Robert Ressler
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Robert Ressler | |
---|---|
Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
Died | May 5, 2013 | (aged 76)
Alma mater | Michigan State University |
Occupation(s) | FBI agent, author |
Known for | Criminal profiling |
Military career | |
Branch | United States Army |
Years of service | 1957–1962 |
Rank | Major |
Robert Kenneth Ressler (February 21, 1937 – May 5, 2013) was an American FBI agent and author. He played a significant role in the psychological profiling of violent offenders in the 1970s and is often credited with coining the term "serial killer",[2] though the term is a direct translation of the German term Serienmörder coined in 1930 by Berlin investigator Ernst Gennat. After retiring from the FBI, he authored a number of books on serial murders, and often gave lectures on criminology.
Early life
Robert Ressler grew up on North Marmora Avenue in
Military career
Ressler served in the
FBI career
Ressler joined the FBI in 1970 and was recruited into the Behavioral Science Unit, which deals with drawing up psychological profiles of violent offenders, such as rapists and serial killers, who typically select victims at random.[citation needed]
Between 1976 and 1979, Ressler and criminal profiler coordinator of the Behavioral Science Unit John Douglas together organized the interviews of thirty-six incarcerated serial killers
He worked on many cases of serial homicide such as Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Richard Chase and John Joubert, and Montie Rissell.[citation needed]
Later life and death
Ressler retired from the FBI in 1990 and authored a number of books about serial murder. He actively gave lectures to students and police forces on the subject of criminology and, in 1993, was brought in, in London, to assist in the investigation into the murders committed by Colin Ireland. In 1995, Ressler met South African profiler Micki Pistorius at a conference in Scotland and she invited him to review her investigation of the "ABC Murders", so-called because of their location in the Johannesburg suburbs of Atteridgeville, Boksburg, and Cleveland. A man named David Selepe had died in police custody while being investigated as a suspect for the Cleveland murders, prior to the discovery of the Atteridgeville and Boksburg crimes, and the authorities feared that they had killed an innocent man while the real culprit was still at large. Ressler believed that Selepe was indeed responsible for the Cleveland murders, either alone or with an accomplice, and that the Atteridgeville and Boksburg murders had been committed by the same offender, but that this killer was not involved in the Cleveland murders. He also pointed out that the Atteridgeville-Boksburg murderer was gaining confidence with each killing and would contact the media. As predicted, serial killer Moses Sithole called the South African newspaper The Star to claim responsibility for the Atteridgeville and Boksburg murders, some time after Ressler left the case.[7][8]
Ressler's visit to
Ressler died at his home in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, on Sunday May 5, 2013, from Parkinson's disease, aged 76.[10]
Model for fictional characters
A screenplay adapted from his colleague John E. Douglas' book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit was picked up by Netflix.[11] Mindhunter stars Holt McCallany, who plays the character Special Agent Bill Tench, a lead character based on Ressler.[12][13] In 2021, Ressler was portrayed by Jake Hays in Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman. In 2024, Ressler was portrayed by Sean Cameron Michael in South Africa's Catch Me a Killer (TV series).
Books
- Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives (with Ann Wolbert Burgess) (1988)
- Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI (with Tom Shachtman) (1992)
- Justice Is Served (with Tom Shachtman) (1994)
- I Have Lived in the Monster (with Tom Shachtman) (1998)
See also
- Crime Classification Manual
- FBI method of profiling
- Forensic psychology
- Investigative psychology
- Offender profiling
References
- ISBN 978-1-909976-86-3. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ "Who Coined "Serial Killer"?". Psychology Today.
- ^ "Sleuth Took A Serial Interest In Gacy". August 5, 1996. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
- ^ ISBN 0312950446.
- ^ "Robert Ressler: The Man Who Lived with Monsters". YouTube.
- ^ "The Birth of Modern Day Criminal Profiling". Psychology Today. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
- ^ Pistorius, Micki (2012) Catch me a killer. Penguin UK, 209 pages.
- ^ Murray, William (2009) Serial Killers. Canary Press, 192 pages.
- ^ "Marcela Valdes, "Alone Among the Ghosts: Roberto Bolano's '2666'", The Nation, 19 November, 2008".
- ^ Gould, Pamela (May 10, 2013). "Former FBI profiler Robert K. Ressler has died". fredericksburg.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
- ^ Friedlander, Whitney (December 22, 2015). "David Fincher, Charlize Theron's Mind Hunter Series Set at Netflix". Variety. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
- Salon. Archivedfrom the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
- ^ "Holt McCallany on Twitter". Twitter. May 22, 2016. Archived from the original on February 7, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
External links
- Official website
- Robert K Ressler interview at www.sci-fi-online.com
- Robert Ressler obituary at Forensic Behavioral Science International
- Obituary