Elliott Leyton (August 21, 1939 – February 14, 2022) was a Canadian social-anthropologist, educator and author who, according to the CTV television news network, was amongst the most widely consulted experts on serial homicide worldwide.

Biography

Leyton was born in

Leader, Saskatchewan Leader is a town in southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada, located approximately directly east of Calgary, Alberta and is near the border between Saskatchewan and Alberta. It has a population of 863 as of 2016. History Before settlement, the Lea ...

, on August 21, 1939. He earned

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

and

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degrees from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

then went on to obtain his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Toronto in 1972. During his ensuing career, he dedicated himself to the analysis and research of social ills such as

juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a person ...

and the psychology behind perpetrators of serial killings. Leyton's achieved level of expertise has led to his giving lectures at the College of

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

(RCMP) in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. He was also a consultant on serial murder investigations for the RCMP, the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

and

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

as well as for television shows and movies. He held faculty positions at

Queen's University of Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

(where he was a research

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

), and at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

;

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

Warsaw, Poland Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-cen ...

;

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

; and at

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...

where he was latterly Professor Emeritus of anthropology. Leyton served as president of the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association. The author and editor of eleven books and numerous scholarly essays for academic journals, Leyton's 1986 landmark study ''Hunting Humans'' is an international bestseller in multiple languages that was reprinted in 1995 and again in 2005. It won the 1987

Arthur Ellis Award The Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, formerly known as the Arthur Ellis Awards, are a group of Canadians, Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the Crime Writers of Canada for the best Canadian crime and Mystery fiction, mys ...

for best new crime book. Professor Leyton traveled to Rwanda in the fall of 1996 where he studied the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

that spawned his 1998 book, ''Touched By Fire: Doctors Without Borders in a Third World Crisis''. In 2004, a

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

film about Professor Leyton's life's work titled ''The Man Who Studies Murder'', was premiered at the

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Internat ...

and aired on CBC Television’s ''

The Nature of Things ''The Nature of Things'' (also, ''The Nature of Things with David Suzuki'') is a Canadian television series of documentary programs. It debuted on CBC Television on 6 November 1960. Many of the programs document nature and the effect that hum ...

''. Frequently consulted by the media, Professor Leyton was interviewed by

CBC Newsworld CBC News Network (formerly CBC Newsworld) is a Canadian English-language specialty news channel owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). It broadcasts into over 10 million homes in Canada. As Canada's first all-news channel, it is th ...

on September 14, 2006 about the

Dawson College shooting The Dawson College shooting occurred on September 13, 2006, at Dawson College, a CEGEP located in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The perpetrator, Kimveer Singh Gill, began shooting outside the de Maisonneuve Boulevard entrance to the school ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. He stated that because all three such murderous rampages in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

involved a killer who was either an

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

or a child of immigrants, it warranted an examination of government and societal attitudes that can profoundly impact immigrant perceptions and hence their conduct. The following day, Professor Leyton was the guest expert on CBC Radio One's program '' The Current'' that analyzed the Dawson College shooting. Leyton wrote the foreword for ''Dance With the Devil: A Memoir of Murder and Loss'', a book telling the story of the

murder of Zachary Turner Zachary Andrew Turner (18 July 2002 – 18 August 2003) was a Canadian child from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, who was killed by his mother, Shirley Jane Turner, in a murder–suicide. At the time, Shirley had been released on bail ...

. He died in

St. John's, Newfoundland St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans and is the easternmost city in North America ...

on February 14, 2022, at the age of 82.

Books (partial list)

* ''Dying Hard'' (1975) * ''The Myth of Delinquency'' (1979) * ''Hunting Humans'' (1986, reprint: 1995) first US edition titled "Compulsive Killers" * ''Sole Survivor'' (1990) * ''Violence and public anxiety: A Canadian case'' (1992) * ''Touched by Fire'' (with photographer Greg Locke) (1998) * ''Serial Murder: Modern Scientific Perspectives'' (with Linda Chafe) (1999) * ''Men of Blood'' (2002) * ''Hunting Humans'' (revised and expanded edition)

Notes

References

University of Toronto article on Elliott Leyton

Faculty profile for Elliott Leyton at Memorial University of Newfoundland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leyton, Elliott 1939 births 2022 deaths University of British Columbia alumni University of Toronto alumni Canadian anthropologists Canadian sociologists Academics of Queen's University Belfast Academic staff of the University of Warsaw Memorial University of Newfoundland faculty Canadian educators Canadian non-fiction writers Writers from Saskatchewan People from Rural Municipality Happyland No. 231, Saskatchewan