Originally broadcast as a segment of the television series "Investigative reports" in 1996. Bill Kurtis, host.
Summary:
They are among the most confounding and disturbing of crimes, cases where teens murder for no apparent reason. And despite the intense examinations of youth violence in the wake of the recent spate of school shootings, the phenomenon of teen thrill killers has largely been overlooked. Through in-depth interviews with psychiatrists, investigators and the friends and family of victims and accused killers, investigative reports attempts to make some sense of these murders and the people who commit them. From the landmark case of Leopold and Loeb in the 1920s to the April 1997 murder of a New Jersey pizza delivery man, we'll explore the chilling details of several such crimes, a great many of which were committed by kids with nothing in their past to indicate that they would be capable of such acts. And while one psychiatrist says that brain scans of killers reveals a pattern of defects that could play a role, there is still no way to predict who might become a thrill killer.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.