Killers and Cults: Leadership Gone Awry
Yellow crime-scene tape and a police presence greeted students entering Jepson Hall the morning of Nov. 19. Investigators were snapping photos of overturned chairs and blood-smeared personal items strewn about the faculty lounge and the conference room. But what appeared to be the scene of a grisly double homicide was actually a simulation created by assistant professor of leadership studies Lauren Henley, with the help of the University of Richmond Police Department, for her Killers and Cults class.
Following proper police protocol, three teams of students investigated the crime scene. Each team then developed its own theory about the murders based on the evidence uncovered in its investigation. On Dec. 3, during the last week of class, each team presented its findings and was issued a verdict by an anonymous jury comprising a police detective and six Jepson School staff members.
This catch-a-killer exercise was the culminating activity of a class characterized by animated discussions, group work, the analysis of weekly clues related to “homicides,” and even a Zoom meeting with a former cult member. A historian who researches serial killers and late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century crime, Henley drew a connection between her Killers and Cults course and leadership.
“This class takes seriously the preoccupation American society has with serial killers and cults as a lens for students to study leadership,” she said. “Approaching these topics from a historical lens helps students dismantle societal tropes about people who fit into these categories and forces them to reckon with the uncomfortable truth that the line between ‘us’ and ‘them’ isn’t as bifurcated as we might initially believe.”
“Ted Bundy might be America’s quintessential postmodern serial killer,” Henley continued, “but he also displayed many characteristics society affixes onto its most recognizable and respected leaders: charisma, intelligence, and attractiveness. Similarly, Jim Jones often is regarded as a heinous cult leader who facilitated unthinkable atrocities, but he also was appointed to the Indianapolis Human Rights Commission.”
Indeed, several students expressed surprise at the similarities they found between serial killers, cult leaders, and society’s conventional leaders.
“Influence that is vital to leadership involves understanding people and capitalizing on [how they] make decisions,” senior Arielle Zane said. “I learned that cult leaders use many of the same tactics that salesmen, politicians, and other ‘normal’ professionals use — the only difference is the ends.”
Senior Craig Caudill said, “Learning about cults provided insights into ‘dark’ leadership, or leadership used for socially unacceptable means. Cult leaders often employ charismatic leadership, while implementing specific psychological measures that keep cult members attached to the organization. Leadership traits such as psychopathy, narcissism, and sociopathy are common in historical and current leaders and serial killers alike.”
In addition to gaining a better understanding of leader-follower dynamics, Henley’s students learned something about criminal investigations.
“Students saw that processing a crime scene properly takes considerable time and attention to detail,” said Eric Beatty, a University of Richmond police major who helped with the simulation activity. “Investigators have to process each piece of evidence as though it is the piece that will make the case or show that the suspect is not guilty.”
To his point, the team that was most thorough in collecting and analyzing crime scene evidence came the closest to correctly solving the crime and received the highest marks from the jury.
“This course was my favorite class at Richmond so far, but it was also extremely challenging,” Caudill said. “It pushed me to think critically, engage in creative scholarship, and fully comprehend the class material.”