連環(huán)殺手青睞什么職業(yè)？

邁克爾·安特菲爾德

The startling arrest of the elusive Golden State Killer， aka the East Area Rapist/Original Night Stalker/Diamond Knot Killer/Visalia Ransacker in what was arguably the most vexing and disturbing constellation of interlinked cold cases in American history， has raised more questions than answers.

One question is how a serial burglar， rapist and murderer could operate in so many jurisdictions simultaneously and， much like the case of Paul Bernardo in Canada， have law enforcement officials so myopically overlook the connections among his crimes in several different cities.

Another question is， of course， how a police officer like Joseph DeAngelo， the accused Golden State Killer， could be capable of such sadistic brutality throughout a large portion of his brief and troubled law enforcement career.

Similar questions have been raised in the past about other serial offenders， killers whose innocuous and even virtuous jobs seemed to belie the horrors they committed while hiding behind a veneer of respectability. That includes the infamous Canadian Col. Russell Williams （who once piloted a VIP aircraft whose passengers included Queen Elizabeth） and lesser-known computer store owner and prominent Nashville businessman Tom Steeples， who killed three people for thrills before committing suicide while in police custody.

But in fact， occupations and serial murders are often linked， and some specific full-time and part-time jobs are strangely over-represented among serial killers.

Serial killer job breakdown

Top 3 Skilled Serial-Killer Occupations： 1. Aircraft machinist/assembler; 2. Shoemaker/repair person; 3. Automobile upholsterer

Top 3 Semi-Skilled Serial Killer Occupations： 1. Forestry worker/arborist; 2. Truck driver; 3. Warehouse manager

Top 3 Unskilled Serial Killer Occupations： 1. General labourer （mover， landscaper， et. al.）; 2. Hotel porter; 3. Gas station attendant

Top 3 Professional/Government Serial Killer Occupations： 1. Police/security official; 2. Military personnel; 3. Religious official

Obviously， not everyone occupying these jobs is a serial killer， nor are they likely to become one.

But theres something about these jobs that is inherently appealing to offenders， or that otherwise cultivates the impulses of serial killers-in-waiting and causes them to be curiously over-represented among this rare breed of murderers.

DeAngelo， the alleged Golden State Killer， for instance， actually held down three of these jobs over the course of his lifetime： Police officer， military personnel （he was previously in the U.S. navy）， and， peripherally， truck driver， although his post-police career （he was fired in 1979 for shoplifting） was spent mostly as a mechanic for a fleet of grocery store freezer trucks.

Bygone era

A closer look at these occupations reveals a bygone era in terms of available jobs—occupations that， while once common and accessible to killers in the ‘60s， ‘70s and ‘80s—are now largely obsolete. The job market is changing; with that， so is the disturbing but legitimate nexus between murder and labour.

The shift toward a service-based， tech-driven and typically contractual economy， what is often called precarious work， along with the disappearance of once traditional career paths will obviously have profound effects not only on the jobs held by offenders but also how they acquire their victims.

As discussed in my book， Monster City， there was a precipitous surge in serial murder in Nashville with the rise of the “new” country music scene in the ‘80s and ‘90s， giving would-be killers access to new victims.

Serial killers once used the guise of their employment to stalk and acquire specific victims or types of victims. But new research suggests that leisure activities like music， including online interactions， may be the new avenue through which serial killers troll for their victims.

Its also where they mentally rehearse their crimes amid a shrinking offline public sphere and work world.

The result is that we are likely to see， returning once again to alleged Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur， blurred occupational-recreational categories involving both online and offline dimensions—a new paradigm that will force us to adjust the list of the most common jobs among serial killers.

The caveat， of course， is that a single defining occupation is in continuous flux. Could “occupation，” for instance， denote a primary vocation， a part-time avocation or even just a paid hobby or pastime？

Pastimes as well as professions？

Might it also include an unpaid pastime by which a person defines himself or herself？

A quick perusal of top LinkedIn “influencers” and “open networkers，” for example， suggests many people actually list their passions or pastimes and not their paid jobs as their primary occupation.

In McArthurs case， we see that while he conforms to the “general labourer” category， as a landscape architect and not just a grass-cutter， as well as the owner of his own company， he also fits no clear vocational definition.

And yet， as we already know from the morbid mass grave recovered from a clients home on Mallory Crescent in Toronto， the occupation of the accused was central to his alleged offences and how he reportedly disposed of victims—it was integral to his apparent modus operandi.

So while many killers use their employment as a pretext to acquire vulnerable victims， obtain information or cultivate violent fantasies for reasons we still dont fully understand （“Milwaukee Cannibal” Jeffrey Dahmer once admitted that his work as a chocolate factory machinist awakened homicidal and necrophilic urges he had otherwise suppressed）， in McArthurs case， occupation was the back-end to his alleged crimes， not the inspiration for them.

