Through the Eyes of Serial Killers: Interviews with Seven Murderers

by Nadia Fezzani, Bob Chodos (Translation), Eric Hamovitch (Translation)

Journalist Nadia Fezzani spent years probing the minds of serial killers in search of answers to unsettling questions: What went on in their heads as they prepared for their next crime? What drove them to murder not once, but habitually? Were they born killers, or had they begun as normal individuals and been somehow transformed into predators?
Fezzani conducted groundbreaking, uncensored interviews with multiple- murderers behind bars. The account she pieces together from interviews, psychological research, criminal profiling, and genetic studies, is as un- settling as it is undeniable. The scars of abuse, and cold- blooded logic all emerge as Fezzani dissects serial killers' personalities in a quest to understand those who have committed unthinkable crimes.
"Through the Eyes of Serial Killers" explores the leading theories on the psychology of serial killing, victim selection, and telling signs of potentially dangerous mental disturbance. It is hoped that a clear-headed understanding of serial killings can unlock better strategies to prevent, or even predict this rarest and most evil of crimes.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2015

About the author

Nadia Fezzani is a Canadian journalist/author who has conducted extensive research and interviews with many notorious American serial killers. She is known in Europe as having interviewed American serial killer Richard Cottingham for a French documentary that first aired on TF1, Enquêtes et révélations. The first person to interview Cottingham in 30 years, Fezzani got him to admit his culpability for the first time, as well as many more murders. She is also part of November 84, a documentary on children's disappearance.

She wrote a Best-Seller in French, Mes Tueurs en série. Through interviews with Serial Killers and professionals (profilers, criminologists, neurologists, etc.), we discover how someone becomes a Serial Killer, what triggers them and what could have been done to prevent such behavior. The title of the English edition is Through the Eyes of Serial Killers: Interviews with Seven Murderers.

More recently, she published a book on Real Life Super Heroes, Mission Superhéros, where we accompany her during her patrols with those individuals who dress up at night and fight crime. She brings us into their universe and provides insights into their psyche through interviews.

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Fezzani first covered interviews with famous athletes for five years and was in charge of the media relations for the Montreal Matrix and the Buffalo Sharks basketball teams. She also conducted interviews with music stars, such as Dave Navarro and Nickelback. She has published in magazines and newspapers including Journal de Montréal, Montreal Metro, 24 Heures, Dernière Heure, UMM, Bobbi, Les Canadiens, Summum, Summum Girl, Hometown Hockey, Samedi, etc.

Ms. Fezzani gives conferences on the Serial Killers topic, as well as bullying, to students and to different organizations (colleges, professional associations, police, etc.). She also works with production companies on TV documentaries.

Reviews

[Chris Webber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the most disturbing books, if not the most disturbing book I have ever read. On several fronts.

Firstly, having the ability to hear the serial killer tell the story of his upbringing surprised me at how it gave me empathy. The trauma, the incest, the absolutely dysfunctional treatment of these children. No wonder they turned into monsters. I had rage reading the ones where the mothers/fathers/caretakers were absolutely a factor in the creation of these killers. I wish all parents/caretakers/teachers could read this book as a cautionary tale and learn the tell tale identifiers that may create this type of human in our society.

But the crimes. So cold. So inhuman, so unnatural, so bizarre.

Fezzani did a fantastic job of weaving the stories together with snippets of research, her personal insight and interfacing emotions with these interviews.

Truly an unforgettable book.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never realized how fragile the human brain could be and how easily things can effect it. This book was an amazing read and I'd definitely recommend others to read it to if you enjoy this topic.

[andrew y · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to read this in 2017 and it wasn’t worth the wait. Yes - it is cool that she corresponded with the real people directly instead of just opened Wikipedia. But unfortunately the real people aren’t exactly founts of original wisdom.

[Readasaurus Rex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

This book was interesting because it wasn't the same typical people being interviewed. It was a chilling book and a good read

[Alisha Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was great! Perfectly fed my curiosity and give the crime enthusiast like myself a peek into the mind of a murderer which was a refreshing twist.

[AC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally, quite interesting. The author is a bit gullible, and spends too much time interviewing academic hacks. But her detailed interviews with the murderers (especially Rchard Cottingham and Joel Rifkin), generally presented verbatim and without editorial commentary or interpretation, are often fascinating and illuminating.

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. And I have read a lot of these types of books.

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was pretty dry reading. Although it seemed like the book would give some insight on what makes a serial killer there were just lots of statistics and no answers.

