This is the third installment of my Killing Fields of America [1][2]. The subject of this series is very difficult to write about; emotionally draining. The level of brutality escalates every year. I know the FBI keeps statistics, but when it comes to the subject of serial killers, in most cases, unless there's a full confession, we don't know just how many more murders were done by a serial killer before being apprehended. Too many like the Zodiac Killer who has never been caught; five confirmed killings, he bragged it was 37.

Most people hear about heinous killers only after they've been caught. Sadistic sociopaths like Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, John Wayne Gacy, Gary Ridgeway (Green River Killer) and Jeffrey Dahmer. Their psychopathy (lack of interest in or caring for the sanctity of human life) was off the scales. They are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of human beings. Serial killer of young girls, Rodney Alcala, was not only a sociopath, he was a malignant narcissist, meaning he had a feeling of grandiosity, completely devoid of any conscience.

They are the deadliest of the deadly because they blend in with a neighborhood and seem "normal" until caught. For years, America is their hunting ground. I have no doubt many are still out there because of cold cases that don't get tied together until years, if not decades later. They are worse than rabid dogs who should not be allowed to take one more breath on this earth. There are no redeeming factors to spare their lives. You don't coddle evil, you destroy it.

Many might recall Truman Capote's chilling book, In Cold Blood. In 1959, four members of the Clutter family were murdered in Holcomb, Kansas. A random home invasion that took the lives of innocents: mom, dad, son, daughter. Senseless slaughter by two drifters who wanted something for nothing taking four lives in the process. They were caught and executed in short order. Capote's book, In Cold Blood, brought to an innocent America something almost incomprehensible: the random killing of a completely innocent family in a small rural town in America.

In 2007, another horrific home invasion. Two animals entered the home Dr. William Petit in Cheshire, Connecticut at 3:00 am on July 23, 2007. They had followed the mother and youngest daughter home from the grocery store and waited. Dr. Petit was beaten to a pulp; he's not sure how long he was unconscious. While struggling to get out of the house barely alive, the two animals in the house raped and strangled the mother. They then raped and murdered the 11-year old daughter, then killed the 17-year old daughter and set them on fire. Dr. Petit was able to get to his neighbors home. Steven Hayes, age 49 and Joshua Komisarjevsky, age 32 and father of a daughter, were both found guilty and sentenced to death. There is no doubt about their guilt. They were caught fleeing in the Petit family car. Two more animals who don't deserve to take one more breath in this life. I am familiar with these cases I write about and I can tell you, it's a wonder Dr. Petit could ever recover from such unimaginable horror.

The other night I watched a 48 Hours Mystery hour long segment on the tube at the end of a long day: Lived to Tell - 3 Days Before Christmas. Another home invasion in 1990. Two males, Von Lester Taylor and Edward Deli entered the Tiede family cabin in Summit County, Utah. Taylor was on parole for an aggravated burglary conviction. They shot and left for dead the father, murdered the mother and grand mother and then kidnapped the two young daughters. Before those two animals left with the girls, they sat and opened the Christmas presents under the tree making jokes. They actually filmed themselves having a great time. They got all of $105 in cash. One of the daughters started praying. Taylor laughed at her and said it wouldn't do any good because he worshipped the devil.

Fortunately, the uncle saw the vehicle passing and saw his two nieces with the strange men. He knew something was wrong. The father, heroically, dragged himself and managed to get to his brother's house who immediately called 9-11 requesting a helicopter. The father lived. Mom and grandma buried and two young girls living through absolute terror. The two were caught later that day; the girls alive. Taylor was convicted and sentenced to death; the last posting I found, he's still vegetating on death row two decades later. For whatever reason I cannot fathom because there's no question of guilt, Edward Deli was only convicted of second-degree murder. I would have had no trouble putting a bullet through his head. Animals like Taylor and Deli don't deserve three hots and a cot for even one day.

