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00:00An elusive killer who terrorized a city with strange cryptic messages.
00:06A horrifying crime spree at the hands of a charming cold-blooded psychopath.
00:12And violent murders triggered by delusions of supernatural occult powers.
00:21Jack the Ripper.
00:24Ted Bundy.
00:26And the Zodiac Killer.
00:28These are just a few of history's most deranged and dangerous criminals who all possessed a taste for cold-blooded
00:36murder.
00:38What causes a person to become a diabolical killer?
00:41Is it a psychological disorder?
00:44A psychopathic trait?
00:46Or nature versus nurture?
00:49And are some people actually born to kill?
00:55Well, that is what we'll try and find out.
01:12London, England, August 1888.
01:17Over the course of nine harrowing weeks, the city was rocked by a series of horrific murders committed by an
01:26unknown killer.
01:30The scene of these terrible crimes was a neighborhood of London known as Whitechapel.
01:36This one smallish area of the east end of London, Whitechapel, was a magnet for not only the very poor
01:44people, people who had menial jobs, for example, but also the actually destitute, the people who had reached the very
01:50bottom rung of the ladder, who had nothing but the clothes they stood up in often.
01:56And basically, you had domestic violence, theft, and murder.
02:04Whitechapel was an area where you had a lot of homeless drifters.
02:07You had what were known as the common lodging houses.
02:10And this is where the drifters ended up.
02:12It cost fourpence for a common lodging house.
02:15You paid it to the keeper of the lodging house, and then you could get your bed.
02:20Fourpence sounds like a very small amount of money, but if you had nothing at all, it was quite something.
02:27Society had very stringent rules about women earning or having money, so many women turned to prostitution as a way
02:36to make ends meet in those days, because there was literally nothing else for them to do.
02:43If you look at Whitechapel in the late 1800s, you have women who would not normally engage in prostitution, sometimes
02:54hawking their bodies, to make any kind of money just to get perhaps a bed for the night.
03:00So these would be high-risk victims, under the cover of darkness, going with people they don't know, into dark,
03:10remote areas of alleyways, becomes highly dangerous for them.
03:16Very low risk for the offender.
03:18It's a deadly combination for these women.
03:23In the early morning hours of August 31st, 1888, two delivery men were walking to work in Whitechapel when they
03:31made a gruesome discovery.
03:33They found the body of 43-year-old Marianne Nichols lying dead on the bloody pavement.
03:44Marianne Nichols had been married, had children, but her marriage had fallen apart through alcoholism.
03:52By the early 1880s, she had turned to sex work in order to earn her living.
03:59When Marianne Nichols' body was found, at first, it looked like a simple murder.
04:06Her skirts were up as though she was committing an act of prostitution at the time she was killed.
04:13That's not particularly unusual for London in its day.
04:17However, when the body made its way to the coroner and further investigation was carried out,
04:24they found that this was a murder and a mutilation.
04:29And that raised some questions.
04:32Just eight days after the murder of Marianne Nichols on September 8th, 1888,
04:39the body of another woman, Annie Chapman, was found lying in the courtyard of a Whitechapel tenement.
04:46Annie Chapman had previously been married to a man named John Chapman,
04:50but they separated, and then eventually she found that he died.
04:54She had tried selling items and taking in crochet work, that sort of thing, to support herself.
05:00But eventually she became more and more reliant on casual prostitution to get her money for a nightly bed.
05:08When Annie Chapman's body was found, there was no doubt that a horrible mutilation had taken place.
05:17And now it made police begin to wonder whether these two horrible acts one week apart in the same part
05:25of the city
05:25could well have been done by the same twisted individual.
05:30This is a killer who hated women and wanted to do maximum damage to them.
05:36So it immediately gives off this sort of cinematic image of this sinister character in a black coat
05:42going through the London fog, walking on cobblestones at night.
05:46The notion that a predator was targeting sex workers in the Whitechapel district
05:52set off a frenzy in the London newspapers.
05:56There were 158 daily newspapers in London, and they were all in competition for sales.
06:05So when the press got a hold of this case of murders, it was exactly what they needed
06:13for the new readership that they were trying to get.
06:16You have to remember, at the time these murders were taking place,
06:20the Sherlock Holmes mysteries were the best-selling thing on the planet.
06:24And everybody wanted to sink their teeth into a nice, juicy mystery.
06:31Unfortunately, in the late 1800s, we see a real effort from the media to let a cult of personality
06:38form.
06:39And as much as we abhor violence and murder and killing, there are some ways in which
06:44the serial killer becomes this sort of folk hero of psychological deviance that terrifies
06:52and intrigues us.
06:54It's a delicate balance to make sure we're not glorifying something that really shouldn't
07:01be glorified.
07:03The media drove the horrific nature of the crimes in a sensationalist way.
07:10Whitechapel was obviously depths of degradation and poverty, and yet it was literally two streets
07:16away from the Bank of England, which was headquarters of the Empire at that time.
07:21And so that became very quickly a national issue and a national concern.
