A few odds and ends after reading about the last 80 posts...
1. Did the killer(s) know the area well and plan things carefully?
Obviously the fact that the shootings have all been in the same general area makes it very likely the killer(s) are local. However, even more important in evading authorities than meticulous planning is the ability to simply avoid "fitting the part." In other words, I highly doubt the killer(s) dress in army fatigues or have gun racks in the back of their vans. For all we know they were dressed in their usual work clothes and appeared to the police like two guys driving between jobs.
2. Significance of Tarot Card
LPS5 was dead-on with the importance of seeing which shops in the area sell Tarot decks that match the found death card. As this card was left at only a single killing, and the ninth one at that, it's very unlikely the killer started out intending to be known as the tarot card killer. Therefore, it seems much more likely he went out and bought a pack for the occasion. It may well be he had a deck lying around at home, but as the ninth killing was the first one after a weekend off, he certainly did have some leisure time to buy one.
Janice has a good point that women are much more likely to buy Tarot cards than men, but there are much more persuasive reasons that make me think the killer(s) are men. First off, men are much more likely to own guns, especially rifles, and much more likely to be serial killers. Second, if there is indeed an accomplice as seems to be the prevailing thought, now we're talking two women, raising the odds even higher. Third, given the vehicles the police have sketched, men are much more likely than women to hold the types of jobs you'd expect the drivers of them to have. Lastly, the murder at issue was of a child, not an adult. In other words, somehow I can't picture two rifle-toting women tooling around in a small commercial truck or van shooting down children.
As we've read, the "death card" in a Tarot deck does not really mean "death", meaning anyone using it to denote as such doesn't really know Tarot. It's possible the killer got the card from his wife's deck, but somehow if she were really into Tarot I'd think she'd notice it was missing, so why risk it. My first exposure to Tarot was via the James Bond movie "Live and Let Die", where the death card played a prominent role-- meaning, yes, death. All the Bond movies have been Sunday night features on ABC very recently. Men like Bond movies (I see Ken Kirk made this point as well).
Assuming the Tarot card is truly a piece of related evidence, I think it, above all else, could prove to be the killing duo's undoing. I'm reminded of the recent "Dartmouth murders." The culprits were tracked down by the unique knife sheathes they left at the scene. The police determined they must have been bought on the net, tracked down who bought them in the New Hampshire area, and bingo.
3. "I am God"
I see that the words "I am God" are common in video games, the implication being that the killers may be "gamers" who have blurred the line between fantasy and reality. Hmmm... aren't gamers synonymous with couch potatoes? Aren't hunters, military types, and blue-collar workers synonymous with the great outdoors?
4. Other Ways to Catch the Killers
I hope the police have been writing down the license plate number of each vehicle they've checked. If there is a next time, any vehicle they see a second time should be immediately considered highly suspect.
- Jeff |
