As much as we all agree that crime is just, like, the worst, there's still something romantic about being an outlaw -- hell, most beloved TV shows out there star soulless, piece-of-shit lowlifes like gangsters, drug dealers, and Alf. There's a part of us that admires those who boldly break the rules set by The Man and live their lives any goddamn way they want, the way our forefathers intended. Well, before you quit your job at Kinko's to go all Thelma & Louise, we should clear up a few misconceptions for you ...
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Most Serial Killers Are Dumber Than Average People
Lionsgate Films
If there's anything we know about serial killers, it's that a) they're always smarter than everyone around them and b) the only thing more disappointing than their behavior is their series finale. The whole genius part isn't all that surprising; murder is a relatively difficult crime to get away with, what with dead bodies presenting something of a red flag to the average passerby. To be able to get away with it over and over again and outwit detectives who do nothing but track killers for a living, surely these serial killers must be on the upper end of the brain scale, right?
Dino de Laurentiis Company
"It's pronounced Sartre, actually."
Nope, not really: A study of over 2,600 serial killers found that they were no smarter than your everyday idiot, with an average IQ of 94.7. This makes a lot of sense when you consider how the most famous ones got caught: Charles Manson was found hiding under a sink. John Wayne Gacy voluntarily went through a Secret Service background check to get a photo taken with the First Lady, and miraculously passed it ... only to later get smashed and confess to his lawyer. The BTK killer was arrested after believing police when they said they couldn't trace a floppy disk. Jeffrey Dahmer was discovered because he left Polaroids of his murders lying around his house. Ted Bundy escaped twice, but that also means he got caught three times (stupidly on each occasion). And so on. Even Assassin's Creed players know to keep their head down after they've stabbed someone in the throat.
Showtime
Maybe Dexter is more realistic than we thought.
So, how do these dopes manage to kill over and over again when so many murderers are caught on the first try? Well, most murders are committed by people the victim knows, so police can usually narrow the list of suspects down pretty quickly (it's usually people's spouses, or their butlers). Since serial killers tend to be random in their choice of victims, it makes it much harder to connect a person with the crime. Some are actually caught when they themselves start giving evidence to the police, in an effort to taunt them. Again: dopes.