The disappearance of 13-year-old Milly Dowler gripped the nation in 2002. For six agonising months her family waited for news. Finally, human remains were found which were identified as Milly. Yet the case remained unsolved for eight long years until finally, in 2010, a man already convicted of two other murders was arrested. This man was Levi Bellfield. Laura Richards was the Criminal Behaviour Psychologist working on Milly's case, as well as several other murders of young women. It was her theory that these murders were linked, and her profiling methods and groundbreaking theories that led directly to new evidence which was used to convict Bellfield. In this book Richards uses the case of Levi Bellfield to ask searching questions about what it is that can make a person kill. Bellfield is one of Britain's worst serial killers, but how did he become like this? As she says 'serial killers must also learn their craft - they do not emerge fully formed'. Importantly, are there lessons we can learn from the tragic story of Milly Dowler that can be used to prevent such awful acts being committed in the future? People aren't born monsters - rapists and serial murderers don't start out that way. If we can understand what it is that makes someone capable of becoming a serial killer, if we can recognise the warning signs, then it should be possible to prevent such terrible crimes in the future. More than just a compelling reconstruction of one of the most significant and high-profile police investigation of recent years, this book is also a searing examination of the criminal mind, of what makes a serial killer - and what the police should be doing to stop such terrible tragedies from happening again.
