Serial Killer Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. What occupation gave Harold Shipman access to many of his victims?
Medical doctor
Police detective
Crime reporter
Long-distance driver
2. An offender changes the practical method used to enter homes but repeatedly performs the same unnecessary ritual at each scene. Investigators would most likely describe that ritual as what?
Victimology
A modus operandi
A signature behavior
Geographic profiling
3. A suspect’s DNA matches biological material from an old crime scene. Which conclusion is most defensible before other evidence is considered?
The match shows that no other person could have participated
The match independently proves the suspect’s motive and intent
The DNA may connect the suspect to the evidence, but context is needed to establish how and when it was deposited
The match makes witness accounts and chain-of-custody records unnecessary
4. The confirmed attacks attributed to the Zodiac Killer occurred primarily in which region?
The New York City metropolitan area
Northern California
The Pacific Northwest
Southern Florida
5. Who was convicted of the murders associated with the Green River Killer case?
Gary Ridgway
Joseph DeAngelo
Richard Cottingham
Edmund Kemper
6. Which description matches the definition of serial murder adopted by the FBI’s 2005 multidisciplinary symposium?
The killing of at least three victims at one location during a single event
The unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender or offenders in separate events
A repeated pattern of violent attacks, whether or not any victim dies
Any intentional killing committed by someone who previously knew the victim
7. Jack the Ripper’s canonical murders occurred primarily in which London district?
Soho
Camden Town
Whitechapel
Westminster
8. Which offender was convicted in Florida of murdering multiple adult men she encountered along highways?
Karla Homolka
Myra Hindley
Dorothea Puente
Aileen Wuornos
9. A person confesses after a lengthy interrogation, but investigators are concerned the confession may be unreliable. Which step provides the strongest corroboration?
Checking whether the confession is long and emotionally detailed
Comparing the account with information already published by the media
Repeating the interview until the account remains unchanged
Testing whether the person accurately provides nonpublic details supported by independent evidence
10. An offender intentionally kills three victims on three different dates. Under the FBI symposium definition, which broad classification best fits that pattern?
Mass murder
Serial murder
A single homicide event
Attempted homicide only
11. What did the self-chosen label “BTK” stand for?
Bind, torture, kill
Bind, trap, kidnap
Beat, track, kill
Break, threaten, keep
12. Which offender was known as the “Son of Sam”?
David Berkowitz
Dennis Rader
Richard Ramirez
Gary Ridgway
13. Investigators compare crime-scene DNA with genetic relatives found through genealogy research, eventually identifying a suspect. Which famous case was advanced through this method?
The Unabomber case
The Golden State Killer case
The Yorkshire Ripper case
The Son of Sam case
14. Why did older descriptions of serial murder often emphasize a “cooling-off period”?
To show that every offender stopped voluntarily before arrest
To indicate that an offender had received treatment between crimes
To establish a fixed minimum number of years between crimes
To distinguish killings in separate events from multiple killings during one continuous incident
15. Which offender performed as “Pogo the Clown” at community events?
Ted Bundy
David Berkowitz
John Wayne Gacy
Jeffrey Dahmer
16. In 1991, Tracy Edwards escaped from Jeffrey Dahmer and approached police. What followed directly from that encounter?
Police matched Dahmer’s fingerprints to the Zodiac letters
A newspaper identified Dahmer from an anonymous sketch
Dahmer surrendered after seeing a televised appeal
Police entered Dahmer’s apartment and discovered evidence of his crimes