Todd Kohlhepp - Profile of a Killer?

tlcya

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What makes Todd Kohlhepp tick?

How did this man become the killer he is today?

What motivated his crimes?

Discuss your "profile" of Todd Kohlhepp here
 
What makes Todd Kohlhepp tick?

How did this man become the killer he is today?

What motivated his crimes?

Discuss your "profile" of Todd Kohlhepp here

Thnk you so much, tlcya, for creating this thread. I am more of a lurker, so i cant wait to see what the more experienced sleuthers have to say. Love yall!
 
My first thought is, he had a lot of time to think between the ages of 15 and 30. Think about how not to get caught, for example.

I think he changed when he became a real estate agent. At some point, he realized he wanted land to do his dirty work/keep things hidden. So we have the Superbike murders early on after he's let out of prison (and has less to lose), and the murders/captivity on his own land once he's a bit more successful and has more to lose.

Obviously the earlier stuff seems more like a thrill kill to me (wanted to see the publicity, figured out how to get away with it). The later murders/burials on his own land seem more private and he figured he could just develop a system of taking who he wanted and using them, then killing after he was "done" with them. Two different MOs, but possibly developed over time when he was becoming more well known (as a real estate agent) and needed a better way to "get away with it" if you will -- he couldn't keep taking as many risks if he wanted to keep his job/money/normal life, but still wanted the "thrill".

The hardest thing is going to be pinning down the years of, say, 2008-2014. Because he was growing a real estate business and obviously wouldn't have wanted to get caught, but could have been using land he was selling for others as a way to dispose of bodies.

All of this is IMO.
 
The 1987 report has some revealing information.

He's insecure in his relationships with women. Feels he is unattractive and "fat" and strikes out at women when they don't want to be romantic or have sex with him.

His bio father sounds a bit unhinged and irresponsible. He physically abused TK during the time he was living with him as he showed scars from glass and a nail file. Bio dad had a lot of machetes, guns and did things with explosives, somewhat unusual behavior and hobbies back in the 80's. He taught TK some of his skills with guns and explosives.

In that exam, he was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. Poor impulse control, periodic episodes of self-loathing and depression. Knows the consequences of his actions. At various times he was treated with Ritalin and Thorazine.

Thought of his mother as a kind and loving person. Seems he still feels that way as she got him to confess to some of his murders, etc.

He's someone who alternately blames others for his problems, but later felt some regret when he struck out at them. It would be interesting to know if he recently had been taking any mood altering drugs (prescription or otherwise).

Even then, he liked to control others and his environment, so that trait has probably increased with age. He seems like one of those people who, if you earned his trust, he would treat you ok (like his employees), but is very quick to turn violently against anyone he feels has treated him badly or unfairly (Speedbike murders?). Grudge collector.

His attitudes about women and sex were warped from an early age and worsened after his years in jail, where he was likely abused as a young man. Probably confused, conflicted and angry about his sexual identity.

As for the murders, his motivations probably vary. As someone pointed out elsewhere, he probably kills people when he's angry or wants something from them. Not like he has an ongoing compulsion to kill for sexual or other gratification. He does it to get revenge/make himself feel better or to get something he wants (sex, money, etc). He's intelligent enough to do it in a way that helps him avoid detection.
 
Thnk you so much, tlcya, for creating this thread. I am more of a lurker, so i cant wait to see what the more experienced sleuthers have to say. Love yall!

I hope you will do some posting and not just hang in lurkville. I am very interested to read everyone's thoughts on this subject.
 
Grudge collector feels right to me.

Also seems to fixate on women who he feels relegate him to the "friend zone"
 
I was thinking about it, and the real estate career seems almost planned for him to escalate his evil. It's really easy to look up vacant land parcels as a realtor, he could do his thing and kill and then bury them on a vast expanse of property that's been sitting on the market for 1-3 years so he knows it's not really moving fast and definitely not pending or anything.

It seems like yet another way he was certain he wouldn't be caught. Did he plan it all along? South Carolina must be one of the few states not requiring background check for real estate agents to get licenses, I wonder if his move to SC after prison was driven by that idea? Not long after re-establishing himself, he murders 4 people, quits his job, goes back to college at USC Upstate and what do you know? The trail goes cold and quiet. It seems like real estate agent might have been his five year goal outside of prison.

Which makes me believe he put in time to thinking how he could avoid getting caught. After all, the only thing that's ever caught him has been newer technology.
 
Unfortunately once the remains are identified we can get a better perspective of what his intentions and motives are. Feel so bad for all the families involved.
 
the early years are what create these monsters
 
These are just my thoughts from the Maricopa review.

