Table Of ContentDANGEROUS
Personalities
Also by Joe Navarro
Hunting Terrorists: A Look at the Psychopathology of Terror, 2nd ed.
Louder Than Words (with Ton i Sciarra Poynter)
Advanced Interviewing Techniques, 2nd ed. (John Schafer, coauthor)
What Every Body Is Saying (with Marvin Karli ns) DANGEROUS
Pllil Hellmuth Presents Read 'Em and Reap (with Marv in Karl ins)
Personalities
200 Poker Tells
Clues to Deceit: A Practical List
Narcissists Amorrg Us An FBI Profiler
How to Spot a Psyclwpath
- ·-·- · ---'-~ . .~ -IC"'~-:-· .. ·~~ .. - --;._.__.
Jlow to Spot a Histrionic Persotzality '·~·,~·= · Ide.nti. f.y....· and P. r..o. . t-ec. t Y' ourself
How to Spot a Borderline Personality · from Harmful People
Interviewing Terrorists
JOE NAVARRO, MA, FBI SPECIAL AGENT (RET.)
with Toni Sciarra Poynter
t
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Copyright© 2014 by Joe Navarro
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FOR THE VICTIMS
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AUTHOR'S NOTE ................................. ....... ............ ......................... viii
There are two kinds of people in this world: those who fill yollr wp, and
those who draill it. -foe Navarro
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................ ... .................. ................ ix
FOREWORD BY DR. LEONARD TERRITO ...... ............................... xiii
INTRODUCTION: Why I Wrote This Book, and How to Use It. ............ 1
CHAPTER 1: " It's All about Me": The Narcissistic Personality .......... 17
CHAPTER 2: " Fasten Your Seal Belts .. ." :
The Emotionally Un slable Personality ........ .. ................................... 57
CHAPTER 3: " Trust No On e and You'll Neve1· Get Hurt" :
The Paranoid Personality ................................................................ 93
CHAPTER 4: "What's Mine Is Mine - And What's Yours I s Mine":
The Predator ...... ...... .... .......................................... ................... ... 127
CHAPTER 5: One I s Bad, Two Is Terribl e, Three I s Lethal:
Combination Personalities ..... ...... ........... .... ......... ...... ... ... ............. . 168
CHAPTER 6: Self-Defense against Dangerous Personalities ........ ..... ~88
SELECTED RESOURCES .... .. .... .. ...... .. .......................... ................ 212
NOTES ....... .................. ... ............................................... ............... .. 219
BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................. ............................................... 223
INDEX ..................................................................................... ........ 238
!'"
! . ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
AUTHOR'S NOTE
i .
l ANYTIME YOU UNDERTAKE AN INTELLECTUAL journey, there are so many
THIS BOOK IS INTENDED TO inform the reader or to validate what the reader I
people to thank. The bibliography is full of such individuals who took the
may have witnessed or experienced. It is not intended as a clinical guide and
i:. ti~e to share what they know-they have my deepest appr~ciation.
should not replace the services of a trained or licensed professional. r
r The late Dr. Phil Quinn, who persuaded me to join the adjunct faculty
Whenever I talk to victims, I am keenly aware of what they have suf- r
at the University of Tampa's criminology department, served as a mentor
fered and the need to protect their privacy and dignity, and so I have
for more than a decade as I studied and explored these individuals flawed
changed the names of all the victims I have interviewed. To further protect
of character and personality. To me, his perspective as a humanitarian,
them, I altered slightly the details of events, dates, time, and location
priest, psychologist, and criminologist was indeed unique and contributed
because some police reports and divorce filings are now searchable by spe-
significantly to my understanding of a complex subject.
cific words or groups of words. In the end, I have done my best to protect
Michel St-Yves of the Surete du Quebec and fellow author has always
the victims without losing the character or manner of the offense and what
honored me with his friendship and collaboration ov~r the years on numer-
they endured.
ous projects here and in Canada, where he is a giant in his field. Once
more, he did not let me down with his critiques of this book.
A special thanks goes to Kaja Perina, editor in chief at Psychology
Today, who took time from her busy schedule to comment on early drafts
of the manuscript. Dr. Leonard Territo receives my admiration as well as
ix
viii
X ACI<NOWLEDGMENTS
ACI<NOWLEDGM ENTS
xi
my thanks. While finishing his 12th book, he took the time from his
valued counsel and loving support; and for your patience· as I struggled to
cramped schedule to go through this manuscript meticulously with me
work on this book for more than a year. You are a blessing in every sense of
line by line. His vast experience working with dangerous personalities,
the word who all too often has to insulate me from distractions. And last,
including Ted Bundy, was extremely helpful. His foreword is most kind.