The deadliest of the deadly that strike out of no where killing multiple victims. Mentally diseased whether they kill one, two, ten or a hundred:

Teen dies and two friends wounded after they are 'lined up and shot in the head execution style during home invasion one day before they were to testify against suspects in May break-in

A beautiful family destroyed when gunman killed father and four-year-old son in deadly home invasion that left mother and two children in hospital.  "Desmond John Moses, 55, was wearing a painter's mask and a bulletproof vest when he entered the Lamas family home in Inglewood, California, in the early hours of Saturday morning." Fortunately, that animal killed himself.

The tiny survivor of a family massacre: Heartbreaking moment cop tenderly cradles baby after mother and two siblings are murdered. Home invasion. The carnage so bad, chaplains were called in for first responders. Mother in her 20s, a 3-year-old girl, a 2-year-old boy. The six month old baby was found crying in another room, but unharmed. Murderer: Grigoriy Bukhantsov, 19. 

Man charged with murdering girl, 17, and her Iraq War veteran boyfriend, 22, who vanished on camping trip. 36-year-old Danny Coston charged with five counts of murder, rape assault and other felonies. Apparently in Illinois, a person can be charged with murder several different ways.

Those are just a minuscule sampling of the wanton, senseless killing going on in this country. Statistically, the numbers should make anyone sick. I predict it will get worse as our society continues to melt down with moral decay right along with the economy. Most are not as deadly as the examples above, but one death is one too many. Such agony for the families that never really goes away.

The FBI does profiling where they look at the psychological, behavioral, and legal profile of a criminal. While I do believe they are an important part of trying to catch serial killers with absolutely no conscience or remorse, cold-blooded serial killers remain out there on the hunt until they are caught, drop dead from old age, jailed for something else or killed by someone else.

I don't know how anyone, much less a vet, could go camping without carrying adequate fire power. Not just because you might attract the attention of a rather large bear, mountain lion or even a rattle snake, but we know the predators are out there looking for women to rape and if necessary, take out the male first; maybe get a little cash and credit cards. Fore sure, leave no witnesses. I'm not criticizing the victim in the story above, God rest his soul. But in this violent world, you have to protect yourself and the person you're with - especially out in the wild.

The headlines the past few months carry warnings from sheriffs around the country: Due to budget cuts, we can't protect you. Calling 9-11 is fine, but you'll probably be dead two minutes later. One case I looked at involved a woman who heard someone in the house. That poor soul got into the bathroom, locked the door and called 9-11 on her cell phone. The operator could hear her begging while the shots rang out. The intruder simply shot her through the bathroom door to shut her up. He has never been caught. Cell phones won't stop a bullet.

I do an awful lot of research. It doesn't matter if you live in a very upscale neighborhood like Dr. Petit and his family. He was in a downstairs room (fell asleep watching tv) while the daughters and mother were up on the top floor. If Mrs. Petit had firearm training and a semi-automatic, she and her daughters might have had a chance. It no longer matters what economic level, the killers are out there.

Many Americans have never been around guns. Not like the "old days" when kids grew up with responsible stewardship from their dads about gun responsibility. I remember the Randy Weaver case in Idaho. Why, the sissy media were appalled Randy and his wife, Victoria, not only taught their children how to shoot, those youngsters wore their guns when outside. They lived very rural with neighbors like mountain lions and bears. The media no doubt thought it better if the children were lunch for a predator in the wild. Last week the headlines carried a story about an intern at a big cat sanctuary being killed; she was only 22-years old. That lion took one swipe at the back of her neck. Tragedy happens in seconds.

I honestly don't know how anyone can sleep at night without a gun(s) in the house. Not in this violent world no matter where you live. We have the God-given, not government given, right to protect our life and the lives of our family. If you don't own a gun, perhaps it's time to rethink your position before death visits your door. Proper training and regular trips to a firing range will help you become proficient and confident you will live another day and so will your family.

Footnotes

[1] The Killing Fields of America
[2] The Killing Fields of America - Infants, babies, teens