Summary: Dr. Valarie Bell is a computational social scientist who holds masters degrees in forensic psychology, forensic social psychology, and sociology of deviant, psychopathic & sociopathic behavior. She is a professor at the University of North Texas and is currently teaching two classes, “Introduction to Criminal Profiling for the Amateur,“ and “Introduction to Internet True Crime Sleuthing.” In addition to teaching, Dr. Bell also works to identify active hunting grounds of American serial killers by using geographic, geolocation, & spatial analysis along with public government, census, and crime data. It sounds complicated, and it is, but don’t worry, she’ll explain, and her conclusions might shock you. Dr. Bell has also worked for courts doing forensic evaluations of suspects, meaning that she decides whether there are grounds for insanity pleas in murder cases. This is just the beginning of the vast amount of criminal profiling work that Dr. Bell has, and is contributing to. Today she is going to share her incredible expertise in the area of serial murder, a field rife with misconceptions, false experts, and complicated, ever-changing theories. She will be dispelling some myths for us, especially in the area of criminal psychology. She certainly schooled me. Check out Dr. Bell's website here: http://journalism.unt.edu/people/valarie-bell Behind True Crime is sponsored by Hunt A Killer, the monthly murder mystery subscription box service. Check them out at huntakiller.com and use the code BEHIND for 10% off your first order.
