Ask John Douglas, who wrote the book on how to profile killers.

BY DAWN HOBBS

A murder scene may be chaotic, with the body lying in plain view and a weapon nearby.

Or it may reflect careful planning, with little evidence left behind and the body hidden or taken to another location.

The killer may pose the victim's body or take a souvenir.

Each clue helps criminal personality profilers determine whether they are dealing with an organized or disorganized person, important characteristics in identifying the killer.

"To understand the artists, you must look at the artwork," said John Douglas, a former FBI agent who helped pioneer the concept of criminal personality profiling during a 25-year career. "To understand the criminal, you must look at the crime."

Criminal profiling is used to help solve serial killings and other homicides. It's a technique detectives from the Santa Barbara Police Department have used in the past. And it's one of the important tools that detectives assigned to the department's newly formed Cold Case Unit may tap in their quest to figure out the agency's unsolved murders.

Mr. Douglas, the model for the Scott Glenn character in the film "The Silence of the Lambs," retired from the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit in 1995, but still works on profiles. He does pro bono work for victims of violent crimes and their families, advises pardon and parole boards, and speaks to law enforcement groups about the value of behavioral science.

ORGANIZED VS. DISORGANIZED KILLERS      A criminal personality profile is an educated attempt to determine the type of individual who may have committed a certain crime. The profiler prepares a biographical sketch based on information from the crime scene and about the victim.      Former FBI Agent John Douglas helped pioneer the concept of criminal personality profiling that is now a standard investigative tool in serial murder investigations. He developed the concept of "organized" and "disorganized" murders and what each of those crime scene say about the killers.      Organized: The crime is premeditated and little evidence is found at the scene, part of a calculated effort to minimize the risk of arrest. The organized criminal is generally anti-social, knows right from wrong, is not insane and will show no remorse.      Disorganized: The crime has little or no planning and the criminal has a higher chance of being apprehended because of evidence left at the scene, such as fingerprints, blood and semen. A disorganized crime can indicate a youthful offender, alcohol or drug use and mental illness. Criminal profiles can determine:      • age, sex, race      • marital status      • intelligence/scholastic achievement      • lifestyle/childhood      • personality/demeanor      • appearance/grooming      • psychological problems      • employment/work habits      • residency in relation to crime scene      • socio-economic status      • sexual perversions      • motive Crime Scene Differences Between Organized and Disorganized Murders: Organized      • planned offense      • victim a targeted stranger      • personalizes victim      • controlled conversation      • crime scene reflects overall control      • demands submissive victim      • restraints used      • aggressive acts prior to death      • body hidden      • weapon/evidence absent      • transports victim or body Disorganized      • spontaneous offense      • victim/location known      • depersonalizes victim      • minimal conversation      • crime scene random and sloppy      • sudden violence to victim      • minimal use of restraints      • sexual acts after death      • body left in view      • evidence/weapon often present      • body left at death scene Profile Characteristics of Organized and Disorganized Killers: Organized      • average to above-average intelligence      • socially competent      • skilled work preferred      • sexually competent      • high birth-order status      • inconsistent childhood discipline      • controlled mood during crime      • precipitating situational stress      • lives with partner      • mobility with car in good condition      • follows crime in news media      • may change jobs or leave town Disorganized      • below average intelligence      • socially inadequate      • unskilled work      • sexually incompetent      • low birth-order status      • harsh discipline as child      • anxious mood during crime      • minimal situational stress      • lives alone      • lives/works near crime scene      • minimal interest in news media      • significant behavior changes with drug/alcohol abuse or religion SOURCE: Practical Homicide Investigation and John Douglas

To understand the motives of the killers, Mr. Douglas got inside their minds. He interviewed and studied hundreds of notorious killers, including Charles Manson, Sirhan Sirhan, Richard Speck, John Wayne Gacy, David Berkowitz and James Earl Ray.

He's been involved in the hunt for some of the most infamous murderers of our time, including Seattle's Green River killer, the Atlanta Child Murderer, the Tylenol poisoner and the Trailside Killer in San Francisco. In the 1970s, he conducted training for California law enforcement agencies by day. By night, he'd interview some of the scariest people alive in penitentiaries at San Quentin or Atascadero.

"Manson and these others would come out because they had been locked in a room and hadn't seen anyone in a long time," Mr. Douglas said in a telephone interview from Virginia. "And they'll particularly talk with someone who really studied the case and studied them."

Once comfortable, the killers will begin detailing their horrific crimes and explain why they are so crucial to their identities and lives.

"It starts off as a fantasy," he said. "Then they'll commit the crime to fulfill the fantasy. In the fantasy, they're in control of everything. In reality, when they're doing the actual crime, there's certain components they can't control," which is how they ultimately get caught.