07:28In the aftermath of the two brutal murders, the London police were unable to identify a
07:34prime suspect.
07:35As a result, they chose to cast a wide net in their search for the killer.
07:40More than 300 people were placed under investigation, and 80 of them were brought in for questioning.
07:49Chief Inspector Donald Swanson, who was head of the investigation from Scotland Yard, wrote
07:54a report at that time saying that the potential suspects have ranged from the highest in the
07:58land, Queen Victoria's grandson, right down to East End butchers and slaughter men.
08:04There was no shortage of candidates.
08:07There were all sorts of people, from Sir William Gull, Queen Victoria's physician, to her grandson,
08:15Prince Albert Victor, or somebody acting on his behalf.
08:19Even Joseph Merrick, the elephant man, largely on the grounds that he lived at the London Hospital,
08:25which was quite near Whitechapel.
08:26So, there are vast numbers of candidates being put forward, some laughable, some quite plausible.
08:35As the police scramble to identify the man who murdered Mary Ann Nichols and Annie Chapman,
08:41the vulnerable residents of Whitechapel braced themselves for more attacks by the unnamed killer.
08:50On the streets and corners of Whitechapel, the reaction to the murders changed drastically
08:57with the discovery of the second victim, and it led to the creation of watch groups patrolling
09:04the streets of East London.
09:07Poor women were on high alert.
09:09Vigilante groups formed in order to find out who this murderer was.
09:19Over the years, there have been countless theories as to who committed the Whitechapel murders.
09:25Yet, so far, the answers remain elusive.
09:30But many researchers believe an important clue can be found by examining a mysterious letter
09:36that may have been written by Jack the Ripper.
09:44London, England. September 27, 1888.
09:49Three weeks after newspaper headlines announced the brutal murder of the second victim, Annie Chapman,
09:55the city remains gripped by fear.
09:58As police investigators frantically round up possible suspects,
10:02a mysterious letter arrives at London's Central News Agency
10:07that appears to be from the killer himself.
10:10It is written in red ink, riddled with spelling errors and, strangely,
10:16begins with the words,
10:18Dear Boss.
10:20The Dear Boss letter is addressed to the boss central news office of the city,
10:24uh, uh, uh, London city.
10:26And it read, Dear Boss,
10:27I keep on hearing the police have caught me,
10:29but they won't fix me just yet.
10:32I have laughed when they look so clever and talked about being on the right track.
10:37I am down on whores and shan't quit ripping them until I do get buckled.
10:42And it really became a big news story because of that line.
10:47The Dear Boss letter concluded with the words,
10:51Yours truly,
10:53Jack the Ripper.
10:55The boss letter is interesting because
10:58it is the first letter,
11:00apparently having been written by Jack the Ripper,
11:04where he gives himself a name.
11:06Communicating with the public
11:07is not an unknown phenomenon with serial killers
11:12because it makes them feel superior.
11:15It's sort of this narcissistic view
11:17of them being so much smarter than law enforcement.
11:21I can do what I want,
11:22and you are not going to identify me.
11:25The Central News Agency handed the Dear Boss letter
11:28over to police investigators,
11:29who decided not to release it to the public
11:32for fear of inciting even more panic throughout London.
11:37But then, two days after the letter had been received,
11:42on September 29th,
11:44the Ripper struck again.
11:47And this time,
11:48he killed two women
11:50in a single night.
11:53On the 19th of 29th of September, 1888,
11:57two women were murdered in the same night
11:59within an hour of each other,
12:00less than a mile apart.
12:03Elizabeth Stride was murdered in a yard on Burner Street.
12:07She was found lying on the ground with her throat cut,
12:10but no mutilations.
12:12And then half a mile away,
12:13within the hour,
12:15Catherine Eddowes was murdered in Mitre Square.
12:17Her throat was cut,
12:18and she was terribly mutilated.
12:20And the feeling is that
12:22the Ripper was interrupted
12:24in the killing of Elizabeth Stride.
12:26So he fled the scene,
12:28but his lust for blood wasn't sated,
12:30so he sought another victim,
12:32found Catherine Eddowes,
12:33and killed her in Mitre Square.
12:36After Jack the Ripper claimed
12:38his third and fourth victims,
12:39the police had no choice
12:41but to publish the Dear Boss letter
12:43in the desperate hope
12:45that the public could help them find the killer.
12:48But unfortunately,
12:49the letter did little to solve the case.
12:52Instead,
12:53it caused the fear across London
12:56to actually increase
12:57and ensured that Jack the Ripper's infamous name
13:01would go down in history.
13:06Part of what made that letter horrifying
13:08is that it was understood
13:10to have been written and mailed
13:12before the murders were committed,
13:15anticipating them.
13:16When the murders occurred,
13:18it thus, for many,
13:19confirmed that the Ripper
13:21manipulated the media
13:23in order to gain attention
13:24for his gruesome crimes.
13:28But curiously,
13:29not everyone's convinced
13:31that Jack the Ripper
13:32was the real author
13:33of the Dear Boss letter.
