type of psychopath often become passive and suffer in total silence. They essentially live next to a volatile volcano which can erupt at any time. The explosive psychopath acts out their behaviour due to feelings of being thwarted or threatened. Faced with failures to enact their own social power during their daily activities they develop an almost constant feeling of being frustrated, humiliated and mistreated by those in higher social structures. The man who works under a power hungry boss and takes frequent humiliations and then arrives home at night and suddenly explodes violently because his spouse undercooks the evening meal is an example of the explosive psychopath. They frequently apologise for their unexpected explosive violence to their victims after the event. They do this in order to keep their largely empathetic victims in a state of forgiveness towards them. Their victims thus typically develop unjustified guilt for their perceived failure to keep their explosive psychopathic partners from exploding. Their rage is typically enacted upon weaker partners. The explosive psychopath then creates a cycle of abuse which allows them to release their tensions upon safe targets. Many children of abusive mothers and fathers are unfortunate victims of explosive psychopathy. The paradoxical symbolic expression of explosive violence these psychopaths enact towards their weaker victims orthose closest to them often occurs because they remind them of their own weakness to stand up against their own humiliators (workplace mangeros ect.). Rather than facing their own oppressors, the explosive psychopaths, they become oppressors towards others. Their ruthless acts of violence are not expressions of social power but of emotional release which has been displaced and projected onto safer targets. In this way the explosive psychopath is a true coward in every sense. He may beat his wife, burn her hands upon the stove, wip his own children for failing at school but never say even one harsh word to their workplace manager in retaliation for daily humiliations. They are dangerous because their acts of violence and abuse also create violent sociopathic children.

The Abrasive Psychopath

The abrasive psychopath (unlike other subtypes) is not in any real internal struggle or any counter-phobic dynamic within themselves which manifest indirectly. The abrasive psychopath instead views everyone and everything as a target for direct physical or social assault. This can be enacted by constantly picking up on any thing others do by fault finding, antagonising anyone who creates even the mildest of frustrations in the abrasive psychopaths mind. They seek to frequently debase the achievements of others, to belittle them at every opportunity and are generally quarrelsome towards people. These psychopaths (put bluntly) are the class-A super assholes of the world. They are corrosive to be around generally and in psychological terms highly negative and many display traits assisted with paranoid personality disorder. They believe that people should be criticised in order to be brought up to their own dogmatic standards. They often deny finding any personal enjoyment in assaulting other people socially. This trait allows them to victimise others without any level of empathy or remorse. They are not known to be frequently dangerous in physical terms but they are very destructive in regard to other people's mental and emotional wellbeing. Their crimes are often social rather than illegal although the line is often avery thin one because the behaviour of this type of psychopath if enacted upon a socially fragile individual can at times lead to the suicide of their social victims.They are frequently common in the modern workplace. When they have sociopathic parents they can become extremely dangerous criminals but do not last very long unless they are very effective as enforcers or find some role within organised crime. The following is a very accurate depiction of a abrasive criminal psychopath:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_e2zQY_HuM

The Malevolent Psychopath

The malevolent psychopath is the most common of criminal psychopaths and are the archetypal violent psycho people tend to think of when they think of psychopathy. They are vindictive and hateful. They distrust others regardless of any level of attempt to gain their trust. Unlike many criminal sociopaths who can have a small number of trusted associates, the malevolent psychopath trusts no one. They anticipate betrayal and punishment from everyone they meet and act cold blooded in their interactions (although they can hide it well). Many of these psychopaths have had mistreatment in early childhood often making them difficult to separate from some sociopaths. They experienced high levels of rejection and a lack of any affection leads them to a suspicion that others are trying to fool them with any level of kindness. They seek retaliation for living in a world of mistrust and are essentially ruthless in their acts of violence. The most disturbing aspect of the malevolent psychopath’s behaviour is the combination of their noted fearlessness and their sadistic expression of violence rooted in a need for retribution. In clinical studies the malevolent psychopath displays traits of those suffering from paranoid personality disorder. Their lack of fear towards punishment allows them to become successful criminals in many cases. They are one of the most common serial killer types. Punishment is actually a motivation for them because they aim to prove they can outwit those with a capacity for guilt. They often taunt law enforcement if they become successful criminals. Their acts of violence are often brutal and extremely vicious. If a malevolent psychopath is able to control their psychopathy for long periods of time they can become very difficult for most people to detect hence their capacity for success in serial killing. If these types of psychopath get in to a position of power they destroy groups of people without any level of remorse and frequently aim to establish their victims as threats to these in order to establish justified brutality. They are extremely dangerous when they are intelligent , well educated, or born into privilege.

