Maybe there are, very occasionally, some new things under the sun, but a wise man once cautioned us against such conclusions.
I hate to risk being labeled a one-note fiddle, but... I've been bothered by the conviction of Father Robinson for the murder of Sister Margaret Pahl for a while now, and I finally put my finger on why. (Besides the fact that another man's blood was found under her fingernails.) I also doubt because the case is inconsistent with known patterns of offender behavior.
I wish that someone from the discipline of behavioral profiling would have testified at the trial of State of Ohio v. Gerald Robinson. It might have helped the jury tremendously, and I think it would have surprised some people.
Since none of the behavioral profilers did testify, the next best thing is to read their works with an eye out for anecdotes of interest. So I reread The Evil that Men Do: FBI Profiler Roy Hazelwood's Journey Into the Minds of Sexual Predators, which he co-wrote with true crime writer Stephen G. Michaud.
And based on that authority, I think it would have been of interest to the Robinson jury to know:
1. Serial rapists have been known to hunt for victims in hospitals. A rapist with an IQ of 79 once told Roy Hazelwood about the best places to search for a rape victim in a hospital.
2. Murderers have been known to stage satanic and ritualistic murder scenes. One example: James Ray Slaughter of Oklahoma City, who mutilated his mistress and daughter. Another example: the Manson family murders. Crude, but satanic. And so on.
The Robinson trial included the suggestive testimony that the killer engaged in "ritualistic" behavior after the murder.
The prosecution said this evidence pointed to Father Robinson, the priest. But this sort of evidence can also point elsewhere. A profiler could have told them that, and such evidence would have been an interesting counterpoint to the testimony supporting the "ritualistic" aspects of the theory against Father Robinson. Some believe that the ritualistic elements of the murder of Sister Pahl had special significance. But as a profiler could advise, many murders committed by sexual sadists have these elements.
Meanwhile, on the Shadowraiths blog is an absorbing history of satanic ritual abuse claims. It's an interesting recap of such claims over the last few decades.
I've seen reports that two networks are preparing documentaries about the murder trial of Father Robinson, but from the sounds of it, both programs will focus on the "police procedural" / "cold case" aspect of the story and not the ludicrous satanic human sacrifice stories (which never had a shred of objective proof) nor on the questionable evidence that put a priest behind bars for murdering a nun, which has never, ever, happened before; and what was that wisdom from Proverbs again?
Great points about Robinson. That's why I'm writing a book about the case, under contract to HarperCollins.
Regards,
Fred Rosen
Posted by: Fred Rosen | August 03, 2006 at 01:45 PM