A former nurse turned FBI profiler interviewed dozens of killers. She explains what the most dangerous ones have in common.
Former FBI profiler Candice DeLong discusses her career and the common traits of serial killers, specifically the lack of empathy and remorse. She emphasizes that psychopathy is distinct from psychosis.
Why it matters
It provides psychological insight into criminal behavior, helping the public understand the distinction between mental illness and predatory psychopathy.
Candice DeLong speaks onstage during A True Crime Experience Live at Gotham Hall in 2023. Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Wondery Candice DeLong shifted from psychiatric nursing to a 20-year career in the FBI profiling killers. DeLong's career insights show that lack of guilt defines the most dangerous serial killers. DeLong found that success after a first murder often encourages serial killers to continue killing. Candice DeLong didn't plan to spend her career interviewing killers. She started as a psychiatric nurse, helping patients at Northwestern University Hospital in Chicago, before an FBI agent attending one of her lectures suggested she consider joining the bureau. DeLong entered the FBI at age 30, and spent the next 20 years investigating violent crime and profiling offenders. She later interviewed convicted murderers for television, giving her a front-row seat to dozens of killers over the course of her career.
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