All language subtitles for Signs.Of.A.Psychopath.S10E11.The.Sexual.Psychopath.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-RAWR_track3_[eng]

These human beings who became
sacrificial lambs

to Mr. Dahmer's fantasies.

In this series,

we look at varying cases
of psychopathy.

From individuals who are

willing to kill other people to
sadistically kidnap them.

But there's a much more
dangerous subset,

one that you can never
see coming,

and that's
the sexual psychopath.

The thing
inside of me, it's like...

the appetite,
it's like a wolf that's...

feeling...
the hunger.

In this series, we look at many
psychopathic individuals,

people who have not hesitated
to harm and murder other people.

And we look at them
with a critical eye.

But when we think about these
cases, there's one population

of psychopath that continues
to show up time and time again.

These are individuals
that are motivated

by their
own sexual gratification,

their own urges,
their own fantasies,

and their own depraved beliefs
that creating harm,

force, and fear in others
is how they're aroused.

And we call
them sexual psychopaths.

When we think of

the sexual psychopath,
a couple names come to mind.

We have Ted Bundy,
we have Jeffrey Dahmer,

We have Richard Ramirez.

All of these individuals
have their own distinct way

in which they were crossing
the sexual boundary

to include murder.

Everything is really just
about the gratification

that it takes.

Now, there's a particular way
in which they get there.

Their own unique offense cycle
ultimately determines

the style with which they are
going to engage

in that sexual boundary
crossing behavior

and the types of victims
that they'll choose.

In this hour, we're going
to look at different approaches

that the sexual psychopath uses

to engage in
their deviant behavior,

how they choose
their victims,

and more importantly,
why they choose their victims.

When we look more closely
at the sexual psychopath

and their methodology,
how they choose their victims,

we start to see
some themes emerge.

One of those themes is
the opportunist,

that sexual psychopath
who's looking for

the low-hanging fruit.

They don't wanna
put in a lot of effort

to seek out their victim,

and they don't
wanna put in a lot of effort

to disable their victim.

Oftentimes, the opportunistic
sexual psychopath's victims are

young or they're old.
They're most often women.

These women are often
in marginalized communities,

like prostitution
and other kinds of sex work.

They're homeless.

There's just an element
in which no one is going

to miss them.

Or no one is really going to be
watching out for them.

The functionality
of the opportunist's
victims selection

is more about the ease
with which they can engage

in their compulsive behavior.

When we think
of the opportunist approach,

the first name that comes
to mind is Jeffrey Dahmer.

These human beings

who became sacrificial lambs
to Mr. Dahmer's fantasies.

Dahmer began having
these feelings as a teen

and first acted on them in 1978

when he killed
a hitchhiker in Bath, Ohio,

and had sex
with his dead body.

After that, Boyle says,
Dahmer tried to control

his obsession
through substitutions,

like religion, masturbation,
and pornography.

Once, he even went
to a downtown Milwaukee

department store,
and stole a male mannequin.

But Boyle says in 1987,
Dahmer could no longer

control his fantasies.

Dahmer just didn't kill
anyone off the street.

He picked his victims carefully.

Jeffrey Dahmer
has been convicted

of the rape, murder,
and sometimes cannibalization

of 17 different victims.

His victims have often been
young males,

marginalized communities,
often black,

but not necessarily homosexual.

His victimology
is kind of all over the place,

but the one thing
remains the same,

is that they were easy targets,

making them the perfect victims

for the opportunists,
whose desire and compulsion

is more about the ease of access
as opposed to

harder, more difficult
kinds of victims.

We see that same opportunistic
approach in the case

of Ryan Riggs.

This is where the Brown County
Sheriff's Department

found the body
of Rhonda Chantay Blankinship

on County Road 424.

Blankinship died from a crushed
larynx and blunt force injuries

to her neck, face and torso.

Sheriff Vance Hill says some
of those injuries were caused

by a lawnmower blade
found near her body.

Brown County
law enforcement arrested

21-year-old Ryan Riggs
last week for capital murder.

The break in the case came
when the sheriff's office

released a computerized sketch
of Riggs, using his DNA.

Blankinship and Riggs
went to the same church.

