AMOK: Criminal Sniping and Spree Killing in Wisconsin and Beyond

By Steve Daniels

A fascinating look into dimensions of murder that are often overlooked and undeveloped. Spree killing, in particular, is a crime that researchers have vacillated over in the past two decades or so, most notably when the FBI's 2005 consortium on Serial Homicide seemed to walk back from the concept because of the implications of the term "cooling off period." The author draws the reader into consideration of such classifications, both the spree killer and the mass murderer. It underlines that it's often difficult to delineate atypical murderers such as serial killers, spree killers, and mass murderers. It's not uncommon for aspects of these behaviors to spill over and overlap with one another. It can be best to stay away from the binary choices of typology and understand the criminal as an individual case.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Titletown Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Oct 31, 2023
• ISBN: 9781955047623

Book preview

PROLOGUE

On a snowy early April day not quite ten years ago, I initially made my way out to Green Bay, Wisconsin, to attend an interesting-looking crime event, the Homicide Training Conference, put on by Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. The event had been around for about 20 years and had a history of fascinating presenters and topics. It was here that I first met the mastermind of this operation, former high-risk parole agent Steve Daniels. It did not take long for us to connect on a personal and esoteric level, and the conversation became endless.

I found that Steve was the Chair of the Cold Case Review Team for the Wisconsin Association of Homicide Investigators, and I discovered his book, Harry, the fascinating story of 16-year-old Harry

Hebard’s mass murder, killing his entire family in Green Bay in 1963. Not only was this a gripping tale of murder and sadness, but it was also one of those books that addressed a crime many outside of Green Bay had not heard of, a tough trick for grizzled old homicide hounds like me.

As the years passed, I attended these events when I could and absorbed the valuable training and personal contacts this atmosphere provided. During this time, Steve and I added another member to our killer conglomerate, welcoming esteemed researcher Enzo Yaksic to our circle of murder buddies and dissecting the minutia of murder from the number of kills to qualify as a serial killer to the politics of funding and beyond. These discussions and debates occurred in person, at dinner, in the bar, in the car coming home from dinner, at various conferences around the country, and, of course, in the online universe.

Sometimes, the shared thought process was almost too much, like when Steve mentioned he had already chosen the title of his last book, Gazing Into the Abyss, a working title I’d actually considered for a book I was working on. Yes, it does seem that great minds think alike.

In Abyss, the story of serial killer William Zamastil and the debate over whether Zamastil could be the actual murderer of young Christine Rothschild at the University of Wisconsin in 1968 is another example of the power of analysis and argument. Considering if it was Zamastil and not Dr. Niels Jorgensen who committed the crime is a worthy effort. I still use this case, particularly for its example of ritual behavior as well as its status of an unsolved crime as a presentation in my university classes. I’m not sure I’d know anything about it if not for my travels to Green Bay.

The fact is, the exchange of ideas and friendship of our group of murder buddies has done nothing but enhance all of our works, and I know my friends would agree.

Steve’s new work, AMOK: Criminal Sniping and Spree Killing in Wisconsin and Beyond, is another fascinating look into dimensions of murder that are often overlooked and undeveloped. Spree killing in particular, is a crime that researchers have vacillated over in the past two decades or so, most notably when the FBI’s 2005 consortium on Serial Homicide seemed to walk back from the concept because of the implications of the term cooling off period. Still, renowned researchers such as Katherine Ramsland and Mark Safarik published a text in 2020 re-establishing this classification. Steve Daniel’s efforts here do the same.

Daniels’ work draws the reader into consideration of such classifications, both the spree killer and the mass murderer. It underlines what I’ve found over the years, that it’s often difficult to be able to clearly delineate atypical murderers such as the serial killer, the spree killer, and the mass murderer. It’s not uncommon for aspects of these behaviors to spill over and overlap onto one another. It can be best to stay away from the binary choices of typology and understand the criminal as an individual case.

