Profiler

The real-life model for Thomas Harris' serial-killer expert psychs out the O.J., Ramsey and Dahmer cases -- and David Byrne, too.

By David Bowman

July 8, 1999 | Retired FBI agent John Douglas is the genesis of pop culture's fixation on psycho killers. Douglas was the first law enforcement officer to make a study of psycho-ology in order to catch the average serial killer by figuring out what makes him tick. Hannibal Lecter, the infamous fictional cannibal, was created by Thomas Harris, who was an unofficial student of Douglas'. Harris modeled his fictional G-man, Jack Crawford -- mentor of Clarice Starling -- after Douglas.

I interviewed Douglas at his publisher's office in Midtown Manhattan, in a windowless room that felt very much like an interrogation cell. Douglas was in town to promote his fifth nonfiction book on "mindhunting," "The Anatomy of Motive." He is in his early 50s. Trim enough. Possessing most of his hair. He appears to have J.C. Penney's taste in ties. The second we sit down he starts talking. Douglas is fascinating, but one wound-up guy. In just 45 minutes, I will learn of the Unabomber's black heart and the secrets of the Jon-Benet Ramsey killing, and realize that J. Edgar Hoover wasn't the only male FBI agent who had a thing about wearing dresses.

Also, John Douglas has interviewed over 5,000 maniacs, and I don't make him sweat. Not a bit.

Welcome to psycho killer summer. Thomas "Hannibal" Harris based one of his FBI agents on you, right?

Yes. Jack Crawford. A lot of TV shows were based on me as well: "The Profiler," "Millennium." What they've done is misinterpret my books. If I watch "The Profiler," it drives me crazy when she [actress Ally Walker, who plays Dr. Sam Waters] gets this look on her face, and she has these flashbacks and starts seeing blood and gore. If I had to go through that every time I did a profile, I'd be wearing a blue chiffon dress, smoking a cigar.

What I attempt to do when I get a case is do an analysis of the victim and the overall crime. Then develop a profile of the unknown subject if I can.

How many times does it work in reverse -- the cops have suspects and ask you to check them out?

All the time. They use your experience to help establish probable cause for a search warrant. For example, there was a case in Alaska I wrote about in "Mindhunter" where the subject would abduct women when his wife was away -- have sex and torture them. Then strip them naked and hunt them down like wild animals. Kill them. Over the course of two years, two victims escaped. But they were never believed because they were prostitutes. And this was a baker in the community. He couldn't do something like this. They brought me in to do an assessment. I told them, "There's a pattern here. Plus his background -- he has some prior history of arson. He basically fits." They used me in a search warrant. And in his house they found jewelry belonging to a dozen woman he killed, along with a map with X's on it that showed where each victim was buried.

In New York City, it's tougher -- years ago they called me on the Dartman, the guy who was blowing darts into backsides of women. I said, "If I have to provide a profile of Dartman it will fit about 20 to 30 people per block."

True story: I was doing a lecture on arson for the NYPD and I said, "Arsonists are often in the crowd watching the fire. Photograph that crowd. Look for people who are urinating or masturbating." So I go back to Virginia, then come back here. They tell me, "Douglas, that profile may fit down in Virginia, but up here it doesn't work." I say, "What are you talking about?" They tell me, "Here's a five-alarm fire. And we did what you said. We photographed the crowd. On one side of the crowd we see half a dozen urinaters. Over here we have a couple of masturbators. They don't have to set the fire -- they just come out of the woodwork and enjoy it."

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