Forensic psychologist on ‘Kensington Strangler’ case

Philadelphia police working to find the “Kensington Strangler” have called in a forensic profiler to help with the case

Map of purported “Kensington Strangler” attacks

Philadelphia police working to find the “Kensington Strangler” have called in a forensic profiler to help with the case.

A professor of forensic psychology and criminal justice at DeSales University who is an expert in such cases explains that any further crimes will be vital. Katherine Ramsland said how the strangler reacts to intense media coverage should give investigators insight into his nature.

“Now this person’s taking a risk because now we have a picture, we have descriptions, we have behaviors, and we have an area in which people are watching,” she said. “So now if this person is continuing to do this in this higher risk arena, that would indicate there’s a compulsive nature to it.”

Ramsland said a “thinking offender” might move to areas where there’s less of  a police presence. Or he could start setting up decoy crime scenes like the Green River killer of the Pacific Northwest did in the 1980s and ’90s.

But if he’s not concerned with the outside world, his pattern is more likely to remain the same throughout his attacks.

“If they’re mentally ill, for example, and not really paying attention to the news, then they’re not going to be taking steps because they’re not going to know the risks that they’re taking,” Ramsland said.

Police have tied two murders to the same killer in the Kensington area. They are investigating whether a handful of similar assaults are also connected.