Why do Serial Killers Keep on Killing?

There are sick murderers all over the world and some get sexually aroused from killing, others kill for the fun of it, or some simply hate themselves so they take their anger out on people. It's like once they get a taste of blood, they'll never stop until they are stopped. There are serial killers all over, but I'll be focusing on the serial killers in our state, California. I'll be discussing about 5 serial killers/rapists on their multiple crimes, and how they got arrested.

The first serial killer is Joseph James DeAngelo also known as the Golden State Killer. From 1976 to 1986, Joseph spread fear from Sacramento to San Francisco to Los Angeles. He killed 12 people, raped about 45 people and burglarized more than 120 homes. Joseph always planned his attacks and he usually struck at night. He plans to the smallest detail, Joseph would study his victims' schedules that way he knows when the right moment is to commit the crime. When the victims aren't in their houses Joseph would break into their houses where he would sometimes hide until the victim comes home and goes to bed and from there, he would strike, or sometimes he would just break in so he could unlock all the doors, windows, basically any entrance to the house in preparation for his return. In one attack, Joseph hid in a closet and he waited there until the couple fell asleep, once that happened, he got out of the closet announcing himself, while that was happening the husband reached for his gun but it ended up being emptied which showed that Joseph broke into their house when they weren't home and ended up finding the husband's gun which he unloaded so it would make his attack easier.

On April 24, 2018, Joseph James DeAngelo was linked to two of the Golden State Killer murders after investigators discovered that his DNA matched with a really old DNA sample that was picked up from his murder spree. It was all thanks to new DNA techniques and complete DNA databases which helped out the investigators tie these cases together. Joseph was finally arrested.

The second isn't a serial killer, but a serial rapist and his name is Roy Waller also known as the NorCal rapist. Roy emerged five years after the Golden State Killer and now he terrorized California. He spread fear across six counties in Northern California for more than 15 years. Those six counties were Sonoma, Solano, Contra Costa, Yolo, Butte, and Sacramento. Roy had broken into homes and raped at least 10 women. His first assault began in the summer of 1991 where Roy raped a 21-year-old woman inside her home, he snuck in through an unlocked glass door. In later attacks, Roy broke into more homes and would assault some woman for hours and that the victims were blindfolded so they won't be able to see his face. Sometimes he would kidnap victims and would take them to an ATM where he would take all of the victim's money out of their accounts. In 2006, Roy spent 6 hours raping two woman, ages 24 and 28, in Sacramento. A victim passed by Roy's vehicle, it was described as a 2001 to 2003 white Toyota 4Runner. After an attack has occurred a security camera caught that described vehicle driving away. The 2006 attacks by NorCal Rapist seemed to be the last ones, because no more attacks rose.

Roy was linked by DNA directly to the October 2006 attacks. Luckily it matched the DNA profile of the NorCal rapist. Roy faces 12 counts of forcible sexual assaults and allegations that he had used a gun to commit some of these crimes. More charges may be filed against him. His arrest comes 5 months after the arrest of the Golden State Killer. The same techniques that were used to match the Golden State Killers DNA to the samples was used on Roy Waller. Roy remains in jail without bail.

The third serial killer is Randy Steven Kraft also known as the Scorecard Killer. Randy is a monster compared to the Golden State Killer and NorCal rapist. Randy is a serial rapist, torturer, and killer responsible for the mutilation and deaths of about 16 young males from 1972 to 1983. Randy has a list known as the scorecard which lists every single victim he may have come into contact with which he was linked to 40 additional unsolved murders. Kraft tortured and murdered all of his victims. All of known victims were Caucasian males and most of them had been drugged, tortured, mutilated, emasculated, and sodomized. Steven Kraft is extremely weird and a psycho, because he receives pleasure by inserting objects into the victim's anus and urethra while they were still alive. All that pain and torture the victims had to deal with. How most of his tortures begin is that whenever Steven Kraft and his lover get into an argument, the victim would pay the price by being tortured to death.

On May 14, 1983, two highway patrol officers pulled over a car, because the driver was driving erratically. The driver was Steven Kraft and when he got pulled over, he got out of the car and walked towards the officers. He smelled of alcohol, so the officers gave him a standard sobriety test, which he failed. The officers then checked his vehicle which they found a dead man, his genitals exposed and had strangulation marks on his neck. They also found a scorecard which the officers believed it was a list of Kraft's murdered victims. The dead man was identified as Terry Grambrel. Steven Kraft was arrested and charged with the murder of Terry Grambrel, eventually more forensic evidence linked him to additional murders which more charges were filed. He was then charged with 16 murders, 9 sexual mutilation charges, and 3 sodomy charges. Kraft went to trial on September 26, 1988 and after 11 days in trial he was found guilty and was given a death sentence. His death sentence was upheld in 2000 and he remains on death row in San Quentin.

