# LI Serial Killer -- Cop? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 11, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/li-serial-killer-cop/577958 "2011-04-11T14:46:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pinklintango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aeb1de/32.png) [@pinklintango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinklintango)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/li-serial-killer-cop/577958/1 "2011-04-11T14:46:32Z")
It appears [some](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/09/nyregion/09bodies.html?_r=1) NY authorities think the LI serial killer may have some law enforcement background, maybe he’s a former cop, etc. It seems like I have heard this idea before on various fictional crime tv shows, books, etc., that the bad cop uses his knowledge of law enforcement procedures to thwart the investigation and avoid capture. My question is, does anyone know of an actual serial killer that was ever a police officer of some sort, either active or retired? Security guards don’t count! ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/li-serial-killer-cop/577958/2 "2011-04-11T18:13:18Z")
Gerard Schaefer: [Gerard John Schaefer - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_John_Schaefer) They weren’t your stereotypical psychopathic serial killers, but Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa were mob hitmen who were also cops: [Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Eppolito_and_Stephen_Caracappa) ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/li-serial-killer-cop/577958/3 "2011-04-11T22:57:48Z")
Not quite serial as far as we know, but CHP Trooper [Craig Peyer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Peyer) beat and strangled a female motorist to death and was known to have harassed several others. Flordia State Trooper Tim Harris is currently serving a life sentence for the rape and strangulation death of another female motorist. He was seen by his estranged wife wearing the victim’s underwear. The story can be found in the book _You Belong to Me_ by Ann Rule. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/li-serial-killer-cop/577958/4 "2011-04-12T00:36:49Z")
[David Middleton.](http://bewareofthecableguy.com/) Isn’t there a cop in custody who is believed to have killed all three of his wives? ---
**Author:** ![Tess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@Tess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/li-serial-killer-cop/577958/5 "2011-04-12T01:04:54Z")
Not a cop but Timothy Krajcir got a degree in administrative justice, which apparently would have given him a lot of knowledge about police procedure. He had already been convicted of rape before enrolling so he never could have joined law enforcement. Sorry it’s vague, but I seem to remember reading of a few cases where the killer was discovered to have applied to or attended police academy but either never got accepted or was deemed unfit for the department. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/li-serial-killer-cop/577958/6 "2011-04-12T01:07:15Z")
[John Christie](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Christie_%28murderer%29)was a special constable. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/li-serial-killer-cop/577958/7 "2011-04-12T02:52:38Z")
I have to say that when I read that article a couple of days ago, I didn’t think the evidence given necessarily pointed to any very specific knowledge of police procedures. I mean, I rarely read/watch crime oriented entertainment, and even I would know to call the hookers with a prepaid cellphone, and to keep traceable calls short. Those have been plot points in way too many movies at this point. (I will admit that making the traceable calls from Times Square and similar places is smart, and would be less obvious to me.) Perhaps there’s more evidence that the police aren’t releasing to the public. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/li-serial-killer-cop/577958/8 "2011-04-12T03:00:44Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Isn’t there a cop in custody who is believed to have killed all three of his wives? You might be thinking of now-ex-cop [Drew Peterson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Peterson), whose fourth wife (Stacy Peterson) disappeared mysteriously, and whose third wife (Kathleen Savio) was judged to have drowned in a bathtub - waterless when discovered. Further examination of the Savio death suggests a struggle may have been involved. They were divorced at the time, but there was ongoing conflict (and numerous police calls) due to child custody issues. For the Stacy Peterson incident, Drew’s stepbrother helped him carry a heavy, large plastic blue barrel out of the house soon after her disappearance, and this was seen by neighbors as well. The stepbrother states he thinks he might have unwittingly helped dispose of her body. Oh, and his first and second wives are still alive, though the second one alleges he was physically abusive. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/li-serial-killer-cop/577958/9 "2011-04-12T03:03:12Z")
