Latest / Murder Files Unsealed / The Blue-Collar Jobs of Serial Killers
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: We usually think of serial killers as you know, these
- 0:02shadowy figures hiding in the darkest parts of society. But
- 0:06what if, and stick with me here, what if that
- 0:09whole image is more fiction than reality, Like, what if
- 0:13the truth is way more unsettling. What if they're not
- 0:15hiding at all. That's what we're diving into today, the
- 0:19unexpected connection between normal, everyday jobs and well, serial killers.
- 0:25I was reading this article and it really got me thinking, Oh, yeah,
- 0:27what's that. It's about how some professions, jobs you see
- 0:30every day might actually be the perfect cover for someone
- 0:34with let's say, a darker side.
- 0:36Speaker 2: Wow. Okay, that's a bit unerving. I can see why
- 0:38you'd want to dig into that, right and.
- 0:40Speaker 1: Get this, The article says, the FBI actually has insights
- 0:43into the most quote ideal job for a serial killer.
- 0:47Speaker 2: Now that's chilling.
- 0:47Speaker 1: What is it? Okay? Are you ready for this? Hit
- 0:49me long haul truckers.
- 0:51Speaker 2: Truckers?
- 0:52Speaker 1: Really, I know, I know it sounds crazy, right, but
- 0:55when you really think about it, it's.
- 0:57Speaker 2: All about the job, isn't it. I mean, the anonymity,
- 0:59constantly being on the move, crossing state lines, and then
- 1:03there's the access to potential victims. People coming and going,
- 1:07not really sticking around long enough to be noticed. It's
- 1:10a terrifying thought, exactly.
- 1:11Speaker 1: And the article actually highlights this case where they sent
- 1:14jills down my spine, the case of Adam Leroy Lane.
- 1:18They called him the Highway Killer. His crimes they were
- 1:21directly tied to his trucking. Rats used his job as
- 1:24a cover to move around undetected, Like in two thousand
- 1:27and seven, he was parked at a truck stop in
- 1:29New Jersey, gets out, starts prowling around a nearby neighborhood
- 1:32testing doorknobs, looking for an easy target, finds a house
- 1:35doors unlocked, goes inside and well ends up taking a
- 1:39woman's life. And then just like that, he's gone back
- 1:42on the road. Oh that's awful. It is. Lane was
- 1:44caught eventually, but his case just shows you how a
- 1:46seemingly normal job can be like manipulated for something so horrific.
- 1:51Makes you think twice about those rest stops, you.
- 1:52Speaker 2: Know, definitely makes you wonder if you're ever truly safe. Although,
- 1:56and this is what's really disturbing. It's not just truckers,
- 1:59is it. We're talking about all sorts of professions.
- 2:01Speaker 1: That's what the article was saying that it's more common
- 2:03than you'd think.
- 2:04Speaker 2: Right, It's not that these people are specifically choosing jobs
- 2:08to help them commit crimes. It's that they're able to
- 2:11exploit the access and you know, the anonymity that a
- 2:15lot of ordinary jobs provide, especially blue collar jobs.
- 2:19Speaker 1: It's like the idea of blending in. Remember how the
- 2:21article talked about how these guys often have regular jobs,
- 2:24blue collar jobs mostly, and they seem totally normal to everyone,
- 2:28like their coworkers, their neighbors, even their families have no idea.
- 2:32Speaker 2: Totally like It's almost as if the job becomes this
- 2:35kind of mask, you know, hiding who they really are.
- 2:39And can you imagine the mental gymnastics of living like that.
- 2:42I mean, think about it, having a normal job, especially
- 2:45one that's physically demanding. It might actually be how they
- 2:48create some kind of balance in their lives.
- 2:51Speaker 1: Scary thought, a regular job helping them stay under the.
- 2:54Speaker 2: Radar, it is, And it's that normalcy, right, makes them
- 2:57even harder to spot. It just adds another layer to
- 2:59this whole thing.