The fourth serial killer is Richard Ramirez also known as the Night Stalker. Richard is a serial killer, rapist, and burglar who killed about 13 people from 1984 to 1985. Richard became this monster, because of his cousin who was a Vietnam War veteran. At 12 years old, his cousin showed him pictures of Vietnamese women that he had raped, tortured, then killed. Later on, Richard witnessed his cousin fatally killing his wife, and he stayed there watching the killing. Then after that Richard started committing crimes. He committed his first murder in June 1984, where he raped and stabbed a 79-year-old widow. After his first murder, he stayed lay low for about 8 months then he resumed back to his killing. In the Los Angeles area, most of the deaths were done inside the victims' houses. What made Ramirez's killing unique from the other serial killers are that on most of his crimes, he will leave Satanic symbols behind. He was known as the Night Stalker, Richard Ramirez created a panic that saw a surge in gun sales. The victims that had survived Ramirez's home invasion described that they were sexually assaulted and beaten.

A fingerprint was discovered that led to Richard Ramirez's identification. On August 30, 1985 about six days after his last murder, his name and photograph was released to the public and in the same day a man saw Richard in East Los Angeles, so he notified the police. Richard being aware, he tried to steal a car, but wasn't successful since he was surrounded by a crowd and was beaten until the police arrived. In 1989 Richard Ramirez's trial began. In September Richard was convicted of 13 murders and other crimes. About 2 months later Richard was sentenced to death. He was believed to have committed other murders and rapes but he was not charged for it. He was on a death row at San Quentin State Prison, but Richard Ramirez was diagnosed with cancer which he ended up dying from it in 2013.

The fifth serial killer is Lonnie Franklin, Jr. also known as the Grim Sleeper. He got the name Grim Sleeper, because his killing started in 1985 and ended at 1988, then about 13 years later he reemerged in 2002 and continued his killing until he was caught in 2007. His targets were young black women in South L.A. These young black women were either prostitutes, or they struggled with drug addiction. Franklin would drive around at night looking for young women and pick them up off the street, offering them rides. Instead of actually offering them a ride, he shot and sexually assaulted them except two women, they were strangled to death. Then after he finished killing or sexually assaulting them, he would dump their dead corpse in back alleys and in trash bins. One woman managed to survive, and she described that she was shot in the chest and was sexually assaulted by what she believed was Franklin in 1988. The problem was that family members were accusing the LAPD for not taking this case seriously, because the victims were poor and black.

In 2010, investigators used a new technique to match DNA found on the women with DNA in a state database. What investigators ended up doing is that instead of searching for a match, they conducted a newly developed familial search for DNA that may be from a relative of the killer. The investigators ended up using Franklin's sons' DNA, his DNA has been collected by the state when he served his time in prison, and the exciting news is that it ended up as a match. Investigators knew that the son was simply too young to have committed the murders in the 1980's, so the investigators turned to the father which he lived in South L.A. All they needed was Franklin's DNA to see if it was a match. So, a detective posed a bustboy at a pizza parlor where Franklin was attending a birthday party. The detective managed to collect a half-eaten piece of pizza from Franklin's plate. With Franklin's DNA the investigators were able to match his DNA found on seven of the women. Afterwards, Franklins home was searched and investigators found a gun that was used in one of the murders and pictures of dozens of women including each of the victims. Then once in trial, Franklin sat there emotionless, and did not testify. It ended up being a three-month trial and from there Franklin was found guilty of 10 counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

These are the 5 sick serial killers/rapists here in California. They all have spread fear in multiple counties. They didn't stop until they were finally arrested. There are many unsolved cases out there but these 5 were caught and punished for their crimes. Joseph James DeAngelo (The Golden State Killer) was responsible for the death of 12 people, raped 45 people, and burglarized more than 120 homes. Roy Waller (NorCal Rapist) faced 12 counts of forcible sexual assaults and allegations that he used a gun in some of his crimes. Randy Steven Kraft (The Scorecard Killer) was charged with 16 murders, 9 sexual mutilation charges, and 3 sodomy charges. Richard Ramirez (The Night Stalker) was convicted of 13 murders and other crimes. Lonnie Franklin, Jr. (The Grim Sleeper) faced 10 counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. These monsters were brought to justice.

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