Internet Murder

Remember the old days before computers when you used to have to do everything the hard way? If you wanted to learn something about a fact you had to look it up in the Encyclopedia Britannica. If you wanted to meet new people you had to leave your home and seek them out. If you wanted to get work done you had to dress up in a suit and drive all the way to the office.

Now we live in a world where everything is at our fingertips, thanks to the computerized world of technology. Every piece of information and every answer to every question are just a couple of keystrokes away through a Google search. Anything we want can be found online, from books to collectibles to friends.

The Internet opens up endless possibilities for an entrepreneurial spirit. Just about any product can be sold online. Any service can be identified through Internet resources.

Why should serial murder be any different? Remember the days when serial murderers used to tirelessly stalk their victims before finding them at a vulnerable time and location? What a hassle it was. So inefficient. If only there was a better way . . . but now there is. It’s all at your fingertips in the form of a computer and the internet.

Now with just a little bit of creative work, an innovative serial killer can spend his (or her) stalking time at home lying on the couch watching reality show reruns while the victims come to him (or her). What could be more efficient than that?

Philip Markoff, a 22-year-old Boston University medical student, was recently arrested under accusation of being the Craigslist Killer. Markoff, a clean-cut “boy-next-door” type, was engaged to be married to his fiancée on the beach in Long Branch, New Jersey. In his spare time he trolled the web under the username “sexaddict53885” and “sexaddict 5385.” Now he is accused of bludgeoning and shooting a female escort at the Marriott Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston, robbing a prostitute at gunpoint at another Boston hotel, and assaulting an exotic dancer at a hotel in Rhode Island. He reportedly found these women through classified ads on Craigslist, the on-line bulletin board website service.

What's next? Could it be possible that the entire serial murder process could someday be done online? Have you played the ME2 Satin Strangler serial killer challenge yet? Pretend you’re Destiny Blande through a computer simulation. You can kill without even leaving your living room.

What would happen to the serial killer support industry if such a change occurred? Would they continue to make biohazard canisters and oversized double ply Hefty bags? Is it time to sell our stock in duct tape and nylon cord companies?

Of course I jest. What’s the fun if you can’t get your hands a little dirty?

In any case, Philip Markoff at least proved that the internet is good for victim recruiting if you’re Crazy 4 Crazies.

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This is post #56 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).

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Forensics: Name That Strangulation

Our server has been ringing off the hook from Blande-o-phile emails since we wrote our blog on strangulation biology. Okay okay. Calm down out there. Here’s the blog we promised you on strangulation forensics. We hope it matches all the hype. We once again recommend that you read Strack and McClane’s famous strangulation forensics article from 1999, available at this link. You may want to read the article before taking our “Name That Strangulation” quiz below.

Let’s imagine you’re a coroner in a potential homicide case. I know – if you’re even half as Crazy 4 Crazies as we are, it’s too exciting to even imagine. But let’s just say that you are for a moment. They wheel the corpse in on a stretcher and it’s all up to you to decide what happened. Luckily you will have taken our “Name That Strangulation” quiz. The first 10 people who email correct answers to this quiz plus our “Name That Weapon” quiz will win a Hillside Strangler Mug-Shot-Mug with their choice of cousins – Buono or Bianchi.

Name That Strangulation #1: The victim’s neck has a dark red circumferential mark shaped like a teardrop, darkest in the front. The mark is high up, has an extra wide bruise just behind the left ear, and is lined by a series of fingernail scratches along the upper border. The “whites” of the eyes have small red peppered appearance. There is no internal fracturing of the hyoid bone or thyroid cartilage. Is this a manual strangulation, a ligature strangulation, or a hanging?

Name That Strangulation #2: There are numerous claw marks of different sizes and directions along the neck. Two round bruises, each a centimeter in width, lie over the area of the Adam’s apple. Pockets of air crackle under the skin when pressure is applied. There are blood patches filling the “whites” of the left eye, and numerous red dots along the neck and face. Internal examination reveals that the hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage are both fractured. Is this a manual strangulation, a ligature strangulation, or a hanging? Bonus question: was the assailant in front of or behind the victim?

Name That Strangulation #3: There is a dark horizontal mark around the neck just below the Adam’s apple. Numerous scratches and gouges are visible in the front of the neck and along the chin. There are many red dots along the “whites” of the eyes and just above the horizontal neck mark. On internal examination, the hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage are both broken. Is this a manual strangulation, a ligature strangulation, or a hanging?

Name That Strangulation #4: This victim had a known strangulation event three weeks before death. There were never any external markings, including during your postmortem examination. All of the neck anatomy appears normal on internal examination. The lungs are heavy with accumulated fluid, and there is pneumonia in a pattern suggesting eroding gastric acid as the cause. Can this death be due to strangulation?

Blood red eyes. Claw marks. Broken neck bones. Gastric acid eroding lungs. Don’t you just love a good bedtime story? Of course you do, because you’re Crazy 4 Crazies.

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This is post #53 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).

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Strangulation Biology 101

By popular demand from all of you Blande-o-philes out there, here is the Crazy 4 Crazies version of strangulation biology 101. We happen to love this stuff too, so it’s from a whole library of articles and websites that we have set aside as bedside reading. One of our favorites is Strack and McClane’s famous strangulation forensics article from 1999, available at this link.

You don’t have to have an advanced science degree to enjoy this one, so check it out. Our readers need to be well versed in strangulations, since they account for about 10% of all violent deaths each year.

You can kill someone by cutting off the blood going to their brain through their carotid arteries, the ones that squirt across the room in slash-happy horror flicks. All you need is 11 pounds of pressure for 10 seconds to make someone unconscious, so this is the best bang for your buck.

If you go for the jugular instead, you can cut off the blood returning to their heart from their head, making their face swell like a ripe plum.

The third way to kill someone by strangulation is to cut off the airway, which is a little more manly since it takes 33 pounds of pressure. All that pressure can do more than cut off the airflow though. Sometimes the assailant breaks the victim’s larynx (voice box) or a neck bone called the hyoid.

The victim experiences severe pain and then goes unconscious. They can regain consciousness in 10 seconds if the pressure is released, though, so ignore what you see in the movies and hold tight for 4-5 minutes so brain death can kick in. [Disclaimer: this website does not promote murder. This information is for educational purposes only.]

Now that you know how much time to set aside for a strangulation, here are 3 options for how to do it: hanging, ligature, and manual. Hanging is generally too difficult for a serial killer acting alone, so let’s move right to the other two.

Ligature strangulation means you use an object like a cord or clothing. The Boston Strangler did his dirty work with the victim’s silk stockings in most cases. The Hillside Strangler duo, Angelo Buono, Jr. and Kenneth Bianchi, used sheets as ligatures to kill their victims. Telephone cords also used to be popular, but times have changed. Women’s stockings are again the latest rage, including nearly a dozen copy-cat crimes across the U.S. since Destiny Blande was arrested.

Manual strangulation is done with your bare hands and is sometimes called “throttling.” This might be a little butch for a sexy lady like Destiny Blande but is otherwise extremely popular. BTK Killer Dennis Rader testified that his first attempt at manual strangulation was unsuccessful, and he was surprised at how much time and effort was required. Of course he got better with practice.

This is a lead in to an upcoming blog about the forensics of strangulation. Please be patient. We know you’re Crazy 4 Crazies.

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This is post #51 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).

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