Between 1978 and 1981, a quiet terror crept through the southern United States.

But this isn’t just another case of brutality, it's a case about the science that emerged from it.

When the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit—still in its infancy—noticed the pattern, they turned to a woman who would change criminal profiling forever: Dr. Ann Wolbert Burgess, a nurse and researcher whose revolutionary work in victimology helped agents read the psychological signatures buried inside each crime.

Burgess’s insights led the FBI to label Simonis a vindictive rapist—a man driven not by lust, but by power, humiliation, and control. Her method of studying what victims experienced became the blueprint for modern profiling, trauma-informed interviewing, and the way we understand serial offenders today.

In this episode, Bailey and Chelsea unravel how a soft-spoken Army veteran with an IQ of 128 weaponized patience, intelligence, and dominance to terrorize communities—and how Burgess’s collaboration with the FBI finally exposed the mind behind the mask.

Because sometimes the most dangerous predators aren’t the ones who act without thought. They’re the ones who plan every breath of fear you take.

Don't miss our mind-boggling interview with Dr. Ann Burgess dropping Friday 10/31/25.

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References:

American Press. (1982, January 18). Mother of ‘Ski Mask Rapist’ says son confessed to spare family. Lake Charles, LA.

Burgess, A. W. (2021). A killer by design: Murderers, mindhunters, and my quest to decipher the criminal mind. Hachette Books.

Burgess, A. W., & Holmstrom, L. L. (1974). Rape: Victims of crisis. Bowie, MD: Charles C. Thomas.

Burgess, A. W., Douglas, J. E., Ressler, R. K., & Hartman, C. R. (1986). Criminal profiling from crime scene analysis. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 4(4), 401–421. https://www.pbs.org

The Cinemaholic. (2021, October 10). Where is Jon Simonis now? The Ski Mask Rapist update. The Cinemaholic. https://thecinemaholic.com

The Lantern. (1982, January 15). Ohio man exonerated after Jon Simonis confession. Ohio State University Archives.

United Press International. (1981, December 15). Rapist says own confessions convicted him. UPI Archives.

United Press International. (1982, January 10). Simonis pleads guilty to 81 attacks in 12 states; sentenced to 21 life terms plus 2,690 years. UPI Archives.

Washington Post. (1982, August 22). $2 million rape award. The Washington Post.