Here is my impressions of the guy.
I was struck by the articles that people he went to high school with didn't remember him. I think he feels that. Unremarkable. Unnoticed. I think to him that is unforgivable. That it doesn't matter if people love you or hate you, as long as they remember you. I think that may have defined his lifestyle to an extent, maybe in his actions or his dress. But in his group he still didn't stand out. Maybe shyness or some personality issues interfered. So he turned to online. Online there is instant gratification if you post contraversial viewpoints. And if you can argue both sides of an issue, you can make it more contraversial and get even more attention. But eventually even that isn't enough.
He wants attention, it really doesn't matter to him if it is good attention or critical attention as long as he is getting the attention. So he will do what he has to do to get the attention. He will start controversial posts (or post controversial video), he will respond to his own posts, he will do whatever will get him the most attention the fastest. And yes when attention wanes, he will try to do something even more drastic to get that attention back. First he satisfied himself by just trolling. And people responded to his posts and it was good. But then he didn't get as much attention as he needed, so he posted the kitty videos. That kept going for quite a while. He had media interviews, he had people hunting him. He got lots of attention. But eventually that waned to. So he looked for something more. It had to be bigger, badder.
So the murder. I do think he is out there searching for reaction. And I do think he is responding, both pro and con. He has some computer skills. Probably not as good as he thinks he is, but he does have some skills. So he thinks he has made himself invulnerable there. Most likely he is living in some cheap indigent lodge or on the street. And he is hanging where he can access free wifi, either cafe's or outside a private residence. Probably uses several different ones.
His need for attention is so strong, that if it is withdrawn, IMO he will do something even more atrocious in order to get the attention back on him. So don't fear giving him the attention, just don't feed the troll while you are doing it. If he believes he sees shock and fear in people, he may fixate on that and that is what he will aim for the next time. Revulsion and disgust is what he is used to in his fight for noteriety.
I've seen where some think he is crazy. But under US law he wouldn't be. He is capable of critical thinking. He shows signs of awareness that what he is doing is wrong. So personality disorder, maybe. But crazy no.
When in discussion he tends to pull back when people get close to truth I've noticed. He changes the subject or ignores the subject. I have seen mention that when the US was mentioned, he ignored the subject. I'm beginning to believe that may be either where he is or where he intends to head. NY maybe? Hollywood? Somewhere he sees as fashionable, famous.... somewhere where he can become fashionable and famous. Watch for those times when he pulls back from a subject. If you catch him online, ask him where he is at. Try to get a guessing game going with him. Since it is attention, he may actually do it.
uke: