
He was employed as a truck painter for thirty-two years. He had been married three times and was still married at the time of his arrest. The Green River Killer, Gary Ridgeway, confessed to killing 48 women over a twenty-year time period in the Seattle, Washington area. Yates was eventually arrested and pled guilty to thirteen of the murders. Yates buried one of his victims in his yard, beneath his bedroom window. During the time period of the murders, Yates routinely patronized prostitutes, and several of his victims knew each other. He was married with five children, lived in a middle class neighborhood, and was a decorated U.S. Robert Yates killed seventeen prostitutes in the Spokane, Washington area, during the 1990s. Because many serial murderers can blend in so effortlessly, they are oftentimes overlooked by law enforcement and the public. Serial murderers often have families and homes, are gainfully employed, and appear to be normal members of the community. Many serial killers hide in plain sight within their communities. They are not monsters and may not appear strange.


The majority of serial killers are not reclusive, social misfits who live alone. Myth 1: Serial Killers Are Dysfunctional Loners As a result of their deliberations, the expert panel identified 7 main serial killer myths. One of the issues addressed during this unique symposium was the fact that the rarity of serial murder combined with inaccurate, anecdotal and fictional portrayals of serial killers has resulted in a number of common misconceptions arising.

These individuals included law enforcement officials who have successfully investigated and apprehended serial killers academic experts who have studied serial-killers and disseminated their expertise through education and publication officers of the court, who have judged, prosecuted, and defended serial killers and members of the media, who inform and educate the public when serial-killers strike. Their goal was to bring together experts on serial murder in order to identify commonalities of knowledge.ġ35 renowned experts attended the five-day event.

In 2005 the FBI’s National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, Behavioral Analysis Unit hosted a 5 day symposium on serial murder.
