Decapitated, handless body washed with bleach

[BadKitty]

In the real case, the killer wasn't caught. Mine will be

Question: if there are no matches to a missing person as far as tattoos, scars, etc., is there any other means of identifying the victim? Her DNA is not on file. Can't decide whether to give her implants so the serial number can be traced. If I don't...or have the killer hack off her breasts...then what? She gets stored as a Jane Doe and the killer goes on his merry way?

Thank you!

[Kimble]

You have a warped mind... What about fingerprints or dental records (you were vague in what you're looking for, but I assume identification of who the victim is?).

[Cat_Doc]

Usually a decapitated and handless body dump will not provide dental and fingerprint clues, Kimble. LMAO

[marinepilot]

You have a warped mind... What about fingerprints or dental records (you were vague in what you're looking for, but I assume identification of who the victim is?).

I would think that it would be tough to get fingerprints or dental records on a decapitated, handless body which was washed with bleach...

I guess I would have to say that if the detectives can't identify the body, they really have no place to start on looking for suspects. Most murders are done by someone the victim knows (at least that's what I've read online), but if you don't know who the victim is, you can't really tell who they might have known. If you want your killer to be caught, you're going to have to come up with some way of identifying who his / her victims are so the police have somewhere to start looking, otherwise I think your description of storing the body as a Jane Doe and leaving the case open to get cold would be about it.

[Cat_Doc]

The recovered corpse descriptors would be checked against missing person reports. They would still be able to get a DNA confirmation from blood relatives if they needed to when a possible missing ID was located.

While it is not a national security secret, we normally do not get into any survival tactics or investigative skills on this public forum which may assist a criminal. (Do not interpret that I am accusing you of being one!)

Scumbags can certainly learn a lot about this on their own initiative, but why make it easy for them?

With that said, I would say the chances of identifying your body dump are much greater now than it was even 10 years ago.

[G35 Mass]

A cop could find a bag of hands during a traffic stop, but then you'd be using reality and that's never too entertaining.

[BadKitty]

You have a warped mind... No, it's a real case that a detective told me about. I have a warped sense of humor and a fondness for whoopee cushions. What about fingerprints or dental records (you were vague in what you're looking for, but I assume identification of who the victim is?).

...Ummmm...not possible without a head or hands.

I think I'll go with implants. Could be a tie-in. Haven't decided what killer does with heads and hands.

[BadKitty]

A cop could find a bag of hands during a traffic stop, but then you'd be using reality and that's never too entertaining.

Ack! Really? Bleah. He could probably dissolve the heads and hands in a barrel of acid, like that guy in England. He got caught when somebody found teeth.

[BadKitty]

The recovered corpse descriptors would be checked against missing person reports. They would still be able to get a DNA confirmation from blood relatives if they needed to when a possible missing ID was located.

While it is not a national security secret, we normally do not get into any survival tactics or investigative skills on this public forum which may assist a criminal. (Do not interpret that I am accusing you of being one!)

Scumbags can certainly learn a lot about this on their own initiative, but why make it easy for them?

With that said, I would say the chances of identifying your body dump are much greater now than it was even 10 years ago.

Thank you. I don't want to use hookers as the victims-- too easy--but I need at least three victims before he's considered a serial killer, right? I also don't want to give any wackos any ideas. There must be a fine line somewhere between writing something utterly believable and having some crazy think, "Oh, I could do this." I need to have the capture as a result of good police work, not a fluke or because of sloppiness on the killer's part. You have given me a lot to think about! Should I perhaps go talk to the detective that I know? I don't want to pester him. But I'm going to have a lot of questions. I do want a feasible scenario. I like puzzles, so I'm thinking that writing a good detective story is like solving a puzzle. Not wooden ones.

[BadKitty]

Also, from what I've read, killers who choose random victims are less likely to be caught. I'm beginning to wonder if there are any real killers out there who read something in a novel and copied it. Creepy. I think I need a cop who knows me personally to read the book as I go along. I love research and I'm good at it, so it will be factual.

[marinepilot]

I need to have the capture as a result of good police work, not a fluke or because of sloppiness on the killer's part.

Strangely enough, killers are sloppy by nature, some just realize it and clean up a bit better than others. Good police work is recognizing that murder is sloppy and finding something the killer forgot to clean up or didn't know about.

[BadKitty]

What about the "intelligent, organized killer"? I've been doing a lot of reading about killers and profiling. It seems that the ones that haven't been caught simply stopped. Of course, they could be dead or in jail. The majority that were caught, were indeed caught because they got sloppy. But BTK comes to mind. Jeffrey Dahmer was caught because a victim escaped.

I'm debating whether to make my killer married. Married serial killers are definitely in a minority. He'd have to have a job that allowed him to be peripatetic. Maybe if he was a CEO...improbable? Or a promoter/nightclub owner? I know several that I could mash together to make a killer. I can't think of any high-income serial killers.

Turns out decapitation is quite messy and should be done postmortem. I did find a really, really good way to dispose of the heads and hands, but won't say it on a public forum. I think that's how the police will catch him, too.

Thank you for the input.

[retdetsgt]

Strangely enough, killers are sloppy by nature, some just realize it and clean up a bit better than others. Good police work is recognizing that murder is sloppy and finding something the killer forgot to clean up or didn't know about.

We don't catch the good ones, the Zodiac killer comes to mind. I have more unsolved cases than I like to think about, all were no doubt random victims. There are just a few rules to follow and if you don't get caught in the first ten minutes after the crime, you probably won't. Motive is the thing that gives nearly all away though. No motive, it's much harder to get a starting place.

[Gutwrench]

Zodiac brings back memories.

David Carpenter is another good example. He was tripped up by a mere parking ticket.

[oscarmitre]

Nothing to do with the thread but still my favourite tabloid headline:

HEADLESS BODY IN TOPLESS BAR
(New York Post, 1982)