Girl, 11 Read online

  Elle:

  Okay, could I ask your expert opinion on what can be interpreted from his killing process? For the sake of background, my husband is a medical examiner, and just candidly, he disagreed with the assessment of the ME who examined Katrina Connelly. Whereas the official report states that TCK likely killed her in a fit of rage because she was fighting back, my husband theorized that TCK killed her in that manner because she wasn’t dying from the poison, and in order for him to be fulfilled by her murder, she had to die on the day he designated for her—the seventh day.

  Dr. Sage:

  It’s possible. Based on everything I have seen of the Countdown Killer’s work, it is clear he operates on a strict timeline with inflexible criteria for his murders. He is immensely detailed, and it’s quite possible he has some sort of compulsive disorder, although I would be remiss if I didn’t say that likely had nothing to do with why he murdered. The vast majority of people with a compulsive disorder live successful, full lives and cause no more harm to those around them than someone without one. But based on his obsession with the numbers three, seven, and twenty-one, it seems plausible that those numbers trigger him to kill. If that’s the case, they likely have a root in some sort of trauma for him.

  Elle:

  Wait, trauma for the killer?

  Dr. Sage:

  Yes, that’s most likely the case.

  Elle:

  But . . . isn’t that—couldn’t some people interpret that as an offensive excuse? A lot of people go through traumatic experiences as kids. If everyone with a violent childhood used that as an excuse to slaughter innocent people, there’d be a lot more murders to investigate.

  Dr. Sage:

  That’s true, and you’re right; it’s not an excuse. But it is a fact. Most of us don’t like to think about the people who commit horrific acts of violence as former victims themselves, yet the reality is most of them are. The extensive research on serial killers has shown that almost all of them have instances of severe abuse and neglect in their childhoods. It is important context to be aware of when examining a killer’s motives and trying to figure out what kind of person they may be. However, I will say this. There’s this FBI behavioral analyst, Jim Clemente, who has a saying: “Genetics load the gun, personality and psychology aim it, and experiences pull the trigger.” It takes a perfect, devastating blend of circumstances to create a serial killer. Childhood trauma is only part of it.

  Elle:

  Okay, that makes sense. Back to those numbers: I’ve spent years researching them, as I’m sure many of my listeners have. Do you have any insights on what they might have signified to him?

  Dr. Sage:

  Short of some sort of personal message or manifesto, which we’ve seen from other killers many times before, it’s impossible to say with absolute certainty. However, the victim who escaped did tell police there were symbols of the Christian religion inside his cabin. Bibles, crosses hanging on the walls, postcards with Scripture on them. This led me to review the significance of the numbers in the Bible. Theologians and biblical scholars have found meaning in all sorts of numbers throughout the centuries—some of them considered more of a reach than others. But the first two numbers in TCK’s series are universally found to be important. Three is symbolic of the Trinity: the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. It’s also the number of days that Jesus descended into Hell before he rose again after the Crucifixion, and it’s one of what is considered the spiritually perfect numbers—along with seven. Seven signifies completion, perfection. The world was created in six days, and on the seventh, God rested.

  Elle:

  And twenty-one?

  Dr. Sage:

  Well, the first thing to note is that multiplying seven and three results in twenty-one. This might be significant—in fact, it might be the only reason he chose it. But if we’re following our theme of biblical symbolism, in II Timothy, Paul lists twenty-one sins that demonstrate the wickedness of self. Twenty-one is seen as the combination of thirteen, the number of depravity and sin, and eight, the number of new beginnings. Added together, it symbolizes a new, active commitment to rebellion and wickedness. If you believe the idea that TCK was motivated by a twisted view of the scriptural meaning of those numbers—which many of the original investigators did, considering the items in the cabin and the conservative religious makeup of the area at the time—then it makes sense why he chose twenty-one as his third number. It implies a conscious decision to rebel, to stray from the Word of God. If we’re right about that, though, it is confusing why he would start with a twenty-year-old girl instead of a twenty-one-year-old. Everything else about the numbers in his pattern is consistent, so it’s strange he deviated from it with something as significant as the age of his first victim.

  Elle voice-over:

  Dr. Sage brings up a point we’ve discussed in previous episodes—something that listeners will remember is a bit of an obsession for Detective Sykes as well. My producer and I have been doing a lot of work on this behind the scenes, and I’m excited to let you know that we have a promising lead. It’s too early to confirm right now, but I’m hoping we’ll be able to tell you more about our findings soon. Stay tuned. Now, back to the interview.

  Elle:

  Based on what you’ve said, it sounds like you believe the pattern is a decision, not a compulsion he couldn’t control? Am I correct?

  Dr. Sage:

  That’s my assessment. He’s a very calculated killer, and that is evident by every aspect of his crimes, from his choice of victim to the way he leaves their bodies when he’s finished. He is fully in control of his faculties, and power actually plays a big part in his crimes. From the meticulous pattern he has established to the way he forces these women to do his bidding, he is demonstrating too much control in his killings for them to be some wild, impulsive action.

