i'm ray suarez. >> on "america tonight" - why they do it. new details emerge about possible serial killers, what draws them to attack and sometimes tell all. >> it seemed like he wanted to get it out, get it over with. >> suspected attackers, the victims, and how serial attackers get away with it for years. battle for kansas as we head to election. long reliability red. why staunch republicans are having second thoughts. >> i'm staunches, but they are

nuts. we had weird bills come before the legislature. >> a battle ground stake and what is at stake. a look at the battle for kansas as america votes 2014 and the voice of a community silent. >> found a jack russell terrier on the highway 24 eastbound area more than seven decades behind the mike, adam may introduces us to the world's oldest d.j. >> did you think back then you would be sitting in a radio booth today? >> this many years later - no, i did not. good evening, thanks for joining us.

i'm joie chen. it's the kind of crime so horrible you have to wonder how someone could get away with it over and obvious again. at this hour indiana police are combing missing persons files seeking out links to darren vann who led investigators to the bodies of six women. he's only charged with the death of a 7th at the moment. >> police in north-west indiana stopped short of calling him a serial killer, but there is fear that van n may have been responsible for a death. >> she was energetic, she loved life. people graf faith towards her. her. >> this mother reminisces about her daughter. the discovery of a body let investigators to the home of vann. once in custody he confessed to

killing six other women. >> he admitted his involvement and expressed interest in letting police know of other bodies. . >> it seemed he wanted to get this over with. >> six other victims have been found. the three other victims have yet to be identified. the women identified thus far from prostitutes. >> he preyed on individuals that might be less likely to be reported missing. >> police say africa hardy was a prostitute, advertising on backpage.com. where van n used the screen mime bigboyappetite. her mother is in disbelief.

>> i never thought, can't cross my find that she would - it couldn't have been her idea. it had to be the other girls coming up with this. "you're beautiful, hey, you know." >> reporter: not her. >> not her. >> reporter: like the other victims, she was strangled to death. her body was not dumped if an abandoned building. >> it's crazy that someone does something like that and spray bodies everywhere. >> overgrown weeds and trees took back the landscape in garry, 10,000 buildings dominate the once bustling city. >> whatever he did or did, places someone there. this is no more important than the other places. >> a reality that may have allowed him to go unnoticed by police for years. killer.

decades. >> it could go back 20 years, based on statements we have. >> we are getting calls from all over the country from relatives of individuals. information. >> those that live next door are shocked. >> some say he was a nice man taking care of his brother's children. vibe. >> i don't like the way he looked. he looked like he'd do stuff like that. >> van n has a disturbing rap sheet. police in texas were released for sexually assaulting a woman in austin. he was sentenced and released. despite the nature of his crime, he walked the streets of indiana, labelled a low-list offender by the office. >> in my 40 years of law

enforce. ment -- enforcement, this is the worst i see. >> her mother hopes her death is not in vein. >> it's me consoling myself in this time. she helped many, many people get closure, get the freak off the street this news from northern western indiana, an unrelated case of missing vimen in virginia indicates how dangerous these are. we talk to a woman hosting "facing evil", this would be the face of evil here. there are open questions in both of these cases, but can you help us to understand what motivates - is this something that snaps in these killers? >> no, they don't snap.

from the way i see it, when someone snaps and murders someone, it's a crime of passion. serial killers put a lot of thought and planning into their murders. and there's no snapping involved they are motivated because they homicide. >> are they emotional or is it a format they are poloing. -- following. >> women that survived attacks frequently described them as being very cold, and almost as if they - you know, their eyes become glassy, and there is not a lot of emotion. you know, if the person is a sadist, they are enjoying what they are doing, and in terms of anger, yelling, things like that, no. >> is the effort - serial

rapists and killers - is there a difference in the mind-set in what is happening in their heads? >> well, there are serial rapists that would never consider killing their victim, and serial killers - that's what they want to do. sometimes serial killers in the midst of a killing career or spree will abduct and sexually assault a victim and let her go. murdered. >> it is remarkable. both of these cases though, what we are talking about in north-west indiana, and the case in virginia, surrounding the university of villagia, in that area as well. both of these cases are open questions, it is not clear that either one is officially a serial killing spree as described by law enforce. . do you see the possibility of parallels, these are different

