Further Reading For Spree Killers
Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment Edited by David Levinson
Info
Spree killers are very similar to any given serial in the obvious way: their body count. Both type of killer rack up multiple kills before they’re apprehended or die. The key difference in a spree killer vs. a serial killer is the amount of time spent doing the killing. For instance, one of the number one descriptors for a serial killer is the cooling off period between kills. They can be like Dean Corll and kill a shitload of kids in a relatively short amount of time or they can be like BTK and wait years between kills. But there’s always a waiting period. A spree killer will show up to their office, or their school, or a post office and start blasting. Or they’ll go from place to place killing people along the way. There’s no attempt to hide.
This particular episode sets its sights on two killers: Richard Speck and Charles Whitman. Speck was a petty criminal with a hatred for women that escalated from robberies to sexual assault to murder when on the night of July 13, 1966, he entered a boarding house for student nurses and went on a murder and rape spree, killing eight women and ending up in prison for it where he then spent the rest of his life partying down and taking every pill he could get his hands, including female hormone pills which gave him breasts.
Whitman was a US Marine sniper that developed a gigantic brain tumor that drove him to climb the clock tower at the University of Texas with huge arsenal of weapons. He opened fire on everyone below, killing 17 people before taking his own life.
Episodes: 86 & 87
Episode Links
