Profiling A Suspected Killer
In their cross-country search for suspected killer Rafael Resendez-Ramirez, authorities are using a technique called criminal profiling to analyze the personality of the suspected train-hopping serial killer.
"If you do your work and do a lot of cases, sit across the table from the bad guys, do an interview from an investigative perspective, you start thinking like them and know how theyÂ'll move next," said John Douglas, a retired agent who worked for the FBI for 25 years and a pioneer in profiling and criminal investigative analysis.
He told CBS This Morning that Resendez-Ramirez has an anti-social, disorganized personality. He said the suspected killer is prone to drink alcohol, causing him to be sporadic, which is good for law enforcement because heÂ'll be making mistakes along the way.
"HeÂ's a spree killer, which means heÂ's killing with no cooling-off period in between each and every one of his killings," Douglas said. "HeÂ'll probably keep killing until heÂ's apprehended."
There is even speculation that Resendez-Ramirez may not even be the suspect's real name.
"That was the first name he used in 1976 when he was deported by the INS and that's what we went ahead with," Houston Sgt. Ken Macha said. "But as far as being real, I would doubt it."
"He's a master of disguise," says Luisa Aquino, an Immigration and Naturalization Service spokeswoman in Houston.
The FBI said the suspect is a native of Puebla, Mexico, stands 5-foot-7-inches and weighs about 150 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
He has scars on his right ring finger, left wrist and forehead, a snake tattoo on his left arm and perhaps a flower tattoo on his left wrist.
Sometimes he has worn a mustache, other times he's clean-shaven. He has been known to wear glasses. He is believed to be an alcohol and drug user, although his criminal past does not appear to indicate that.
Douglas suspects Resendez-Ramirez may have started killing in his late 20s or early 30s and that his behavior could have been caused by family rejection or by economic problems.
Douglas said the suspect has a specific signature that is unnecessary for the killings, but which authorities
are using to track him down.
"We donÂ't want the public to know what that is, because thatÂ's the way the law enforcement is linking the cases together," Douglas explained. To illustrate the concept of a signature, he added, "I testified in a Washington State case where a killer posed the victims after killing them."
Douglas said he is sure the suspect will continue to leave a trail for authorities to follow.
"HeÂ'll strike again," Douglas said. "You try to do a Â'This Is Your Life StoryÂ' on the offender to find his strengths and weaknesses and what time of his life he felt most comfortable. ItÂ's the nature of the beast to gravitate to that part of the countr where he would feel most comfortable."