Killers Among Us An Examination of Serial Murder and Its Investigation

The first edition of this book, published in 1998, was my second attempt to provide an overview of the phenomenon of serial murder and to discuss its investigation. This was essentially an update of my first book on serial murder,Serial Murder: An Elusive Phenomenon,published in 1990 by Praeger Publishers. This second edition ofThe Killers Among Usprovides an expanded overview and exploration of the phenomenon of serial murder and its investigation using the same basic format as the first edition. Minor editorial revisions have been made throughout the book. Part I has been updated and expanded, with the addition of minor myths to the major myths of serial murder discussed in Chapter 1 and the inclusion of additional theories of the etiology of serial murder in Chapter 2. A discussion of a number of serial killers in the United States and internationally has been added to Chapter 3. My essay, "Serial Killing of the Lambs in Our Dreams: Concept of the 'Less-Dead,' " now stands alone as an introduction to Chapter 4 on victims, which has been completely rewritten by Kim Egger to include the results of a preliminary analysis of her database of 1,246 serial killers identified worldwide between 1990 and 1999. Chapter 5, which discusses mass media treatment of serial murder, has been completely rewritten and expanded. Part II now includes seven case studies of serial killers rather than four. The study of Jeffrey Dahmer, which appeared alone in Part IV of the first edition, is now included with the other case studies. Two additional case studies are new to this edition. The case study of Joseph Miller, written by Don Larson, describes Miller's killings in the Chicago and Peoria, Illinois, areas. The case study of Jerry Marcus, written by Linda Kreuger, describes Marcus's killings in three southern states. Marcus is unique among the seven case studies in that he is African American and also because most of his victims were women he knew. Chapter 13 presents a cross-case analysis of these seven case studies. Only minor changes have been made in Part III since the status of serial murder investigation has remained essentially unchanged. As in the first edition, Part IV briefly discusses the future of the phenomenon and of its investigation. This book is intended for a variety of audiences. Students attempting to understand the phenomenon of serial murder and its investigation will find the book useful. It is designed as a text for a separate course on serial murder or as a supplement to a variety of college and university courses, including Criminology, Criminal Justice, Victimology, Deviant Behavior, Penology, Criminal Investigation, and Abnormal Behavior. Crime writers should find this book useful as a research tool. It is my hope that criminal investigators will also find this book useful in dealing with serial murder investigations or in becoming prepared to respond to such an investigation.Egger, Steven A. is the author of 'Killers Among Us An Examination of Serial Murder and Its Investigation', published 2001 under ISBN 9780130179159 and ISBN 0130179159.