"Serial killers kill for the power and control they experience during the murders and for the added ego boost they get in the aftermath from community fears, media coverage, and the police investigations"
About this Quote
The subtext is accusatory. By naming “community fears, media coverage, and the police investigations” as an “added ego boost,” Brown implies that the post-crime ecosystem becomes part of the reward cycle. Fear turns the offender into a spectral celebrity; wall-to-wall coverage supplies notoriety; investigative theatrics confirm importance. Even when institutions are doing their jobs, the public spectacle can function like applause. The line doesn’t excuse the criminal; it indicts a culture that converts violence into narrative and narrative into status.
Context matters: as an entertainer, Brown’s voice sits close to true-crime media, where storytelling incentives are always tugging against responsibility. Her phrasing reads like a corrective aimed at audiences and producers as much as at criminology. It’s also a subtle warning about feedback loops: attention is not neutral. When a killer’s “aftermath” becomes a franchise - headlines, specials, press conferences - society may be inadvertently polishing the very lure that made the act feel powerful in the first place.
Quote Details
| Topic | Justice |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Brown, Pat. (2026, January 15). Serial killers kill for the power and control they experience during the murders and for the added ego boost they get in the aftermath from community fears, media coverage, and the police investigations. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/serial-killers-kill-for-the-power-and-control-78643/
Chicago Style
Brown, Pat. "Serial killers kill for the power and control they experience during the murders and for the added ego boost they get in the aftermath from community fears, media coverage, and the police investigations." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/serial-killers-kill-for-the-power-and-control-78643/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Serial killers kill for the power and control they experience during the murders and for the added ego boost they get in the aftermath from community fears, media coverage, and the police investigations." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/serial-killers-kill-for-the-power-and-control-78643/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
