Most Evil

Continuing this week is the documentary series that delves inside the minds of killers. In each programme, Dr Michael Stone, a forensic psychiatrist at New York City’s Columbia University, considers killers and places them on his ‘Most Evil’ scale. This edition probes the murky world of cults and their followers. Dr Stone studies the cases of Mormon murderer Jeffrey Lundgren; cult leader Charles Manson; and instigator of the Jonestown massacre Jim Jones.

What makes a cult follower? How do they lose the ability to think for themselves? Dr Michael Stone is determined to use his Most Evil scale to answer these questions. He aims to show how the group mentality of a cult can lead to the “denial of personal reflection” and the “justification of evil”.

Continuing this week is the documentary series that delves inside the minds of killers. In each programme, Dr Michael Stone, a forensic psychiatrist at New York City’s Columbia

University, considers killers and places them on his ‘most evil’ scale. This edition looks at unsolved murder cases, in particular the notorious Chicago Lipstick Killer and Los Angeles’s Black Dahlia case. Although the identity of these killers remains a mystery, Dr Stone analyses their murderous methods in order to further flesh out their profiles.

Continuing this week is the documentary series that delves inside the minds of killers in an attempt to find out why they kill; how they get away with their crimes; and how they rationalise their actions.

In each programme, Dr Michael Stone, a forensic psychiatrist at New York City’s Columbia University, considers killers and places them on his ‘most evil’ scale. In this edition, Stone focuses on serial killers who have suffered from extreme delusions and schizophrenia – including a man who believed he could prevent earthquakes through the act of murder, and a woman who believed she was being stalked by an imaginary nemesis who worked for the Nazis.

Continuing this week is the documentary series that delves inside the minds of killers in an attempt to find out why they kill; how they get away with their crimes and how they rationalise their actions. In each programme, Dr Michael Stone, a forensic psychiatrist at New York City’s Columbia University, considers killers and places them on his ‘most evil’ scale. In this edition, the makings and motives of stalkers are analysed. What turns an innocent fantasy into a murderous obsession?

most evil
deadly desires (6/6)

This documentary series delves inside the minds of murderers in an attempt to find out why they kill. In each programme, Dr Michael Stone, a forensic psychiatrist at New York City’s Columbia University, considers killers and places them on his ‘most evil’ scale, which he has devised to categorise murderers. In tonight’s series finale, Dr Stone explores the cases of killers with the most evil desires, including Jerome Brudos, Jeffrey Dahmer and Westley Dodd.

Tonight’s programme attempts to understand the motivation behind some of the world’s most deviant killers – men who committed the most unthinkable crimes, including torture and murder. The first case under Dr Stone’s microscope is that of Jerome Brudos, who killed four women in Oregon in the late 1960s and strung them up in his workshop to assault their bodies.

most evil
psychotic killers (5/6)

This documentary series delves inside the minds of killers in an attempt to find out why they kill. In each programme, Dr Michael Stone, a forensic psychiatrist at New York City’s Columbia University, considers killers and places them on his ‘most evil’ scale, which he has devised to categorise murderers. In tonight’s edition, Stone focuses on psychotic killers, exploring the stories of Ed Gein, Arthur Shawcross and Gary Heidnik. “

At some point in his life, Ed Gein lost touch with reality, which led to particularly gruesome and twisted acts.” So says Dr Stone of the notorious serial killer whose horrendous crimes inspired a number of modern horror tales. In order to explore the reasons behind Gein’s behaviour, Stone looks back into his history and examines his whole life. Was the killer aware of his actions when he committed his crimes and, if not, what pushed his mind into madness?

Born in Wisconsin in 1906, Gein was dominated by a devout and stern mother who was convinced that men were lustful creatures, driven to sin by their desires. Despite her severity, Gein was devoted to his mother and was left devastated and alone by her death when he was 39. Already shy, aloof and schizoid, Gein “became grossly psychotic and remained so for the rest of his days”.

most evil
partners in crime (4/6)

This documentary series delves inside the minds of killers in an attempt to find out why they kill; how they get away with their crimes and how they rationalise their actions. In each programme, Dr Michael Stone, a forensic psychiatrist at New York City’s Columbia University, considers killers and places them on his ‘most evil’ scale, which he has devised to categorise murderers. In tonight’s edition, Dr Stone assesses an unusual group of murderers: couples who conspire to kill. What drives two people to join forces and work together in such a disturbing fashion?