13:36In fact,
13:37some believe
13:37that the letter
13:38was actually an invention
13:39of the media.
13:41There was a very famous journalist
13:43at the time
13:44called George Sims,
13:45and he used to write a column
13:47for a Sunday newspaper
13:48called The Referee.
13:50It was called
13:50The Mustard and Crest Column,
13:52and George Sims
13:53actually wrote in the column
13:54the following week
13:55that the Dear Boss letter
13:56was written by
13:57an enterprising London journalist.
13:59And effectively,
14:00his argument is,
14:01when that letter was sent,
14:03the hysteria in the media
14:04and the general fear
14:06of the Whitechapel murderer
14:08had started to die down.
14:10And there is a theory
14:11that a newspaper man thought,
14:14we need to get more sales.
14:15So what better way
14:16to get sales?
14:17We'll get a letter
14:18from the killer.
14:20The Boss letter
14:22was released
14:23by the police
14:24to the public.
14:25Now,
14:26they were hoping
14:27that somebody
14:28might recognize
14:29the writing style
14:30or the handwriting itself,
14:32but all it did
14:33was really complicate
14:35the investigation,
14:36because then
14:38you had hundreds
14:39of people
14:41writing in
14:42in the same style
14:43as Jack the Ripper,
14:45claiming to be
14:46Jack the Ripper,
14:47claiming to know
14:48who Jack the Ripper was.
14:50The Dear Boss letter
14:51encouraged readers
14:53and people out there
14:54to send in their own
14:55letters signed
14:56Jack the Ripper,
14:57most certainly
14:58from hoaxes.
15:00People were just
15:01looking to waste
15:02police time,
15:03and every single letter,
15:04no matter how
15:05ridiculous it seemed
15:07at face value,
15:08had to be looked
15:09into by the police.
15:14Most of the letters
15:15sent to the police
15:15were dismissed
15:16as hoaxes.
15:18But some experts
15:19believe that despite
15:20the skepticism,
15:21the Dear Boss letter
15:23was, in fact,
15:24written by
15:25Jack the Ripper himself.
15:28And as evidence,
15:29they point to a passage
15:30in the letter
15:31detailing a trophy
15:33he would take
15:34from his next victim.
15:36The Dear Boss letter
15:37read,
15:37next time I operate,
15:38I shall clip
15:39the ladies' ears off
15:40and send it to the police.
15:42And consequently,
15:43within 24 hours,
15:45the police now found
15:46the horrifically mutilated
15:47body of Catherine Eddowes.
15:50And the killer
15:51had cut the earlobes
15:52as well.
15:54Do Catherine Eddowes
15:56nicked earlobes
15:57prove that
15:58Jack the Ripper
15:59wrote the infamous
15:59Dear Boss letter?
16:00More than 130 years
16:03after the letter
16:04was sent,
16:04there's likely
16:05no way to be certain.
16:08Yet,
16:09modern forensic
16:10experts studying
16:11the Dear Boss letter
16:12have used it
16:13to help develop
16:13a criminal profile
16:15of Jack the Ripper.
16:16And it paints
16:18an extraordinarily
16:19dark picture
16:21of the shadowy killer.
16:22We know that
16:24there were almost
16:25no sightings
16:26of Jack the Ripper.
16:28And even in the sightings
16:30that existed,
16:31the descriptions
16:33are very vague.
16:35So you're left
16:36with behavior.
16:39He's organized
16:40and he's engaged
16:42in planning.
16:42That requires
16:43a slightly older individual.
16:46This is a guy
16:47who probably prefers
16:49to be by himself.
16:50So his job
16:52would probably entail
16:54a job
16:55that where
16:55he can work
16:56by himself,
16:57isolated.
16:58Could be a hospital worker,
17:00could work in
17:01maybe a butcher shop,
17:03or work as
17:04a mortician's assistant.
17:05I think he lives
17:06in the Whitechapel area
17:08because he's
17:09very familiar
17:10with the routines
17:11of the police
17:12and that's why
17:14he's a successful killer.
17:17Will we ever know
17:19the true identity
17:19of the infamous
17:20knife-wielding killer
17:21Jack the Ripper?
17:23Perhaps.
17:24But there's another
17:25deranged murderer
17:26who also terrorized
17:28an entire city
17:29and taunted
17:30the public
17:30with threatening letters
17:32of a different,
17:33cryptic kind
17:34that would take
17:35decades to decipher.
17:43San Francisco,
17:44California,
17:45July 31st,
17:461969.
17:48The city's gripped
17:49by fear
17:50after a number
17:51of horrific
17:51and unsolved murders
17:52are committed
17:53by a shadowy
17:55serial killer.
17:57The panic
17:58reaches a fever pitch
17:59when the killer
17:59releases a series
18:00of chilling notes
18:02in which he refers
18:04to himself
18:04as the Zodiac.
18:07Three virtually
18:08identical handwritten
18:09letters arrived
18:10at the offices
18:11of three California
18:12newspapers.
