Why Are We Surprised When We Can't Find Serial Killers?

At his office near the Empire State Building, Rex Heuermann, 59 years old, was known as a veteran architectural consultant and a self-styled expert at navigating the intricacies of New York City’s building code.

His neighbors saw him leave his home in a commuter suit. Some who lived close by described him as menacing, glowering at them while swinging an ax in the front yard of his dilapidated house. Parents warned their children to avoid the house on Halloween. He was not well-liked.

On July 13, 2023, Mr. Heuermann was arrested and charged with murder in the killings of three of the “Gilgo Four,” a group of women whose remains were unearthed near Long Island’s Gilgo Beach in 2010. It took police nearly 15 years to arrest him.

The case began in 2010, with the retrieval of four female bodies on a desolate stretch of Ocean Parkway close to Gilgo Beach. It was the first of the remains of nine women, a man and a toddler who were found in the area.

From the beginning, the four women whose bodies were first retrieved were classified as prostitutes. These presumptions have now been discarded.

After his arrest, evidence collected at his one-story house, included an arsenal of 279 weapons, most of them which were located in a basement vault big enough to walk into.

He was twice married and raising two children.

People who knew him as a teenager portrayed him as awkward, solitary and volatile, none of which describes him as an alleged budding serial killer.

If convicted of these crimes, Mr. Heuermann would join the ranks of serial killers who led double lives, most of whom were married and led quite mundane lives.

Recent events have reminded us of the names of notorious serial killers who have headlined our newspapers over the years including Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Dennis Rader and Gary Ridgeway, to name a few. We now can add another to this list; Rex Heuerman.

The question we all want an answer to is how can a person be provoked into such desperation and/or rage that a personality state is created that defies understanding. Even more frightening is the fact that these (mostly) men move through our world in a normal state of being that gives no clue and leaves no suspicion of what else belies their existence.

"How are these people created?", scientists ask. Is there a constellation of characteristics that they all share that will lend a clue toward early detection? Can we catch them earlier and decrease their activities?

Is it complex PTSD driven by past experiences and self-states? As we peruse previous histories there is nothing profoundly traumatic that catches one’s eye. Perhaps it is a lack of regulatory support by a caregiver? A person doesn’t learn to soothe themselves in a way that is socially acceptable, so they find other ways. Maybe some have had early sadistic caregivers, although this also doesn’t seem applicable.

We all live in unique states at different times, which help us cope with the multitudes of situations we encounter in life. Adaptation requires flexibility.

Maybe dissociation, aggression and rage is like weather. Weather is formed by prior conditions; clouds, winds, moisture in the air. It is a combination of all these states in different proportions that produce weather.

For these tortured souls who torture others, perhaps it is the outcome of conditions such as; cultural rules, money, warmth, coldness, schooling, friends, upbringing and the brain's unique way of adjusting to these conditions that yield these acts. They are as nebulous as predicting our weather. But when the storms ensue, their brutality is unpredictable and indescribable.

Ted Bundy was an attractive, bright, articulate engaging law student. He reported an uneventful childhood. Although there were reports of his anger that he was born illegitimate, there were few surface tensions with his mother and nothing else extraordinary in the course of his childhood. Bundy’s grandfather was reported to be a violent man and he has been described as having a raging temper.

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It is thought that Bundy’s first victim was in 1974 when he was 14 years old, although before his execution he predated them and confessed to three prior murders. Over a four-year period of time, he confessed to 30 murders, but it is believed there were many more. He escaped twice, got married while incarcerated and had a daughter. A 1979 Psychology Today article written by Dr. Scott Bonn describes Bundy as a “power/control serial killer. The primary motivation of such a killer is to dominate his victims. Bundy enjoyed torturing his prey and found it sexually arousing, but it was the act of murder that was his most satisfying and final expression of power and control over his victims.” Since Bundy never explained his motives in these words, we will never know if this was actually his truth.

John Wayne Gacy killed at least 33 boys, but to many people, he was a friendly man who loved to entertain young children. He frequently dressed up as his alter ego, Pogo the Clown. He was married twice and had two children. His father was described as an alcoholic who was verbally and physically abusive to his family. The elder Gacy frequently belittled his son, calling him "dumb and stupid" and Gacy was sexually abused by a neighbor. Gacy had a history of sexual abuse allegations against young boys, for which he was briefly incarcerated. It took six years to catch Gacy and the last of his victims wasn’t identified until 2017. Five remain unidentified to date. He worked as a respected contractor for 30 years in his community.

The BTK killer Dennis Rader was a pillar in his community. He married in 1971 and had two children. Dennis went on to work a job at ADT Security Services, installing security alarms in local homes from 1974 to 1988. He then went on to hold a job as a city compliance officer, while also serving as the president of the Christ Lutheran Church council and as a Cub Scout leader. He murdered 10 victims from 1974 to 1991, periodically taunting the police with clues. He even gave himself the name “Bind, Torture, Kill" for the police. Rader explained, "I got along real well with Dad, but Mom wasn't always so happy. I've always loved her. I still love her greatly. But I did have a little — a little bit of a grudge against Momma." No other anomalies. It took 30 years to catch him.

Jeffrey Dahmer killed 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. Mrs. Dahmer is said to have struggled with her mental health after the birth of her two boys before the couple filed for divorce in July 1978. She reported the use of drugs to help her cope with her mental distress but unquestionably loved both her sons. Mr. Dahmer held a full-time job throughout his reign of terror in Milwaukee, leading a normal uneventful existence. He went to the gay bars in the evenings, which was where he often found his victims. It took 17 years to catch him.

Gary Leon Ridgway was known as the Green River Killer. He was initially convicted of 48 murders. As part of his plea bargain, one more conviction was added, bringing the total number of convictions to 49. He killed teenage girls and women in the state of Washington during the 1980s and 1990s.

He graduated from high school and joined the United States Navy. He was sent to Vietnam and witnessed combat. During his time in the military, Ridgway frequented sex workers and contracted gonorrhea, and although angered he continued this activity without protection.

Ridgway settled in the Seattle area, where he worked as a truck painter. Over the next 30 years, he married three times and had a son. It took 20 years to catch him.

These men live in society undetected. They are married and divorced, work jobs, have children, participate in community activities or are loners. They live normative lives and we have no way of finding them until another state of who they are arises as a serial killer.