Excellent analysis of perpetrator behaviors. It fits guys like John Norman Collins to a T. He murdered a young woman college student in July 1969, and was caught shortly afterwards.
Collins was convicted of only that one murder, but very likely was a serial killer of other victims as well. He has a thread in the Serial Killer topic area of Websleuths.
I agree that Kathy's abduction and murder was probably a crime of opportunity - in that there are random factors in play regarding Kathy's route, time, schedule, etc.
The predator who attacked her was hunting for a victim, and probably was not specifically targeting Kathy.
Again remember , they're not usually out actively looking for a victim, that may hold true in the case, of a serial killer but even then sometimes, the victims are selected at random and impulsively
In this case, Kathys killer used her own clothes to bind, her which he had to cut strips of, that indicates to me he was not out looking for a victim, otherwise hed be more prepared, and more experienced.
Kathy was 12 which means shoe could've put up a fight , therefore the bindings in this case, may have had a true utilitarian purpose especially if the offender wasnt physically strong, but again, when we see a child victim bound, the percentages favor a serial offender. Especially if the child is very young, weak, the offender brought the bindings with them , or the bindings applied in some intricate manner
Most stranger perpetrators of child abductions are in the area for a legitimate reason, they're working nearby or they live nearby. The child is usually pretty close to their home when abducted, (within .4 mi in most cases), because they operate close to home or work or along a path they may take regularly, they may actually know the victim in some form in some cases.
The motive for these killings is almost always sexual, meaning the governing reason they abducted the victim was to have sex with them, but that in and of itself may have different reasons.
Most child molestors are not by clinical definition a pedophile, they are adults, with a defined sexual preference for age appropriate men or women, but the child victim(s) is a safer target therefore they are more like a surrogate for what the offender desires, to do with an adult .
With the exception of 1, most child molesters are also not violent, the "Morally indiscriminate " type however is a type of child molester who is bascially a sociopath, globally dissatisfied with everything , impulsive, unforgiving and with no sense of empathy or sympathy. If you ask why they did what they did , they'll usually give you something along the lines, of "why not" or in my experience, they blame the victim.
A good example of this type was Joseph Smith killer of 11 yo Carlie Bruscia in Florida . Smith tried to abduct several adult women unsuccessfully, high on cocaine, he spotted the 11 yo walking behind a car wash, and he impulsively jumped out of his truck, all while on camera, abducted, raped and manually strangled Bruscia.
This particular type of situational offender is at a slightly higher risk to abduct a victim than the others, and often callous indifference to the victim will be apparent.
Smith confessing to his brother John:
Joe "It was just rough sex it got out of hand"
John "Joe she was 11"
In the case, of pedophiles (one who a true defined, sexual preference for children) this changes, a bit
there are 3 categories of Pedophile (Seduction/Introverted/Sadistic), the Seduction type is youre Jerry Sandusky etc... Desires a sexual relationship with victims the way a consenting adult would, however, they are under age. Usually results in staggering numbers of victims, rarely do these types ever commit acts of violence against their victims. In some cases, however Seduction types have become sadistic (Gacy etc..) were not sure of the etymology of that yet, but to seems to occur post incarceration.
The second type the Introverted type is a social misfit, little to no friends, this is what most abduction killers with a true prefence for children fall under. They are marginals socially, they usually live with a parent or someone acting like one, they may even be married, but problems with the marriage will be well known, sometimes, theres an agreement between the parties due to such, if asked what people think about them they are usually classified, as "weird" or "strange" . Their interaction with children is usually brief, they may be caught exposing themselves, to children at a park, they may fondle a child , but if they come across a child with no adult around, they may also abduct them.
The murder, of the victim is usually post rape and only to avoid identification, hence the popularity of strangulation in these cases
The sadistic type is also (thankfully) the most rare, and will almost certainly abduct a victim, without going into specifics, (Because they are horrible) this type can only become aroused sexually gratified, due to the humiliation, suffering, and degradation of their victims, torture, and prolonged methods of killing are trademarks of this type . This type is usually well equipped for what they do , they often have a large vehicle or a home where they can do what they want with a victim...(Gacy/Dodd/Duncan etc..)
However the perpetrator of most of these are usually they are just our in their daily activities, they have a sexual urge , that may be specific to children (pedophilia) or the child victim may be a surrogate for an adult or adults in general they have either an issue with or they desire sexually themselves.
However they for whatever reason (inadequacy, regression, sociopathy, curiosity) they cant or dont acquire an adult partner, or adult victim.
So a lone child becomes, a viable target
The thing we get too caught up on is that if someone rapes and kills a child, that they are locked into that type of crime , thats not true at all , often child killers will become killers of adults, and serial murderers, have few to no rules they follow when they are active .
Situation will also determine how an individual acts, for ex, Ted Bundy went from sweet talking co-eds to their deaths, to randomly and frenziedly bashing female students, to death down in Florida because he was on the run. Conversely Arthur Shawcross, started out by raping and murdering both a boy and a girl, then upon his release, (which never, shouldve happened) he began killing prostitutes .