18:14And those letters
18:16took credit
18:16for the crimes
18:17and included details
18:18from the crimes,
18:20including the ammunition
18:22that was used,
18:23the positions
18:24of the victims,
18:25and things like that.
18:28And then another letter
18:29that was sent
18:30on August 4th of 1969
18:32was the first
18:33to use the name
18:34the Zodiac.
18:36The Zodiac's crime spree
18:38is often referred to
18:39as a reign of terror.
18:42And that's because
18:43his murders
18:43not only sent fear
18:45throughout the community,
18:46but he eventually
18:47threatened to murder
18:48school children
18:49on a bus.
18:50He also said
18:51he was going to use
18:52a bomb.
18:53He threatened to kill
18:54dozens of people
18:55over a weekend.
18:56And so there were
18:57a lot of threats
18:57that sent fear
18:58through the community.
19:01His name really
19:02got out there.
19:03And on top of that,
19:04Zodiac's victims
19:05were selected
19:06presumably randomly.
19:08And so people felt like,
19:09well, he could be
19:10around the corner
19:11ready to kill me
19:12or us.
19:13So it became
19:14kind of like a boogeyman
19:15waiting to kill somebody
19:17out of the blue.
19:19The Zodiac's reign of terror
19:20became national news,
19:21not only because of
19:23the frightening nature
19:23of his crimes,
19:25but also because
19:26some of his
19:27mysterious letters
19:29were written
19:30in code.
19:31The Zodiac,
19:33as macabre as it sounds,
19:35turned his killings
19:37into a game.
19:38Not just for law enforcement
19:40to try to figure out,
19:41but for the average citizen.
19:42These ciphers
19:44sort of served as a way
19:45for people to
19:46play his game.
19:49Can you figure out
19:50who I am?
19:51So, using these codes,
19:53while it made Zodiac
19:54incredibly scary,
19:56it also made him
19:57intriguing because
19:58anybody could figure out
20:00who the Zodiac killer is
20:02if you know how to play
20:03his game correctly.
20:05The Zodiac's claim
20:07that the ciphers
20:08revealed his true identity,
20:10taunted the police
20:11and the public.
20:13Both the authorities
20:15and amateurs alike
20:16poured over the
20:17encrypted letters,
20:18hoping to crack
20:20the killer's
20:21devious codes.
20:23The first cipher
20:24of the Zodiac,
20:25it's commonly referred to
20:27as the 408 cipher.
20:29That was actually solved
20:30in a matter of days
20:32by a couple of citizens
20:34in the San Francisco
20:35Bay Area.
20:37A local high school
20:38economics teacher
20:39and his wife,
20:41Donald and Betty Harden,
20:43decided to take
20:44the killer's challenge
20:45and spend a weekend
20:46trying to solve
20:47that cipher.
20:49And they were able
20:50to find the solution.
20:52Unfortunately,
20:53the Harden's solution
20:54did not reveal
20:55the killer's identity.
20:58But it did begin
20:59with the phrase,
21:00I like killing people
21:01because it's so much fun.
21:03Then he talked about
21:04collecting slaves
21:05for his afterlife.
21:08The shocking content
21:10of the first cipher
21:11heightened public panic
21:12about the Zodiac.
21:14But the killer's
21:15second cipher,
21:16known as Z340,
21:19would not be solved
21:20so easily.
21:22The Zodiac's
21:23second cipher
21:23consisted of 340 symbols.
21:26Unfortunately,
21:27that cipher
21:28was very difficult
21:29to solve.
21:29And he may have
21:30made it that way
21:31deliberately
21:32because he may have
21:33been upset
21:33that his first cipher
21:34was solved so quickly.
21:35quickly.
21:36Despite years of effort,
21:38the Z340 cipher
21:39eluded decryption.
21:42By 1974,
21:43the Zodiac
21:44had released
21:44more than 20 letters
21:47in which he claimed
21:48to have killed
21:4937 people.
21:51And then,
21:53after a five-year
21:54reign of terror,
21:55his communications
21:56abruptly ceased
21:57and the case
21:59went cold.
22:02It seemed that the codes
22:04and the crimes
22:05of this evil genius
22:06were destined
22:08to remain
22:08unsolved.
22:13more than 30 years
22:15would pass
22:15before software engineer
22:17David Oranchak
22:18became inspired
22:20to take on
22:21the Z340 cipher.
22:24I first heard about
22:25the Zodiac ciphers
22:26when the Zodiac movie
22:27came out in 2007.
22:29And so there was
22:30already kind of
22:30a vibrant community
22:32of people involved
22:33with the Zodiac ciphers
22:34specifically.
22:35So when I saw that,
22:36I thought,
22:36hey, I want to take
22:37a crack at that
22:38because I'm a programmer,
22:40I like puzzles,
22:41and it would be
22:42very cool
22:44to be able
22:44to crack that.
22:46To try and solve
22:47the cipher,
22:48David Oranchak
22:49teamed up
22:49with Australian
22:50mathematician
22:50Sam Blake
22:52and Belgian
22:53computer programmer
22:55Jan van Eyck.