[Sheng · Rating 3 out of 5]

Through the Eyes of Serial Killers: Interviews with Seven Murderers is Nadia Fezzani's attempt at getting a glimpse into the motivations of convicted serial killers. The serial killers in this book are Arthur Shawcross ('The Genesee River Monster'), Keith Jesperson ('The Happy Face Killer'), Gary Grant, Joel Rifkin ('Joel The Ripper'), Richard Cottingham ('The Torso Killer'), Jack Trawick and Patrick Kearney ('The Trash Bag Killer'). What drives these serial killers to cruelly take multiple lives? Are they born or made? Is there any possible way to reliably identify potential serial killers before any irreversible damage is done? Fezzani shows tenacity and guile in trying to get some answers by gaining the trust of multiple serial killers and corresponding with them through letters or face-to-face interviews for some. Fezzani's most impressive feat in this book is probably convincing Cottingham to be interviewed for the first time in 30 years and as a result, obtaining a first-ever confession from him for his crimes.

I have not heard of any of these killers before reading this book. Mainly inspired by Netflix's Mindhunter, I was interested in seeing what makes serial killers tick. The book gave some of the usual well-known traits of serial killers, such as displaying pyromania, bed-wetting or cruelty to animals at a young age. What I didn't know was that every one of these serial killers appeared to be shaped by unfortunate circumstances in their childhood or later on in their adult life. Abusive parents and social rejection were common experiences for them. For two of the killers, military life and being made to kill eventually shaped how they viewed taking lives and they brought that attitude back home to civilian life. I used to believe that maybe some serial killers were at least born. A predisposition to violent tendencies or mental diseases looked to be reasonable causes for what drove people to kill to me. Now, I firmly believe that all serial killers are made. In fact, it looks as if every one of these murders could have been avoided if someone had identified the warning signs in these killers and stepped in during their developmental stages in life.

My eyes are also somewhat opened to the variety of attitudes serial killers have to their crimes. Some clearly revel in it. They derive so much excitement and are utterly unapologetic, saying that if they are released they would undoubtedly go back to their old ways like Trawick. Some knew what they were doing was wrong. They appeared to be upstanding citizens in their public lives and to their families but they had dark desires they had to entertain too. The one that stood out to me the most was Gary Grant's complete dissociation from his murders when he committed them. He had zero recollection of his killing when he was identified as a suspect and willingly sat for a lie detector test, completely convinced of his own innocence. It was only after the evidence against him started to pile up did his memories start to reappear and the gravity of what he had done became apparent to him. This case was different from the others I had read because although it may seem like you're doing a fine job of bottling up and suffocating all the negative experiences from your personal history, they can resurface and materialise in such a horrific manner that you can become totally unaware of what you've done.

I guess I was expecting something more sensationalistic or more gripping like Mindhunter when I read this book. I learned a few things but I feel like there's still much more to be discovered or revealed about serial killers. Perhaps some of the details were lost in translation as the book was originally in French. Nonetheless, I feel like there could be more. 3/5

[Michelle Boyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fezzani spent four years of her life writing to serial killers in prison, and then went on to interview several of them face-to-face. I already applaud her because in order to communicate with these individuals you have to be patient, try to understand their views, and then of course--listen to the details of their horrific crimes.

A good example of the still-applicable uses of journalism and methodology in the true crime field.

Not for readers that are feint of heart or don't actually want to read about crimes. Before reading this, I glanced at some reviews on Amazon to try and get an idea of what I'd be reading (although I'd already checked the e-book out from the public library) and there were several one and two star reviews that complained about the graphic nature of this book. Well.... yep, there is a lot of discussion of graphic crimes in this book so don't pick it up if you don't want that. Stay out of true crime in general.

I also saw a few readers that gave this 1-2 stars because it was poorly researched. One reviewer went so far as to claim Fezzani didn't disclose that one of the subjects she was interviewing was known to lie in his interviews and possibly never saw combat in Vietnam (although he adamantly claims he did and has murderous tales from those times). Actually, if this reviewer would have read a few more pages in Fezzani does a *wonderful* job of explaining that some stories from serial killers remain the same over time, some change, and that not all of the stories have hard evidence. Another example would be the number of murders a criminal has committed: several are charged with fewer crimes than they themselves committed. But the research is here--there is no doubt about it.