I thank my parents, who honor me by calling me their son and for having
This book would not be possible without Steve Ross, director of the
provided me a loving environment sans dangerous personalities.
Book Division at Abrams Artists Agency. Steve is the kind ofliterary agent
foe Navarro, MA, FBI Special Agent (Ret.)
who gets things done, and he is, without a doubt, one of the most interest-
Tampa
ing people with whom to share a meal.
November 2013
I want to thank Alex Postman, Jennifer Levesque, and the rest of the
team at Rodale Books who have an appreciation for the welfare of others ·i
both physically and mentally and who, upon seeing this manuscript, !
I ECHO JOE'S THANKS TO Steve Ross of Abrams Artists Agency, to our edi-
immediately understood its potential to save lives. To our editors Michael
tors Mike Zimmerman and Jeff Csatari, and to the team at Rodale Books
Zimmerman and Jeff Csatari, thank you for landing on this project on the
for all their efforts on behalf of this book.
run; you brought it all together-well done.
Thank you to Dona Munker for being the staunchest, most loving, car-
Early drafts of this work were carefully read and reread by ]an ice Hill-
ing friend and fellow writer anyone could have.
ary. I thank her for her insightful support and guidance. If only we could
Love and gratitude to my husband, Donald, for being always in my
all have teachers like her-a teacher who cares about her students-even
army and in my corner, and for the way we can talk about the darkest of
old ones like me.
the dark and the brightest of the bright.
My gratitude goes out to Elizabeth Lee Barron at the University of
To ]oe Navarro, thank you for our work together and for our many
Tampa's Macdonald-Kelce Library, who generously assisted me with find-
interviews and thoughtful conversations about the ways of dangerous per-
ing reference material and who, like my good friend Marc Reeser of the
sonalities-a strange terrain you knew all too well. Thank you for your
FBI, always makes me laugh.
tireless work on every aspect of this book, for your dedication, for your
To Toni Sciarra Poynter, I am indebted to you once again for shaping
humor, and for your ferocious joy in learning and work. When you e-mail
my words and thoughts, but more important, for being inquisitive, for
me to say, ''I'm on it," I know you are on it.
sharing ideas and concepts that are transformative, and for being singu-
Finally, at the risk of sounding unserious, I am grateful that our cat
larly meticulous. What a gift you have for writing and for making my task
Lucy was often curled soothingly within arm's reach on her fleece perch
so much easier. Thank you, my friend.
when it felt painful to write about these personalities.
·Also, I must thank my family here and in Europe for tolerating my
absences as I struggled with writing a manuscript that was three times
Toni Sciarra Poynter
larger than what the reader will see. To my wife, Thryth, for whom I have
New York City
such a profound respect, I must thank you for who you are; for providing
December 2013
FOREWORD
WHEN MY GOOD FRIEND AND colleague Joe Navarro completed the first
draft of this book, he asked if I would review the manuscript and make
some constructive comments where appropriate. Once I picked up the
book and started to read it, I could not put it down. It is without question
one of the most interesting, useful, and user-friendly books I have ever
read on this subject. Although numerous academic studies have been con-
ducted in the analysis of dangerous personalities, ]oe has made a conscious
decision not to load this book with social science jargon or with elaborate
statistical analysis. He does, however, make it clear to the reader that his
discussions and conclusions about these individuals are well founded and
based upon his many years of experience as an FBI Special Agent and
criminal profiler.
One of the main questions that came to mind as I read this book was:
Who would find it both useful and interesting? I came to a one-word con-
clusion: everyone. This is because all of us at some time in our lives will
most certainly encounter one or more of these dangerous personalities. In
xlli
xiv FOREWORD
some cases, they may be family members, people we are dating or intend- INTRODUCTION
ing to marry, intimate or casual friends, or professional associates.
This book is valuable because it will help readers to understand that
when they are dealing with one of these dangerous personalities, even
casually, there is a good chance they will be victimized. These individuals
are so flawed and callous that they can make us feel as though we are
WHY I WROTE
responsible for the suffering they cause, while they remain impervious to
modifying or changing their toxic behavior.
