Blog - Jennifer Graeser Dornbush

BTK Forensic Case: How Forensic Evidence Caught Dennis Rader

For decades, the BTK killer was a ghost. Dennis Rader murdered ten people across Wichita, Kansas between 1974 and 1991,[1,2] taunted police with letters, and then went quiet. He had a wife, kids, a regular job, and a church he attended on Sundays. Nobody suspected a thing. What finally

BTK Killer Dennis Rader: Control, Ego, and the Psychology Behind the BTK Letters

For years, Dennis Rader controlled the narrative about his serial murders. Between 1974 and 1991, Rader murdered ten people in and around Wichita, Kansas. His victims ranged from entire families to women living alone, selected, stalked, and killed in their own homes. His first attack claimed four members of

How Investigators Balance Objectivity and Empathy in Crime Solving

Crime solving lives in a space most people never have to enter. It’s where facts collide with trauma, where evidence sits beside grief, and where the worst moments of someone’s life become the starting point of an investigation. And in that space, one question quietly shapes everything: how do

Forensic Psychology: Criminals Believe They Are Heroes

The body tells you what happened. Behavior tells you why. In crime fiction, readers may be drawn in by the mystery or the puzzle of who committed the crime. What keeps them turning pages is the psychology behind the act. Readers want to understand how someone justifies crossing the line

The Forensic File: The Zodiac Killer

When the Zodiac Killer is discussed in popular culture, conversations often center on the mystery of his identity, the ciphers he mailed to newspapers, and the question of how he avoided capture. It’s natural to focus on who he was and what drove him to kill. Those are questions of

What To Do If It Happens: Responding to Harassment in Public

Public harassment is disruptive because it violates something fundamental. It disrupts your autonomy.It disrupts your safety.It disrupts your right to move through the world without interference. What is public harassment? It can be a comment shouted from a passing car. A stranger who steps too close. Someone who refuses to

The Zodiac Killer: Obsession Without Closure

Unsolved mysteries are evergreen. Every spring, true crime podcasts enter a new season. Search interest spikes in stories that defy closure. One name repeatedly rises to the top of curiosity charts, generation after generation. The Zodiac Killer remains one of the most enduring infamous figures in American criminal history. Even

The First Body I Never Forgot (and Why Some Stay With You)

April in Michigan carries a particular kind of memory. The snow recedes. The soil turns to mud. New life pushes through and what’s been buried through winter begins to surface. In many ways, memory behaves the same way. Certain experiences fade. Others remain intact, preserved beneath the surface, waiting for

The Forensic File: The Aileen Wuornos Murders

When Aileen Wuornos is discussed in popular culture, conversations often centers on her trauma, her female gender, and the mythology surrounding her dark deeds. It’s natural human instinct to seek answers to the question of “why did she kill?” and “what or who prompted her to be like this?” “How