22:56The team became
22:57kind of this collaboration
22:58of people
22:59that would run
23:01experiments,
23:02try out different ideas,
23:04come up with
23:04computer programs
23:05and different
23:06kind of specialized tools
23:08in order to
23:09try out these ideas
23:11or to just run
23:12a bunch of keys
23:13and try to break the code.
23:15In spite of their
23:16combined efforts,
23:17the Z340 cipher
23:18seemed like it might be
23:20an unbreakable code.
23:22But then,
23:24after 15 years
23:25of challenging work,
23:27the team
23:28finally cracked it.
23:30It was very satisfying
23:31to decrypt the message.
23:32It was very exciting.
23:34Once we had the solution,
23:36I put together a report
23:37and sent it to my contacts
23:38in the code-breaking unit
23:39of the FBI.
23:41And then,
23:42very quickly,
23:43they came back to us
23:43and said,
23:44this looks good,
23:45it looks strong,
23:46looks like the real solution.
23:48And that's when
23:50the media storm hit.
23:52The revelation
23:53that the Z340 cipher
23:55had been broken
23:55more than 50 years
23:57after it was released
23:58made headlines
23:59around the world.
24:00But,
24:01unfortunately,
24:03the decrypted message
24:03did not reveal
24:05the killer's identity.
24:06However,
24:08the search continues
24:11because
24:11there are other
24:13Zodiac ciphers
24:14that are yet to be solved,
24:16the most fascinating
24:17of which
24:18is called
24:20Z13.
24:22This cipher
24:22will literally
24:23make you pull your hair out
24:25because,
24:26at first glance,
24:27you would think
24:27it's got to be easy.
24:28There's only 13 characters
24:29in this cipher.
24:30What's worse
24:31is that it starts
24:33with the phrase,
24:34my name is.
24:37He's literally telling you,
24:39here's who I am.
24:40And to this day,
24:41no one's been able
24:41to figure it out
24:42as of yet.
24:46Will we finally solve
24:47the Z13 cipher
24:48and reveal the identity
24:50of the Zodiac killer?
24:52Or are the mysterious
24:53coded symbols
24:54just the musings
24:55of a homicidal lunatic?
24:58The study of cryptic clues
25:00helps in trying to understand
25:01how the mind
25:02of a murderer works,
25:04like in the case
25:06of one of the 20th century's
25:07most notorious criminals,
25:09Ted Bundy.
25:15Florida State Prison,
25:17January 21st, 1989.
25:19I have got to keep
25:20myself together.
25:21I have got to stay calm.
25:23I've got to keep
25:23my presence in mind
25:24because as long as I do that,
25:26I'm going to beat
25:27these people.
25:28Days before his execution,
25:30convicted serial killer
25:32Ted Bundy confesses
25:34to the murder
25:34of at least 30 people,
25:36ending a crime spree
25:38that lasted
25:38for more than a decade.
25:41We often use Ted Bundy
25:42as the perfect example
25:43of a psychopath
25:44because he had
25:45all the attributes.
25:46He was charming,
25:47he was likable,
25:49he was kind of
25:50a handsome guy,
25:51he was very articulate,
25:53he knew how to
25:54ingratiate himself
25:55into people's lives,
25:56and he did all the things
25:58that you'd expect
25:59a normal person to do.
26:00And yet,
26:01every step of the way,
26:02everything he did
26:03was about him,
26:04he was a predator,
26:05he never stopped
26:06being a predator.
26:08But how could
26:09an otherwise
26:10clean-cut
26:11and successful
26:12young man
26:13like Ted Bundy
26:14become a cold-blooded
26:16psychopathic killer?
26:17Did the circumstances
26:19of his life
26:20turn him into one?
26:21Or was he
26:22literally born
26:24to kill?
26:26There's been a lot
26:27of studies lately
26:28on the brains
26:29of psychopaths,
26:30and some of the
26:31most important findings
26:32is that we see
26:33that they have
26:33a connectivity problem
26:34with different parts
26:35of their brain.
26:36From the scans
26:37that I had seen,
26:38scans of all
26:39these different murders,
26:40including psychopathic murders,
26:42there was the same pattern,
26:43and that same pattern
26:44was a loss of activity
26:45in this area
26:46of the brain
26:47above the eyes,
26:48above the orbit,
26:49so it's called
26:50orbital cortex.
26:51This is the limbic system,
26:53the cortical limbic system,
26:54and this is what's turned off.
26:57When we look at
26:58someone who is
26:59a true psychopath,
27:00it's most likely
27:01that you'll not find
27:02much brain activity
27:04in the limbic system.
27:06And those parts
27:06contain areas of empathy
27:08and understanding,
27:10care, and concern,
27:10and conscience.
27:12This seems to line up
27:13with the reports
27:14of psychopaths,
27:15you know,
27:15doing some horrific things,
27:17you know,
27:17killing multiple people,
27:18and then just
27:19getting back up,
27:20going to a movie.
27:22They just don't seem
27:23to have their emotions
27:24stimulated the way
27:25that a normal person's
27:26brain would.
