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CNN Live Today
Searching for a Killer
Aired September 04, 2002 - 12:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Authorities released a partial profile of the Baton Rouge serial killer, in hopes of finding new leads in this case.
Joining us now to talk more about the profile and what it reveals is retired FBI special agent Don Clark.
Don, great to see you.
DON CLARK, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Good to see you, Kyra. Tough situation again.
PHILLIPS: I know. It always when we speak, isn't it?
CLARK: Well, with regard to this profile, how did FBI agent put this together? Did all the information come from the crime scenes?
PHILLIPS: I suspect a large amount of it, Kyra, came from the crime scene, because that's where the genesis of everything has to start, the crime scene and how particular the investigative agents are in gathering that information and being able to sort it through so that the profilers can take a look at it.
Rarely, if ever, do I recall a profiler being on the scene of a crime, so -- not on the scene of a crime, but after the crime has taken place. Usually, it's the investigators. So they really got to do a bang-up job to make sure they get everything the profilers need.
CLARK: And there a couple of things that came out about his shoe size, his age, his etnicity. How do they determine those things? For example age. Is that through DNA?
PHILLIPS: Well, a lot of it is through DNA, and keep in mind, Kyra, and got to say, I made my living for a lot of years by taking the advice from these profilers on the information that they have to give, but nonetheless, it is not an exact science, but there are a lot of probabilities that they can make based on what they find there, particularly if they get such thing as hairs, or fibers from different types of clothing, maybe even blood and DNA.
So DNA now has modernized things, so it really gives them a lot of leeway to make some great assumptions from.
PHILLIPS: FBI agent say they believe he is impulsive, he is non- threatening, he is determined -- that seems like a pretty common description, though. It sounds like Ted Bundy being described. CLARK: You're absolutely right. It could be a Ted Bundy, because that's the type of person that Ted Bundy was, but they're also basing that on experience as well and historical perspectives.
Even I found that over the years, if you found a very violent crime scene, it's likely that the person may have surprised the victim and frightened them and didn't know them. On the other hand, if you find one that hasn't been really disrupted, no forced entry or something of that nature, then you may be looking at the con man approach, where someone has a great personality, at least they appear to have a great personality, try to win someone over, win their favors, and then get close to them, and then this heinous activity takes place.
PHILLIPS: Well, investigators also say that this media coverage could be making the serial killer agitated and angry. I thought that serial killers loved the attention, and they thrive on media attention.
CLARK: That is a tough call to whether or not the media attention to this would be causing a person do that. I suspect that other activities may be causing it. Now there have been cases where afterwards, you found out that the media may have things that were put out there, may have agitated a person to do so.
But I think the appetite is really sort of teased by other activities and nothing that's done outside of the individual. Most of it comes from within. This is an impulsive type of a crime, and they people usually have to fill that appetite at some point, so not necessarily the media.
PHILLIPS: Do you think this suspect has fled the Baton Rouge area?
CLARK: You know, my experience, again, has been is that most of the time, if the person is not getting caught and they feel they are safe, they will stay in that area, or at least in the area of operation from which they have been operating all along. For example, the rail car killer that we tracked down here in Texas for a long time. He really didn't deviate from his path and the places that he had gone throughout our investigation, until he decided to hide out once we had identified him and put a name to him. And I suspect that may take place with this one as well.
PHILLIPS: Don Clark, I hope the next time speak is when this man is captured.
CLARK: Thank you. I do, too, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, thanks, Don.
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