Quiet serial killers may hide in plain sight as DNA unmasks dead 1970s Pennsylvania strangler, expert says
Quiet serial killers may be hiding in plain sight, an expert warns, after new DNA technology helped unmask a Pennsylvania man authorities say killed at least two women in the 1970s.
Key points
- Kris Mohandie, a former LAPD psychologist and FBI behavioral analysis consultant, told Fox News Digital it's "normal" for the number of known victims to fall short of a serial killer's true toll, and that new technology is often what closes the gap.
- It may mean that they've had a close call with being captured, and it spooked them, so they'll go quiet for a while because of that," he said.
- "There are a lot of cases where they do go dormant, what we call a cooling-off period, and that can be because they realize it's too hot for them to continue to offend, that they'll get caught, so it's a strategy to avoid being captured.
DNA BREAKTHROUGH LEADS TO ARREST IN GRISLY 33-YEAR-OLD COLD CASE INVESTIGATORS NEVER GAVE UP ON In late 2008, evidence from Ritter's killing was sent to the state police crime lab, which produced an unknown male DNA profile.
Additional details
- LISTEN TO THE NEW 'CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO' PODCAST "I think it's normal and normative that the number of known cases is always less than what has been detected," Mohandie said.
- In May 2025, testing at Cybergenetics' laboratory showed the same man was responsible for the deaths of both women.
- as the man who sexually assaulted and strangled Brenda Ritter, 18, and Susan Rush, 21, in the 1970s.
- TED BUNDY LINKED TO ANOTHER DECADES-OLD HOMICIDE NEARLY 40 YEARS AFTER HIS EXECUTION Ritter disappeared from her boyfriend's house in 1977, police said.
- At a Thursday news conference, Pennsylvania State Police identified James Richard Clark Sr.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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