The Ongoing Thought That EAR ONS Craved Public Attention

[Deleted]

I have been looking through older posts and one thing that stood out to me was that many felt as though EAR ONS craved attention from the public, or had this icredible drive re: self importance (say like Dennis Rader or Zodiac).  This is actually kind of important because I think this could effect at some level the type of career he would undertake (authority driven, etc).

I personally see nothing about his actions (at least from what we know via victims up North) that would lead me to believe he sought attention from the general public.  It seems he told a victim or two that he would kill if the attack was on the news to avoid creating a greater panic (and thus allow him more space to work in town).  Of course that message was bungled.

The "Dumb F#$s call in inconclusive, for no other reason than he was a household name in Sac at that point and any dumb kid could have made that call.  There was no caller ID or GPS back then, and crank calls to the police posed little to no risk.  Same goes for the Poem.  The writer didn't list any unpublished details re: his attacks like Zodiac did, which would have made it authentic to some degree.  It was likely just written by some sad sack with way too much time on his hands.

If anything, it seems EAR ONS went out of his way to avoid public attention/discovery thoughout his ugly career.  And that may be (in large part) his saving grace at this stage.  It also makes me think that he's alive and well out there, since people rarely change at a fundamental level (and since Janelle's murder 5 years later and going dark permanently afterward is highly curious).

To me, EAR ONS driving personality/emotional side seemed more in line with self-hatred, not this massive self-grandiosity which would accompany the previous mentioned actions (flaunting his persona to the public).

Thoughts?

[Deleted]

I agree. His communications and such were more personal.

[Deleted]

I agree, too, RayRay. He did/does not seem to crave the massive public attention that The Zodiac craved. That same desire brought Rader out of hiding and into prison.

[ironmaidens666]

He was likely following it on the Tv, Radio and in the Paper just to find out how the investigation is going and what the police know.

[pendleton]

I think he already received the attention he craved. One of the things you hear over and over again from people living in the areas at the time EAR offended was how much fear the attacks generated in the community. The fear in the neighbourhoods was described as almost palpable. For EAR, being able to walk or drive through those neighbourhoods taking in all that fear and knowing he was the cause of it would have made him feel very powerful. Not to mention his habit of calling his victims and taunting them after the fact. I'd also say that EAR didn't need to begin a communication campaign with police and the media. He was too busy offending. I wonder if police and the media would have heard more from him after he started killing. He escalated from rape to murder because the rapes weren't enough. If he had continued to murder that too would eventually not be enough and he'd have to find a way to escalate again. Luckily something caused him to stop when it seems he was just entering a new phase of escalation. Another escalation could have involved more contact with police and the media or, more likely, he would have begun kidnaping and confining his victims.

[tmacchallenger]

The high amount of crimes he committed shows that he was more concerned about his actual deeds, then communicating with the media.

The fact that he cleaned up the evidence at some of his murder scenes shows that he was worried about getting caught and blamed, instead of getting notoriety. Did they have the death penalty in California back then? If so, he had the intelligence to know when it was better for his own benefit to not seek attention.

It is always important to remember that while he may have turned in to a serial killer, he started out as a serial rapist. He had a slightly different horrific frame of mind then complete egomaniacs like Zodiac.

[Deleted]

EAR wanted (and got) lots of publicity as long as he was committing rapes in NorCal. When he moved South and started killing people he knew that being identified as a serial killer would bring a massive LE response so he avoided being identified as such.

[northernjustice]

I believe he wanted attention in the sense that he liked shaming the cops and having a whole region's population terrified of him. He showed glimpses of his internal world through the poem and maybe some of his other behavior, but overall this was not someone who needed direct communication with the media or the public.