Our team was recently contacted to consult on a case involving the murders of eight women in a small town in Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana. Murders that some feel are the work of a serial killer. While following up on the information provided, we have also been perusing the JDP Killer Blog, where we happened upon a poignant story that must be told.

Just my take on some of the posts related to the motive, method, and opportunity of school shooters and such. Regardless of intent, it seems to me that the general rationale of some bloggers and posters for explaining (aka: justifying) the murderous acts of school shooters is basically the same as the illogical spiel of Islamic terrorists recruiting suicide bombers to murder innocent people.

The 1970s was a tumultuous time. On the heels of the beatniks, Manson's family, and Kent state, the anti-establishment generation vowed to avoid the mistakes of its predecessors. The shadow of course, remained ever present, threatening to rip away what little innocence remained of the seemingly naive American psyche—whether taking the form of Bundy's disarming looks, Jone's cyanide-laced kool aide, or the ellusive slayer who left his calling cards along the Green River. It was during this period when a teen embarked on a journey that would bring her face to face with a shadow that we, as a society, would just as soon forget.

On Thursday, February 14, 2008, an individual dressed in black burst into a Northern Illinois University (NIU) lecture auditorium, injuring 17 and leaving 5 dead, before taking his own life. Early reports were sketchy, though University officials acknowledged that the gunman, while not a current student, was an NIU graduate, member of the Alpha Kappa Delta Sociology Honor Society, was accepted into the graduate program for the fall of 2006, and received a Dean's award—also in 2006. While the media had not released the his name at the onset of this article, they provided ample clues regarding his possible identity.