Beyond Bizarre -- Serial Killers

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Documentary television hosted by Jay Robinson focused on exploring great mysteries around the world, from ghost sightings, alien encounters and everything else in between.

Transcript

00:00The mind of the serial killer is among the most baffling and haunting in the human menagerie.

00:11Some find a certain fascination with these hideous personalities, and even make an extensive

00:17study of them.

00:19And then there are the very few, perhaps courageous, perhaps foolish souls, whose investigations

00:28demand nothing less than personal contact with society's most merciless executioners.

00:38For decades, law enforcement and psychology have attempted to unravel the grim enigma

00:56of the serial killer.

00:58Ted Bundy, Dahmer, Ramirez, and John Wayne Gacy have left their dark stamp on popular

01:05culture.

01:06It requires a macabre fascination with murder to understand and capture these killers.

01:17Frank McManus, a former LAPD officer, developed his interest in serial killers as a teenager.

01:24The Zodiac Killer had terrorized San Francisco, and young Frank McManus watched in frustration

01:32as the killer baffled and evaded law enforcement.

01:36He now devotes his career to helping the victims and their families bring closure to their

01:41loss.

01:43And it was one of his clients that led Frank to another case in Victorville, California.

01:51When I went out to the property in the middle of the high desert, I was first struck by

01:54how isolated the location was.

01:59In my searching the location, I noticed in one room a trap door.

02:04And when I opened that trap door, there was a stairway which led down into a cellar.

02:14As Frank explored the darkness below the house, he discovered a suspiciously placed high-voltage

02:20electrical panel, a decoy for something much more ominous.

02:28When I first opened the electrical panel, I could see a tunnel of darkness stretching

02:34some 20 feet.

02:36I was just overcome by the fact that I had, you know, several tons of earth over my head.

02:50And I realized at this point that the door and the light and any connection I might have

02:56to the world above was in the hands of someone else.

03:00If they were to walk to that panel door and slam it shut, I would have no exit.

03:04I would be buried alive.

03:09Venturing deeper into this crude cabin, Frank came upon several dingy rooms.

03:20Folding bed indicated that these rooms were intended for something more than storage.

03:26Wooden beams, metal hooks, and barbaric torture devices, all enclosed shelves turned out to

03:43be cages for adolescent victims of a serial killer.

03:49I know there are a lot of amateur sleuths out there that would like to get involved

03:52in the investigation of serial killers, but I would discourage that in the strongest possible

03:57terms.

03:58The training necessary to do a good job on an investigation like this is something that's

04:03required after years and years of either working in the field or study.

04:07And of course, the most obvious reason for not participating in an investigation of a

04:11serial killer would be that you could very well become his next victim.

04:17One amateur sleuth who took such a risk was Jason Moss, author of The Last Victim.

04:23A psychology freshman with a youthful and rather foolish bravado, Jason began writing

04:31letters to the world's most notorious serial killers.

04:36Jason was able to present himself as the ideal prison pen pal to the likes of Jeffrey Dahmer,

04:44Charles Manson, and John Wayne Gacy, murderer of 33 young men just like Jason.

04:54I knew that I was an exact replica of his victims.

04:56I was young, white, athletic, and male, and I wanted to make that clear to him in the

04:59letter.

05:00I also wanted to make it seem like I had the same childhood experiences that he had.

05:04He was abused as a child, so I told him how I came from an abusive home.

05:13Jason established a daily correspondence with Gacy.

05:17Each response became more sexually explicit.

05:21Gacy developed a desire for Jason's affections.

05:25He eventually asked for Jason's telephone number, and Jason complied.

05:33So he tried to make himself seem normal on the phone call, and it was really short.

05:36He was like, okay, well, I just wanted to say hi this one time and, you know, just let

05:39you know that I've got your number and that, you know, I'll call you, talk to you later

05:43on in the week.

05:44Then he hung up.

05:45I couldn't believe it.

05:47Now my heart is racing.

05:48I just hung up with John Wayne Gacy.

05:49I can't believe he called my house.

05:53Daily letters became daily phone calls.

05:57Jason kept a diary of the outlandish stories he would tell Gacy and how the killer responded.

06:04Jason played the part of the vulnerable teen taunting the killer.

06:10Gacy finally took the bait.

06:13Gacy thought I was this dumb, stupid kid that couldn't retain anything that he told me.

06:17So then I was really hearing firsthand the things that he did to boys, or the things

06:21that he wanted to do to boys.

06:22I think that was one of your questions, if I had sex with another inmate.

06:23No.

06:24You never had?

06:25No.

06:26Why is that?

06:27If I had sex with one of my visitors, yes.

06:28You did?

06:29Anything is possible.

06:30This individual wanted to have sex with me.

06:31See, like you, he's fascinated.

06:32He was intrigued by the adventure and the experience and the danger of it.

06:42As time passed, the conversations became even more graphic about the details of Gacy's crimes.

06:49And they say, why didn't you smell it?

06:50Or you knew what it was?

06:51Okay.

06:52Explain to me this.

06:53On December 13th, the police were in the house.

06:54They smelled nothing.

06:55And on December 22nd, all of a sudden, they called me.

06:56I said, what's going on?

06:58Eventually, Jason took the next step in this harrowing relationship, a visit to Gacy's

07:13cell.

07:16The guard unlocks the gate.

07:17I walk through it.

07:18He shuts and locks the gate behind me and completely walks away.

07:22Now I'm left alone in the room, all alone with John Wayne Gacy.

07:26I look up, and I see the camera is completely turned away at nothing, facing absolutely

07:31nothing.

07:32So now me and Gacy are sitting down next to each other, and for the next two hours, he

07:36spends breaking me down, drilling me.

07:38And you've got to remember, the role I'm playing with John Wayne Gacy is of this weak, naive,

07:43submissive boy.

07:44But after being broken down for two hours, just like all his victims were, that's exactly

07:49how I felt.

07:51At this point, Gacy stands up.

07:53Now he's standing behind me.

07:54I feel his hands wrap around my neck.

07:56At this point, I think, oh my god, Gacy's going to try to kill me.

07:59And what I realized is that he wasn't trying to kill me.

08:01He was actually trying to kiss me.

08:04Afraid even to scream, Jason could only hope that the prison guards would return.

08:09I started to cry.

08:11I broke down.

08:12I couldn't take it anymore.

08:13There was a point where Gacy held a pen on my throat.

08:15He's like, I could easily stab this in your neck.

08:17By the time the guards got here, you'll have bled to death on the floor.

08:21And I just started to cry.

08:23The guards finally returned to extract Jason from the chilling predicament he had created

08:29for himself.

08:31He would later recall this incident in his book, wherein he comments on the celebrity

08:36appeal of serial killers.

08:39He did these oil paintings of clowns and skulls and monsters and all types of things.

08:45And people would pay hundreds, if not thousands of dollars for this artwork.

08:49So he had plenty of money to pay for things like that, especially when he was interested

08:53in talking with me.

08:55If you look at the art of these killers, once in a while you'll find some artwork that is

09:01somewhat decent.

09:02But in no way are we looking at a Chagall or a Matisse here.

09:06We're looking at a serial killer that is making money off his reputation.

09:10They've captured the headlines, and they've been popularized in press.

09:14And so for some people, they take on sort of the aura of a Hollywood star.

09:19An eerie journey into the dark recesses of twisted minds that are beyond bizarre.

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