“It is much more difficult to hide if you are a serial killer today than in the 1960s and 1970s,” forensic psychologist Joni Johnston tells Inside Edition.
America has been frightened by, and fascinated by, serial killers for decades. Dramas and documentaries about serial killers are binge-watching hits, and the names of many responsible for unspeakable horrors now live in infamy.
Once, hundreds of serial killers were thought to be active at a given time in the United States. But today, many researchers say they believe just a handful to be operating in the country.
The presence of surveillance cameras has made it more difficult for such predators to hunt. Phone tracking technology is also making it easier for police to capture killers before they kill again.
“It is much more difficult to hide if you are a serial killer today than in the 1960s and 1970s,” forensic psychologist Joni Johnston tells Inside Edition.
The “Serial Killers: 101 Questions True Crime Fans Ask” author, who recalls growing up in a decade when serial killers were prevalent, says there is also a lack of available victims for such predators to target.
“I grew up in the ‘70s,” she says. “Your parents would say come home before dark. We were out and about unsupervised for extended periods of time; very few parents would have that philosophy today.
“It was common in the ‘70s and ‘80s to hitchhike; we know how vulnerable people are when they get into somebody's car,” she continues.
Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, was arrested in seven weeks using advanced DNA and tracking technology.
Prosecutors have yet to state a potential motive for the killings of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, but they do claim to have evidence showing that DNA found on a knife sheath left at the scene is a direct match to DNA obtained from a buccal swab of Kohberger.
“There’s little doubt in my mind that with the amount of premeditation that he put into this, that he would have killed again if he had gotten away with it,” Johnston says.
Kohberger previously told the public defender assigned to handle his extradition from Pennsylvania to Idaho that he expects to be exonerated of all charges at trial. At his arraignment, a judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. The trial is set to start later this year.
A data base of serial killers going back to 1900 shows there have been more than 3,600 of them in the United States. Only 8.6% of them have been women.
