[URBAN NOTE] "London, Ont., was world's 'serial killer capital': UWO prof"

[rfmcdonald]

CBC reports on how the southwestern Ontario city of London became a mecca for serial killers, interviewing author and professor Michael Arntfield.

At first glance, London, Ont., doesn't seem like the type of place that would harbour a serial killer, but a new book has revealed it may have been a more dangerous place than meets the eye.

Only 192 kilometres southwest of Toronto, the city became the "serial killer capital of the world" from 1959 to 1984, according to Michael Arntfield, a criminology professor at the University of Western Ontario. With only a population of roughly 200,000 people at the time, the city may had as many as six serial killers, more per capita than everywhere else on the planet.

In his new book, Murder City: The Untold Story of Canada's Serial Killer Capital, Arntfield reveals the dark history of the Forest City. Thanks to the work of an OPP detective who followed his hunches and took detailed notes while following the killings, more is known about suspected murders who wreaked havoc in the area.

Arntfield, who also served as a London police officer for 15 years, says during the 25-year period, there were 32 homicides, with all victims being women and children. These deaths were likely caused by serial killers, the author says.

Monsters such as the Mad Slasher, Chambermaid Slayer and Balcony Killer are suspected of having roamed the city's streets. Some of the murderers were never captured, Arntfield says, but he suspects they escaped to Toronto, where they continued to harm the innocent.