- 3:00Speaker 1: Absolutely, and it makes you think about those you know,
- 3:02those big cases, those infamous ones. Makes you realize just
- 3:05how easily a normal job can become well twisted. The
- 3:10article talked about John Wayne Gacy, the killer clown. Oh right, right,
- 3:13he was a contractor, but he used that use his
- 3:17job to take advantage of people, young man he'd hire.
- 3:20They became his victims.
- 3:22Speaker 2: God, it's awful, but it just shows you, right, someone
- 3:24might not take a job thinking this is how I'm
- 3:26gonna you know, but the access, the power, it can
- 3:30be a slippery slow Yeah, it's like.
- 3:31Speaker 1: Those urges are just under the surface, waiting for the
- 3:34right moment to come out.
- 3:35Speaker 2: Exactly, And talking about jobs with well a chilling level
- 3:40of access, the article brought up Dennis Raider, the BTK killer.
- 3:44Oh god, yeah, ADT alarm installer. Just think about it
- 3:47for a minute.
- 3:48Speaker 1: It's bone chilling. It's not just having access to people's homes,
- 3:51it's knowing how to get around their security systems, their routines,
- 3:55their weaknesses.
- 3:56Speaker 2: Exactly Raiders case. It's like a blueprint for how a
- 4:00job something most people wouldn't think twice about, can give
- 4:03you all the information you need. It's terrifying.
- 4:06Speaker 1: It really is. Makes you wonder about other professions, right,
- 4:09the ones we don't automatically think of as you know dangerous.
- 4:13Speaker 2: You're right, it's easy to overlook those professions, the ones
- 4:16that seem harmless, but think about it, they often rely
- 4:19on trust. They require getting close to people, literally going
- 4:23into their homes.
- 4:23Speaker 1: Caregivers, repair men, delivery drives exactly.
- 4:27Speaker 2: It's like a crack in that sense of security we
- 4:29all have, you know.
- 4:31Speaker 1: And we just we let our guard down, invite them
- 4:33in without even thinking about it.
- 4:35Speaker 2: And that's what makes this whole thing so unsettling. I mean,
- 4:38we assume people with jobs, people we see every day,
- 4:41are trustworthy, but as these cases show us, that's not
- 4:44always how it works out.
- 4:46Speaker 1: It's like you can't always judge a book by its cover, right,
- 4:49Like we try to figure out who's trustworthy who isn't.
- 4:52But it's way more complicated than that.
- 4:54Speaker 2: Yeah, and you know, a lot of these cases really
- 4:56highlight that. Like take Jeffrey Dahmer, the Milwaukee cannibal, did
- 5:00a chocolate factory, right, and apparently he was actually considered
- 5:03a good worker, courteous.
- 5:05Speaker 1: Even that's almost worse when you think about it, like
- 5:08he seemed normal, had a normal job, but all along, God,
- 5:11it just makes you question everything, it does.
- 5:13Speaker 2: Dahmer's case just goes to show you there's no one
- 5:16size fits all for a serial killer. They blend in
- 5:20seem normal, and it's that act that's what makes them
- 5:22so dangerous.
- 5:23Speaker 1: You start thinking about all those little interactions you have
- 5:26all the time. You realize maybe we don't know as
- 5:29much as we think we do. We go through life
- 5:31expecting things to be well normal, but then we hear
- 5:35about cases like these and it's like, WHOA, Maybe that
- 5:38feeling of normalcy is pretty.
- 5:40Speaker 2: Fragile, right, And that's kind of the biggest takeaway here,
- 5:43isn't it. It's not just about the jobs. It's how
- 5:45this whole thing changes the way we see the world.
- 5:48Makes you realize that anyone, even someone who seems totally ordinary,
- 5:53they could be hiding something dark right under the surface.
- 5:56Speaker 1: It's a lot to think about this deep dive. It's
- 5:59been fascinating but definitely intense. I think it's good to
- 6:02explore these things though, even if they make us a
- 6:04little uncomfortable. It helps us look the world and ourselves
- 6:07in a different way, and maybe, just maybe it makes
- 6:10us a little more aware of what might be hidden
- 6:12beneath the surface. Thanks for joining us for another deep dive.
- 6:15We'll be back next week with another look at the
- 6:17dark side of humanity. Until then, stay safe out there.