The Perfect Serial Killer Research Paper

The Makings of The Perfect Serial Killer Gayleen Lynn Wilde
CRMJ 4890 Final Paper
University of Wyoming

The Makings of The Perfect Serial Killer
The One Who Got Away
Who is that perfect serial killer? I would have to say it was the one who committed their crimes and was never caught, suspected or tried for those crimes. The one person who “got away” with their crimes and was not even a suspect or on any law enforcement radar to become a suspect.
Background on This Killer
This killer, Lou Marks, is the son of Louis Marks a career Air Force Lieutenant. He was the first born to Louis and Genevieve Marks on October 20, 1944. A few years later the couple had a daughter, Lee Marks.
His mother was diagnosed
At one time he opened up a camera shop in Stevens Point, Wisconsin and began doing freelance photography for the newspapers all around the state. Eventually he moved his shop to the first level of their two story home where he could keep an eye on Jean and the four children. Lou was very distrusting of Jean, he always was accusing her of cheating on him. The back room of the camera shop that was converted into a darkroom and he would develop all of his own photographs. He had taken photographs of murder scenes where women had been chopped into many pieces and those pieces were scattered around in a field. He showed these photographs to his daughters to frighten them into submission. Lou would tell his daughters that if they talk to anyone about anything or if they would be bad they would get cut up just like that woman did. Violence daily was Lou’s method of control within the home and fear controlled Jean and the children. For Lou it was do as I say and I will not beat you
He had no particular methodology to his killing. He was a horrific killer that if you crossed his path and lived, you were one of the lucky ones. An investigator for the FBI, Mr. Depue made the statement that “we’re beginning to see that the most successful violent criminals are not crazies…the majority of them are intelligent” (Michaud, 2). This was definitely the category that Lou fit in. Most of Lou’s killings would be the traits of the FBI’s term of an organized killer. He would lay out his area of work prior to acquiring his female victims from a bar, and would take them back to his photo studio under the pretense of photographing them. Lou would then have complete control over them when they would ingest the drugs and he would carry out the remaining deviant plan of killing and disposing of their bodies. The FBI defined psychopathy as “a personality disorder manifested in people who use a mixture of charm, manipulation, intimidation, and occasionally violence to control others, in order to satisfy their own selfish needs” which Lou possessed all of these traits (Morton & Hilts, 14). With these women he showed the traits of the Lust Killer as described by Holmes & Holmes as well (112). Lou also showed traits of a “Power/Control” serial killer as well (Holmes & Holmes, 153-168) as shown by Holmes & Holmes in the manner that he would technically stalk the women first watching and listening to them to pick the