It soon became clear at Bexar that Genene Jones liked to feel needed. She often spent long hours on the ward, insisting that her personal attention was important to a specific patient. She even developed an attitude about treating her favorite patients, including refusing orders because she wanted to do “what was best for the child.” Genene also skipped several mandatory classes in her first year at Bexar and made eight separate nursing errors, including administering the wrong medication. There was certainly enough evidence to justify firing Genene, but the head nurse Pat Belko liked and protected her, which gave Genene even more latitude to act with impunity.

By the end of 1978, Dennis Nilsen was desperate for companionship and picked up an 18-year-old in a nearby gay bar. They went back to Nilsen’s apartment, drank a lot, and fell asleep. But when Nilsen woke up, he was gripped with fear that his new lover would leave him. So he retrieved a necktie from his closet and proceeded to strangle him. When the boy struggled, he pulled the tie tighter, to unconsciousness, and put the boy’s head in a bucket of water to ensure death. Then he lovingly washed the corpse, and put it back in bed to “snuggle.” When rigor set in, Nilsen pried up the floorboards and stowed the body under his feet.