Link to Interview with a serial killer documentary
Documentary Description
Arthur Shawcross is described as a psychopath. Found guilty of killing two children and 11 prostitutes, his tales of cannibalism and mutilation have made him one of America's most notorious serial killers.
Real Crime: Interview With A Serial Killer goes inside Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, New York State, to meet the killer himself, and discover how and why he killed (tonight at 9.30pm on TV ONE).
It is known that Shawcross killed his victims by asphyxiation, and gained sexual satisfaction from the attacks, but exactly what he did to his victims and why, is not clear.
In 1972, Shawcross killed two children. While he admitted to the murder of the young boy, he would not admit to killing the young girl. Plea bargaining with the police, he led them to the body of the boy and wasn't charged with his murder. He faced a reduced charge for the killing of the young girl, and served less than 15 years of his sentence.
Just 15 months after he was released, he started killing again. When police questioned Shawcross about the prostitute killings, and discovered his earlier crimes, they were sure they had their man. Putting pressure on him to confess, Shawcross gave in. He says he confessed to the murders of the women because he got tired of the interrogation. "I just got tired of it after 14, 16 hours later. [Tired of] all that was coming at me. I just couldn't handle it."
Describing himself as 'somewhat evil', Shawcross is prepared to talk in gory detail about the death of the 11 women - murders he seems to justify in his own mind. But when asked about the brutal murder of the two children he killed earlier in his life, he refuses to talk, and when pushed, walks out.
The documentary gives viewers a glimpse of a manipulative man who has changed his story numerous times over the years. Has he exaggerated cannibalism to gain media notoriety; has he made up a history of child abuse and damaging wartime experiences to gain sympathy; or is he simply a man, even having spent more than 17 years in prison, who is unable to accept responsibility for his horrific crimes?
Shawcross says he is somewhat of a celebrity at the correctional facility. "I get letters from all over the world. I get a lot of college students, college professors, doctors, lawyers, psychiatrists, psychologists, all kinds of people from all walks of life." He says he enjoys the attention, but sometimes it gets to be a hassle