  Elle:

  Let’s talk about that. I understand from my own research that there are different types of serial killers. Can you give my listeners an overview of what they are?

  Dr. Sage:

  The reason I even have a job is because of John Douglas, the father of criminal behavior analysis. You’ve seen that show, Mindhunter? It’s more or less based on his early career. Douglas interviewed hundreds of serial killers all across the country, found out why and how they did what they did. He used that knowledge to help the FBI and other law enforcement catch active killers. After a while, he noticed there were key differences between many of the men he was interviewing, and he started categorizing killers based on various factors: what motivated them, how they killed their victims, how organized they were, et cetera.

  There are visionary killers, who are usually experiencing a break from reality and think they are being directed by God or the Devil to commit their murders. Hedonistic killers do it for the sexual thrill, the pleasure of controlling and then destroying someone. If someone enjoys exerting power or authority over his victims and prolonging their deaths, we would call him a power/control killer. And then there are mission-oriented killers, who commit their crimes out of a sense of duty, to rid the world of a specific type of person.

  Elle:

  And do serial killers usually fit in only one category? Because a couple of those sound like they could be TCK.

  Dr. Sage:

  There are some who fit into more than one category, yes. Generally, power/control killers sexually assault their victims as the penultimate exertion of power before killing them, but we don’t see that with TCK’s victims. However, as I said, control is a key aspect to what he does, so I would say that he is still a power/control killer. He degrades them by not feeding them, makes them clean for him—serve him, essentially—before poisoning them and beating their bodies. The way he abuses girls specifically makes me think he was abused as a child, and that he somehow blames that abuse on a woman in his life—probably his mother—whether she was responsible for it or not. He doesn’t seem to get any sexual thrill from killing his victims, so I would rule o
ut a hedonistic killer, and he strikes me as too organized to be a visionary killer. But I would argue his choice of victim, his stringent criteria, also alludes to a mission-oriented killer. Even though he doesn’t choose victims from a marginalized group like many mission-oriented killers do, he does select the same type of victim over and over: a white female from an upper-middle-class family. The only thing that changes is the age, and that’s obviously intentional too.

  This man, whoever he is, is highly intelligent. He would almost certainly be college-educated, perhaps even with a master’s or doctorate degree. He is white—Nora Watson described him as such. And he would no doubt be aware of the connotations of choosing a young white female as his prey. They have historically been considered a symbol of innocence, which of course is rooted in harmful tropes of classism, white supremacy, and patriarchy.

  It’s also worth noting that while the common adage is that killers only kill within their own race, that is not always true. Samuel Little is possibly one of the most prolific serial killers in the country, and he seemed to kill women indiscriminately, paying no mind to their age or race. It was about access. Statistically, people do tend to kill within their own race, but that is usually more a matter of proximity than psychology.

  Elle:

  You said he didn’t get any thrill from killing his victims, but what about the way he tortured them, tortured the public psychologically?

  Dr. Sage:

  How do you mean?

  Elle:

  Well, after the first few murders, we all knew what his pattern would be. We knew once a girl was kidnapped by him, she had a week to live. There was the way he tortured them, of course—with a slow, painful death and the torment of working for every scrap of food he gave them. The poison. The whipping. But there was also us, the people in the community, observing and preparing ourselves for the inevitable. It was like he was tormenting us too, like he knew we were all sitting at home watching the news on the seventh day, waiting for story to break about a corpse being found. The bodies weren’t hidden away; they were made to be found, left exposed in public places. I was only a kid, but I remember what it was like on that seventh day. It was like the siren had gone off and you were bracing yourself for the tornado to touch down.

  Dr. Sage:

  I suppose you’re right.

  Elle:

  How do we know that the numbers and the formulas and the patterns were compulsions at all, that it wasn’t all designed to throw people off and make detectives chase their tails while he killed more and more girls?

  Dr. Sage:

  The short answer is, we don’t.

  Elle voice-over:

  After everything I’ve discovered talking to Dr. Sage, Detective Sykes, Tina, and Martín, I have put together my own profile of TCK. It might not be FBI-grade, but it is based on all the evidence we have gathered so far. Remember, criminal profiling does not help investigators identify a singular person. Profiles are not evidence; they are educated guesses based on deductive reasoning and statistics. But on a case this cold, a beam of light pointed in a plausible direction is better than stumbling around in the dark.

  I want you to listen carefully and think about everything we’ve learned. Remember, the people we have investigated and caught for previous seasons of Justice Delayed have turned out to be ordinary, everyday people with neighbors and relatives and friends who never suspected them. People who do monstrous things often don’t seem like monsters to us.

  If you have any questions or theories, I want to hear them. We’ll talk about it next time.

