Content area
Full text
"Singe my objective is steeped in wanting to know 'how and why' one human being can have so much anger and rage against another human being, often completely unknown to them, a visit can often end such a relationship."
Anthony Meoli has been corresponding with serial killers, spree killers, and death row inmates since 1998. He has sucII cessfully contacted over 130 worldwide and has personally I interviewed five, including Danny Rolling, Glen Rogers, Loran I Cole, Lee Boyd Malvo, and Isaac Zamora. In August 2012, he I published, The Diary of the DC. Sniper, co-written with Lee Boyd ^ Malvo as the culmination of seven years of correspondence, phone calls, and a visit. He also appeared as a criminal profiler in the ID Network documentary My Brother the Serial Killer.
In trying to better understand serial killers, he has collected their artwork, poetry, letters, and even their handprints. Meoli possesses one of the nation's largest private collections of full-sized handprints created by serial killers, which he has used in comparing fingerprint characteristics.
Meoli holds a BS in criminal justice from Penn State University, a MA in forensic psychology from Argosy University, and a JD from John Marshall Law School. He is a Certified Forensic Consultant with ACFEI and is the President of Meoli Forensic Consulting, LLC. He agreed to answer some questions for The Forensic Examiner® about his work.
FE: What launched your serial killer research project?
AM: There was no particular "trigger" that began my initial interest in personally contacting and visiting serial killers; rather, it was the culmination of years of studying criminal justice and law, hearing about the cases, and wanting to know the motivation behind their crimes.
FE: What is your ultimate goal?
AM: To find a causal link between their right-brained (creative side) and an almost innate ability to compartmentalize their lives. It's incredibly difficult to commit murder, hold a job, appear normal to friends and family, yet fulfill the compulsion to kill. Serial killers are addicted to killing. Whether it is power, sexual deviancy, or some unmet psychological component, they simply cannot stop. I know this because many of the nearly 130 killers I have written have told me they liked what they were doing and would...