Serial Chillers

Jason Moss sits uneasily in a Henderson restaurant, shifting in his seat, his eyes darting randomly around the room.

He's nervous. Not about anything in particular, just chronically edgy.

"I wouldn't normally be sitting where I'm sitting," says the 24-year-old Henderson resident and author of the unnerving glimpse into the psyches of serial killers, "The Last Victim: A True-Life Journey Into The Mind Of The Serial Killer" (Warner Books, $24).

Moss is facing away from the restaurant's entrance. He can't see who's walking in or out. That bothers him.

"I'd normally be sitting facing the door," he says. "I like to see who's coming in and I like to have a clear view of everyone. I want to see what they're wearing, how they're acting, if they might have a gun or knife. Just to be sure."

This is what happens to a person -- a young, bright, good-looking guy who resembles any Baldwin brother -- who was once harassed in an infamous prison meeting by a cologne-splashed John Wayne Gacy. But unlike 33 young men and boys who lost their lives in torturous murders by the Chicago businessman and part-time clown, Moss lived to tell -- and write -- about the experience.

The result is a morbid tour de force, chronicling Moss' initial interest in the world of the macabre, his inspired decision to write the book and subsequent correspondence with some of the country's most despicable characters.

A master of portraying conflicting identities, Moss was able to gain rare access to, and communication with, Gacy, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard "The Night Stalker" Ramirez and Henry Lee Lucas. With valuable assistance from UNLV psychology professor Jeffrey Kottler, Moss juxtaposes his fascinating, and often haunting, letters from the convicted murderers (and, in Gacy's case, conversations) against his own otherwise ordinary life as a UNLV student.

The formula and stirring subject matter makes for a quick read, and even quicker attention for Moss, a summa cum laude graduate of UNLV with a degree in psychology. In the span of one week, before the book had even hit the stores (its official release date is Thursday), he had been contacted by representatives of "48 Hours," Howard Stern, "Politically Incorrect" and "Hard Copy."

On April 16, he'll hold a seminar and book signing at UNLV's Student Union Building at 7 p.m. Moss is planning a follow-up book of similar first-hand communication with killers, and another book analyzing the allure of violent crime and criminals. Then it's off to law school, where Moss is confident he'll become a student/author at one of the country's renowned law institutions.

"This thing is taking off. It's incredible," Moss says. "It just shows how much people are fascinated by what makes these people tick."

And no one is more fascinated -- even obsessed -- than the book's author.

An unlikely topic

As Kottler relates in the book's forward, Moss is at once "haunted and driven." The book is for people "with strong stomaches." Yet there was little in Moss' early upbringing to indicate he'd be inclined to immerse himself in the dark world of cold-blooded murderers.

Moss even passed out once while observing a frog dissection and cringed at his mother's fascination with books about violent criminals.

"I was not interested in the violence," he says. "I was interested in the psychological angle, the criminal profiles."

He happened upon a book about Gacy in a local bookstore and was immediately captivated with Gacy's story (in part because Moss has an acute fear of clowns). He soon became an avid reader of "slasher" books and a fan of gore-laden movies such as "Friday the 13th" and "Nightmare on Elm Street," attempting to psychologically dissect the reason for the killers' violent tendencies.

By the time he was a freshman at UNLV, Moss had established a goal to work for the FBI and was deeply interested in criminal psychology. He decided to pursue the topic full-throttle by sending a letter to Gacy at the Menard Correctional Center in Chester, Ill.

Baiting Gacy

Rather than inform Gacy that he was an ambitious, career-driven college student who hoped to turn the letter-writing campaign into a school project, Moss decided to prey upon Gacy's sexual deviance and portray himself as a sexually confused teen-ager.

After receiving seedy anecdotal information from a bisexual male prostitute he located through a personal classified ad, Moss carefully composed his first letter to Gacy.

"I wanted him to consider me a confidant, someone he could trust and open up to," Moss says. "In order for me to get what I needed out of him, I had to be totally believable and I couldn't make any mistakes."

Moss introductory letter read, in part, "I thought you might get bored or lonely where you are, and that you might want someone to correspond with. ... I know what it's like to be bored and alone."

Gacy, who received literally thousands of similar letters in prison, responded with a vaguely worded questionnaire for Moss to fill out and return. The approach was effective, disturbingly so, as Gacy was soon comfortable enough to relate his innermost feelings -- including his bizarre sexual fantasies -- to Moss via the mail.

Eventually, Gacy tried to persuade Moss to engage in a perverted sexual affair with his younger brother, Jarrod, who was 14 at the time. Keeping in character, Moss lied that he'd "experimented" with his brother to retain Gacy's trust and correspondence.