In 1971 he had not lived w/his mother for over three and 1/2 years. His mother stated that she feared him at the "present time" and that he'd threatened to kill her if he didn't get his way. He's smart and knew how to get what he wanted. He said at 15 he wanted to be a pilot and he became one. That's not easy, nor cheap. Not just anyone can learn to fly. You have to be fairly intelligent. He has a problem with authority, and most likely b/c the male figures were more authoritative. His mother was probably more passive and finally sent him to live with his father out of desperation. I think he is smart, but emotionally immature. He can't handle rejection (real or imagined). Family discord is very common because of TK. The Maricopa review said that he would have difficulty following orders. That's why folks like TK enter into professions where they are the boss. He answers to no one as a pilot of his own plane and he answers to no one as the owner of his own business. They can't handle being told what to do, from birth. If his mother was seeking help when he was 15 months old then I'd say he was a very difficult baby and toddler. I'm talking really out of the ordinary. This may be why he is an only child. It doesn't mean his parents didn't love him, nor have hope for him, but people w/these disorders just don't look at life like the rest of us. Most of us will accept the fact that there are rules and that we have to live within certain societal norms, even if we don't always like it, however people w/these disorders just don't get it. They may, after repeated unpleasant consequences, change their behaviour but if they've not done' so by age 30, then life is never going to easy for them nor for folks around them. He was also described as egosystonic. This made him difficult to treat as he did not see that he even had a problem. He was diagnosed with a conduct disorder, antisocial and narcissistic personality characteristics, Undersocialized Agression, and emotional issues would be hard to work with b/c he would not take responsibility for his own emotional issues.

In reference to the OP stating about scares being a result of his father's abuse, The scaring from the glass and nail file could have very well been done by TK himself. Kids w/ personality, or defiant, disorders, will self-harm and will blame others.

I'd like to know if there were any traumas during his birth.
 
Grudge collector feels right to me.

Also seems to fixate on women who he feels relegate him to the "friend zone"

Agree, the anger about women who relegate him to the "friend zone" seems like a variation on the "grudge collector" syndrome. Like most rapists, it's about controlling and punishing women more than sexual gratification.

Maybe his alleged "alternative lifestyle" hobby allowed him (for a while) to pursue that urge to control and punish in a way that is acceptable to that subculture. But he had to take it farther by kidnapping KB and killing his "rival" Charlie. IMO, those crimes are a progression of the rape he committed at age 15. Steal the girl for sex and get revenge via her boyfriend, who she preferred over him.
 
"Wright said after Kohlhepp was taken into custody, he asked him if he could grant him a few requests: to give his mother a picture of himself; to transfer money to a girl he is helping raise, to pay for her college education; and to allow him to speak with his mother." http://www.goupstate.com/news/20161107/sheriff-kohlhepp-met-with-mother-before-superbike-confession


A pic of himself to his mother? Why? A specific picture? What does this say about TK?

Who is the girl? A daughter? The gf's daughter mentioned in the Amazon review? What does this say about TK? Is he truly capable of caring that much about another human?
 
John Douglas profiled the Superbike murders in 2004. His profile seems pretty accurate, based off what's been released so far.

He said, amongst other things, the killer acting alone fits the mold of a disgruntled customer or someone who wanted to get back at one of the victims.

http://www.goupstate.com/news/20041105/killer-profiled-as-angry-gunman


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"Drop the Mic"! No way to compete with John Douglas, Roger L. Depue, or Robert Ressler's profile, imo.. All of these FBI Special Agents were/are Legends...

“JOURNEY INTO DARKNESS” BY JOHN DOUGLAS(1997); Author and FBI BSU; Behavioral Science Unit Profiler...

JD penetrates the minds and motives of the most terrifying prolific predators/serial killers. . JD was one of the early pioneers of the FBI’s Elite BSU and many of the techniques, strategies, and procedures used in tracking and identifying unidentified subjects today can be attributed to his experiences into the abyss or darkness….

'The FBI BSU was later changed to the FBI BAU; Behavior Analysis Unit, for obvious reasons. The BS Unit, which was also referred too as the Witches unit due to it being located 60' underground, with dim lighting/no windows, and their unique ability to enter the darkness of the minds that they frequently and routinely encountered'..

Prologue: ‘In the Mind of a Killer’

This isn’t the Hollywood version. It isn’t sanitized, or prettied up, or rendered into art. This is the way it really happens. If anything, it’s worse than the way I describe it…

"AS I HAD SO MANY TIMES BEFORE, I PUT MYSELF IN THE MIND OF THE KILLER".. Quote: by John Douglas...
http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Into-D.../dp/1439199817

He goes on to say that he also puts his head into the mind of the innocent victim/s also to be able to see the whole picture….

This experience could cause a strong minded person, severe physical and mental health issues, or at a minimum; 'cry a river of tears'.. jmo..

As do Catholic Priests that perform multiple exorcisms, Agent Douglas, paid a hefty price with his health, even though he had the ability to compartmentalize and possessed a very high tolerance level, due to the enormous ‘evil’ that he and his team encountered...
 
When the FBI BSU was established, John Douglas; one of the pioneers of the BSU/BAU suffered health issues due to the overwhelming evil that he routinely endured. Safety precautions were later enacted in the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit to minimize their continuous contamination of the evil the profilers endured.
http://m.imdb.com/name/nm0235123/quotes

[recalling how his obsession with finding the Green River Killer almost killed him] I didn't have a support system. I came back, I took out Inca Protection insurance, and life insurance, I went out to Seattle before I left, I told my family about my life insurance.

