Profiling a Killer

by Laura Richards

From her unique position at the heart of the case, criminal behavioural analyst Laura Richards tells the inside story of the investigation that brought serial killer Levi Bellfield to justice.
     In March 2002, 13-year-old Milly Dowler was abducted as she made her way home from school, sparking one of the biggest murder investigations in the history of Surrey Police. In the subsequent two years, Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange were brutally murdered while walking home at night. The man responsible for these murders -- and countless other crimes against women -- was Levi Bellfield.
     When the body of Amelie Delagrange was discovered on Twickenham Green in 2004, criminal behavioural analyst Laura Richards -- at the time head of Scotland Yard's Homicide Prevention Unit -- was called upon to help construct a profile of the killer and to find other crimes he may have committed. After much painstaking work, patterns began to emerge and the hunt was on for a perpetrator who had struck more than once, and who was targeting lone, blonde females.
     In this gripping book, Laura describes the investigation from her unique position on the inside. She offers a searing examination of the criminal mind as she explores in detail the life and behaviour of Bellfield, seeking to understand why he carried out these terrible crimes -- and how he got away with it for so long.
     As Laura herself says, 'I truly believe that murders are preventable, if you know what signs to look for. That is why I hope this book is an important contribution to that understanding as, unfortunately, the human predator does not wear a costume so different from ours.'

Genres: Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published June 26, 2012

About the author

LAURA RICHARDS is a criminal behaviour psychologist who has worked in intelligence and serious crime for the last decade at New Scotland Yard. She advises the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), Police Services across the UK and the Home Office on violent crime and public protection. Laura was responsible for developing the Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Honour based Violence (DASH) Risk Identification, Assessment and Management model, which is currently being implemented across the UK. She has appeared on Cutting Edge, Crimewatch and Radio 4 as an expert on violence and homicide.