The urge to kill has been a subject of intrigue for decades – especially when it comes to serial killers.
And now one of the most notorious has finally been sentenced for crimes committed decades ago…
The story of the East Area Rapist / Original Night Stalker is truly the stuff of legend.
He terrorized the state of California for decades under different aliases, managing to evade capture.
The true-crime community got their teeth into the cold case, and something miraculous happened.
The author (and late wife of comedian Patton Oswald) wrote I’ll Be Gone In The Dark, the story of her attempts to solve the grisly crime.
As the discovery of the real identity of the Golden State Killer (Joseph DeAngelo) was discovered.
While the crimes of those who kill are utterly heinous, something about the darker side of humanity seems to induce intrigue within many of us. Why would anyone want to kill another human being? Why do they think they have the right to take someone else life away from them?
Serial killers have struck up terror in society for decades, so it’s no wonder that many of us are fascinated by what causes them to kill.
The streaming giant’s series, Making a Murderer, arguably skyrocketed everyone’s fascination with the overarching true crime genre.
The story dealt with a man who may or may not have been wrongfully imprisoned for the murder of car photographer, Teresa Halbach.
Bundy is one of the world’s most notorious serial killers, who confessed to killing thirty young women from 1974 to 1978. Although, the actual number of victims is unknown.
Why anyone would want to inflict such horror on another human being is truly a mystery.
Antisocial Personality Disorder (otherwise known as sociopathy).
The personality disorder essentially creates reduced connectivity to the emotional system in the brain – meaning that these individuals can exhibit a wide range of behaviors including lack of conscience, inability to follow rules, tendency to lie, and manipulation.
The long-standing debate over what exactly causes psychopathy is still ongoing, with a set cause not yet determined.
Their psychopathic tendencies can allow them to blend well into society – leaving many people unsuspecting.
An investigation into serial murder by the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit in 2005 concluded that: “they are not monsters and may not appear strange. Serial murderers often have families and homes, are gainfully employed, and appear to be normal members of the community.”
Their “humanness” is one of the aspects that makes them so compelling.
And why they can go on killing, undetected, for years – sometimes even decades.
Including Ted Bundy, Jack The Ripper, and Jeffrey Dahmer.
“I didn’t know what made people want to be friends. I didn’t know what made people attractive to one another. I didn’t know what underlay social interactions.”
“I don’t feel guilty for anything. I feel sorry for people who feel guilt.”
“I’m as cold a m*therf****r as you’ve ever put your f*****g eyes on. I don’t give a s**t about those people.”
His sheer number of crimes boggles the mind, starting with burglaries, then moving into rapes, and finally murders.
DeAngelo pled guilty to 3 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of kidnapping for robbery.
And luckily, it seems as though his sentencing fits his crime.
DeAngelo was given a sentence of 11 consecutive life terms without parole, plus 15 life terms with the possibility of parole and eight years.
Many on Twitter had huge reactions to the news.