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Mental illness is often a contributing fact when violent sexual offenders commit their crimes and the criminal system does little to address or treat it.

The following notes were taken from the Documentary Series, Notorious: The Monster Inside (January 2008)

20 year old Rachel Newhouse was reported missing when she didn’t come home after a night of clubbing.  The disappearance coincided with the discovery of pools of blood on the Jennifer Street Bridge and investigators confirmed through DNA testing the blood belonged to Newhouse.

Aundria Crawford disappeared three months later. Police found signs of a struggle in Crawford’s apartment; footprints in the bathroom suggested the intruder came in through an unlocked window over the bathtub; and personal items were missing.

David Zaragoza, a parole officer, recgonizied elements of the crimes.  One of his parolees, Rex Krebs, had been convicted of rape and  assaulting women in their own homes.  He was sentenced to 20 years and released after 10 years.  During his incarnation he never received counseling or treatment for his urges to assault women. Once released he got a job, a girlfriend and he seemed to be adjusting well; until a neighborhood campaign was launched to remove him from the area.  He moved to an isolated area and began to drink, which concerned his family.

Police searched his home and found possible trophies of his crimes, a key chain, some women’s jewelry, but it wasn’t enough to arrest him.  He did have a parole violation, so he police took him into custody and interviewed him.  Further evidence was found, including blood in his vehicle.

When he was confronted with DNA evidence tying him to the victims, he confessed to the crimes. He told police that he had been drinking one night and by chance, he saw Newhouse walking home. He attacked her on the bridge, beat her unconscious and took her to his home, where he raped her.  He hog tied her and left her alone for about an hour, when he came back, she was dead from strangulation.  He was able to go back to work and continued to lead a normal life. 

Months later he spotted Crawford getting out of her car, and he became fascinated with her. He stalked her for several days.  He broke into her house where he waited for her.  Once again, he abducted the young girl and raped her repeatedly in his home, before strangling her to death.

Krebs had a long history of violence against women.  He was raised in an extremely violent home, beaten by his father on a regular basis.  His father killed a beloved pet in front of Rex and told the boy to get used to killing.  His mother left his father and married another man, who was just as abusive.   Victimization in childhood leads to extreme anger in adulthood, taken out on innocent victims.  Krebs may have felt abandoned by his mother’s inability to protect him against the men in his life, thus his anger was focused on women.

Krebs was diagnosed with a disorder of Sexual Sadism, which left him unable to control his impulses.  When confronted with the horror of his crimes, he expressed remorse and couldn’t explain why he had committed the crimes.  He wrote letters to his family in which his regret was clearly expressed: “I do not cry for myself, I cry for my victims….I tried to fight the evil….I failed.”  

It is much easier to despise predators that are one dimensional portrayals of evil; however, that isn’t necessarily the case.  Consider showing a character conflicted by their crimes.  It will add depth and believability to your story and raise questions of accountability.