(Photo by: Jasmine Mills)

Did you know that you are statistically more likely to die from a vending machine falling on you than you are to die from a serial killer? Dr. Scott Bonn, a statistic-loving criminologist, focuses on serial killers, their unique motivations and what drives them to often seek public attention and notoriety.

On March 13, “Serial Killers” with Dr. Scott Bonn will be in the Polsky Theatre in the Midwest Trust Center, where Dr. Bonn will be talking about the minds of serial killers.

“It’s an unprecedented journey to the dark side inside the motivations and thinking of these horrible killers.
And we’re talking about the likes of the Son of Sam and Bind Torture Kill, and also the Long Island serial killer more recently. And then, after a brief intermission, we come back, and the second act is where I do a live Q&A session and open it up to the audience,” Bonn said.

Bonn’s career spans two eras, both lasting approximately 20 years. In the first era of his career, he worked in media, entertainment and advertising. He also spent some time working at the NBC television network in the 1990s when some of the most heinous criminal cases of the decade–like the Menendez Brothers, Jeffrey Dahmer and OJ Simpson–occurred.

“And what I realized is that these individuals, many of them became what I call celebrity monsters, that they became larger than life, and they eclipsed the story itself,” Bonn said. “We’re not even talking about the victims. We’re talking about the Menendez brothers, and how handsome they are, and why would they [do this] and their lifestyles of the rich and famous.”

Then, after 9/11, everything changed for Bonn pretty much overnight. He decided to go back to school for another passion of his: understanding the dark side of the human condition, as well as studying justice studies and psychology.

“I began to study now in earnest these celebrity monsters and the appeal, why we’re drawn to these individuals, and that led me to interview the likes of David Berkowitz and BTK and get involved in profiling. I was very involved in the process, the investigation and profiling of the Long Island serial killer. And ultimately, [I] wrote a book: Why We Love Serial Killers: The Curious Appeal of the World’s Most Savage Murderers.”

Colin Fiscus is a student at JCCC, and his interest in serial killers sparked because the way that a person can be wired interested him.

“I think people have been, and will always be, fascinated by morbid topics, especially the dark side of humanity. Some people are probably also interested in some of the unsolved cases, like Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer,” Fiscus said.

A few years ago, someone suggested to Bonn that he take what he has learned and go out on the road.

“I began talking to groups about this fascination with serial killers and my experiences. And so it’s just grown and [grown]. And I’ve now talked in about 80 cities around the country, theaters all over the country, and the interest, I can tell you, is very profound and very real,” Bonn said.

This may come as a surprise to some, but Bonn explained that 75% of his audience is women. According to him, women have a particular interest in true crime and the dark side.

“Women can empathize with the plight of the victims, and women have told me they’re very interested in security and safety issues. They want to be able to identify potential threats, potential predators. And so this is, you know, it’s an interesting phenomenon, but it’s very consistent everywhere I go.”

Fiscus believes that events like this are important, specifically for college students.

“For people who are going into fields related to it, it could provide them with information that could help them in the future, and it is a good way to meet others who are also interested in the topic.”

Bonn explains that with his events, he tries not to sensationalize the subject matter. He explains that many other sources glorify these topics and capitalize on them in very grotesque ways.

“I try to spread the truth, try to debunk many of these sensationalized and stereotypical myths about serial killers and to inform the public about the reality of it, and to also provide useful information, red flags to look for potentially in children who may have anti-social personality disorders that could become problematic later on,” Bonn said. “So I really try to educate and debunk this.”