"They remember everything about the victim and the case. It's such tremendous insight for me because I ask them about the crime and selection."

After spending hours with each, Mr. Douglas then tells the killer what he believes was the precipitating factor to the crime and describes his or her post-crime behavior. Much of the time he is right.

"To me it just made sense to go to the experts and to ask them why they did the things they did, about victim selection," he said. "What they did before and after the crime or why they chose a certain disposal site."

Based on that information, Mr. Douglas created a format for profiling killers. He's since worked thousands of cases.

"I thought I could provide proactive techniques to flush the killer out or catch the rapist, to provide enough information for probable cause in search warrants and to let the police know what they should be looking for," he said.

He used the jailhouse interviews and the hunt for high-profile killers as the basis for about a dozen books he wrote or co-wrote, including "Mindhunter," "Journey into Darkness" and "Anatomy of Motive."

He's also worked with prosecuting attorneys.

"The jury won't understand how that person who looks very normal committed this crime. The best way to cross-examine is to show he has a propensity for violence."

Often, a killer will leave a signature, which can connect him to other crimes.

"A signature is something unique to the sender," he said. "It's a ritual. It is something he does that is unnecessary to complete the crime. For example, George Russell in King County, Washington, would rape and murder his victims and then pose them in various degrading positions and postures. It's something that was unnecessary, but it was necessary for him."

Dismemberment can be another type of signature.

For example, in one of Santa Barbara's most notorious unsolved murders, Kym Morgan was apparently abducted on the Mesa in 1985 by a man who answered a newspaper ad seeking a room to rent in exchange for chores. Her dismembered body was found four days later down an embankment on East Camino Cielo.

"That murder was well-planned," Mr. Douglas said. "He has intelligence. This is your Ted Bundy-type of intelligence. The type of guy who is very convincing. He may have very well taken her to a house where he told her she'd be working. And then he blitzes her and renders her unconscious. This is a guy who has done this to others."

The killer may also have had some misses, too.

"Maybe he responded to other people's ads but they didn't feel good about the call. There may be a situation where someone was able to escape and maybe too afraid to tell anyone about it.

"That case was definitely solvable back in the '80s. And it's still possibly solvable now... This is the kind of guy who can look the victim in the eye. He's a chameleon. He can blend into his environment and say all of the right things and look good. Then he sets the trap, lures the victim in and then it's over with."

Criminal personality profiling is based upon information gathered from the crime scene, including complete documentation of events, photographs, videotapes and sketches.

Forensic materials and information about the victim's background also assist the profiler in establishing behavioral patterns.

"When I put all of this information together, the 'why' plus the 'how' equal the 'who,'" he said. "The purpose of this is to focus or refocus the investigation. When they're coming up with hundreds of suspects, this can help them to narrow their focus and figure out which ones should be on the front burner."

Post-offense behavior is another important element.

"They will do something that will stand out in a crowd or that the public will recognize," he said. "For example, someone may abduct a victim and then dispose of them over a bridge at night. What he didn't know is that the river was low and the body didn't float downstream. And the victim was found."

This is likely to shake up the suspect when he reads about it in the next day's paper.

"Generally, what happens is the subject becomes extremely obsessed with the investigation," he said. "He becomes extremely rigid in his personality — to the point of where he is having difficulty at work. He is not focusing. He's looking over his shoulder. He's jumpy, edgy. When he's off work, he's drinking more than he used to. He may appear disheveled or just totally consumed."

Mr. Douglas worked closely with the media on his cases in order to get the information about the suspect out to the public.

"The subject will be buying every paper and listening to radio and television reports," Mr. Douglas said. "He'll become extremely rigid. Someone will be able to recognize the post-crime behavior or recognize the profile. The key is that the information be put out sooner than later, even for motive.

"It's frustrating for me when I see cases where the law enforcement agency waits way too long to put out information. They should do it first for the safety of the community, but then to help identify the subject when it's still clear in people's minds. Most of the smart departments have a good relationship with the media."

Most murders are crimes of power or anger, he said.

"I don't care if it's Ted Bundy or David Berkowitz," Mr. Douglas said. "They both killed differently. Bundy killed nose-to-nose, very direct. Berkowitz remained at a distance and it was indirect. But they both had low self-esteem and were at a station in their lives where they had no control and were very angry people."

Murder evolves from displaced anger and control, Mr. Douglas said.

"They feel powerful, important, that they cannot be caught and it's very satisfying," he said. "For serial killers it's like drugs and they can't get enough of it. They are never satisfied."

e-mail: dhobbs@newspress.com