27:29There have already
27:30been studies about
27:31trying to rewire
27:32the brain of psychopaths,
27:33in that we're trying
27:34to improve some
27:35of their connectivity
27:36problems.
27:37Because if we see
27:38that there's an issue
27:39with two parts of the brain
27:41not communicating well
27:41with each other,
27:42maybe we can send
27:42some electrical impulses
27:44through it and see
27:45if we can stimulate them
27:46into more action.
27:49If we do a brain scan
27:50on every baby that's born
27:52and we decide
27:52that this one
27:53has the type of brain
27:54that's going to be
27:56a criminal mind,
27:57what do we do with that?
27:59Is that something
28:00that we have to retrain
28:03this child?
28:04Do we keep this child
28:06under protection
28:06as they grow up?
28:08How do we respond
28:10to that type of information?
28:13Are we more determined
28:14by genetics or environment?
28:17We had an ongoing
28:18Alzheimer's study
28:19that we were doing
28:20a clinical trial on
28:21but we didn't have
28:22enough controls.
28:23And so I said,
28:25look, I'll ask my family.
28:26We'll get them all
28:27into PET scans
28:28and there'll be controls
28:29because in our family
28:31there is no Alzheimer's.
28:33And so I went through
28:34this pile of these
28:36Alzheimer's scans
28:37and we cover up the names
28:39because I don't like
28:40to know who I'm looking at,
28:41what I'm looking at.
28:42You've got to say
28:42double blind, right?
28:43And each one was normal,
28:45normal, normal.
28:46I got to the last scan
28:48and I saw this very obviously
28:50completely psychopathic pattern.
28:52It looked like all these
28:53psychopathic murders
28:54I'd looked at.
28:55I said to the technician,
28:56this is very funny.
28:57You've slipped in one
28:58of these psychopathic murders.
29:00It's like the worst one
29:01I've seen.
29:02And whoever this is,
29:03we've got to notify the police
29:04because this is somebody
29:05who's very dangerous.
29:07So when I pulled off
29:08the name tag on the PET scan,
29:11I looked at the lamp.
29:12I said, guys, this can't be right.
29:14It was my name on there.
29:15So it was me that had
29:17the full-blown psychopathic
29:19pattern of my scans.
29:21Jim Fallon found
29:22that he actually has
29:24sort of this classic
29:25psychopathic brain
29:26from an imaging perspective,
29:28but he's in a long-term relationship.
29:30He has a wife
29:31and sometimes she has to remind him
29:33to be more empathetic,
29:34but he's a good citizen.
29:36I would say the 30%
29:38is about biology and genetics
29:40and 70% is about nurturing
29:42or the lack of nurturing.
29:44So like nature loads the gun
29:46and nurturing pulls the trigger.
29:51Although, according to his own research,
29:54James Fallon's brain
29:55is similar to those possessed
29:57by people with psychopathic tendencies.
29:59He hasn't gone on to commit murder,
30:02but why not?
30:04Could it be that the urge to kill
30:06requires something more?
30:09Something harder to identify
30:10within the human brain?
30:13Perhaps the answer lies
30:15not in studying
30:16the brain's physical attributes,
30:18but instead
30:18in the dark recesses
30:21of the imagination.
30:22Like in the case
30:24of a troubled teen
30:25whose twisted fantasies
30:27of possessing supernatural powers
30:29led to a grisly murder
30:31at the hands
30:32of a so-called
30:34vampire.
30:40Murray, Kentucky, 1995.
30:43After a difficult
30:44and dysfunctional childhood,
30:4615-year-old Rod Farrell
30:48finds solace in
30:49death,
30:51the occult
30:52and blood-drenched horror films.
30:54At his local high school,
30:56Rod discovers a group
30:57of kindred spirits
30:58among some outcasts
31:00who also enjoy
31:00his favorite vampire
31:02role-playing games.
31:03In the 90s,
31:04people stopped
31:05being afraid of vampires.
31:07They started identifying
31:08with them,
31:09sometimes very intensely.
31:11And I think it was
31:13the beginning of a world
31:14in which the boundaries
31:16between imagination
31:17and reality
31:18were going to become
31:19increasingly blurred.
31:20and that can be
31:22a dangerous place to be.
31:25Rod Farrell
31:26did not grow up
31:28with his father
31:28around much.
31:29He is alleged
31:30that his grandfather
31:31sexually abused him.
31:34Add to that
31:35that he was experimenting
31:36with LSD
31:36and other kinds
31:37of psychedelic drugs,
31:38and this is a recipe
31:39for extreme behavior.
31:42He was part
31:44of this vampire coven
31:45over which he was
31:46sort of the elder
31:47or master.
31:48He knew about
31:49vampire lore
31:50through the game
31:51Vampire the Masquerade.
31:52And he began
31:54to believe he was
31:54some sort of embodiment
31:57of some vampire god.
32:02Rod often told them
32:04that he was
32:04a 400-year-old vampire
32:06named Visago.
