Luckily, it doesn’t happen often, but I have represented a couple serial killers.  People ask me:  “What are they really like?”

Well, they’re like most of us—unfortunately.  With a few differences, of course.  I remember defending a guy named Joe several years ago.  He was accused of four rape cases and then the prosecutors got around to charging him with murder—several of them.

He was a young guy, in his thirties, and had worked as a part time car mechanic for a living.   He would generally pick up young girls who were alone on the streets.  His usual method was to talk them up a little and then try to get them into his car.

After he was convicted of all four rapes, he started to confess to the first of several murders.  They were some of the most gruesome I’d ever heard.  He’d taken one woman far out into the country, threatened her with a knife, stabbed her  to death in the chest—and then raped her.  He followed another woman home and when she wouldn’t have sex with him, killed her with a shotgun and proceeded to shoot her children as well.  A really nice guy.

I remember going to the jail to interview him.  The cells were small, made of concrete, and had a plastic table with two plastic chairs in each one.  He had spent several months there waiting for his trials.  The jail food isn’t good and he had started to gain weight.  He had an arrogant attitude about the prosecutors and their evidence, saying he could explain everything to a jury.

Like most criminals I’ve worked with, he had a personality disorder—to say the least.  Some of us are neurotic, that is we take on responsibility for people and things we don’t need to do.  Most criminals are the opposite—they blame everyone for their problems and don’t take responsibility for anything, even their crimes.

Joe fit the pattern exactly and told me repeatedly about how misunderstood he was and how the world was trying to screw him all the time.

Then, during one of our conversations, I looked up at him and my breath caught in my throat.  I saw a human sitting across the plastic desk from me and he talked like a human, but there wasn’t any human being inside the body.  I felt like a vacuum had sucked all the air out of the small room.  He didn’t have a conscience and I saw that clearly for the first time.  I didn’t feel physically threatened, but it was worse.  I was spiritually frightened to be in the presence of something evil.

The court psychologists tell me they use the terms sociopaths and psychopaths interchangeably.  To me, it didn’t make any difference.  The person sitting before me was a sociopath with no conscience.

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Arsonists are fascinating criminals!!

I did a lot of research about arsonists for my book, Flashover.  I learned that they have a very different psychological personality makeup from other criminals.  Statistically, they look like other criminals: low education, low skills, low income, male usually, chemical abuse issues, etc.  But in other areas, they look much different.

For one thing, many arsonists are sociopaths.  The simple way to psychologically define a sociopath is to say that they lack a conscience.  As a result, they aren’t able to emotionally relate to other people.  They don’t follow moral or ethical rules because “the rules don’t apply to them.”  They can certainly understand the rules intellectually, but they don’t care.  At the same time, they can fake having a conscience—which makes them dangerous since the rest of us tend to believe them.

To be a successful arsonist, may require some technical skills.  Of course, it’s easy to set a fire in a garage and run, but many arsonists pride themselves on their skills compared to other violent criminals.  For instance, bombs are often used to ignite a fire and that takes a technical understanding beyond the ability of most criminals.

Many arsonists are gutsy and relish the challenge of committing a crime and getting away with it.  For instance, a common way to start a fire is to tape some wooden matches half-way down the side of the cigarette.  The arsonist lights the cigarette, goes into a store, tosses the smoldering cigarette into a pile of highly combustible material, (pillows, potato chips, plastic products), and leaves the scene.  When the cigarette burns down, it ignites the matches which create a flame.  Meanwhile, the arsonist gets a five to ten minute head start to get away.

Usually, arsonists watch the fires they’ve built.  They take pride at their “creations” and get a psychological high by watching and listening to the other spectators comment on the fire.  As a result, many become addicted to this high and set larger fires and even expose themselves to greater risk of capture.  Combine this with a sociopathic personality and you’ve got a dangerous criminal.

Do the police solve these cases?

Rarely.  Unlike the usual crime scene, a fire destroys all the evidence.  There would be very little for a CSI team to analyze.  Maybe that’s why arson is one of the fastest growing crimes in the country.

The post Serial Arsonists on “Castle” appeared first on Colin T. Nelson.

Like my previous books, this is a suspense crime novel set in Minneapolis.  The main character is a young, female prosecutor named Zehra who is ambitious to become a judge.  She is assigned a case of an alleged arsonist and hopes a successful conviction of the suspect will give her reputation a boost and her self a judgeship.

