U of C professor compiles, refines dark database of serial killers
She might be the only University of Calgary professor who marks her term papers under the steady gaze of infamous serial killers such as Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy.
Sasha Reid, a University of Toronto PhD candidate who began teaching in the U of C’s faculty of sociology and psychology in September, has earned national notoriety for a years-long project compiling an exhaustive list of serial killers, variables that may have motivated their dark pursuits and a 10,652-strong and growing list of missing persons and unsolved homicides.
Featured in several national media outlets and soon to be featured in an upcoming Netflix documentary on the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, Reid said she’s self-conscious about the attention, noting her database project — which chronicles some 6,250 serial killers dating back to the 15th century and 645 variables on their behavioural development — would only be possible with the work of dozens of volunteers.
“I don’t like (the attention). I’m a super introvert who feels really possessive over my research,” said Reid, whose office at the U of C’s social sciences building is adorned with a mosaic of 15 mug shots of some of the world’s most notorious serial murderers.
“It makes me uncomfortable seeing my face out there. But I feel like my research has something to offer to the law enforcement community and families who have been victimized.”
Reid gained national attention after she recognized patterns in a series of unsolved homicides in Toronto’s LGBTQ community and crafted a profile of a potential serial killer for police.
About six months later, Bruce McArthur was arrested and just last month pleaded guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder. Much of Reid’s profile of the killer turned out to be spot-on.
The database, which is the heart of her final doctoral project, is the result of her lifelong interest in serial killers; it’s been ongoing for nearly six years.
Teaching five classes at the U of C has forced her to scale back her nightly work on the project, but Reid said she’s still able to spend a couple hours daily expanding the database. “The database is my baby — it’s what I do,” said Reid, whose research has led her to pour over hundreds of diaries, interviews and home videos of serial killers in an effort to find any discernible triggers to their deadly behaviour.
“I’m constantly updating and refining it.”
The variables identified in the database drill down on common denominators among serial killers, including cycles of abuse, violent and criminal behaviour during youth, socio-economic circumstances, and other potential anomalies. It’s hoped the breadth of the data could help mould a science-based approach to the criminal profiling of serial killers.
Reid added she’s also interested — after becoming more settled in her teaching role — in examining the series of unsolved murders thought to be the work of a serial killer operating primarily in the Edmonton area between the late 1980s and the early 2000s.
The slayings prompted RCMP to launch the Project KARE task force in 2003, at one time probing some 80 files of murdered and missing women. The mandate for the program has since evolved to include victim services and an outreach arm for at-risk individuals.
The vast majority of the cases remain open.
Meanwhile, Reid said she hopes to continue quietly working on her database as a potential resource for profilers and investigators while getting her first year of teaching under her belt. “I just want to be Sasha the teacher, not Sasha the serial killer lady,” she added.
My research has something to offer to the law enforcement community and families who have been victimized.