> [@GilaB](#): > > I have to say that when I read that article a couple of days ago, I didn’t think the evidence given necessarily pointed to any very specific knowledge of police procedures. I mean, I rarely read/watch crime oriented entertainment, and even I would know to call the hookers with a prepaid cellphone, and to keep traceable calls short. Those have been plot points in way too many movies at this point. (I will admit that making the traceable calls from Times Square and similar places is smart, and would be less obvious to me.) Perhaps there’s more evidence that the police aren’t releasing to the public. I agree. It’s not impossible the guy’s a cop or has police training but it’s not the only way he could know this. You could pick this stuff up from plenty of movies or TV shows or books or websites if you were interested in how police work. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/li-serial-killer-cop/577958/10 "2011-04-12T13:09:45Z")
Not quite what the OP is looking for, but there’s the recent Canadian case of Col. Russell Williams. By day, he was the Commanding Officer of Canada’s largest airforce base. By night, he was a lingerie thief with a fetish, a rapist, and a murderer. One of the women he killed worked on the base, so the police routinely kept him informed of the progress of their investigation, since he was the CO. So you have a serial murderer being regularly kept informed of the police’s attempts to catch him, by the police themselves: [Accused Colonel kept tabs on police probe](http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/805300--accused-colonel-kept-tabs-on-police-probe): > [@](#): > > Word of Cpl. Marie France Comeau’s murder arrived in her alleged killer’s inbox at 12:13 a.m. on Nov. 26, 2009. > > The message was marked “significant occurrence” and kicked off a stream of messages that would keep Col. Russ Williams, her commander at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, abreast of the unfolding police probe, one that would lead months later to his stunning arrest. > > The commanding officer of Comeau’s squadron gave the first update from Ontario Provincial Police investigators at 1:13 a.m.: “they are classifying the death as ‘suspicious.’” > > Williams, the top airman at the country’s most important military hub, chimed in from his Blackberry at 6:41 a.m., acknowledging that he was aware of the incident. > > “I’ll catch up when I get in, if there is additional information,” he wrote. > > … > > Williams received briefings on the latest details of the police probe. He gathered emails from the same military police investigators who would later participate in his arrest and prosecution. Some of those he forwarded to a private email account. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/li-serial-killer-cop/577958/11 "2011-04-12T20:20:30Z")
Not a murderer, but a bank robber: > **[Matt Griffin AKA "The Ninja Bandit" Part 1](http://alleycatandfriendscrimereports.blogspot.com/2009/03/matt-griffin-aka-ninja-bandit-part-1.html)** > > We are going to divide our post about Matt Griffin into at least two parts because there is so much information about him, not any of it goo... Timed the robberies when there were few cops on duty to give more time to escape, and also had access to police radio communication. ETA, read that link, seems he might be a murderer too. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/li-serial-killer-cop/577958/12 "2011-04-12T20:52:21Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I agree. It’s not impossible the guy’s a cop or has police training but it’s not the only way he could know this. You could pick this stuff up from plenty of movies or TV shows or books or websites if you were interested in how police work. I was saying the same thing before I read the thread. I have seen nothing that would suggest knowledge deeper than anyone can get from TV. Of course I’m sure there is information they are not sharing publically. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/li-serial-killer-cop/577958/13 "2011-04-12T23:38:02Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > Not a murderer, but a bank robber: … Oh, if we can cite crimes other than murder, there was an [attempt to blackmail Heinz](http://www.deseretnews.com/article/44035/BABY-FOOD-FIRM-WILL-NOT-PAY-EXTORTIONISTS.html)by putting poison in jars of baby food. It turned out that the perpetrator was[a senior policeman](http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_19981122/ai_n14483213/), who was part of the team investigating the crime. He was able to avoid arrest for a time because of his inside knowledge of the investigation. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/li-serial-killer-cop/577958/14 "2011-04-13T00:00:57Z")
This one is was not only a cop but female and the story is worse than it reads on Wikipedia. [Antoinette Frank](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoinette_Frank) was a New Orleans police officer that helped orchestrate and conducted the killings of the Vietnamese family that she was doing restaurant detail for as well as her own partner. She might have gotten away with it but she didn’t realize there was another child there who hid in a cooler until it was over who saw the whole thing. She was linked to several other killings as well through forensic evidence. However, she got the death penalty for these murders so it wasn’t worth it to pursue the others aggressively.