Test Serial Killers of the Deserts
A Test Conference on Serial Killers in the Southwest
November 28, 2026 at 12:00 AM
About This Event
Step into a rare, two-day deep dive at Test Serial Killers of the Deserts, where you'll unpack the patterns, investigations, and lessons learned from serial homicide cases across the Southwest. You'll sit side-by-side with four seasoned experts — John Smith, Jane Doe, Jon Q. Public and John Doe — as they share hard-won insights, case studies, and practical strategies for understanding offender behavior in arid, remote landscapes. Over interactive sessions and candid panel discussions you'll explore regional patterns, victimology, investigative techniques, and how environmental and cultural factors shape investigations. This is more than theory: you'll get actionable takeaways you can apply to research, cold-case work, media reporting, or law enforcement practice, plus live Q&A to test your questions against real-world experience. The conference is a test-format pilot, meaning content is fresh, conversation is dynamic, and access is intimate — seats are limited and the chance to engage directly with all four presenters is rare. Whether you're a practitioner, scholar, or engaged member of the community, you'll leave with sharper analytical tools, new professional contacts, and a deeper, responsible understanding of serial violence in the desert Southwest. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to learn from experts while the program is still being shaped — register now to secure your place.
Programs & Tracks
Explore the event themes and jump directly to their sessions.
How the Desert Changes Serial KillersThe desert does not simply hide bodies. It rewrites method, tempo, and sometimes motive. Heat, emptiness, and the long geometry of interstates change how offenders hunt, how they dispose of remains, and how long they can operate before anyone notices a pattern. This track looks at Southwest and Borderlands cases to ask a practical question: does the arid landscape produce a different kind of killer, or does it merely strip existing predators down to what already works? Sessions will cover mobility along desert corridors, dumpsite selection, the effect of isolation on escalation, and why some signatures only become visible once investigators stop treating the desert as empty space.
Unique Challenges in InvestigationDesert homicides and disappearances fail ordinary investigative assumptions. Decomposition can race or stall. Search areas are measured in hundreds of square miles. Evidence is eaten by heat, wind, scavengers, and flash floods. Jurisdiction fractures across county, state, federal, and tribal lines, often in places with few witnesses and fewer cameras. This track focuses on the operational problems: working remote dumpsites, cases involving migrants and transients, geospatial and OSINT methods that actually scale in empty country, and how to keep a case coherent when the ground itself is trying to erase it.
Get Your Spot
Join us as an attendee, exhibitor, or sponsor. Secure your registration today!