What about the psychopaths？

As we begin to redraw the map of serial murder and career paths， it might also be useful to look at the otherwise better-known index of occupations over-represented among psychopaths.

While not all psychopaths are serial killers， psychopathy—or at the very least， the possession of psychopathic traits—is a common denominator among serial killers， sex offenders and most violent criminals. Have a look at the Top 10 occupations according to an Oxford University psychologist：

1. CEO or business executive

2. Lawyer

3. Media personality

4. Salesperson

5. Surgeon

6. Journalist or news anchor

7. Police officer

8. Religious official

9. Chef

10. Miscellaneous civil servant （military， city council， corrections， etc.）

In overlaying the two lists， we can see that even amid a perpetually changing economy， certain jobs are always likely to appeal to those people we will later be stunned to learn managed to carry on that type of work while also being monsters in our midst.

行蹤難辨的金州殺手，又名東區(qū)強(qiáng)奸犯/原夜跟蹤者/鉆石結(jié)殺手/維薩利亞洗劫者，曾犯下或許是美國(guó)歷史上最令人惱火和不安的一系列陳年積案，他意外被捕帶來(lái)了更多疑問(wèn)，而非答案。

一個(gè)疑問(wèn)是，一個(gè)連環(huán)竊賊、強(qiáng)奸犯和殺人犯如何能同時(shí)在眾多司法管轄區(qū)內(nèi)活動(dòng)，就像加拿大的保羅·貝爾納多案，如此輕易地讓執(zhí)法官員忽略了其在不同城市所犯罪行之間的聯(lián)系。

另一個(gè)疑問(wèn)當(dāng)然是，被指控為金州殺手的約瑟夫·德安杰羅，作為一名警察，在他短暫而麻煩不斷的執(zhí)法生涯的大部分時(shí)間里，又是如何犯下如此暴虐的罪行的。

曾有人針對(duì)其他連環(huán)犯罪者提出過(guò)類(lèi)似的疑問(wèn)，那些殺手從事著全然無(wú)害甚至是高尚的工作，將他們犯下的恐怖罪行隱藏于體面的外表之下。其中包括聲名狼藉的加拿大上校拉塞爾·威廉姆斯（他曾是貴賓專(zhuān)機(jī)駕駛員，乘客包括伊麗莎白女王），以及鮮為人知的納什維爾杰出商人湯姆·斯蒂普爾斯，后者擁有一間電腦商店，曾為追求刺激殺死3人，后在警方拘押期間自殺。

但事實(shí)上，職業(yè)和連環(huán)謀殺往往有一定關(guān)聯(lián)，某些特定職業(yè)（包括全職和兼職）在連環(huán)殺手中占比出奇地高。

連環(huán)殺手職業(yè)細(xì)分

熟練的連環(huán)殺手職業(yè)前三位：1）飛機(jī)機(jī)械師/裝配師;2）制鞋匠/修鞋匠;3）汽車(chē)改裝工人。

半熟練的連環(huán)殺手職業(yè)前三位：1）林業(yè)工人/樹(shù)木種植者;2）卡車(chē)司機(jī);3）倉(cāng)庫(kù)管理員。

不熟練的連環(huán)殺手職業(yè)前三位：1）普通體力勞動(dòng)者（搬家工人，園藝工人等）;2）行李搬運(yùn)工;3）加油站工人。

從事專(zhuān)業(yè)及政府工作的連環(huán)殺手職業(yè)前三位：1）警察/安保人員;2）軍人;3）神職人員。

顯然，不是所有從事上述職業(yè)者都是連環(huán)殺手，他們也不是個(gè)個(gè)都可能成為連環(huán)殺手。

但這些工作本身確有一些吸引連環(huán)殺手之處，或者是它們培養(yǎng)了潛在殺手的犯罪沖動(dòng)，從而令它們?cè)谶@類(lèi)罕見(jiàn)的殺人犯中占比出奇地高。

例如，被指控為金州殺手的德安杰羅，在其生涯中曾從事過(guò)上述工作中的三項(xiàng)：警察、軍人（他曾在美國(guó)海軍服役），以及1979年因盜竊被警方解雇后轉(zhuǎn)而做超市冷凍車(chē)隊(duì)的機(jī)修工，其間偶爾也充當(dāng)卡車(chē)司機(jī)。

時(shí)代變遷

仔細(xì)觀(guān)察這些職業(yè)會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，連環(huán)殺手可以從事的職業(yè)在隨時(shí)代而變化——連環(huán)殺手60、70和80年代曾普遍從事的職業(yè)今天大多已過(guò)時(shí)。就業(yè)市場(chǎng)在變化，殺手和工種之間令人不安卻合情合理的關(guān)聯(lián)性也隨之而變。