If this book is carefuly read, it wil go a long way in accomplishing a THIS BOOK, AND
number of objectives. First, it will assist readers in recognizing dangerous
personalities and preventing them from entering their lives in the first
HOW TO USE IT
place. Second, it will provide readers with specific suggestions on how to
most effectively deal with such individuals if they must. Third, and most
important, the admonitions set forth in this book, if adhered to, may save
one's life or at the very least prevent someone from being seriously injured
mentally, physically, or financially.
As a former homicide detective and still-active criminologist, I have ON JUNE 27, 1975, a young woman named Susan "Sue" Curtis went missing
personally witnessed the havoc these dangerous personalities inflict on from an otherwise very safe college campus. She was 15 years old and
innocent victims. They murder, rape, assault, steal, bully, and exploit any- attending a youth conference at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah,
one who falls within their sphere of influence and control. Based on my where I was a rookie police officer.
many years of law enforcement experience, as well as my own extensive I conducted the initial investigation into her disappearance. We inter-
research as a criminologist, I feel confident in saying that chances are, viewed friends and family for clues and learned that she'd gone back to her
someone with a dangerous personality will come into your life or the life room to clean her new braces. But when I searched her room, her tooth-
of someone you love. While vigilance is helpful, vigilance coupled with brush was dry. She had never made it back.
knowledge is optimal for keeping us safe. I can confidently say that Joe- We could account for some of her activity (her lunch ticket had
Navarro has written a remarkable book that fulfills that purpose. been used), but we were limited in what we could reconstruct-this was
Dr. Leonard Territo before cameras were ubiquitous on campuses and cell phones kept us all
connected.
Distinguished Professor ofC riminal Justice, Saint Leo University,
Saint Leo, Florida, and Professor Emeritus, Department of Criminology, We talked with her family. I still remember their fathomless pain and,
University ofS outh Florida, Tampa desperation. Their trauma was devastating and sad, so sad.
1
2 DANGEROUS PERSONALITIES WHY I WROTE THIS BOOK, AND HOW TO USE IT 3
Sue was never found, and eventually all reasonable leads were be completely safe. I shudder to think what Sue Curtis, all of 15, was made
exhausted. But the mystery of her disappearance always bothered me to understand that night, alone with a predator, before she died.
because I had been on duty that night, patrolling the campus, and some- I am convinced that this singular event drove me years later to serve as
how felt partially responsible. I kept a copy of the case file containing a a criminal pro filer in the Tampa Division of the FBI and later in the FBI's
large photograph of her, and for years afterward, I would scan crowds, elite National Security Division Behavioral Analysis Program. I felt com-
looking for a face that even remotely resembled hers. I kept the file, too, to pelled to understand criminal and abnormal behavior, and this objective
remind me of my failure to protect that innocent soul. dominated much of my Bureau career. Sue Curtis disappeared on my
Years passed, and I went on to become an FBI agent. Then one day, I watch. Those were my words and initials on that investigative report. That
got a call from a Salt Lake City investigator. "There's something you should tragic event drove my passion to seek answers from those who knew best:
know," he told me. "We never found Sue Curtis. But we know who took the criminals themselves and their victims.
her." He went on to say that a good-looking young man had been driving What I learned from them, over a period of 4 decades, is that there are
around campus in a Volkswagen that night, looking for a victim. That man certain personalities who hurt people the most. Over and over, they are
had finally admitted to kidnapping and killing Sue Curtis. His name was responsible for crime, for torment, for misery, for financiallos~es as well as
Theodore "Ted" Bundy, a man who eventually would confess to the murder for loss of life. This book is about those dangerous personalities that cause
of 35 young women in four different states. us so much pain and suffering. What I learned about criminals, abnormal
It's still hard to think about the almond-eyed girl with long hair whose behavior, and dangerous personalities you should know also, because it
photo I looked at day after day ... whose diary I read ... whose clothing I may save your life.
