'Serial Killer' The 'Hollywood Type'

A beautiful New York City college student who was viciously raped and murdered died at the hands of a sexual sadist who has probably killed before and "absolutely" will try again, according to one expert.

Imette St. Guillen's naked body was found at the side of a remote road, her hair cut short, a sock stuffed in her mouth, clear tape in vertical strips over her face capturing a look of horror, her genitals slashed, and assault marks on her body, authorities say, adding that she was strangled.

What type of person is capable of committing such a heinous act?

Criminal profiler Pat Brown says (video), "What we've got here is a sexually sadistic pathological serial killer. And he is the scariest of them all, the Hollywood type that we see in the movies and we don't really think is going to strike in our neighborhood. But he's out there, and the police are doing everything they can to find him, and they're doing a good job because they're releasing as much information as possible to get help from the public."

Asked on The Early Show Thursday by co-anchor Julie Chen whether she thinks the killer will seek other victims, Brown said, "Absolutely. And the question is, when? These guys don't necessarily strike every week or with the full moon. … He could strike next week, but he may wait six months to a year. We don't know where or when he's going to do it again, but we want to catch him before he does."

Brown says she suspects the slayer has killed before "because the level of this crime is … a very high level crime. He used a lot of technique in it and a lot of heavy torture and bondage methods, which usually doesn't come with a first-time killer. So, my guess is he's been out there before and he's escalating in his crimes, which makes him more dangerous."Odds are St. Guillen didn't know her killer, Brown adds, saying, "This kind of guy doesn't really make a lot of friends, and he's probably not … going to be hanging around to the extent where she's going to want to go with him.

"She was 5'2", which is the absolute perfect height for a serial killer's choice. She's a small package, easy to manage, manipulate, grab, throw into a vehicle and transport. And control. So I don't think she knew him. I think she was just an easy victim when she came out of the bar" where she was last seen.

Brown says the killer probably didn't have any help: "Most serial killers act alone, because they don't make many friends. And they don't want anybody to rat them out. So usually they do work alone. However, once in a while, when you get the real sadistic types, there are duos that work together and egg each other on as to how horrible a crime they can make it and how much they can torture their victims. So, it's possible it's a duo, but most likely one person."

The 911 call from a male that tipped police to the body's location has police "wondering," Brown notes, pointing out that it's "a little unusual that you would go to such an isolated area to dump a body and then actually go tell people that's where the body is. It doesn't make a lot of sense.

"It's possible (the caller) was there for some other reason and he doesn't want to give up his name because he doesn't want to be thought of as the possible killer. So if I were him, I wouldn't give up my name, either. While the police are going to look at him as the possible person who did this crime, he also just may be someone who reported it."

Editor's note: If you have any information about St. Guillen's murder, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS. Also, the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, where St. Guillen was a graduate student, has established a scholarship in her memory. Contributions should be directed to Dana Trimboli, Assistant to the Vice President, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 899 10th Avenue, Room 3123N, New York, NY 10019. Checks should be made payable to the John Jay College Foundation/Imette St. Guillen.