Riggs then went
before the entire congregation

and confessed to killing
fellow church member

Chantay Blankinship,
before turning himself in.

Riggs says it all.

An opportunistic
sexual psychopath

is somebody who's gonna go
after a victim

because they can.

It's an easy victim to access,
it's an easy victim

to lure away, and it's somebody
that they don't have to put

a lot of brain cells and energy
into getting in their prey.

Chantay was an easy victim
because she knew him,

she trusted him,
she was physically petite

and small, and she was also
special needs, cognitively.

And this is consistent
with what we see

with sexual psychopaths.

They tend to pick victims
who are vulnerable.

The opportunistic offender
in particular relies on that.

The actions have very little
to do with Chantay.

It's not personal, per se.

She is the easy target
and victim to fit

into Ryan Riggs' fantasy.

So in one sense,
what makes it really disturbing

when we think about it
is that she doesn't really mean

anything to him at all.

Her life and death
are not meaningful to him

in any way,
other than that they help him

act out a fantasy
that he has in his head.

2
What I think
we see is the birth

of a sexual psychopath
in Ryan Riggs.

He tried a variety of
different things

to see what kind of torture was
gonna be gratifying to him,

what was gonna create

the most force or fear
in the victim.

And it's important to realize

that giving in to the sexual
gratification,

that poor impulse control,
that moment

that Ryan Riggs said, "I'm gonna
give in to these fantasies,"

he didn't have a plan
for how he was gonna do it.

While Riggs was an
opportunistic sexual psychopath,

we also know
that some sexual psychopaths

are far more elaborate.
They're far more sophisticated.

And the predatory component
is far stronger

in these individuals.
They're organized.

The thrill of the chase
is part and parcel

of their sexual arousal.

They don't
experience gratification

if that part doesn't happen.

The predatory component,
the hunt,

becomes most important to them.

And that is when we think
about the sexual psychopath

who's the hunter.

Up in Anchorage, Alaska,

between 1972 and 1983,

Robert Hansen was able
to rape and murder

at least 17 women and children
in those years,

and that his style was that
of the psychosexual predator,

the psychopath who hunts.

For sexual
psychopaths like Hansen,

what we see is that
it's not simply

the sexual boundary
crossing behavior.

It's not just the assault
and the rape.

Yes, that was gratifying.

But the real thrill came
in releasing the victims

into the wild so that he could
hunt them down

like they were animals.

In Hansen's mind,
he believes himself to be

the ultimate predator,
the apex predator.

And women, children,
doesn't really matter.

Anyone on the fringes of society
are the prey for him.

Because it's not just simply
a thrill-seeking behavior.

It is engaging
in the thrill-seeking behavior

as a method with which
they're going to engage

in the sadistic nature

of whatever violent fantasies
they have.

And we see the same approach
in the case of Richard White.

He simply
describes her in the things

that he noticed about her,

as opposed to what
made her another human being.

And I think that's telling
because he doesn't see

them as human beings.

These are prey for him to engage
in his hunter approach.

These aren't real people.

They're just animals
for him to slaughter.

His interactions with
the sex workers

are about
the sexual gratification,

but it's the hunt that makes
him the sexual psychopath.

It's the hunt that really
gets him going.

It's the hunt that really
allows his arousal to achieve

its peak, as opposed to simply
engaging in sexual behaviors.

There is an addictive aspect
to it, but I think we need to be

careful when we're describing
the addiction element.

It makes it sound
like it's a disease.

It's not a disease.
It's a compulsion.

He doesn't have to do it.
He wants to do it.

He wants to have sex
with these women.

He wants to violate them.

He wants to hunt them down
and kill them

simply because he can.

2
What is important to
realize is that Richard White

fully acknowledges that this is

what he got up
and went to bed for,

every single day,
was the hunt.

If he wasn't busy
doing something,

he was out on this street

hunting these women,
driving around

looking for his next victim.

He was methodical,
he was precise,

and he was deliberate.

This is someone who maintained
a level of control

and impulse control
over his actions and his urges

and his fantasies.

So for the hunter,
we see the individual

is getting most of their arousal
from the hunting process.

