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Apr 28, 2000 - 01:31 AM
Suspect in Serial Killings Doesn't Quite Fit the Mold
By John K. Wiley
Associated Press Writer
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Could a generous, loving father be the cold-blooded killer of a dozen or more women?
It's a question giving pause to homicide experts looking at the case of Robert L. Yates, a seemingly solid family man and good neighbor who is suspected of shooting to death prostitutes and drug addicts. He was arrested last week.
"This man doesn't appear to be the typical case, but then, every one has their own individual characteristics that make them stand out," said Eric Hickey, a California State University-Fresno criminology professor who interviewed more than 300 killers for his book "Serial Murderers and Their Victims."
Yates, a 47-year-old married Army veteran and factory worker with five children, appears too old and too stable to fit the police profiles of serial killers - typically 25- to 35-year-old loners unable to maintain personal relationships.
Then again, it is their ability to blend in with society and hide their deadly addiction that makes serial killers successful, say those who study their habits.
"We all think we know what the bogeyman looks like, but we don't," said Tomas Guillen, a Seattle University professor and former reporter who wrote a book on Seattle's Green River killer. "There are a lot of them out there we don't know about."
Yates is being held on $1.5 million bail on charges of murdering prostitute Jennifer Joseph in 1997. More charges are expected. Authorities say they have DNA and other physical evidence that tie Yates to as many as 11 other killings since 1996. A task force is looking into six more deaths dating to the early 1990s.
Yates' lawyer, Richard Fasy, declined to comment. But relatives, in a statement, characterized him as "a loving, caring and sensitive son; a fun-loving and giving brother; and an understanding, generous and dedicated father who enjoys playing ball, fishing and camping with his kids."
Tim Buchanan, who worked with Yates at Kaiser Aluminum Co., called him "a very family guy" who frequently talked about his daughters.
Neighbors in Yates' tree-lined, upper-middle-class neighborhood described him as a pleasant man who liked to tinker with cars. Days before his April 18 arrest, he was seen playing catch with his 11-year-old son.
"He showed a different side to us, I guess," neighbor Vina Musgrove said.
Yates' stable family life would be "very, very unusual" for a serial killer, said Robert Ressler, a criminologist, former FBI profiling expert and author of five books on homicide and serial killers.
"On occasion you'll find a married killer, but usually from highly dysfunctional families," he said.
The only public sign of trouble in Yates' family appeared in late 1998, when one of his daughters told police he had physically abused her. Yates said he slapped the girl because she had been disrespectful. An assault charge was ultimately dismissed.
The Spokane killings themselves also vary from the norm in that all of the victims were shot. Most victims of serial killers are strangled, stabbed or beaten to death.
"Rarely do serial killers use firearms to kill. They use them to intimidate and control their victims," Ressler said.
Spokane Homicide Task Force detectives have refused to comment on the investigation. But sheriff's spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said Thursday that investigators "never really put much stock in the profiling."
"It seems to me that without knowing when this behavior started, it would be premature to say whether or not he fits a profile. Without knowing that, I don't know how you can characterize him," Reagan said.
Investigators say Yates came under suspicion largely because he used to cruise the city's red-light district in a flashy white Corvette.
In January, investigators tracked down a woman who had bought Yates' Corvette. Tests showed fiber samples from the carpet closely matched fibers found on Joseph's shoes and on a towel near her body.
A search of the car turned up a button that matched one missing from Joseph's clothing. And blood smears in the Corvette were matched to DNA obtained from Joseph's parents.
The case has some traits in common with others, particularly in that prostitutes were targeted, the experts said.
Most serial killings also have a sexual element. Police have refused to say whether the Spokane victims were sexually assaulted. However, the remains were often found partially or completely undressed, and there are indications some of the victims had been held alive for days.
Their ultimate deaths by gunfire were "not the payoff," Hickey said. "It's about power and control. The fact that he's shooting them is getting rid of evidence."
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Slowpoke Rodrigo...he pack a gon...
Vote for the Neal Knox 13
I'll see you at the TFL End Of Summer Meet!
