Serial Killing for Profit

Book excerpt: This the first book to focus specifically on serial killers motivated by monetary gain. Serial Killing for Profit: Multiple Murder for Money addresses a gap in the existing literature by documenting one dozen of the most notorious perpetrators of commercial serial murder—murderers who kill to secure inheritances and pensions, to sell possessions or even the body itself, or as murderers-for-hire. In these pages, readers will encounter some of the nation's most infamous and disturbing criminals, including "America's first serial killer," Herman Mudgett; Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck, the "Honeymoon Killers;" Los Angeles's "Night Stalker," Richard Ramirez; the "black widow" Blanche Taylor Moore; and Dana Sue Gray, who killed three women for shopping money. Author Dirk Gibson gets to the twisted heart of each case, meticulously detailing the crimes, the victims, the hunt for the killers, the distinctive variations on the motive of "killing for money," and the lessons learned by investigators in each instance. Everyone from professional investigators to true crime aficionados will be riveted by these stunning accounts.