We see certain sadistic
elements, but they're only

there as ancillary aspects.

They don't necessarily need
to be there.

Evolving from the hunter
approach is where it's not only

just about hunting
and stalking their victims.

It's about torturing them,
over a prolonged period of time.

It is making sure
they are no longer human

when the sexual psychopath
is done with them.

We call these types
of offenders, "the sadists."

Richard Ramirez,
a drifter from El Paso, Texas,

and a self-described
Satan worshiper,

began his reign of terror
in June 1984,

when he murdered
79-year-old Jennie Vincow

in her apartment
in Glassell Park.

By the time of his arrest
14 months later,

Ramirez had gone
on a killing rampage so grisly

that deputy district attorney
said Ramirez

had probably rewritten the book
on serial murders.

Richard Ramirez is
also known as the Night Stalker,

terrorized the community
by stalking people,

hunting them down.

The experience for him was
all about getting a victim

that then he could torture
and use for his own pleasure.

That's where he found
his satisfaction,

in doing ritualistic torture
and rape on his victims.

The nature of
his criminal activity had

the entire Los Angeles area
in a state of fear and panic.

People didn't know
if it was OK

to leave their windows open,

and the Night Stalker
wanted it that way.

This is a good example
of where the sadist gains power

over their victims

before sometimes
they even catch them.

And for the truly
sadistic offender,

they draw out that pain.
They draw out that fear.

They don't worry about the harm
it causes that individual.

But the more pain,
the more fear, the more torture,

that they expose
their victim to,

the more arousing
it is for them.

That is their primary goal,

to ensure that their sexual
arousal is met.

And we see this in the case
of Jeremiah Connelly.

So with the sadist
sexual psychopath,

remember the salient element
is enjoying the suffering

of other people or the emotional
turmoil of other people.

And one way that they can
relive that is by telling

the story again to the police
or by instilling

in their interviewers
shock, horror, or dismay.

And he's not telling the story
all at once.

He throws little bits
and pieces out there,

and I think it's for to control
their emotions.

This is what the sadist
will do.

They wanna control
and enjoy the distress

in another human being.

While Connelly gives
some gestures of caring

about the victim and shows
some superficial attempts

at remorse, what becomes
very clear as we learn

about the details of his crime
is that he really didn't care

about the victim.
She was an object to him.

And ultimately, it was
about getting his own way.

It was about maintaining
the status quo

based on a fantasy that he had
built in his head,

that this relationship
was something he wanted,

he deserved, he was entitled
to it, and he was gonna get it.

I think there are multiple
things that are happening

when it comes to his animation.

It's something
that he typically is.

I think in his everyday life,
he is this elevated.

But he's also excited

because he engaged
in this behavior,

didn't recognize how much
he wanted to engage

in this behavior.

And now he's describing it
to law enforcement officers.

So, now he's getting the double
whammy of reliving it,

but also psychologically
torturing them,

as he describes it
play by play.

The sadist will
set up an idea

in the mind of the victim,

like where things
are gonna go.

And it is for the purpose, then,

of causing them more distress
or torturing them.

So in this phase,
he's promising her,

"Yeah, you'll go
home eventually."

It's raising hope.

But he's gonna hold out
the promise so that he can

enhance her suffering and then
eventually announce to her

what is going to happen to her
so that he can actually enjoy

her realization that,
you know,

it's not gonna turn out well.

2
The decision to smother
a victim by covering her face

with duct tape serves no other
purpose than to distance

himself from her humanity
because he doesn't have to look

at her face,

and to prolong her death
and dying process.

Instead of it being
a quick kill,

the sexual psychopath
and the sadistic psychopath

wants a slow death,

wants that slow torture
and torment.

And that's exactly what Connelly
got by making that decision.

This whole thing with Connelly
started because Wilcoxen had

rejected all of his overtures
to move in with him.

What Wilcoxen didn't know was
that there was an underlying

desire by Connelly
to hurt people.

There is another approach
in which that initial rejection

compels the person to engage
in sexually violent acts.

But the primary driving force
is that of revenge.