Apr 28, 2000 - 01:31 AM
Suspect in Serial Killings Doesn't Quite Fit the Mold
By John K. Wiley
Associated Press Writer
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Could a generous, loving father be the cold-blooded killer of a dozen or more women?
It's a question giving pause to homicide experts looking at the case of Robert L. Yates, a seemingly solid family man and good neighbor who is suspected of shooting to death prostitutes and drug addicts. He was arrested last week.
"This man doesn't appear to be the typical case, but then, every one has their own individual characteristics that make them stand out," said Eric Hickey, a California State University-Fresno criminology professor who interviewed more than 300 killers for his book "Serial Murderers and Their Victims."
Yates, a 47-year-old married Army veteran and factory worker with five children, appears too old and too stable to fit the police profiles of serial killers - typically 25- to 35-year-old loners unable to maintain personal relationships.
Then again, it is their ability to blend in with society and hide their deadly addiction that makes serial killers successful, say those who study their habits.
"We all think we know what the bogeyman looks like, but we don't," said Tomas Guillen, a Seattle University professor and former reporter who wrote a book on Seattle's Green River killer. "There are a lot of them out there we don't know about."
Yates is being held on $1.5 million bail on charges of murdering prostitute Jennifer Joseph in 1997. More charges are expected. Authorities say they have DNA and other physical evidence that tie Yates to as many as 11 other killings since 1996. A task force is looking into six more deaths dating to the early 1990s.
Yates' lawyer, Richard Fasy, declined to comment. But relatives, in a statement, characterized him as "a loving, caring and sensitive son; a fun-loving and giving brother; and an understanding, generous and dedicated father who enjoys playing ball, fishing and camping with his kids."
Tim Buchanan, who worked with Yates at Kaiser Aluminum Co., called him "a very family guy" who frequently talked about his daughters.
Neighbors in Yates' tree-lined, upper-middle-class neighborhood described him as a pleasant man who liked to tinker with cars. Days before his April 18 arrest, he was seen playing catch with his 11-year-old son.
"He showed a different side to us, I guess," neighbor Vina Musgrove said.
Yates' stable family life would be "very, very unusual" for a serial killer, said Robert Ressler, a criminologist, former FBI profiling expert and author of five books on homicide and serial killers.
"On occasion you'll find a married killer, but usually from highly dysfunctional families," he said.
The only public sign of trouble in Yates' family appeared in late 1998, when one of his daughters told police he had physically abused her. Yates said he slapped the girl because she had been disrespectful. An assault charge was ultimately dismissed.
The Spokane killings themselves also vary from the norm in that all of the victims were shot. Most victims of serial killers are strangled, stabbed or beaten to death.
"Rarely do serial killers use firearms to kill. They use them to intimidate and control their victims," Ressler said.
Spokane Homicide Task Force detectives have refused to comment on the investigation. But sheriff's spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said Thursday that investigators "never really put much stock in the profiling."
"It seems to me that without knowing when this behavior started, it would be premature to say whether or not he fits a profile. Without knowing that, I don't know how you can characterize him," Reagan said.
Investigators say Yates came under suspicion largely because he used to cruise the city's red-light district in a flashy white Corvette.
In January, investigators tracked down a woman who had bought Yates' Corvette. Tests showed fiber samples from the carpet closely matched fibers found on Joseph's shoes and on a towel near her body.
A search of the car turned up a button that matched one missing from Joseph's clothing. And blood smears in the Corvette were matched to DNA obtained from Joseph's parents.
The case has some traits in common with others, particularly in that prostitutes were targeted, the experts said.
Most serial killings also have a sexual element. Police have refused to say whether the Spokane victims were sexually assaulted. However, the remains were often found partially or completely undressed, and there are indications some of the victims had been held alive for days.
Their ultimate deaths by gunfire were "not the payoff," Hickey said. "It's about power and control. The fact that he's shooting them is getting rid of evidence."
------------------
Slowpoke Rodrigo...he pack a gon...
Vote for the Neal Knox 13
I'll see you at the TFL End Of Summer Meet!