The Tyrannical Psychopath

The tyrannical psychopath is one of the most frightening of all subtypes on the antisocial personality spectrum. They are very much like the malevolent psychopath in many ways but different. They seek to intimidate, overwhelm and attack other people and find enjoyment in the extreme suffering of others. They are even more dangerous than the malevolent psychopath because they actually find stimulation in the resistance of victims and are in no way deterred by any level of potential failure or punishment. When this type of psychopath has a tendency for rape, they often physicaly harm they victims and frequently kill them afterwards. Socially they destroy others by a high amount of frequent criticism and bitter insults seeking to psychologically wound others. They are highly demeaning in their interpersonal relationships. In criminal terms, They are also dangerous because they can have periods of quiet withdrawal which they use to build up their inhumane fantasies until they require release. They enjoy evoking terror in others and use their social skills to attain victims they can frequently harm emotioanlly and physically. When thes types of psychopath are obsessed with a victim and have a tendency for sadistic paraphilia they can torture their victims for years once they sucessfully attain them through a forced dissapearence. This type of psychopath is the maker of nightmares and often the inspiration for Hollywood serial killer films.

So what type of psychopath is Clay (if he is genuine)?

After listening to Clay's call many times, the answer is more than likely a well adjusted tyrannical psychopath. He also indicates he has a lust murder paraphila but not sadisim. The paraphilia of lust murder involves the desire to murder another human being for sexual gratification. Clay is not a sadist despite stating in the same call he has fun tormenting his victims. Why? If he were a sadist he would physically torture his living victims. In contrast the descriptions of his femicides are committed usually with sudden blunt force trauma to the head or strangulation (although it is indicated that he has used other methods of killing). Sadists tend to relish their victims' suffering and are frequently found with multiple wounds and frequently with scar tissue due to being kept captive for much longer periods (The Ariel Castro case from Ohio in the USA is an example). The following transcript of the call illustrates this clearly:

Howard: "Right. Do you have sex with them first?

Clay: "Yes, and..."

Howard: "...and then what... you strangle them??"

Clay: "Once."

Howard: "How else did you kill em?"

Clay: "...Well,... a few times...actually most times with a hammer."

Howard: "Hmm...and where do you do this... primarily."

Clay: "Eh...I've done twice in a parking garage... and the rest of the times on the side of the road."

Howard: "..and... eh... your from the New Orleans area?"

Clay: "Yes."

Howard: "Hmm..."

Robin: "And How...I mean..what do you.....YOU BEAT THEM TO DEATH WITH A HAMMER?!"

Howard: "Man!"

Clay: "eh,...it usually only takes once and its..."

Howard: "DUDE YOU GOTTA HAVE A LOTTA ANGER IN YOU!"

Clay: "Yes."

Howard: "...And that means you heartless. Did you used to kill small animals?"

Clay: "No. I 've killed a rat."

Howard: "Yeah. - Dude, you're a serial killer!"

Clay: "Yeah".

In other words, Clay has a lust to murder. The point which might confuse Kev’s Crime Corner readers is the point in the call which Clay refers to the enjoyment he takes in telling his victims they are about to die:

Howard: "Am I the only guy you have told about this?"

Clay: " Yeah."

Howard: "Wow. I guess thats sort of an honour."

Clay: "Well, I told a couple of women Howard but eh..(laughs)."

Robin: "You did?!"

Howard: "Yeah. Did you tell em first and then you kill em?"

Clay: "eh,..yeah..yeah, its more fun..."

Howard:" Lets say.."

Clay:" ...every now and then you can play the running game if you're out in the middle of nowhere. We got a lot of middle of nowhere down here.

