Sageman's Blog

Anyone know if it's been confirmed that the fires along the I-95 corridor are the work of an arsonist or not? I remember doing some research on them for a paper I wrote in college and from what I remember this seems to fit the bill.

All the fires are along the same stretch of highway. They were started in the same type of area. That is the first indicator as to whether arson is probable or not. The fact that the chances of this happening so close to the same routes and to the same type of area is improbable at best with out it being the result of an arsonist.

Another interesting thing is that there are some recognized statistics for serial arsonists. About roughly 80% of serial arsonists are white, around 95% are male and close to 50% were under the age of 27 years of age. About a quarter had attempted suicide with in a year of setting their first blaze. Over half come from two parent homes and roughly 35% said their family was not emotionally supportive of them. They typically started their first fire close to their own home and they like to watch the fires after they have set, often mingling with crowds near the scene of the fire.

This individual will most likely have a job that has him traveling past the locations where the fire's were set. He will most likely be employed in a blue collar position potentially a construction worker or similar position. He will be a loner and probably not have attracted much attention to himself in the past. He might have shown a change in mood recently, since the fires started, most likely he has been hyper even manic. Also he will have been very attentive of any news on the fires and uncharacteristically engaging in conversation about the fires. He will be a white male in his early to mid 20's with a history of psychological problems most likely depression and mood swings.

I wrote a couple profiles in college, my first major was Psychology with a focus on Human Behavior. I switched my major after interning at a psyche ward. I actually enjoyed the process of profiling because it's interesting how many similarities there are among people who display anti-social and abnormal behavior. I know people like to think they are all different but deep down inside there are archetypes that bind us. Overall I didn't feel comfortable dealing with people suffering from psychological illness', I couldn't see myself dealing with it on a daily basis.

On a final note, most serial arsonist's are caught eventually. It'll be interesting to see how close he fits the profile though. My mom would be happy if some of the money that was invested into college proved it's worth!