women, not marginalised in the case of virginia. >> right, the similarities in the two sets of crimes, locations, are that it is a sex crime murder being perpetrated by one man to the female victim. but i think that is where the similarity ends. the person in custody for virginia, if he is responsible, allegedly his approach to the victim, his whole lifestyle vastly different, there's no similarity between the two people, as i see it. >> former federal bureau of investigation profiler, hosting "facing evil." thank you. >> you're welcome after the break, the blade runner's time distance. south african superstar athlete sentence. >> it would be a sad day for this country if an impression

were to be created that there was one law for the poor and disadvantaged and another for the rich and famous. >> after the stunning trial and outcome, was justice served for reeva steenkamp. also ahead - the race to elections. in this critical midterm, why so many democrats are running away from their leader. our indepth coverage of "america votes >> america votes 2014 >> the race is still a dead heat >> filmmaker aj schack turns his camera towards elections in the swing states >> it shows you who these people are... in ways that you don't get to see from the short appearances >> unconventional... >> if i can drink this... i don't see why you should be able to smoke that... >> unscripted... >> we gonna do this? >> ...and uncensored... >> are you kidding me? >> america votes 2014 midterms the series continues only on al jazeera america

>> every saturday, al jazeera america brings you controversial... >> both parties are owned by the corporations. >> ..entertaining >> it's fun to play with ideas. >> ...thought provoking >> get your damn education. >> ...surprising >> oh, absolutely! >> ...exclusive one-on-one interviews with the most interesting people of our time. >> you're listening because you want to see what's going to happen. >> i want to know what works what do you know works? >> conversations you won't find anywhere else. >> talk to al jazeera. >> only on al jazeera america. >> oh my! it's a case and trial that transfixed the world the the south african paralympic athlete, oscar pistorius, the blade runner,

sentenced to 5 years in prison for the shooting death of his girlfriend valentine's day last year. months of gut-wrenching testimony lead to manslaughter, culpable homicide. as "america tonight"s lori jane gliha reports, the judge has explained her sentence. >> it would be a sad day for this country if an impression were to be created that there was one law for the poor and disadvantaged, and another for the rich and famous. >> reporter: the judge called her sentence fair, before handing down the penalty for oscar pistorius. >> count one, culpable homicide. the sentence imposed is the maximum imprisonment of five years. [ cheering ] >> reporter: outside the courtroom oscar pistorius's family addressed the cloud. >> we accept the judgment.

oscar will embrace this opportunity to pay back to voty. >> reeva's parents acknowledged the sentence - knowing oscar pistorius may only serve 10 months behind bars, with a chance to come out and be placed op house arrest. >> do you think justice has been served. >> yes. >> are you happy, satisfied? >> we are satisfied. >> police whisked oscar pistorius away to begin his sentence, as many reflect on his past. >> he was once a revered sports hero. a sprinting star, an inspiration to the world. as the first double amputee to compete in the olympic games, he was an athletic anomaly, a history maker, a game changer. his whole world changed on valentine's day 2013, when he shot and killed his girlfriend

reeva steenkamp. >>: >> reporter: it was less than two years ago when oscar pistorius was living the dream. overcoming incredible odds from the time he was a boy. >> i grew up in a house with my parents. mum said, "oscar, you put on my legs", and my brother "you put on your shoes." that's the only difference. i grew up thinking my legs were different shoes. we grew up in a carefree typical south african household, and never had any

worries or issues. >> reporter: oscar pistorius was gosh without fibula bones, so doctors amputated his legs when he was a baby. he mastered prosthetics. >> i played sport with kids in the community, i went to the same school with my brother and sister and got on with light. kids initially are reserved. as you get going, they see that you don't have any problems. >> i was certainly taken aback by an incredible youngster, who had a disability, but life was not getting him down. >> south african sports journalist gram jovy says oscar pistorius was a confident kid when he met the rising star 15 years ago. >> there was talk about a young kid who would be the next paralympic star. i think oscar's dream was to run with able-bodied athletes. his goal was to be able to run

with able-bodied athletes. he challenged the system. >> i met oscar when he was 13. he got into athletics, on the strength of his ability to run the 100 meters and break the world record on a first attempt. he was rushed into the paralympic team to go to athens. david o'sullivan featured the teenage oscar pistorius on his radio show. >> we didn't know his name or his disability. he was quiet and shy. >> it was long before the unassuming young man graced the pages of "time" twice, as one of the most influential people in the world. >> he became an incredible role model not only in south africa, but around the world. the status was massive. so much power from being a disabled athlete and what he was about to achieve, and took it to a whole other level. >> with his carbon

fibre blades, his faith was on power with some of the most elite able-bodied athlete. he fought to compete against him. he was shut down. oscar pistorius appealed. >> we went to university and conducted three weeks of testing. we looked at prosthetics, deceleration, energy, expenditure, straddling, spring time. we went to the court of arbitration for sports, all three in the case agreed in our favour. we had a unanimous decision. >> he was making great strides and history by racing in the 2012 ploem olympic games. he didn't meddle. that didn't matter. >> it didn't harm him that he was a good looking kid or that he knew how to handle the media.