As in his past works, Daniels’ efforts not only examine the profile of the spree killer and in particular the sniper but successfully identifies him as a unique criminal. The sniper is almost an unexplored specific criminal, with few examples beyond the famous names like John Muhammad and Lee Malvo, the D.C. Snipers in 2002 and the more recent Aaron Juan Saucedo, AKA the Phoenix Serial Street Shooter in 2016. There are more of course, but rarely carry the cachet of the old-school serial killers, nor generate the accompanying media coverage.

That’s why Daniels’ work examining and presenting not only the famous spree killer names like Andrew Cunanan but also the little-known murders, less nationally exposed cases, is so important for the public, the researcher and law enforcement. These cases are what teach us who they are.

I’ve enjoyed this work by Daniels a great deal and believe it will be an asset as a guide for researchers and law enforcement alike. The crime committed by Nengmy Vang in 2017 is one that should be considered and dissected and is an excellent topic of comparison and debate between the spree killer and mass murderer typologies and would likely be overlooked without Daniels’ efforts.

Stephen J. Giannangelo, Author

The Psychopathology of Serial Murder: A Theory of Violence

Real-Life Monsters: A Psychological Examination of the Serial Murderer Monsters in the Mirror: Reflections on the Study of Serial Murder

International Appeal, Heart Pounding Fun.

Tour Guide

CHAPTER 1: MARATHON/WAUSAU

Marathon is the largest county by land mass in Wisconsin, with a population of over 150,000. Wausau is the largest city in this massive county, with a population of nearly 40,000. Within the county is what appears to be a mini-megalopolis containing complete or portions of three cities: Wausau, Stevens Point, and Wisconsin Rapids. Portions of five other cities are located in this county.

Ironically, Marathon County can be considered the center of the state of Wisconsin, and Wausau the center of the county. A recent newspaper article offers, Since 1969 a spot in a soybean field about half a mile northwest of Poniatowski, (Marathon County) has been celebrated for being, as one wooden sign once proclaimed in solemn capital letters: THE EXACT CENTER OF THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. So, we are not talking about Marathon being the center of the universe, but darn close.

Prior to Europeans arriving in this area, the native people of the Ojibway called this area home. Theirs was a lucrative fur-trading endeavor with the French and Canadians. The huge lumber harvesting business brought myriad East Coasters to the region, ranging from New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine, and were descendants of Puritans.

In the 1850’s Wausau became a town. In 1861, a village. Then a city. The coming of the railroad in 1874 brought massive prosperity to an area that was beginning to decay due to overharvesting of the forest. In the infancy stages of the 20th century, the timber was gone. But, Wausau did grow into somewhat of a hub of activity due to the insurance industry, often symbolized by the iconic train depot seen in television ads over many years.

Jumping ahead to the end of the Vietnam war, and the devastating fall of Saigon, the area took in and gave succor to a large number of Hmong refugees who fought along American forces. This group of people were forced to flee their country or be killed by Viet Cong forces. The Wausau area has one of the largest Hmong populations in Wisconsin. The other minority populations are small at best.

This area has made a valiant effort to stay modern and keep ahead of the erosion that many smaller cities have endured. Like many semi-urban areas, a mall was built, and strangely, this small municipality has the tallest commercial building outside of Milwaukee. A multi-story structure punctuating the skyline like Gulliver among the Lilliputians, or Goliath among Davids. And with great foresight, in the late 1990s, the city razed a number of derelict buildings in an area labeled the 400 Block. This is an urban park used for festivals, concerts, and outdoor events such as the massively successful Wisconsin Ginseng Festival, a hugely popular gathering of those types interested in the cooking root.

Wausau has the highly regarded Leigh Yawkey Woodson Arts Museum with exhibits from around the world. The city also offers the annual hot air Balloon and Rib Fest, drawing thousands from across the nation. Watching these heat-filled monster-sized balloons cross the sky is like a mélange of floating colors.

In the winter months, skiing becomes the event du jour, with ski lifts carrying multitudes to the top of