經(jīng)濟(jì)向著以服務(wù)為基礎(chǔ)、以技術(shù)為驅(qū)動(dòng)力及以合同為典型形式的方向轉(zhuǎn)型（即通常所謂的不穩(wěn)定工作），伴隨早前一些傳統(tǒng)職業(yè)的消亡——這樣的轉(zhuǎn)型顯然會(huì)對(duì)罪犯的職業(yè)選擇和他們獵取受害者的方式都產(chǎn)生深遠(yuǎn)影響。

正如我在《怪物城》一書(shū)中所討論的，80年代和90年代“新”鄉(xiāng)村音樂(lè)在納什維爾的興起使得準(zhǔn)殺手們可以接觸到新的受害者，從而令該地連環(huán)謀殺案急劇增加。

連環(huán)殺手曾以工作為偽裝，跟蹤和捕獲某一特定受害者或某些類(lèi)型的受害者。但新的研究表明，像音樂(lè)這樣的休閑活動(dòng)，包括在線(xiàn)互動(dòng)，或許是連環(huán)殺手吸引受害者上鉤的新途徑。

隨著線(xiàn)下公眾活動(dòng)范圍和職場(chǎng)不斷收縮，線(xiàn)上也成了殺手為其罪行進(jìn)行心理排練的地方。

其結(jié)果就是——讓我們?cè)俅位氐絺髡f(shuō)中的多倫多連環(huán)殺手布魯斯·麥克阿瑟的例子——我們可能會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，工作與娛樂(lè)的界限日漸模糊，且涵蓋線(xiàn)上和線(xiàn)下兩個(gè)層面。這一新趨勢(shì)迫使我們調(diào)整連環(huán)殺手最常見(jiàn)職業(yè)清單。

自然，這是警示我們，單一職業(yè)的定義在不斷變化。例如，occupation這個(gè)詞，是指主要職業(yè)還是業(yè)余愛(ài)好，甚或某一帶薪的興趣或消遣？

是消遣也是職業(yè)？

一個(gè)人的職業(yè)是否也可以包括他/她借以界定自身的無(wú)收入純消遣活動(dòng)？

例如，快速瀏覽領(lǐng)英的“影響者”和“開(kāi)放網(wǎng)絡(luò)溝通者”這兩個(gè)版塊就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，很多人其實(shí)都會(huì)把他們的愛(ài)好或消遣而非有收入的工作列為他們的主要職業(yè)。

在麥克阿瑟的案例中，我們可以看到，雖然他可以列入“普通體力勞動(dòng)者”的范疇，但他是一名景觀(guān)建筑師而不是簡(jiǎn)單的剪草工人，并擁有自己的公司，所以很難適用于某一明確的職業(yè)定義。

然而，在多倫多馬洛里新月街麥克阿瑟一個(gè)客戶(hù)家中找到了恐怖的多人葬坑，那向我們揭示了，被告從事的職業(yè)對(duì)于他所控罪行及處理被害人的方式至關(guān)重要——這是他顯而易見(jiàn)的作案手法所不可或缺的一部分。

因此，盡管許多殺手利用他們的工作找借口接近容易上當(dāng)?shù)氖芎φ?，獲取相關(guān)信息或培養(yǎng)暴力幻想——個(gè)中緣由我們?nèi)詿o(wú)法完全理解（“密爾沃基食人族”杰弗里·達(dá)默曾承認(rèn)，他在巧克力工廠(chǎng)當(dāng)機(jī)械師的工作喚起了他壓制已久的謀殺和戀尸癖的欲望）——在麥克阿瑟一案中，職業(yè)是他犯下那些被控罪行的終極手段，而不是它們的靈感來(lái)源。

那些精神病患者呢？

當(dāng)我們開(kāi)始重新繪制系列殺手及其職業(yè)道路的關(guān)聯(lián)圖時(shí)，看看精神病患者占比較大的職業(yè)也許會(huì)有所幫助，我們對(duì)這一指標(biāo)了解更多。

雖然并非所有的精神病患者都是連環(huán)殺手，但精神疾患——或至少擁有精神病特征——是連環(huán)殺手、性犯罪者和大多數(shù)暴力犯罪者的共同特征。我們來(lái)看看牛津大學(xué)的一位心理學(xué)家列出的十大職業(yè)：

1. 首席執(zhí)行官或企業(yè)高管

2. 律師

3. 媒體工作者

4. 銷(xiāo)售人員

5. 外科醫(yī)生

6. 記者或新聞主播

7. 警察

8. 神職人員

9. 主廚

10.各類(lèi)公職人員（軍隊(duì)、市議會(huì)、監(jiān)獄管理者等）

交叉比對(duì)兩份清單會(huì)看到，即使經(jīng)濟(jì)不斷變化，某些工作可能始終對(duì)一些人充滿(mǎn)吸引力，而總有一天我們會(huì)震驚地發(fā)現(xiàn)，那些人在從事這些工作的同時(shí)，也成為了我們身邊的惡魔。