‘Problem will not be finding suspects ...’

IT is very likely the serial killer has a criminal past, a leading psychologist has said.

Professor David Canter said such individuals usually have criminal backgrounds, including burglary and drug dealing, as well as violence.

“They evolve through various stages of criminality, but by far the biggest influence on their unfolding violence is getting away with their first murder,” he said.

Prof Canter — director of the Centre of Investigative Psychology at the University of Liverpool — said if police can identify the first violent crime, it can help solve the case, as the killer “would not have honed his skills”.

“Crimes like this grow out of a festering anger that is aggravated by a distorted view of women as either paragons or whores. There are fundamentalist cultures that see women as evil seductresses who deny men the virtues that will take them to heaven. It is not surprising that even within our own society there are men who harbour the same confused perspective.”

Prof Canter said where the bodies are found can help build “a picture of what the offender’s ‘mental map’ is of the area”. He said that recognising there is a serial killer makes the investigation more complex.

“The investigation immediately draws into its remit all the unsolved murders in the area, and beyond. The problem will not be finding suspects, but eliminating all the potential killers.”