American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century

by Maureen Callahan

He believed that technology, the mainstreaming of violent pornography, advances in ever-faster travel, and an overall culture of misogyny, from politics to entertainment, would only continue to breed more aberrant and dangerous criminals. He made this prediction in 2001. Keyes, Hazelwood agreed, was among the top criminally organized minds he had ever encountered. But Keyes should not be mistaken as lacking emotion. Far from it, Hazelwood said. Psychopathic sadists such as Keyes have pushed their emotions down so deep only extreme acts evoke any feeling whatsoever. It’s why their crimes, horrific even in the beginning, must escalate, typically from the torture of small animals to rapes and murders increasingly elaborate in planning and realization. Palpable gratification comes only through multiple victims and greater suffering.