I blazed through reading this because it was highly interesting. I think hearing from the criminals is a unique perspective. At times, you even have to feel bad for them--their upbringings are often filled with neglect, abuse, sexual assault, etc., and that definitely feeds into who they grew to become. There is no excuse, of course, for their crimes. Fezzani doesn't walk away being able to tell you 100% who a serial killer is (because they still vary). Yet this is nonetheless an amazing read.

[Bill reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arthur Shawcross begins the series of interviews and my fellow New Yorker does not disappoint as he describes slicing up and cooking a young lady in Vietnam. He also recounts being sexually molested by his mother as a small boy. The Canadian author met the killer in an upstate prison in New York and sat across from him at a table without handcuffs. The foolish woman requested that the guards stay outside of the room. I was bored by the extensive psychoanalysis in this chapter.
Keith Jesperson wrote to the police and became known as the "Happy Face Killer." A murderer with a conscience, Keith felt guilty after a couple were convicted and jailed for one of his crimes. Jack Olsen wrote a book with more details on Jesperson.
Gary Grant killed two teenage girls and two five-year-old boys near Seattle and after forty years in prison, corresponded with Fezzani. He recovered long lost memories of his crimes and, like Shawcross, had been sexually abused by his mother.
Joel Rifkin is another New York State resident and he provides great material with his deep, self reflective insights. Joel was adopted after being given up by a college student. As a boy, he was bullied and later developed a time consuming and costly habit of patronizing prostitutes. The drug addicted hookers disgusted him and so he put them out of their misery by strangling them. Like Bundy, Kemper and DeSalvo, he is left-handed. I am also a southpaw.
Richard Cottingham has been labeled the "Torso Killer." Two of his victims had their heads removed at a hotel in Manhattan. In their interview, the former Catholic schoolboy described the use of a hacksaw for the impromptu decapitations. Like Joel Rifkin, Richie is an extremely insightful subject.
Jack Trawick was executed by the state of Alabama by lethal injection. His final letter to the author was signed off with "your friend and fellow earthling." Funny guy.
Patrick Kearney has an IQ of 180 and is proficient in several languages, including French. His letters to Fezzani are in her native tongue. The "Trash Bag Killer" murdered twenty-eight men and cut them up. Hefty Bags were quite useful.
The book is a good read with the chapters on Shawcross, Rifkin and Cottingham being the highlights.

[Clarissa Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is one of the best-researched and revealing books on the subject that I've ever read - and I work with criminals (including serial killers) for a living! But before I go into why it's fantastic, let me address one thing:

Some people have found fault with this book, and it's generally for the same reason: that Ms. Fezzani didn't articulate exactly why these men committed their crimes, or how a serial killer comes to be. She didn't offer any "answers." However, there's a simple reason for this. THERE AREN'T ANY. To offer the reader yet another unfounded hypothesis as to why serial killers exist would be half-baked and devoid of any real grounding. What Ms. Fezzani provides is so much better than that.

In her book, Ms. Fezzani offers the reader a truly candid snapshot of several notorious serial killers through excerpts of their personal writings to her. She kept up this correspondence with various murderers for years, coaxing them out of their protective shells, and encouraged them to be as truthful as they could.
Boy, were they!
There are so many telling passages in these snippets that speak to who these men really are: what shaped their childhoods, what motivated their relationships, what emotions they felt when they chose to kill...and what they felt when they didn't. It exposes the "soft underbelly" (if a serial killer possesses such a thing) of the imposing monster that most people see, and allows the reader to make his/her own conclusions. Interspersed throughout are helpful quotes from experts including law enforcement, psychologists, neuroscientists, etc. In short, it's a book that doesn't focus on just the crimes, or all the nitty-gritty details of each crime scene (like so many books in this genre do), it focuses more on the whole of the person, and what can be gleaned from knowing those facts.

Additionally, Ms. Fezzani was able to score some in-person interviews with some of these men, and the information she was able to come away with is, on one hand, kind of amazing. But, on the other hand, it was clear that she always treated the perpetrators with respect (and a dose of good boundaries), which is something that many people who research these individuals fail to do. Thus, maybe it's not surprising that they chose to open up to her the way they did.

Obviously a lot of work, time, and dedication went into this project - and it couldn't have always been fun. But the information provided by Ms. Fezzani is second to none, and I encourage those of you who may be interested in the criminal mind to read it. It's a good reminder that studying deviancy in a vacuum (focusing almost solely on the crimes) will always garner skewed results. It's by trying to get to know the person as a whole that brings true understanding.

