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Ann Burgess
Ann C. Wolbert Burgess (born October 2, 1936) is an American researcher and psychiatric clinical nurse specialist whose work has focused on victims of trauma and abuse, and is author of A Killer by Design: Murderers, Mindhunters, and My Quest to Decipher the Criminal Mind (2021) and Expert Witness: The Weight of Our Testimony When Justice Hangs in the Balance (2025). She is a professor at the William F. Connell School of Nursing at Boston College and professor emerita at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. She received her master's degree from the University of Maryland and her doctorate from Boston University.
Burgess was born and grew up in Newton, Massachusetts. As a young woman, she said the only career choices for women at that time were to become a nurse, a secretary, or a teacher. She eventually got her nursing degree at Boston University. Burgess received a Bachelor of Science from Boston University, a Master of Science from the University of Maryland, and a Doctor of Nursing Science from Boston University.
Burgess is a doctorally prepared, board-certified psychiatric clinical nurse specialist.
She pioneered assessing and treating trauma in rape victims. She co-founded one of the first hospital-based crisis counseling programs at Boston City Hospital with Boston College sociologist, Lynda Lytle Holmstrom. Together, she and Holmstrom conducted extensive research regarding 1960s rape victims in Boston. She interviewed victims and quantified their experiences. This caught the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She began to consult for John E. Douglas, Robert Ressler, and other FBI agents in the Behavioral Science Unit (BSU) to develop modern psychological profiling for serial killers. The BSU was interested in doing similar research to Burgess, except with perpetrators rather than victims. Burgess was granted access to the early cassette tapes that were recorded during the first serial killer interviews, such as discussions with Edmund Kemper, Ted Bundy, and Charles Manson. At first, she questioned working with the FBI, as she had four young children and knew it would take up time from her family. However, the importance of the work is what made her agree: "I was feeling pressured to make the right decision. I mean, I didn't care much about the offenders, they were killers. The biggest motivation from my perspective was helping victims. I focused on that as much as I could," she said in the Hulu docuseries "Mastermind: To Think Like A Killer", based on her work. Through interviews and finding patterns among the serial killers, her team was the first to find similar trauma among serial killers.
Burgess first consulted on the Jon B. Simonis case. He was known as Louisiana's 'Ski Mask Rapist' and confessed to over 80 rapes nationwide across 12 states. Burgess was sent to Louisiana to interview his victims. When she first arrived alone and introduced herself as a member of the FBI, authorities called the FBI believing she was impersonating an agent due to her being a woman. As she conducted her interviews, Burgess told the women that they were essential to the investigation, as their information could help catch the offender. She said this is what led so many of them to open up to her, as they realized authorities believed their story. Burgess realized the pattern of victims: women who lived a wealthy lifestyle. She surmised the attacker would be driving a flashy car. The profile her team created with her work led police to arrest Simonis. He was sentenced to 18 life terms and 2,406 years in prison.
After a young boy was killed in Nebraska, a member of the BSU gave police a profile for who the killer might be. The profile was incorrect and led to a wrong arrest. After a second young boy was killed, establishing that this was a serial killer, Burgess was officially brought into the profiling room. Burgess profiled him as a white man in his early 20s with a weak build. Evidence pointed to his boy victims trusting him, so Burgess profiled that he may be a teacher, coach, or scout leader. Later, it was confirmed that John Joubert was an assistant scout master. Burgess also noted that he may be interested in detective magazines, as that was a common pattern with similar serial killers. Joubert's belongings included a detective magazine that was dog eared on a page about a young newspaper boy being abducted. After being found guilty, Joubert was given the death sentence and was executed.
Burgess was called to interview eight-year-old Opal Horton in Illinois. Horton was riding a bike with her friend, Melissa Ackerman, when a man attempted to abduct them and place them in the backseat of his car. Horton was able to escape through a window, but Ackerman was brought into the man's car and had not been found. It was imperative they got as much information from Horton as possible. During the interview, Burgess asked Horton to make drawings of the incident, hoping it would make it easier for the child to communicate. The child drew the crime scene and what she was feeling during the time. Police used Horton's description and sketch of the car that was used during the abduction to arrest Brian Dugan.
Burgess had mainly stepped away from her career by the time she got a call about the Menendez brothers case. She was asked to serve as an expert witness by the defense team. The prosecution claimed the brothers killed their parents for money. Burgess did not think this motive made sense, so she flew out to California to meet with them.
