Background
Roy Hazelwood was born in Pocatello, Idaho. He was raised by his mother and stepfather in Spring Branch, Houston, Texas, and attended Sam Houston State University.
Roy Hazelwood was born in Pocatello, Idaho. He was raised by his mother and stepfather in Spring Branch, Houston, Texas, and attended Sam Houston State University.
He served a tour in Vietnam, which he completed in 1968 as a Major.
He worked for much of his career for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, retiring in the mid-1990s. He followed his tour with a forensic medicine fellowship with the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) and a stint with the Crime Investigation Department as an instructor. He joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1971.
In 1980, he developed the distinction between "organized" and "disorganized" murderers, a concept that is still used by law enforcement to help in the apprehension of criminals.
He also defined the six categories of rapists: power-reassurance, power assertive, anger retaliatory, anger excitation, opportunistic and gang. Of the six, anger excitation is by far the most dangerous and the hardest to capture.
Hazelwood has also offered the theory that there is no cure for pedophilia or sexual sadists. He has conducted numerous studies involving sex crimes, including cases of autoerotic asphyxiation.
He has done numerous studies involving the willing victims of sexual sadists (wives and girlfriends) and how sexual sadists appear in everyday life.
In his career he found equivocal death crime as the most dubious and complex investigation to overcome. He continues to work closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other government agencies in an effort to track down sexually-oriented murderers. Hazelwood has also co-authored two books with Stephen Michaud: The Evil That Men Do and Dark Dreams.
Hazelwood now gives lectures across North America about sexual sadism and autoerotic fatalities.
His presentation is also heavily focused on Dennis Rader, the "B.T.K." serial killer of Wichita.
Hazelwood, now retired from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is an active member of the Academy Group, an organization of former Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and law enforcement officers.