His desire see some of his victims suffer just before they die is thus a expression of his psychopathic type as opposed to a violent sexual paraphilia of sadism. This is evident throughout the call.

Let's now investigate the forensic victimology of Clay's murders:

This is also the point in the call that reveals the most common victim of serial killers: Prostitutes. In terms of classification these serial homicides are actually femicides (with the exception of one victim who was misidentified as a female). The term ‘femicide’ was coined by criminologist Diana Russell to make the distinction between a homicide which involves a murder committed against a female because she is female and other types of homicides. The difference is that femicides frequently involve elements of discrimination, oppression and the inequality of women, and may or may not be, at least in part, due to cultural constructs and beliefs about women's value and place in society. Alternatively, femicides can involve more small-scale abuse related to machismo (an expression of masculine strength, privilege and dominance over females):

Ted Bundy is an example of a serial offender who only committed femicides

In other words, femicide is a sexist crime or a crime with indicators of misogyny. This can involve a single femicide or an act of mass femicide by a patriarchal

system or offender. A femicide can either be active and direct (such as, an intimate partner femicide) or it can be passive and indirect (such as, deaths due to the human trafficking of females). The selection of "hookers" is common for serial killers because they are a high exposure victims who are easy to attain and kill. High exposure victims are victims who've a daily exposure to danger increasing the likely chance of physical or emotional harm. The emotional harm enacted on his suggested victims is another indicator of Clay's desire to turn his victims in to objects for his own sexual relief. Clay's urge see some of his victims suffer just before they die is thus a expression of his psychopathic type as opposed to his violent sexual paraphilia. The problem is this is all educated conjecture without any forensic evidence.

The question next to ask is are there any other relevant indicators that indicate Clay is a real serial killer?

The answer is yes. Clay refers to something very specific which further infers he is a

real serial killer. This specific point actually refers to the lack of time he spends killing:

Howard: "...and how far apart are these murders? Do you murder and then feel satisfied for a while?"

Clay: " I don't even understand why i do it Howard. I don't know if I ever get any satisfaction..."

Robin: "How often..."

Clay:" em..but the closest I have ever got anywhere was eh...the same night."

Robin:" Really."

Howard:"You killed two people in the same night?"

Clay:"Yeah but I went to Mississippi for the second one."

Howard:"hmm."

Robin:" So there is no pattern to how many weeks or days between murders?"

Clay: "No."

This refers to the “cooling off period” evidenced frequently in linked serial crimes (serial killer offences). Studies on serial homicides by Edelstein (2020) note that the cooling off period is typically longest between the third and forth murders of a series of serial murders. A nomothetic typology of serial offenders based upon there cooling periods has also been suggested by researchers Barnett Blumstein and Farrington (1989) who suggest that the shorter lengths of time between offences are committed by serial killers refer to as “frequents'' and longer period offences attributes to “occasionally”, It could be argued that this nomothetic typology is useful for determining the likely reoccurrence timing of an particular offender , however, case linkage often involves the over dependence upon identified (often misidentified) offender signature behaviours and, therefore, interpreting cooling periods as a signature “pattern” is somewhat problematic. Clay's cooling period is significant because it is indeed whats sets serial killers apart from other murderous offenders. This is additionally what makes serial killers difficult to catch. The reason is that the offender is largely unaware of why they have not killed again during the cooling period themselves so finding a pattern is almost impossible using time as a guide. The reasons for a serial offender to stop killing can be simple practical reasons as well as psychological. This is also evidenced in Clay's call:

Howard: " why do you think you stopped killing all of a sudden?"

Clay:" I..I..really don't know Howard. Part of it had to do with my car broke down."

Robin:" Oh...no transportation."

Howard: Seriously...thats the reason?!

Clay:" Well, that was the reason for a month but I guess after that it was all self control."

Clay’s description of his cooling period is thus very genuine and all these points together (and others not mentioned here) add to the potential of "Clay" being a genuine serial killer. I strongly suggest readers check out this very interesting call.

So there you have it Kev's Crime Corner fans!

A love letter to pizza, a lowdown on psychos, and an interesting call from a likely still at large serial killer called Clay!

AND

Happy New Year to my dear buddies at...