Jason Michael Moss (February 3, 1975 – June 6, 2006) was an American attorney who specialized in criminal defense. He was best known as the author of '' The Last Victim: A True-Life Journey into the Mind of the Serial Killer'' (1999), a memoir about his exploration of the minds of incarcerated

serial killers A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

, which started as a research project in college. He corresponded and conducted personal interviews with several notorious killers. Struggling with depression, Moss took his own

life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

in 2006. His book was adapted and produced as a film, ''

Dear Mr. Gacy ''Dear Mr. Gacy'' is a 2010 Canadian drama thriller film directed by Svetozar Ristovski, and starring William Forsythe and Jesse Moss. The film is based on Jason Moss's memoir '' The Last Victim''. Plot As part of his college thesis, Jason Mo ...

'', released in 2010.

Personal life

Moss was born in

Bethpage, New York Bethpage (formerly known as Central Park) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 16,429 at the 2010 United States Cen ...

in 1975 and attended local schools. He graduated summa cum laude from the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

. As an honors student, he had completed a research project into the minds of serial killers by establishing correspondence with them and gaining interviews. At the age of 19, he met twice with

John Wayne Gacy John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994) was an American serial killer and sex offender who raped, tortured, and murdered at least 33 young men and boys. Gacy regularly performed at children's hospitals and charitable events as " ...

in prison, less than two months before the killer was executed. Shaken by the experience, in which he felt psychologically manipulated, Moss had nightmares. He wrote a book about his project and its effects, co-authored with counseling professor Jeffrey Kottler, and published in 1999 as '' The Last Victim: A True-Life Journey into the Mind of the Serial Killer.'' After college, Moss served internships with the

U.S. Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...

and the

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and preven ...

. He decided to go into law and graduated in 2002 from

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a Public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of C ...

. He set up a criminal defense practice in

Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with an estimated population of 320,189 in 2019. The city is part of the Las Vegas Vall ...

. He was married to Charlotte Moss.

''The Last Victim''

While writing his honors thesis at UNLV, Moss established relationships with convicted, imprisoned serial killers

Elmer Wayne Henley Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. (born May 9, 1956) is a convicted American serial killer and painter incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) system. Henley was convicted in 1974 for his role as a participant in a series of murders ...

Richard Ramirez Ricardo "Richard" Leyva Muñoz Ramirez (; February 29, 1960 – June 7, 2013), dubbed the Night Stalker, the Valley Intruder (as his attacks were first clustered in the San Gabriel Valley), and the Walk-in Killer was an American serial kill ...

Henry Lee Lucas Henry Lee Lucas (August 23, 1936 – March 12, 2001) was an American convicted serial killer. Lucas was convicted of murdering his mother in 1960 and two others in 1983. He rose to infamy while incarcerated for these crimes when he falsely c ...

Jeffrey Dahmer Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer (; May 21, 1960 – November 28, 1994), also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or the Milwaukee Monster, was an American serial killer and sex offender who killed and dismemberment, dismembered seventeen men and boys ...

, and

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...

. He conducted research in order to learn what would most appeal to each of his subjects, and adopted the role of disciple, admirer, surrogate, or potential victim as necessary. He initiated the relationships through correspondence. According to Kottler, Moss studied devil worship and Satanic rituals before contacting Ramirez. Moss later said that he formed the strongest relationship with Gacy. Their exchange of letters led to regular Sunday morning phone calls, during which Gacy reiterated his innocence. In his book, Moss explored the development of his correspondence with Gacy, shortly before the killer was executed. Moss asserted that he became Gacy's "last victim" during their face-to-face meeting. While he understood that he had deliberately lured Gacy, he felt overpowered and manipulated by him, in the same way that he might have manipulated and controlled his victims. Moss felt that his overall experience allowed him to gain an understanding of how a serial killer's mind works.

Reception

Moss's book quickly became a bestseller. In 2000 a paperback edition was released, and also made the ''New York Times'' bestseller list."PAPERBACK BEST SELLERS: March 12, 2000"
''The New York Times'', 12 March 2000 A film adaptation of the book, ''

'', was released in 2010, starring Jesse Moss (no relation) and William Forsythe.

Suicide

Jason Moss died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in his

home on the morning of June 6, 2006. The significance, if any, of his chosen suicide date (6/6/06) has been the subject of speculation. According to his co-author Kottler, Moss reportedly had delved "heavily into Satanic stuff" while researching material to prepare for his correspondence with serial killers and while writing his book, but sounded upbeat in their last conversation before his death.Kalil, M (June 13, 2006)
"Best-selling author of book on serial killer kills himself"
LV ''Review-Journal'' archive], Retrieved October 20, 2011

References

External links

Crimelibrary chapter on Jason Moss
''Las Vegas Review Journal''
Book Review on Google''Dear Mr. Gacy''
2006 film website - screenplay adapted from Moss & Kottler's book {{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Jason 1975 births 2006 suicides 20th-century American memoirists Jewish American attorneys Suicides by firearm in Nevada People from Bethpage, New York Nevada lawyers University of Nevada, Las Vegas alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni John Wayne Gacy 2006 deaths