32:09That he could help
32:10them cross over,
32:11which means to become
32:12a vampire through rituals
32:13that sometimes involved
32:15cutting each other
32:16and drinking
32:16each other's blood.
32:20In order to protect
32:22each other
32:22from a world
32:23that didn't understand
32:23their obsessions,
32:25Rod and his coven
32:26formed a sacred pact
32:27and then sealed it
32:29in blood.
32:33to belong to a gang,
32:35there has to be some kind
32:37of ritual that distinguishes
32:38you from everybody else.
32:41When you're taking a vow
32:43that from this point
32:45forever, irreversible,
32:47I'm a member of this gang.
32:49And when we get to the
32:51vampire-type thinking,
32:53there always has to be
32:56blood involved.
32:58We're going to cut
32:59my wrist,
33:00the other member
33:01is going to suck the blood
33:02so that each one
33:03is consuming
33:05the blood
33:06of the other person
33:08so that now
33:09we're all
33:09one-blooded family.
33:17Over the course
33:18of the next year,
33:19Rod would move
33:20with his mother
33:20to Eustis, Florida.
33:23After forming
33:24a close friendship
33:25with one of his
33:26new classmates,
33:27a girl named
33:28Heather Wendorf,
33:29the pair spent
33:30their weekends
33:30in the local graveyard
33:31engaging in
33:33bloodletting rituals.
33:39There are some people
33:40who adhere
33:42to a delusion.
33:43A delusion
33:44is a belief
33:45in psychiatry
33:46that you accept
33:49something in spite
33:50of facts
33:50to the contrary.
33:52And therefore,
33:53they start
33:54to really believe
33:55that they have
33:56these extraordinary
33:57powers.
34:00November 25,
34:021996.
34:03During a series
34:04of tearful phone calls,
34:05Rod listens
34:06as Heather describes
34:07a miserable home life,
34:08culminating in alleged abuse
34:10at the hands
34:11of her father.
34:13Enraged
34:14that his close friend
34:15has been mistreated,
34:16Rod and three members
34:17of his clan
34:18rush to her aid.
34:22When the group
34:23arrived at
34:25the home
34:26of Heather Wendorf
34:27in Eustis, Florida,
34:29Rod and one
34:29of his companions
34:30went inside.
34:31They came in
34:32through the garage
34:32where Rod found
34:34a crowbar,
34:35which he took
34:35with him.
34:37When he went inside,
34:39he found Heather's
34:40father asleep
34:41on the couch.
34:47and he beat him
34:48to death
34:48with a crowbar.
34:51He also
34:52encountered
34:53Heather's mother
34:54who splashed
34:55coffee on him
34:56in self-defense
34:58and he beat her
34:59to death
34:59as well.
35:06In the aftermath
35:07of the horrific
35:08killings,
35:09Rod was convicted
35:10of first-degree murder.
35:12Sociologists
35:13who study
35:14adolescent crime
35:15have framed this
35:16as a kind of game
35:17that gets out of hand.
35:19I think that
35:20Rod Farrell
35:21and his friends
35:21had a kind of game
35:22where they played
35:23the role of vampires
35:24until they reached
35:25irrevocable consequences
35:27when Rod Farrell
35:29sort of got caught up
35:30in his role
35:30and murdered
35:31the Wendorffs.
35:32This is a little bit
35:33like putting on
35:34a Halloween mask
35:36and then discovering
35:37that you can never
35:37take it off.
35:40It's disturbing
35:41to think that
35:42delusions can drive
35:43some to commit
35:44violent acts
35:45of murder.
35:46But stranger still
35:48is the story
35:48of a killer
35:49who left witnesses
35:50questioning
35:51their own imaginations
35:52when they were
35:54confronted
35:54by a superhuman
35:56being,
35:57part man,
35:58part animal.
35:59that is known
36:00as Spring-Heeled Jack.
36:08London, England.
36:09February 19th, 1838.
36:13Around 9 p.m.,
36:15an 18-year-old
36:16Jane Alsop,
36:17a young woman
36:18born into
36:19Victorian high society,
36:20hears a rattle
36:22outside her front door.
36:24She looks outside
36:26and sees
36:27a mysterious figure
36:29who identifies
36:30himself as
36:31a policeman
36:31and asks her
36:33for assistance.
36:35Believing him,
36:36she opens her door
36:37and very soon
36:39she'll wish
36:40she hadn't.
36:43He's kind of
36:44wrapped in this cloak
36:45and he says
36:46he's a policeman
36:47and he throws
36:49off his cloak
36:50and then
36:51she kind of
36:52suddenly sees
36:52he's got
36:53this strange face
36:54with these big
36:55red eyes.
36:56He looks very
36:57sort of inhuman
36:58and then she
36:59realizes he's also
37:00got claws
37:00and he blows
37:02a sort of
37:03ball of flame
37:03in her face,
37:05kind of describes
37:05blue-white flame
37:06and then he
37:07lurches at her
37:08and he starts
37:08to attack her.
37:11This man began
37:12to claw
37:13at her face,
37:14her neck,
37:14her arms
37:15and her dress.
