Clifford Olson
...hildren are easy prey for a psychopath; this is a person with an anti-social personality disorder, manifested in aggressive, perverted, criminal or amoral behaviour without empathy or remorse. Clifford Olson is a classic fit; he hung around children at malls more than adults. His behaviour towards the children was very aggressive and definitely perverted desiring sexual intercourse with young boys and girls. Dr. Semrau stated, “Olson is addicted to murder and is the most extreme sexual deviant, the most disturbed, most pathological personality I have ever encountered.” At first when children disappear police want to believe it is the child’s choice, but when it becomes known that a psychopath could be involved it become a horror story. Already considered a pervert, while in jail Olson acquired a taste for killing as well. Clifford Olson killed 11 children in less than 9 months from November 17th, 1980 to July 30th, 1981. Christine Weller was the first in a series of brutal murders of boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 18. It was not until 9-year-old Simon Partington disappeared that police knew it was an abduction. Clifford picked up kids hitchhiking, at bus stops or in malls. He lured innocent children and teens with promise of work, and sometimes he gave them alcohol or drugs, like chloral hydrate a knock out pill. Once his victims were helpless he became violent, some he raped and released, some he killed. Most serial killers are not considered insane in the legal sense. Olson brutally murdered children; some he strangled, smashed their skulls with a hammer and dumped their bodies. Clifford was not insane because he showed no remorse for the brutal killings he committed. He was totally aware of what he was doing and had no intention of stopping even though he could control his desire to kill. It does not seem possible that someone who kills 11 children and is not insane. It can take a long time to catch a serial killer and everything possible must be done to keep them behind bars. In July 1980, Olson became a main suspect in the Case of the Missing Lower Mainland Children, police did not want to admit a serial killer was at work and it took them some time before he was arrested. As many as 200 officers from regional, municipal, provincial police and the RCMP were involved in the manhunt. Different police jurisdictions covering the case, staff shortages, and transfers slowed things down. Finally a task force under RCMP Sgt. Bruce Northorp was set up and Dependence on generalized patterns or “Linkage Blindness”2 as it is known created problems. The police were confused that both boys and girls of varying ages were abducted. Usually boys or girls were preferred, not both and the age does not normally vary so much. There is usually only one vehicle involved, and Olson rented 14 different cars over a three-month period. A lucky break can help catch a killer but evidence is needed to convict him. On August 12th Olson picked up two girls hitchhiking on Vancouver Island. He turned on to a dirt-logging road and in minutes the Mounties were summoned by a helicopter crew to block the road exit. Police charged Clifford with dangerous and impaired driving and impounded his car. A search of the car turned up a green address book with Judy Kozma’s name highlighted in it. Finding the address book allowed officers to arrest Clifford Olson with first-degree murder of Judy Kozma on August 18th, 1981. Police were close to breaking the case but there was still not enough evidence to all the missing children. Olson offered authorities a deal called the “Cash for Bodies Deal”. “I’ll give you eleven bodies for $100,000, the first will be a freebie.”3 It gave Clifford $100,000 for his wife and son. In return the police would get first-degree murder convictions, stop the anxiety of parents, terror in B.C. and put an end to a very expensive ...