[Grazyna Nawrocka · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an interesting, and well-written book. Although the subject was gruesome, author avoided gory descriptions. Ms. Nadia Fezzani treated interviewee with respect, and the truth, which was presented in this work is neither objective, nor representing author's view. As the title says, this is how serial killers present themselves. They try to avoid narrative about killing children (even prison society condemns it), explain that they tortured and had sex with dead bodies (where is fun in it?) and some did not admit to being themselves abused. This way, or other it was their voice.

Two of my personal notes:
Concept of being normal or not. Who is normal? Normal are serial killers who kill for pleasure, or as a part of their mission or to avoid consequences. I'd argue that no serial killer is normal, but this is how science of psychology works.
High IQ. Two of interviewed killers had IQ over 100 (160 & 180). What then is IQ? Is it mathematical ability or intelligence. How can intelligent person commit such crimes, and on top of this get caught. Perhaps this IQ business is vastly overrated?

[Lillian Chen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every serial killer has a very very sad early childhood . As I read those sad stories , it even made me develop sympathy for those killers about what they experienced when they were young .

However the one thing I don’t like about this book is the arrangements of each chapter . The author tied to focus on one killer each chapter but most time she would associate this killers to others which she didn’t have change to interview. Then she would start to analyse other killers . Sometimes I was lost . It seemed little bit messy to me .

[Pearlyn Lim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three quarters into the book, I learn to distrust the killers' own words. I give kudos to the author for quoting them almost verbatim but it be rather rambling after awhile. It is interesting however, to notice how the killers do not describe their victims responses, and tend to focus on their own thoughts and feelings. Clearly psychopathic.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a much better read then the previous serial killer book I read. The author and tone of the work were a great deal more sympathetic and the interviews and between better organized. I like that she had a personal interest in the cases and that various experts and the like were brought in to give their feedback and opinion on other topics. It also had ideas about how to stop this rise of serial killers and also how to protect yourself from these same killers. A much better read.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written and disturbing book. I read a lot of books about serial killers and this is one of the better ones. The author has the knack for getting these men to open up and let us into their lives and thoughts.

[Hope Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Very informative and interesting reading material. This book explores the factors that contribute to making killers, and addresses the fact that some serial killers, famous ones, denial of past trauma was not accurate.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really unique look at the motivation and history of several serial killers. An intriguing and sad read.

[Hotrats · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing is more terrifying than the real.

[Wendya · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author reveals that these criminals have worthwhile stories to tell, and learn from, outside of what you see in Hollywood movies or in the news.

[Felicia Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through The Eyes Of Serial Killers by Nadia Fezzani is more than just a book about the accounts of seven murderers. This book takes you directly into the mind of a serial killer where the deep, dark disturbing facts are laid out for us in this gripping novel. What makes a serial killer? Where do they come from? How did it all begin? These questions are answered in Fezzani's book directly by the serial killers that she interviewed.
This book is very well written in an interview style format. While I was reading, I felt as if I was watching it all play in my mind. Fezzani's journalist background really shows throughout the book as she asked the most bold and interesting questions that readers would want to know about the lives of serial killers. These interviews are uncensored and challenging. I couldn't imagine, myself, sitting across from a serial killer asking daring questions. It is amazing how they seemed to have opened up to her. Fezzani breaks it down for you in her book. From the trauma of childhood, mental illness, abuse, and the type of psychology and reasoning that these serial killers use when they have committed these violent crimes.
The most riveting interview in the book, for me, was with Joel Rifkin. His interview can be found in Chapter 5 titled Joel Rifkin: Joel The Ripper. Without giving too much away, the interview is gripping and starts off heavy and right to the point. Fezzani asks, “And then you decapitated her with an X-Acto Knife?” To which Rifkin boldly replied, “Yeah. It's just like a scalpel. It's easy to get into joints and then you can pop bones from the socket.” The interview takes off right there. But from the very beginning of it, I was drawn into reading more.
The book is fast moving. Easy to read and understand. It is disturbing, because the subject matter is not a light one. There is a point to this book. It digs deep into the psychology of serial killing to explore the theories surrounding the making of a serial killer. The book is educational and seems to lean towards having the purpose of helping people understand serial killers to create better programs and strategies to help prevent this kind of violence in the future. There is a bit of humanity here. Hopefully, something we can all appreciate and understand.

[Bobbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meeeeeh

[Myra Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was very informative.