37:16She was screaming
37:17and struggling
37:18and luckily
37:18her sister heard her.
37:21Jane was actually
37:21being dragged
37:22out of the home.
37:24Her sister fortunately
37:25was able to
37:25get her back inside
37:27but not before
37:28Jane's dress
37:29was almost
37:29completely torn off.
37:32Who or what
37:34attacked Jane Alsop?
37:36Her attack
37:37made headlines
37:38all over London.
37:39And a wave
37:40of terror
37:40flooded the city
37:41because this was
37:43not the first woman
37:43said to have been
37:44attacked by a
37:45shadowy figure
37:47that is known
37:48in urban legend
37:49as Spring-Heeled Jack.
37:52In the 1830s
37:54this curious story
37:57emerges in the
37:58newspapers
37:59that there is
38:00an attacker
38:02on the dark
38:03foggy streets
38:04of London
38:04called Spring-Heeled
38:06Jack
38:07who has
38:08eyes
38:09eyes that are like
38:10balls
38:10of fire
38:11who has
38:11claw-like
38:12hands
38:13who wears
38:15a skin-tight
38:16black costume
38:18and who can
38:19jump
38:20enormous heights.
38:24the urban legend
38:25of a phantom
38:26attacker with
38:26superhuman abilities
38:28does sound
38:29a bit hard
38:30to believe
38:32but incredibly
38:33after reports
38:35of Spring-Heeled Jack
38:36started appearing
38:37in the 1830s
38:38they continued
38:40for decades.
38:44Spring-Heeled Jack's
38:45sightings lasted
38:46a very long time.
38:47There's a sighting
38:48in Liverpool
38:48in 1904
38:50in Sheffield
38:51he was known
38:53to be around
38:53the region
38:54until the First World War
38:55so you've got
38:56a character
38:56that if it is
38:57the same individual
38:58is coming up
39:00for at least
39:00100 years
39:01since he first
39:02appeared.
39:03Was there really
39:03a fire-breathing
39:04superhuman
39:05with claws
39:06preying on women
39:08for 100 years
39:09while some experts
39:10believe that
39:11details of this
39:12mysterious attacker
39:13were embellished
39:14like many good
39:15urban legends
39:18and some suggest
39:20this monster
39:21served as a
39:22cautionary tale
39:23for Victorian women
39:25living in
39:2619th century London.
39:29The time period
39:31in which
39:32Spring-Heeled Jack
39:33emerged
39:34was the 1830s
39:36so we're pretty much
39:37smack in the middle
39:39of the Industrial
39:39Revolution
39:40at this point.
39:42Industrialization
39:43changed a lot
39:43it moved people
39:44out from pastoral
39:45spaces
39:46into urban spaces
39:47it created
39:48a lot of congestion
39:49people living
39:50on top of each other
39:51in sometimes
39:52rough conditions
39:53and the story
39:54that we see
39:55is of this
39:57bizarre criminal
39:58targeting women
40:00specifically
40:01in this urban setting.
40:04Spring-Heeled Jack
40:04does speak
40:05to some of that
40:05violence
40:06towards women
40:07in the Victorian period
40:08it's almost
40:09kind of reinforcing
40:10the notion
40:10that women
40:11should just be
40:12sitting at home
40:13and the public sphere
40:14is kind of
40:14the masculine sphere
40:15but it's something
40:16that was often spoken
40:17about in this time period
40:18and so there is
40:20a sort of
40:20controlling element
40:22to this.
40:23Was Spring-Heeled Jack
40:24invented to keep
40:2519th century women
40:26at home?
40:27It's certainly possible
40:28but if that's true
40:30then why is this story
40:32re-emerged
40:33in the modern age
40:36that's in England
40:38February 14th 2012
40:40a family is taking
40:42a taxi ride
40:43through town
40:44and suddenly
40:45they witness something
40:47that's impossible
40:48to explain.
40:50They see a figure
40:52jump over a highway divider
40:53run across
40:55two lanes of traffic
40:56and then somehow
40:58leap up a 15-foot
40:59embankment
41:00all within the span
41:01of about
41:02two seconds.
41:04On top of this
41:05they said
41:05whoever this was
41:06had no
41:07facial features.
41:09So this is a really
41:10strange encounter
41:11and it sounds a lot
41:12like the original
41:13Spring-Heeled Jack
41:13sightings
41:14from the 1800s.
41:15So what exactly
41:17is Spring-Heeled Jack
41:20a man
41:20or a monster?
41:23Either way
41:24the question remains
41:25are there those
41:26among us
41:27who possess
41:28psychological disorders
41:30or psychopathic traits
41:32that predispose them
41:34to becoming
41:35serial killers?
41:37Or does a certain
41:38environment create
41:39a breeding ground
41:40for the urge
41:41to stalk,
41:43manipulate
41:43and kill?
41:44to satisfy
41:46some dark craving
41:47with him?
41:48For now
41:49what truly goes on
41:51in deep
41:52shadowy minds
41:53of diabolical killers
41:55will continue
41:57to remain
42:00unexplained.
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