  The Countdown Killer is smart, college-educated, perhaps with an advanced degree. He likely suffered abuse as a child and would be abusive to women in his everyday life, possibly physically but definitely emotionally. He has an interest in numbers, which means he may have a career in math or science, although as Dr. Sage noted, all the numbers he chose seem to have particular relevance in the Bible. At least at one point in his life, he had a fondness for Darjeeling tea—specifically Majestic Sterling.

  He’s white, probably between twenty-five and thirty-five when he first killed, so in his late forties or early fifties now. The only physical description we have is that he was strong, well built, and had blue eyes and a deep voice. He wore brightly colored clothing or accessories the very few times he was witnessed close to a victim. Given the extensive time we believe he spent stalking his victims, as well as the fact that most of them were taken in the daytime, he likely works a flexible job where he controls his own hours, or possibly he works the night shift. He has to have a vehicle, perhaps several, and might even be skilled at stealing cars. It’s possible he’s even been arrested for this without the police knowing what he meant to do with that vehicle.

  He seems to have knowledge of law enforcement processes and movements, which has led some to suspect he’s a police officer or private investigator of some kind. But he also has a keen sense of the limits of the human body, how to measure his victims’ vital signs well enough that he could poison them at just the right rate that they died on the day he wanted. He likes to have control and make people do his bidding, and he lacks empathy when his actions harm other people—in fact, he may enjoy it.

  And on this podcast, we are operating on the assumption that he is alive—he’s still out there. And we can find him and bring him to justice.

  Next time, on Justice Delayed . . .

  17

  Elle

  January 15, 2020

  The sun was setting and Martín was still at work when Elle got home. She turned her phone back on, and a single text from him popped up on the screen: I’M SORRY. She let out a breath, her shoulders relaxing. After brewing a pot of coffee, she set to work in her studio.

  Elle didn’t have access to the police databases, but social media was free—and it was where she got most of her big breaks in previous cases. Hashtags, location data, pictures of landmarks—it was all useful for tracking people down if you knew where to look.

  It didn’t take her long to find Graham’s social media profiles. His Facebook was troubling—lots of racist memes and links to misogynistic blogs. His last activity was from two days ago, when he commented on a New York Times article about the Clinton Foundation with a doctored meme of Hillary Clinton counting stacks of money, mouth wide open in a greedy grimace. His Instagram wasn’t much better, filled with more memes and selfies in various poses, trying to look like a badass in a bandana and sunglasses. He reminded her of every avatar from the slew of trolls in her Twitter mentions after she posted something even slightly liberal.

  A message popped up on Elle’s screen—from Sash.

  HEY! INVESTIGATING OR SCROLLING?

  Elle smiled and typed back. GET THIS: WORKING A KIDNAPPING CASE WITH THE POLICE. MARTíN ISN’T TOO HAPPY ABOUT IT.

  The dots bounced for a moment as Sash typed her reply. They disappeared and then reappeared a couple times before a short message came through. WHY DO YOU THINK HE’S NOT HAPPY?

  Her smile fading, Elle typed more firmly than was probably necessary. HE JUST WORRIES. I’M FINE. I CAN HANDLE MYSELF.

  NO ONE DOUBTS YOU CAN HANDLE YOURSELF. SWEETIE, SOMETIMES YOU JUST SACRIFICE YOUR OWN SAFETY TO HELP OTHERS, THAT’S ALL. I JUST WANT YOU TO BE OKAY—WE BOTH DO.

  Elle stared at the screen. DID MARTíN TELL YOU TO MESSAGE ME?

  Two minutes passed before the reply came. JUST BE CAREFUL, PLEASE, ELLE. I DON’T WANT ANYONE TO GET HURT.

  Anyone. Meaning not just Elle. The comment was a kick to the gut. Sash had never brought up what Elle had told her about why she left CPS, but this was a not-so-subtle reminder. She had messed up before, and people got hurt.

  Exiting out of the chat, she turned back to Graham’s social media. It took a few tries to track down his Twitter feed, since he didn’t use the same handle as he had on Instagram and Facebook. But when Elle finally started to scroll through his timeline, goose bumps broke out on her arms. She hunched forward to look more closely at t
he screen.

  Graham was a certifiable Twitter troll with a penchant for going on long rants in other people’s replies. For a while yesterday morning, he engaged in a vicious argument with a verified account that apparently belonged to a leftist blogger from Montreal.

  Elle took screenshots of each tweet and then read through the time stamps, feeling her heart sink.

  * * *

  It was after nine p.m. when Elle ventured out of her studio and was greeted by the smell of the Castillo family’s pollo asado recipe. Entering the kitchen, she watched her husband for a moment as he moved around at the stove.

  “You made me dinner,” she said.

  Martín turned around, stepped forward, and pulled her exhausted body into his arms. She inhaled the scent of aftershave and cumin on his neck, any residual anger from their phone conversation fading away.

  “I just got home an hour ago,” he said. “I was too keyed up to read, so I thought I’d make us a late dinner.”