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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. John took a great deal of _________ in thinking about his crimes before and after they were committed.

2. Serial killers are often obsessed with their ________, thinking about them for days or weeks before they occur.

3. What is one of the things that detectives found in John's room when they went to search it?

4. What had the killer used during the murders that fascinated Ressler when he was growing up?

5. Psychological and emotional _________ is usually prevalent in the families of serial killers.

Short Essay Questions

1. What was the criminal past of the murderer who threatened to kill Ressler?

2. What was found several blocks away after the murder of a family of three as well as their baby?

3. Why did Vorpagel react quickly to the crime that was presented to him in this first case?

4. What did the young Ressler do in response to the murder cases he learned about as a child?

5. What are some of the characteristics of a disorganized killer, according to Ressler?

6. Who did police question in the area at the time of the murder?

7. What did the killer try to convey in the messages that he left after the killings?

8. What sort of data does Ressler collect in relationship to serial killers and their murderous actions?

9. What was the result of the interviews that Ressler had with Mason?

10. What are some of the physical symptoms that agents involved in the interview experienced?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ressler decides that interviewing as many serial killers as possible is the way to find out more about profiling them.

Part 1: Do you think that interviews are the best way to find out more about a killer?

Part 2: Why do you think so many serial killers seem to share the same characteristics?

Part 3: How do you think Ressler could collect information about a killer from an interview?

Essay Topic 2

Many serial killers share the trait of having dysfunctional family backgrounds.

Part 1: How do you think one's upbringing could cause a person to become a serial killer?

Part 2: How do you explain the idea that some people from imperfect family backgrounds do not go out and kill people?

Part 3: Do you think all families have some sort of dysfunction?

Essay Topic 3

Ressler notices in the case of the newspaper boy killings that the murderer sliced off skin to hide bite marks.

Part 1: Do you think that slicing away bite marks is the sign of an intelligent killer?

Part 2: How do you think Ressler was able to determine the slices were meant to hide evidence?

Part 3: Why do you think a person would try to remove evidence from a body, though this also creates evidence?

(see the answer keys)

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