Sexual psychopaths
who are triggered

by feelings of rejection,
feelings of abandonment,

feelings that
they're losing control

over a relationship
or being left,

are individuals that are what
we think of as "the rejected."

Serial killer
Ted Bundy is talking,

confessing to murder
after murder,

giving investigators
grisly details

of a decade-long
cross-country crime spree.

Bundy tells of a murder
and describes himself

in the third person.

Bundy has been
convicted of three murders,

confessed to a dozen more,
and is still a suspect

in another two dozen.

The victims were all
young, pretty,

and with long, dark hair.

Ted Bundy
was responsible for raping

and killing over 30 women,

and there were many crimes
that went unsolved

that likely were attributed
to him as well.

And what we know
about Ted Bundy

is he's a perfect example

of a sexual psychopath
who was rejected.

For Ted Bundy, we see
his rejected approach

starts with his college
girlfriend, Diane Edwards,

who broke up with him.

It's not surprising, then,
that his victimology

closely matched
that of Diane Edwards.

He was specifically looking
to take revenge out on her,

as often as he can,

matching their ages,

matching their hairstyles,
everything perfect

so that he can violate her
over and over and over again.

The rejected sexual psychopath
is oftentimes not driven

by a direct need
for sexual gratification

that has to do
with physical arousal.

It has much more to do
with preserving their ego,

preserving their sense
of power and control,

preserving their sense
that they're OK.

In other words,
helping to maintain

that their narcissistic view
of themselves is correct.

When we think about
the rejected sexual psychopath,

we also think about the case
of James Barnes.

2

She left enough
of an impression on him

that he became focused
on her and had no choice

but to annihilate her.

And that deep level
of rejection and anger

and animosity that James Barnes
exhibited in his crime

and how he killed
Patricia Miller is consistent

with the sexual psychopath
who feels rejected.

Their drive isn't necessarily
sexual arousal.

The sexual arousal may have
been a secondary gain.

But realistically, it likely
was more about increasing

the fear that she felt,
increasing the pain she felt,

increasing the power
and control over her.

And how a rejected sexual
psychopath takes back control,

resumes homeostasis on their ego
and their narcissism

and grandiosity, is to pretend
that everything is fine.

Barnes can't even
just admit and say,

"I was mad at her
'cause I made a pass.

She didn't accept it.
I got rejected."

That's a blow
to the ego, right?

To admit I was turned down.

And these are the kinds
of psychopaths who can't take

that kind of rejection.

It cuts very deep,
and they're offended,

and then they're enraged by it,
which is then why

someone has to suffer.

The fact that Barnes
is willing to discuss

the painful details
and the graphic details

of the crime itself that led
to Patricia Miller's death,

but he won't discuss
what led up to it,

and he won't discuss
what happened afterward,

or the fact
that she humiliated him,

that she brought him some pain.

Barnes can't tolerate
that level of shame.

He can't tolerate that level
of humiliation and rejection.

And when we see the rejected
sexual psychopath,

this is precisely
what we're talking about.

Their ego can't handle reality,
and their ego can't handle

how fragile it really is.

Sex is a primary motivator
for nearly everyone's behaviors.

The only reason why people
do anything is probably

because it's sex related.

I think, though, what separates
the sexual psychopath

from the regular human being,

from the prototypical
psychopath,

is the compulsion.

Sex is always on their mind.

The deviant ways in which
they can engage

in their sexual behaviors

are constantly fantasized
and masturbated to.

The rest of us, even
the prototypical psychopath,

can have motivators
outside of sex.

We can do things simply
because it's a fun thing to do.

For the sexual psychopath,
however, everything is deviant.

Everything is about gaining
power and control,

of exacting revenge,

of bringing attention
to whatever slight has happened

to them, to their fragile
narcissistic ego.

So for them, it's not just
that sex is a primary motivator

it's that the violation needs

to be associated with that.

And that violation
is whatever the fantasy is.

The sexual psychopath
has no boundary or limits

to what they will do
and what steps they will take

to harm another person
to meet their own sexual needs,

to achieve and maintain
their own sexual gratification.

And it is because of that lack
of a boundary

that we should absolutely
regard these individuals

in this category of psychopaths
as some of the highest risk

and most feared in society.