smelled for signs of where she might have been ... whose shoes I felt for
moisture or dirt as I desperately looked for any possible clue to her where-
abouts. It's very possible that I had seen her killer that night driving about THE REALITY OF DANGEROUS PERSONALITIES
on campus. I would have looked twice at his car for not having a BYU stu-
dent or faculty sticker-but many didn't that day, as there were so many By now, we're familiar with the grim headline: Lone killer walks into an
visitors on campus. No illegal activity was seen or reported. It was like any office building, classroom, camp ground, or other area and, seemingly with-
other day, except that on this day there was a dangerous personality on cam- out provocation, opens up with an assault rifle or other weapons, killing or
pus: a predator and serial killer who would go on to kill many times more. maiming scores of innocent victims. And after each of these events, after
BYU is one of the safest campuses in the country, yet there had been the mayhem is over and the victims are buried or patched up (the latter no
an abduction and a life taken. How had this happened, and who would do doubt traumatized for life, as are their families), the question is asked:
such a thing? The realization that one person can do so much damage, not "Who could do something like this, and could it have been prevented?"
just to victims but also to their loved ones, was chilling. I was all of 22, a When these violent events happen, they dominate the news and preoc-
police officer in uniform, when I first truly understood that there are dan- cupy us for months (the massacres at Virginia Tech; at Columbine High
gerous personalities on this planet, and that because of them, we can never School and Sandy Hook Elementary School; and in Oslo, Norway, to name
WHY I WROTE THIS 8001<, AND HOW TO USE IT 5
4 DANGEROUS PERSONALITIES
you've been assaulted, mugged, or sexually abused and never reported it,
just a few). Unfortunately, these horrible mass killings happen all too often.
1 or if you did, nothing came of it. Much goes on around us that is never
In America alone, they occur on average 18 to 20 times per year. Coming
reported, and when it is, it's rare that those responsible are incarcerated.
at us with almost metronomic frequency-more than one per month-
For 60 years, criminologists have known that fewer than 1 percent of crim-
such events are almost numbing. "How many were killed this time?" we
inals are ever incarcerated for their crimes.
ask incredulously. Was it 8, 16, 26, or 77 (as in Ut0ya, Norway, on July 22,
What this means for us is that most of the people who can hurt us-
2011, at the hands of Anders Behring Breivik)?
these dangerous personalities-will avoid official scrutiny, wreaking hav~c
Yet as staggering as these violent events are, they don't represent the
in our lives without ever getting caught, or persisting for years before
full picture of who victimizes most people. The sad truth is that for every
they're stopped. And that's just physical harm. Not all wounds are physi-
mass killer, there are hundreds more who kill one child at a time, one date
cal. Most of the people who cause us harm will also do it emotionally,
at a time, or one spouse at a time-and these events sometimes barely
psychologically, or financially. They, too, are dangerous personalities
make it to page 6 in major newspapers. The mayhem that occurs under the
because they put us at risk in their own way.
radar, without making the national news, is the kind of crime, torment,
and suffering many of us are more likely to experience.
The dangerous personalities among us harm us behind closed doors at
HOW FOUR DANGEROUS PERSONALITIES
home, at church, at school, and in the office, often preying in secrecy on the
CAME TOGETHER
unsuspecting or the trusting-and for the most part, no one finds out until
. it's too late. When they do make the headlines, it's on those rare occasions
While working for the FBI as a profiler, I began to see a pattern emerging
when they get caught. They are responsible for many of the nearly 15,000
as to the personality types who seemed to dominate our attention. These
homicides, 4.8 million domestic assaults, 2.2 million burglaries, 354,000
were people who were constantly making others miserable, breaking
robberies, and 230,000-plus sexual assaults that occur annually in the
2 laws, engaging in risky behavior, taking advantage of or abusing others,
United States, many of which go unreported and unpunished. Or, like
and in general causing pain and suffering-not once, not twice, but
Bernard Madoff, they may embezzle money from the elderly or even
repeatedly.
friends for years (on such a grand scale, in his case, that the economic well-
Through my own efforts and with the guidance of others, I learned
being of thousands was compromised). They can go undisturbed for
that there are certain personalities who will ~lways be nasty, who are
decades, destroying lives as convicted child rapist Jerry Sandusky did at
deceitful and manipulative, who derive pleasure from taking advantage of
. Pennsylvania State University.
j_- others, and who don't respect people or laws. They are exhausting emotion-
Think back to those times in your own life when someone stole some-
ally and can be cruel, callous, and exploitative. And they will repeat their
thing from you or took hurtful advantage of you. Perhaps your house was
behavior over and over without concern for the physical or psychological
burglarized or your car was broken into. Perhaps you dated someone who
damage they inflict on others.
turned out to be toxic, or you were bullied at school or at work. Perhaps
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