Investigators have asked the public to come forward if they know anything about the identities of these women.

Huntington Beach Police Department One of the photos that police found in Rodney Alcala's storage unit. In 2010, they released some of them in hopes of learning the women's identities and possibly locating more victims. In 1979, investigators found hundreds of photos taken by Alcala in a Seattle storage unit.

Investigators later found the name 'John Berger' on Hover's calendar and surmised that she agreed to have her photo taken. That was true, but Alcala hid his real intentions. The killer, who often used the name 'John Berger,' photographed many of his victims before killing them.įor example, according to Marie Claire, he lured in his victim Ellen Jane Hover by presenting himself as a UCLA-educated photographer who had studied under Roman Polanski.

Perhaps none were as prolific as Alcala, who operated for 11 years, mostly in California and New York. All three men promised to take photos of their victims, who were mainly aspiring models, before taking them to an isolated area and killing them. Serial Killers Who Posed As Photographersįor serial killers like Harvey Glatman, Rodney Alcala, and William Bradford, photography was a convenient tool to find victims and lure them closer. Others, like Robert Ben Rhoades or Jeffrey Dahmer, simply seemed to enjoy using photography to document their vile crimes.Ībove, look through 23 harrowing photos taken by serial killers. For example, Rodney Alcala and Harvey Glatman offered to photograph their victims before murdering them. They also take photos of their victims - trophies and mementos that they can use to relive their murders.Īnd some killers even used photography as a way to lure their victims in to begin with. The BTK killer selected victims for opportunity and convenience, acquiring a skill at concealing his identity and an expertise in isolating likely victims where the episodes of assault would not be discovered.For some serial killers, taking a life isn't enough. The young girl Josephine Otero had been repeatedly resuscitated after strangling threshold has been reached so the BTK killer could maximize his pleasure and maintain a high level of erotic thrill. The Otero murders were heinous because they involved a family, two young children, and and the mother and father killed in their own home. Women of that era made a habit of checking their phone cords for a dial tone, since the first Otero murders were signaled by a clipped phone wire. That one man could hold Wichita, Kansas, in fear for over thirty years is a testimony to the law enforcement gaps and social complacency of American culture. He grew more crafty over time, changing his method of targeting likely episodes, victims, and environments of his prey to maximize pleasure and enjoyment without risking exposure unduly.

Btk crime scene photos