“One might assume,” begins Dr Stone, “that two people that conspire to kill share the same motive. But if you look at the Barbie and Ken killers... you see that one literally dominates the other. And for that reason, I’ve placed them on different parts of the scale”. Toronto-based couple Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka were nicknamed the Ken and Barbie killers by the Canadian media due to their young and beautiful ‘all-American’ image. Who would imagine that such people could be responsible for rape and murder?

most evil
murderous women (3/6)
23.00–00.00

This documentary series delves inside the mind of killers in an attempt to find out why they kill; how they get away with their crimes and how they rationalise their actions. In each programme, Dr Michael Stone, a forensic psychiatrist at New York City’s Columbia University, considers killers and places them on his ‘most evil’ scale, which he has devised to categorise murderers. In tonight’s edition, Dr Stone assesses a relatively rare type of murderer: the female killer. With 93 per cent of murders in the USA committed by men, what drives the few female killers to homicidal acts?

Most women who kill are placed on the lower levels of Dr Stone’s scale of evil, which is reserved for crimes of passion and other impulsive acts. Those who climb higher, Dr Stone has discovered, follow similar patterns to each other – the majority killing people in their intimate circle, such as their spouses, sexual partners, children or parents.

most evil
cold-blooded killers (2/6)
23.00–00.00

This documentary series delves inside the mind of killers in an attempt to find out why they kill; how they get away with their crimes and how they rationalise their actions. In each programme, Dr Michael Stone, a forensic psychiatrist at New York City’s Columbia University, considers killers and places them on his ‘most evil’ scale, which he has devised to categorise murderers. In tonight’s edition, Dr Stone examines some of the most infamous serial killers in American history, such as Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy Jr, using his revolutionary scale to compare the work of these murderers and decide what drove them to commit their horrible crimes.

It is thought that psychopaths such as John Wayne Gacy Jr, Ted Bundy and others share defining characteristics such as lack of remorse, fearlessness, and a cold-blooded detachment from typical human emotions. “We must be dealing with something that impairs the ability of the individual to experience normal compassion and empathy with other people,” Dr Stone says. Ted Bundy, who shocked America with a string of gruesome murders in the 1970s, certainly fits this profile. He was a surprisingly eloquent and charming man who even defended himself in court after he was charged with the murders of 30 women. His defence was unsuccessful, however, and he was sent to the electric chair in 1989. “He was callous and unmoved by the emotional terror he inflicted,” says Stone, who rates Bundy at level 17 on his 22-point scale.

most evil
killer lies (1/6)
23.00–00.00

This brand new documentary series delves inside the mind of killers in an attempt to find out why they kill; how they get away with their crimes and how they rationalise their actions. In each programme, Dr Michael Stone, a forensic psychiatrist at New York City’s Columbia University, considers killers and places them on his ‘most evil’ scale, which he has devised to categorise murderers. The first programme in the series examines murderers who utilise deception as an integral part of their crimes, and manipulate the people around them. Why is deception such a dangerous weapon in the hands of a killer?

The murderers profiled in this first programme all had the skills to cleverly fool those around them. One of them is John List, an unemployed New Jersey accountant who was convicted of murdering his wife, mother and three children in 1971. After killing his family, List calmly cancelled the papers, post and milk, left his gun in a filing cabinet with detailed instructions to ‘contact the authorities’, cleaned up the scene – and disappeared. After a few years the authorities gave up searching for him – but he turned up 18 years later, three states away in Virginia, with a new wife, house, job and identity. List’s meticulous planning and clever disappearing act prompt Dr Stone to place him at 14 on his scale: a ruthless, self-centred psychopathic schemer.