Richard Walter
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Richard Walter is one of the creators of modern criminal profiling and a co-founder of the Vidocq society, an exclusive organization of forensic professionals who are dedicated to solving cold-cases.
Richard's experience as psychologist for Michigan's famous prison system led him to create psychological classifications for violent crime.
During his career, Richard has interviewed over two thousand violent offenders-- murderers, rapists and serial killers.
He worked with Robert D. Keppel, the chief investigator for the Attorney General's Office in the State of Washington (now retired). Keppel, along with other primary investigators, was integral in apprehending Ted Bundy and the Green River killer.
Walter and Keppel wrote "Profiling Killers: A Revised Classification Model for Understanding Sexual Murder" which categorized sexual murder into four sub-types: (PA), (PR), (AR), and (AE).
Keppel created the Homicide Information Tracking Unit (HITS) database, of which Walter was a prolific contributor.
Richard Walter was the first to develop a matrix as a tool of investigation using pre-crime, crime and post-crime behaviors to help develop suspects.
Best-selling author Mike Capuzzo was given a sizeable advance to write about the Vidocq Society and its three co-founders. The book is called "Angels of Vengeance": [1] and is due for release in 2007
Richard Walter is a Member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences[2], a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine/Clinical Forensic Medicine, A Fellow of the Australasian College of Biomedical Sciences and a twenty two and 1/2-year veteran Prison Psychologist for the state of Michigan.
As a forensic psychologist, Richard D. Walter is one of the earlier forces for developing modern Criminal Profiling and Crime Scene Assessment.
Richard gives closed-door lectures to police organizations throughout the U.S., England, Scotland, Turkey, Australia and Hong Kong.
In June 2005, Richard Walter lectured the Royal Society of Medicine in London about the case of Jack the Ripper
Richard has been featured on CBS News 48 Hours, A&E, TLC and Court TV.
[edit] Notable Cases
In 1989, Richard provided the psychological profile for mass murderer John List. List had been in hiding for eighteen years and law enforcement had all but given up on the case. Using Richard Walter's profile, forensic sculptor Frank Bender was able to appropriately age the suspect in a bust displayed on America's Most Wanted. List was captured the next day due to the bust's uncanny resemblance. The List case was featured on the television series "Forensic Files".
In 1999, Lubbock (Texas) City Police solved the murder of Scott Dunn; Richard was a catalyst in the resolution. This is a rare case where a conviction was garnered in the absence of a body. The case is chronicled in the book, "Trail of Blood" by Wanda Evans and in the television series "Medical Detectives"
In 2005, the Hudson (Wisconsin) Police Department consulted with the Vidocq Society on the cold case double homicide of Dan O'Connell and James Ellison. With the help of Richard Walter, the Hudson solved the case. The murderer, Father Erickson, was a priest who was trying to keep molestation allegations from surfacing. Incredibly, Erickson was part of the funeral services for Dan O'Connell. After interviewing Erickson with local police, Richard Walter was quoted in the local media, "We are close to solving the case. If I were the perpetrator, I wouldn't want to buy any green bananas." A week later, Father Erickson hanged himself. On his kitchen counter, investigators found ripe bananas.
[edit] Controversy
Convicted murderer Robie Drake, in a desperate attempt to appeal his life sentence, claimed that Richard Walter, who was a prosecution witness in the murder trial, gave false testimony regarding his professional credentials. [3] Mr. Drake drafted his own appeal of a sentence handed down in 1982. The appeal worked its way through the court system and was never checked for accuracy. Subsequently, the reputation of one of the world’s most prominent criminal profilers was tarnished until the Federal District Court in New York intervened earlier this year.
Ultimately, the perjury allegations were proven to be false, as Drake's appeal was found by the Court to be made up of fabrications and misstatements of fact.