'You shouldn't go, what's wrong with you? You don't look right'. I'm getting headaches, I just don't feel right, but they're depending on me to go out there.
I go before the task force, and that night I tell them 'Don't bother me, I'm not going out tomorrow, I'm getting the flu'. I collapse in my hotel room, they find me two days later with a lesion on my brain, I had viral encephalitis, related to the stress just burnt me out. Brain swelled, split the brain, left side paralysis, 220 heartbeat, 105-107 body temperature, my eyes were dilated, my whole system shut down.

I'm in this coma now, and they take me to the hospital, but I'm aware, I'm aware something's going on around me. And they're starting to, I feel pain, and they're putting tubes in every body orifice in me, and I feel pain, and the last thing was the life support system, and they're forcing it down my throat. And I think I'm in hell; I think all these guys I've been after, they got me now, I'm being tortured, and now I'm being choked to death, I can't breathe...
 
A little confused, while he may *seem to dote on his mother a bit, there were posts where he claimed he was beaten by the mother, mother's new husband and his natural father.

Either way, he implied there was much neglect and/or abuse for any circumstance which they perceived as "wrong" or 'unmasculine.' The only example I recall specifically was the comment about "putting a glass down too hard."

IMO, these are the types of comments that are often given by children from dysfunctional homes, their recall memory simultaneously reflects self-blame and self-deprecation. The language is consistent with their remarkably lackadaisical attitude and conveys their avoidance at remarking punitively at the provider(s) violently disrupting their boundaries. I think it's fair to say this is reflected back by their lack of empathy towards any of their own future victims and further contributes at dehumanizing/violating them.

I only state any of this as I kept seeing the comment about being unruly in nursery and thought to myself, well gee, of course! you can neglect basic human child care at that age (the younger you do so, the more behavioral issues you'll have at early development - you'd be amazed at what foster care/group homes have stories about at the earliest of these kids upbringings! And they do lash out!). They are so quick to blame it on genetics, meanwhile, we are not entirely able to rule about social environments. Psychologists have not definitively stated those *possible* brain abnormalities are really responsible for anti-social behavior. The prison inmates have all types of stories of anti-social upbringing, narcissism, and neglect, yet their parents don't get researched. Those whom bring up these individuals rarely have a complete story, IMO, there are huge gaps, too many notions of pity and helplessness due to tantrums (meanwhile there are no psychological or medical evalulations claiming things were going on at home - possibly because the child would reveal someone is harming them and doctors are lead to reporting it to the police?? Also, the parents co-workers, interview them, close co-workers know all, IMO), and at this point it goes to say the prisoner is at an ends financially - creating a conflict of interest in regards to blaming anyone of early authority in their life (they'll need canteen $$). Lashing out as an infant can also be a response of not having ones basic needs met for food, diaper changes, abusive intolerance, etc etc. Anyhow, at junctions like these I am always hesitant to strictly rely upon the 'helpless mother's' allegations of sudden bouts of childhood anger. There weren't any doctors reports or psychological notes about his early development so.. They should 'vet them' before we can fairly judge whom or what is culpable in creating this monster, IMO. Just my two cents

At one point, Todd was just a child, I think it's entirely plausible if circumstances were different, we'd see a different adult human. Children exhibiting irritability can be provided with care, proper medication, and/or receive coping techniques. This isn't even someone with an intelligence deficit here. Truth is, there are psychopaths out there that haven't and will not murder anyone - they've been brought up will so this can be a major factor. Their adult brain scans just happen to reveal they're psychopathic.

Just a side note - kids in school I can recall from back then, any of the teens with 'anger issues,' pretty much always had a bad family home life. I suppose the extraordinary example exists, I just find the 'born psychopath' bit fantasized a bit by some parents. It's a method to absolve them much of the time, IMO, I've seen foster families do this all the time.
 
FOX Carolina NewsVerified account ‏@foxcarolinanews 3m3 minutes ago
JUST IN: Sheriff says Todd Kohlhepp will represent himself in court.

Of course he will. He is a psychopath.
 
Psychologists now believe fledgling psychopaths can be identified as early as kindergarten. The hope is to teach these children empathy ...

Can You Call a 9-Year-Old a Psychopath?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/magazine/can-you-call-a-9-year-old-a-psychopath.html

One day last summer, Anne and her husband, Miguel, took their 9-year-old son, Michael, to a Florida elementary school for the first day of what the family chose to call “summer camp.” For years, Anne and Miguel have struggled to understand their eldest son, an elegant boy with high-planed cheeks, wide eyes and curly light brown hair, whose periodic rages alternate with moments of chilly detachment. Michael’s eight-week program was, in reality, a highly structured psychological study — less summer camp than camp of last resort.

<snipped - read more>
 

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