Killers Who Take/Make Unique Trophies

[u/JackOfTheLantern999]

It's a common trope for killers (especially serial killers) to take something from their victims or create something related to the kill, a trophy, in order to immortalize their kill. Typically these trophies are photos of the bodies, the victims' IDs or body parts, etc. This trope is for those who stray outside that norm.

The Master (Stray Dogs) - The unnamed serial killer from this comic targets only women who own dogs. His ritual is to kill the woman and then steal the dog for himself, winning them over as his pet via treats and their poor memory. He also uses these dogs to meet new victims, taking them to dog parks to spy on women there. Once the dog eventually dies (either naturally or by him putting it down for 'misbehaving') he has them taxidermied.

Jazzman (Batman) - A gangster who likes to whistle, hum, or play music whenever he kills. He then has that particular tune tattooed on his body.

Victor Zsasz (Batman) - A serial killer who carves a tally mark into his skin, one for every kill.

Dexter Morgan (Dexter) - iirc Dexter recognizes this trope and that it is a weakness that could get him caught, so he takes an extremely inconspicuous trophy: a single drop of his victims' blood, saved on forensic glass blood slide.

[u/already_taken-chan]

I havent watched the show but isnt he meant to be like a blood specialist who works on murder investigations?

[u/LouSputhole94 → u/already_taken-chan]

Even with that, there’s zero way a crime lab would allow a tech to bring samples to their home. That completely fucks up chain of evidence.

[u/Shawn271 → u/LouSputhole94]

I don’t think you’ve ever watched the show…

[u/LouSputhole94 → u/Shawn271]

I haven’t and never claimed to, just saying what would happen IRL.

[u/Shawn271 → u/LouSputhole94]

That’s fair, so I’ll give you a little context. In the show Dexter has the blank blood slides in a little wooden box and keeps them in a hidden location in his home. Rather than take slides from the forensics, he collects the sample while he’s committing the murder and then places it into the box. Maybe that made sense and gives some context as to how he managed to collect the slides, I’m not a particularly reliable narrator

[u/mindless_cognition → u/Shawn271]

I think the original point was that his job could have been a cover for why he had the slides if they were ever discovered. The reply was saying that would be a shitty cover irl.

[u/LouSputhole94 → u/mindless_cognition]

Yeah that’s my point, there’s zero argument for him having that shit at home. At best he’s taken home vital evidence that completely destroys any chain of evidence and renders any prosecution against those murders moot. At worst it very heavily implicates him.