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Ann Burgess
Ann C. Wolbert Burgess (born October 2, 1936) is an American researcher and psychiatric clinical nurse specialist whose work has focused on victims of trauma and abuse, and is author of A Killer by Design: Murderers, Mindhunters, and My Quest to Decipher the Criminal Mind (2021) and Expert Witness: The Weight of Our Testimony When Justice Hangs in the Balance (2025). She is a professor at the William F. Connell School of Nursing at Boston College and professor emerita at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. She received her master's degree from the University of Maryland and her doctorate from Boston University.
Burgess was born and grew up in Newton, Massachusetts. As a young woman, she said the only career choices for women at that time were to become a nurse, a secretary, or a teacher. She eventually got her nursing degree at Boston University. Burgess received a Bachelor of Science from Boston University, a Master of Science from the University of Maryland, and a Doctor of Nursing Science from Boston University.
Burgess is a doctorally prepared, board-certified psychiatric clinical nurse specialist.
She pioneered assessing and treating trauma in rape victims. She co-founded one of the first hospital-based crisis counseling programs at Boston City Hospital with Boston College sociologist, Lynda Lytle Holmstrom. Together, she and Holmstrom conducted extensive research regarding 1960s rape victims in Boston. She interviewed victims and quantified their experiences. This caught the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She began to consult for John E. Douglas, Robert Ressler, and other FBI agents in the Behavioral Science Unit (BSU) to develop modern psychological profiling for serial killers. The BSU was interested in doing similar research to Burgess, except with perpetrators rather than victims. Burgess was granted access to the early cassette tapes that were recorded during the first serial killer interviews, such as discussions with Edmund Kemper, Ted Bundy, and Charles Manson. At first, she questioned working with the FBI, as she had four young children and knew it would take up time from her family. However, the importance of the work is what made her agree: "I was feeling pressured to make the right decision. I mean, I didn't care much about the offenders, they were killers. The biggest motivation from my perspective was helping victims. I focused on that as much as I could," she said in the Hulu docuseries "Mastermind: To Think Like A Killer", based on her work. Through interviews and finding patterns among the serial killers, her team was the first to find similar trauma among serial killers.
Burgess first consulted on the Jon B. Simonis case. He was known as Louisiana's 'Ski Mask Rapist' and confessed to over 80 rapes nationwide across 12 states. Burgess was sent to Louisiana to interview his victims. When she first arrived alone and introduced herself as a member of the FBI, authorities called the FBI believing she was impersonating an agent due to her being a woman. As she conducted her interviews, Burgess told the women that they were essential to the investigation, as their information could help catch the offender. She said this is what led so many of them to open up to her, as they realized authorities believed their story. Burgess realized the pattern of victims: women who lived a wealthy lifestyle. She surmised the attacker would be driving a flashy car. The profile her team created with her work led police to arrest Simonis. He was sentenced to 18 life terms and 2,406 years in prison.
After a young boy was killed in Nebraska, a member of the BSU gave police a profile for who the killer might be. The profile was incorrect and led to a wrong arrest. After a second young boy was killed, establishing that this was a serial killer, Burgess was officially brought into the profiling room. Burgess profiled him as a white man in his early 20s with a weak build. Evidence pointed to his boy victims trusting him, so Burgess profiled that he may be a teacher, coach, or scout leader. Later, it was confirmed that John Joubert was an assistant scout master. Burgess also noted that he may be interested in detective magazines, as that was a common pattern with similar serial killers. Joubert's belongings included a detective magazine that was dog eared on a page about a young newspaper boy being abducted. After being found guilty, Joubert was given the death sentence and was executed.
Burgess was called to interview eight-year-old Opal Horton in Illinois. Horton was riding a bike with her friend, Melissa Ackerman, when a man attempted to abduct them and place them in the backseat of his car. Horton was able to escape through a window, but Ackerman was brought into the man's car and had not been found. It was imperative they got as much information from Horton as possible. During the interview, Burgess asked Horton to make drawings of the incident, hoping it would make it easier for the child to communicate. The child drew the crime scene and what she was feeling during the time. Police used Horton's description and sketch of the car that was used during the abduction to arrest Brian Dugan.
Burgess had mainly stepped away from her career by the time she got a call about the Menendez brothers case. She was asked to serve as an expert witness by the defense team. The prosecution claimed the brothers killed their parents for money. Burgess did not think this motive made sense, so she flew out to California to meet with them.