Trouble is, as she works on the trial, she becomes concerned that they have accused the wrong man.  There have been a series of suspicious fires during one of the hottest summers in the history of Minneapolis.  While she’s prosecuting the suspect, Cyrus Miller, other fires break-out, including a huge fire near the Mall of America which kills several people.  Did Cyrus Miller also do that one?  If not, who is the real arsonist?  Will she convict an innocent man?

Meanwhile, the villain is planning the biggest fire of all time—an explosion at Target Field, where the Minnesota Twins play, that will burn it down and kill thousands of people.

I did extensive research into many subjects that will interest readers.  The personality of a serial arsonist is much different than that of other criminals.  This villain is also a sociopath—only 4 % of the American population qualifies as such.  When you combine a sociopath with an arsonist—watch out!

I also interviewed a fire investigator from the Minneapolis Fire Department to learn how they investigate fires to determine if it’s arson, who started it, and where the fire started.   A security expert taught me how to build a bomb—not that I’d ever do that!  The arsonist will use that information to blow-up Target Field.  You’ll find out what the villain knows.

The story builds in suspense and Zehra must solve the case and discover the villain in order to stop the fires and the killing.

Also, if you live in the Twin City area, I will host a book release party at:

Magers & Quinn Booksellers, 3038 Hennepin Ave. So.  Minneapolis September 19th from 4:30-7:00.

There will be free food, wine, and live music in addition to the party!  Come celebrate with me and let me thank you for your support!

The post FLASHOVER — My New Book is Out appeared first on Colin T. Nelson.

Last post, I looked at the recently arrested arsonist, Harry Burkhart, who is alleged to have started more than 50 fires in California.  I also pointed out that fire investigators try to solve two mysteries at the scene of a fire:

1.  Where did the fire start?

2.  How did the fire start?

The answer to these questions can lead to the conclusion the fire wasn’t accidental but was the work of an arsonist.  Who are arsonists?

Research has created some statistical answers:

1.  The majority of arsonists are between 17-26 and are almost always male.

2.  Usually, the arsonists are average to above-average intelligence but poor academic performers, lower income, and unsuccessful people in most commonly accepted ways.

3.  They have poor relationships with family and friends

Investigators also look at the possible motives of the arsonist.  These can include:

1.  Revenge

2.  Fun

3.  Financial–start the fire to get the insurance money

4.  Failing business

5.  A sociopath who started the fire for psychological reasons of power, control, and success.

Investigators use a variety of investigative techniques.  Witnesses, if any, can provide answers to the source of the fire, how and when it started, and possible suspects observed at the scene of the fire.  The firefighters are often the best witnesses because the know what to look for and are usually unemotional about their observations.

Investigators do a forensic analysis of evidence obtained at the scene.  Often, they may find evidence of igniters, like gasoline, in the charred remains which can indicate arson.  They have hydrocarbon meters that can detect the presence of gas or other flammables even if it has soaked into carpeting or wood.  They will also analyze the financial records of businesses or individuals to see if there might be a motive to collect insurance money.

As a result of these clues, investigators can often establish a rough profile of the arsonist suspect and focus their investigation on that person.  If a suspect is caught, investigators have specialized interrogation techniques that are different from usual police questioning and work more successfully with arsonists.

One of the scariest arsonists is the sociopath.  These are people who, psychologically, have no conscience.  They don’t have any remorse (actually, most arsonists don’t have remorse) and don’t have an ability to connect emotionally with other people.  Fire becomes an instrument for power and a weapon of choice.  Studies have grouped these offenders into the following motivations:

1.  Jealousy motivated–  Uses fire to get back at some insult to his vanity.

2.  Pseudo hero– Uses fire to rush in and make a rescue, save a life, etc.

3.  Fire buff–  Like a police groupie, only with firefighters.

4.  Excitement oriented–  Uses fire out of boredom

5.  Pyromaniac–  Uses fire repeatedly as a kind of neurotic obsessive-compulsive behavior.

For fire investigators, the sociopath is the scariest because they lack any conscience and even if caught, will often not confess because they don’t feel any remorse and sorrow for lost lives or property.  Luckily, there aren’t many of these kind of fire starters around!

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