The crowd listened to horrifying yet intriguing insight into serial killers’ lives from criminologist Scott Bonn in the Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts on Feb. 19.

Bonn is currently on a tour where he spends the evening taking his audience through the minds of serial killers.

Prior to becoming a criminologist, Bonn worked in advertising and media.

“Ever since I was a kid, I was always fascinated by motivation. What motivates people, good and the bad?” Bonn said.

While Bonn was working in New York, he worked with NBC television network covering some large-scale cases.

Bonn said, “I became very interested in and even perplexed by why certain criminals became what I called ‘celebrity monsters’ – larger than life. They would eclipse even the victims and the story itself.”

“Suddenly it’s everything about Jeffrey Dahmer, well, what about the 17 victims he had, you know? The Menendez brothers, it’s all about the two brothers. What about their parents that they slaughtered, you know? I thought that was really fascinating, and it also says something about the human condition, right?”

Bonn’s show focused heavily on two serial killers he previously interviewed, David Berkowitz aka Son of Sam and Dennis Rader aka the BTK killer.

“[I interviewed them] to get inside their minds, to understand their behavior,” Bonn said.

Along with discussing the mind patterns of Berkowitz and Radar, Bonn also talked about two other serial killers.

He talked about all of the serial killers’ upbringings also whether they are psychopaths or sociopaths.

Psychopaths are most of the time considered “born” and sociopaths are seen as “made,” according to Simply Phycology.

During his show, Bonn made sure to mix in entertainment while remaining factual.

Bonn said, “I try to always be respectful of the victims, the families, the communities that are affected, because they really are the victims in all of this.”

Bonn made sure to debunk myths that many people believe about serial killers.

“[Debunking myths] is one of the things that I really enjoy doing,” Bonn said.

After leaving advertising Bonn went on to get his Ph.D in criminology.

Bonn recommends that college students studying criminology reach out to their local police department or a local court to get an internship.
“The courts love to bring in students in the summer to help out with the workload, you know. It’s a great way to get a little experience and see if you really like it before you make the full commitment,” Bonn said.

He talked about all of the serial killers’ upbringings also whether they are psychopaths or sociopaths.

Psychopaths are most of the time considered “born” and sociopaths are seen as “made,” according to Simply Phycology.

During his show, Bonn made sure to mix in entertainment while remaining factual.

“[Debunking myths] is one of the things that I really enjoy doing,” Bonn said.

Bonn’s show was split into two acts.

The first act featured his presentation and in the second act, Bonn answered questions from the crowd.

Bonn’s next show will be on March 6 in Illinois.

He also has written the book, “Why We Love Serial Killers: The Curious Appeal of the World’s Most Savage Murderers” and has a podcast called “The Killing Hour with Doc Bonn.”