The Murderer Next Door: Why The Mind Is Designed To Kill

Table of Contents ABOUT THE AUTHOR Title Page Copyright Page Dedication One - THE MURDERING MIND Two - THE EVOLUTION OF KILLING Three - THE DANGEROUS GAME OF MATING Four - WHEN LOVE KILLS Five - SEXUAL PREDATORS Six - MATE POACHERS Seven - BLOOD AND WATER Eight - STATUS AND REPUTATION Nine - THE KILLERS AMONG US Acknowledgements NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX Praise for The Murderer Next Door “A persuasive explanation for murder—and a provocative one at that. . . . Highly recommended.” —Library Journal “Intriguing . . . Examples offer powerful support for the author’s evolutionary theory and give the reader a startling, and at times unsettlingly familiar, glimpse into the mind of a killer.” —Science News “What marks the book more than any other element is [Buss’s] support for his central claim. In his design, implementation, and presentation of this research, Buss is at his most persuasive.” —PsycCritiques: APA Review of Books “Buss is adept at keeping the reader interested. . . . The book makes a great deal of sense. —Minneapolis/St. Paul City Pages “Provocative . . . Ominous but enormously intriguing.” —San Antonio Express-News “Provocative” —Austin American-Statesman “Provocative . . . unnerving.” —The Indianapolis Star ABOUT THE AUTHOR David M. Buss is a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. His path-breaking research has received extensive media coverage, including features in Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, and he has appeared on Dateline, 20/20, the Today show, and CBS This Morning. His books include The Evolution of Desire and The Dangerous Passion. PENGUIN BOOKS Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - 110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), cnr Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland 1310, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England First published in the United States of America by The Penguin Press, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 2005 Published in Penguin Books 2006 Copyright © David M. Buss, 2005 All rights reserved eISBN : 978-1-101-11769-9 1. Murder—Psychological aspects. 2. Murderers—Psychology. I. Title. HV6515.B The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. http://us.penguingroup.com for Cindy One THE MURDERING MIND “There is no single crime that fascinates us more than murder. . . . We have been fascinated with murder since Cain killed Abel.” —EDWARD L. GREENSPAN, Introduction, Crimes of Passion.1 “For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak with almost miraculous organ.” —WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Hamlet MY INTEREST in studying murder wa