We all know that most serial killers are young white men. Right? Wrong. It’s a lie.
You’re thinking, “E. Kelly, you’re full of shit. I know that ‘young white males are the majority’ thing is a lie. What are you saying?”
I’m saying that I want to get at the truth.
I went to college for journalism. I transitioned to IT and data analytics then had a stint in forensics. I have my Private Investigator license. I am now retired. These jobs taught me to find facts and get enough independent information to judge that the information I have is accurate.
I ask questions, I get answers. And then I go looking for the accuracy of those answers.
People don’t mean to lie when it comes to serial killers. Most information I read is accurate, and verifiable. But inaccuracy comes from laziness and bias. Me? I can’t turn off my bullshit detector so easily. I don’t always know what the bias is, I just know it doesn’t sound like the truth.
I stumbled on a blog about unknown misandry. It contained details about various women serial killers. Hundreds of women serial killers. Check it out: http://unknownmisandry.blogspot.com/
I thought, where are all these women in the stats? Is it laziness? Bias? Something else? Yep, all of it. Why women serial killers are ignored is a discussion for another time.
I wanted accurate information. I decided it was time to start my own database of serial killers. I use standard forensic techniques and best journalistic practices. Find contemporaneous information, use many original public sources.
Compiling the information is slow work. I started in early 2019. My search so far has given me a list of 3277 names of serial killers worldwide. I have confirmed the genders (male, female and two MtF) for every name. Seventy percent are male.
That means, 30% of serial killers are female. Thirty percent. Some are partners of other serial killers, some work on their own. That’s a lot of women being missed by others.
It will take a couple of years, at least, to complete my list. I’m not in a hurry. Along the way, there will be some interesting stories, that’s for sure.