EVEN though Jamaica has a high murder rate, with several people either wanted or convicted for committing multiple murders, local officials are hard-pressed to provide a list of known serial killers primarily because this is apparently an area lacking in research.

A serial killer is typically a person who commits three or more murders, especially similar ones with no obvious motives.

But according to director of investigations at the Major Investigation Task Force, acting superintendent Tripper Grant, the police could use some help, for example, from local universities to profile some of these cases.

"We have many repeat killers, both individuals and gangs. We know this as a fact, and this has been happening for some time. There are some well-known cases," Grant began.

"Unfortunately, what we do not have are any studies out of the University of the West Indies (UWI) that have produced the kind of profiles that would allow us to look for particular characteristics," he told the Sunday Observer.

Grant added that while Jamaica's murderers do not fit the clinical profile of some well-known serial cases, the island had its own unique brand of killers. Certainly, Grant said, there are "thrill killing serial killers in Jamaica, murdering only for the thrill."

"The primary motive of a thrill killer is to induce pain or create terror in the victims which provide stimulation and excitement for the killer. They seek the adrenaline rush provided by hunting and killing victims. Thrill killers murder only for the kill and usually the attack is not prolonged and there is no sexual aspect..." said the acting superintendent, citing the Federal Bureau of Investigations' (FBI's) definition of serial killers.

"Usually, the victims are strangers, although the killer may have followed them for a period of time. Thrill killers may abstain from killing for a period of time, and become more successful at killing as they refine their murder methods to commit the perfect crime, believing they would not be caught."

Meanwhile, acting Commissioner of Police Les Green and Senior Superintendent Calvin Benjamin said Jamaican deviant killers' profile fitted perfectly in the thrill-killing aspect of the definition.

"Of course there are many of those here. We know that. But, whether they fit the strict definition of serial killers is another matter," Green said last Friday.

Benjamin believes Jamaican deviants are targeted thrill killers.

"What you find is that criminals will bet each other and say 'bet you a go out and kill three people today'. Then they come home and kill themselves to watch the news, because that is another thrill - they made the news..." he said.

"Making duppies is part of the requirements for organised gang membership (or simply earning stripes on corners)," added Green.

Accordingly, the recruitment of juveniles to commit murders is keeping the criminal underworld supplied with experienced hardened criminals who are barely out of their teenage years.
Benjamin reeled off a list of well-known repeat killers, many of whom he said "were either dead, incarcerated or had migrated".

The case of Damian Thomas, who committed multiple murders by the time he turned 16, would be a profiler's dream. Thomas, now 28, has been credited with the murders of 17 people.
He entered the island's penal system in 1996 on a murder charge, which was later reclassified as non-capital. While serving the time for that offence, he murdered Donnovan Brown in 1998 and was sentenced to death as a result. But Thomas did not stop there.

In 1999, he murdered Christopher Watson and was again sentenced to death. Later in 2000 and 2002, he killed again. In 2006, he, along with others, attacked and murdered Stephen Palmer, after conducting an "in-jail" trial. Palmer's crime, other than the murder for which he was convicted, was 'showing off' to Thomas that they would all be sentenced to death, while his offence would be reclassified as a non-capital murder.

Thomas has also been implicated in multiple stabbings while incarcerated, and has been described as "a danger to himself and everyone else, and most of all, the society".

In a 2005 symposium held by the FBI in Quantico, Virginia, the National Centre for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) held a seminar geared at providing insights into the workings of serial killers. It could not be ascertained if any Jamaican investigators attended that symposium.

While NCAVC assists with research into violent crimes from a law enforcement perspective, and research is designed to gain insight into criminal thought processes, motivations, and behaviours, local investigators have very little to assist them.
Grant said he, along with other investigators, are convinced that the rape and murder of Shanika Shakes and Shauna-Kay Ledgister, two young girls from Townhead in Westmoreland, were the work of a serial killer.

The police also believe that several abductions, rape and murders in western Jamaica - including Westmoreland, Trelawny and St Ann - are serial killings, including the murders of a 15-year-old girl and her nine-year-old brother who left their home to go shopping in Ocho Rios but were found dead.

However, Benjamin said the police remain hampered by the lack of forensic evidence, as in a majority of cases, "individuals will tell you who committed a particular murder but you just cannot get it on paper..."

Green said in some jurisdictions it was as simple as getting a witness' testimony sealed before a judge, but he was not sure if the witnesses' names were disclosed.

All three agreed that until witness testimonies can be heard without their being physically present inside courtrooms, the Damian Thomas scenarios will be repeated - if only for the
thrill of it.

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