In one twisted communique to Moss, Gacy writes, "Regarding (Jarrod) ... the best way is to get into conversation and find out how open his thinking is ... you have a perfect partner since you share the other things and he looks to you as a mentor."

Beyond creepy is the first thought that comes to mind.

"I hated Jarrod getting involved," Moss says. "But I was getting a lot of personal information. I felt like it was working, that I was getting closer and closer to my goal."

Gacy eventually offered to call Moss collect, a development that only created more tension in a family that never fully embraced Moss' project. Gacy called regularly -- collect -- and sent reimbursement checks to the Moss home in Henderson.

"My dad would get these checks from the Menard Correctional Center and would be embarrassed to take them to the bank," Moss says. "It was the only time Gacy paid anyone anything when he was in prison."

With consistent phone contact and mailings flooding in from Gacy, Moss' first attempt at criminal psychology was a blooming success story. Brimming with confidence, he sought out other famous murderers such as Manson, Ramirez and Dahmer.

A cavalcade of killers

Ramirez proved to be the most cooperative of the bunch, as well as the most erratic murderer, killing and raping indiscriminately until apprehended.

"He was very difficult to figure out because of that. There was no reason, no motive, no pattern," Moss says. "He's an evil, evil man."

Ramirez passed along graphic sketches of dismembered bodies, a self-portrait of himself displaying a demonic "666" insignia on his left hand and flashing an obscene gesture.

Ramirez, whom Moss met in prison after finishing the book, has made several lurid requests.

"He asked me once to rape a woman and to record the act," says Moss, who portrayed himself as a leader of a local Satanic cult to gain Ramirez's trust. "Then he'd call me collect, and (hypothetically), I'd play the tape over the phone to him."

Moss keeps in contact with FBI officials in cases where a prisoner such as Ramirez might attempt a crime from inside the jail.

"It's really scary how much influence these people can have from inside a penitentiary," Moss says. "It's not hard for them to reach people on the outside. Ramirez and Manson have followers, people who act like groupies, who they correspond with."

"Escaping" prison

After a somewhat fruitless dialogue (again, through the mail) with the ranting, grammatically handicapped Manson, Moss was discussing his project with a friend at a Las Vegas bar.

"Someone overheard me and came over," Moss says. "He said, 'You got letters from Charlie? Me too. I was with him on the ranch in California.' It's very spooky."

In the book, Moss writes: "I tend to be hyperlogical, so Manson was an especially difficult challenge for me."

Moss' experience with Dahmer was equally frustrating. Dahmer was murdered in prison before Moss could develop a lengthy relationship, but it appeared the cannibalistic killer might have been willing to share his deepest secrets.

But after a few encouraging letters, Dahmer was killed by a fellow inmate.

"When he died, I remember very mixed feelings," Moss says. "Everyone I knew was saying, 'Good riddance,' but I was unhappy because it meant a missed opportunity to gain some knowledge from this guy."

Dahmer, like Ramirez, made some stomach-turning requests. Dahmer wanted Moss to send naked photos of himself and hard-core smut magazines, suggesting Moss might make a prison visit for sexual favors.

Jason, meet John

The most riveting passage is Moss visit to Gacy's cell in Illinois, just two months before Gacy was to be executed. This was over spring break in 1994, and he had planned two lengthy in-person sessions over a two-day period.

Incredibly, Moss writes, he and Gacy were left alone, unsupervised by any guards. Gacy had apparently told the guards (sympathetic because the guy was going to be executed in a few weeks anyway) he had a young friend in for a visit and didn't want to be disturbed.

The only one disturbed, it turned out, was Moss. Though handcuffed, Gacy tried to make a pass at Moss, threatened him with murder and rape, and exposed himself. Moss broke down in tears before Gacy relented and apologized.

"My mom had warned me about that trip, but I wasn't listening to her," Moss says. "She was right. Why would a 50-something-year-old man who had committed these horrible crimes invite an 18-year-old kid into prison? Just to talk?"

A day later, Moss nervously returned for a second visit and elicited from Gacy a comment he'd sought since he started the correspondence. As Gacy again made advances, he said, "I could take care of you just like the others." It marked the first and only time Gacy hinted that he had committed the crimes.

"I gained an understanding through it all. I learned a lot and the whole point is for everyone -- victims, potential victims, law enforcement -- to gain insight," Moss says. "For the families of victims, (Gacy) admitted what he did. I hope it helps them come to some kind of closure."

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