Lizzie Borden Society Forum

Did I understand right on a previous thread here somewhere that a criminal profiler was or is going to be looking at this case? If so, any insight?

The reference was most probably to a book called The Cases That Haunt Us, written a few years ago by John Douglas. (If memory serves he was top dog in behavioral sciences at the FBI academy in Quantico.) The book includes a chapter on the Borden case. How effective the profile he came up with is... well, like much else in this case, it's a matter of conjecture.

I understand the profilers that work for the FBI can be quite accurate, I was just curious if anyone with any standing in this field had ever come to any conclusion.

He did come up with a rather interesting conclusion, which I would love to have seen played out. In part as I recall, it involved effectively cracking both Emma & Lizzie like cocoanuts - exploiting the psychological bond, etc.

myk7753 @ Sun Jun 11, 2006 12:29 am wrote:I understand the profilers that work for the FBI can be quite accurate, I was just curious if anyone with any standing in this field had ever come to any conclusion.

I read in the fall of 2002 that the mystery shooter in the DC area would be a "middle-aged white male who worked in a blue-collar job".
Well that wasn't too far off. What they don't tell you is the percentages of people who "fit the profile".

What kind of profile could be made of the posters on this site?

I guess "white middle-aged w/ white-collar jobs". What say you?

I just finished the "profile" by John Douglas y'all are discussing (looking EVERYWHERE for Lizzie info in the 2 days I have left to research) and he had some good observations---about her "having" to kill Abby first to ensure the inheritance stuff fell the right way etc.

AND that perhaps Lizzie, not Andrew, folded his coat and put it under his head AFTER the attack---maybe Lizzie "wore" Andrew's jacket to shield herself from the blood, THEN placed it under his head as though it had been there all along.

I think he made some good points.

***What kind of profile could be made of the posters on this site?

I guess "white middle-aged w/ white-collar jobs". What say you?***


i see you are interested in this. i wonder why. not to accuse you of anything -- i just wonder. you don't include yourself in this assessment. you're odd-man out? you're the most secretive person here, yet things slip through the cracks, don't they?

if your assessment is correct, what does it mean? i guess it's worth a thought. people old enough to know something about human nature and curious about anomalies of it and have a computer?

***What kind of profile could be made of the posters on this site?

I guess "white middle-aged w/ white-collar jobs". What say you?***


i see you are interested in this. i wonder why. not to accuse you of anything -- i just wonder. you don't include yourself in this assessment. you're odd-man out? you're the most secretive person here, yet things slip through the cracks, don't they?

if your assessment is correct, what does it mean? i guess it's worth a thought. people old enough to know something about human nature and curious about anomalies of it and have a computer?

Haulover @ Tue Jun 13, 2006 6:47 pm wrote:***What kind of profile could be made of the posters on this site?
I guess "white middle-aged w/ white-collar jobs". What say you?***

i see you are interested in this. i wonder why. not to accuse you of anything -- i just wonder. you don't include yourself in this assessment. you're odd-man out? you're the most secretive person here, yet things slip through the cracks, don't they?

if your assessment is correct, what does it mean? i guess it's worth a thought. people old enough to know something about human nature and curious about anomalies of it and have a computer?

Yes, I've got a secret; I'll never tell. I've heard of Internet posters being visited by unwanted strangers who track them down.
Once or twice I've seen strangers who might have tracked me down.
... (But I do have other hobbies.)
Its said the average readers of murder mysteries are the middle class. Blue collar readers had different reading tastes (used to be the western novels so popular before TV). But I could be wrong.

myk7753 @ Sat Jun 10, 2006 11:50 pm wrote:Did I understand right on a previous thread here somewhere that a criminal profiler was or is going to be looking at this case? If so, any insight?

You may wish to try this link to our previous discussion.
The chapter on Lizzie was a let down.

viewtopic.php?t=506

Thanks Kat, I hadn't read that thread before. Oh well, I guess I watch too much TV... It was just a thought....

Sounds to me that the majority of the posters on here have a better handle on the facts (or what is only speculation) than he did. Maybe any future author on anything Lizzie should spend a few days here doing their research??

We had a member, and friend, Terence Duniho, who wrote to Douglas. Stef inherited Ter's papers and collection recently. I've got Ter's notes here to Douglas. I heard that Douglas did not respond.
That leads people to think Douglas just wrote the chapter on Lizzie for the recompense and got out.

His other chapters weren't bad. Poor Lizzie.

Kat @ Thu Jun 15, 2006 1:25 am wrote:We had a member, and friend, Terence Duniho, who wrote to Douglas. Stef inherited Ter's papers and collection recently. I've got Ter's notes here to Douglas. I heard that Douglas did not respond.
That leads people to think Douglas just wrote the chapter on Lizzie for the recompense and got out.

His other chapters weren't bad. Poor Lizzie.

THAT'S show business!!! Entertainment isn't history. But it brings in the Big Bucks. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Douglas displays his high opinion of his abilities by saying HE could get a confession if only he could spend time alone with her. Assuming he wouldn't lie (no videotape) or hypnotize Lizzie and plant a post-hypnotic suggestion in her head, I find that debatable with a strong personality.
What do you think? Could a smart interrogator get Lizzie to confess w/o torture?