this is part of what made up oscar pistorius. the fact he had overcome odds and achieved so much meant he would inspire others coming behind him. more than that, it was anybody that felt they couldn't achieve something in whatever world they belonged to. they looked at oscar pistorius, and got inspiration. >> he went on to win gold and was named one of people magazine's sexiest people alive. >> he met reeva steenkamp, a model and paralegal turned tv parliamentary, three months later he shot and killed her, claiming that he thought she was an intruder. >> the first thing that ran through my mind was i needed to arm myself, i needed to protect reeva and i. >> the prosecutor, known as the pitbull and a bulldog, for his cross-examination showed pictures of stephen's body.

>> you know the same happened to reeva's head, exploded. have a look. >> as i picked up, my fingers toucheder head: >> unfortunately there's only one person that will no the truth. that's himself. for me the tragedy is a family lost a daughter, a sportsman that has gone from hero to zero, the family lost a life. that is a tragedy

journalist is the author of "behind the door - the oscar and reeva story", and he was in the courtroom during the sentencing. and joins us via skype. barry, oscar pistorius was emotional, he appeared that way at so many point during the trial. how was he at sentencing? could you see his face? >> today was entirely different and surprisingly so. as you said, going back from the first routine, significant emotion from oscar pistorius, during the judgment that was handed down last month, the two days on the first day of sentencing in particular, he was emotional. becoming ill. today it appeared that he was well briefed or prepped about what would happen, and not just him, the entire oscar pistorius family. the judge asked him to rise, hand down the sentence. there was little enotion motion. -- emotion.

he turned around. the world saw it. he had a blank expression. he was led to the holding cells where he would be processed before being taken to prison. he briefly shook his uncle's hand and appeared resigned to prison. >> does that mean he'll go to the germ population prison, where he'll get special limitations? >> we heard last week during the ag ra vasion of sentence, we had the acting national commissioner of correctional services tell the court that the correctional facility he's going to, the area that has the designated or equipped to handled disabled inmates is the health facility at the correctional center. so he won't be going to the general population part of the prison, he'll go to the health facility. we understand he will or has been allocated a single cell.

special treatment, but special treatment in the fact that he is a disabled person, and does have special needs. >> after all the controversy over this case, i'm struck by graham jovy, who had known oscar pistorius for a long time, known him well and said today "look", he didn't think the sentence was long enough. i wonder what the general reaction is in the south african community. is there unanimity of believing sentence. >> i think like every phase that we have gone through in this trial, south african society is divided. we had people - this is what i'm caging from social media. peopling coming up and saying at the least oscar pistorius is going to see the inside of a gaol cell. so there's some relief there. if you look at the application of the legislation in the terms of this sentence, five years, he'll be eligible to apply for correctional supervision, which

is essentially house arrest after serving between 8-10 months. after 8 months he could be out. so in that regard, i think south africans feel that justice has not been served but perhaps the way we should see it is looking to the steep -- reeva steenkamp family, they issued a statement saying they are satisfied. oscar pistorius will not appeal. perhaps we should take a cue from them in the fact that the stooep camp and oscar feel that justice has been served. >> thank you looking ahead to tomorrow on our programme - crime and justice in this country. whether a commonly used police tactic is too forceful. >> i can't breathe. the more i talk, the tighter, the more he put pressure and tensed up his muscles. it got tighter and tighter around my neck.

>> the death of a suspect as n.y.p.d. officers try to control choke-hold. >> "america tonight"s sara hoy reports on the complaints and why few of them find justice. our indepth look at chokeholds tomorrow on "america tonight". ahead - with election day two weeks away, why so many democrats are running away from their president. federal authorities have charged seven people with conspiring with al qaeda. >> since 9/11 the us has spent has spent billions of dollars on domestic counter-terrorism operations. >> i wanted to be in on the big game and to be paid top-dollar for it. that's it. >> many of these involved targeted informant led stings. >> to them, everyone in the muslim community is a potential informant or a potential terrorist.

>> on al jazeera america, >> a team of scientists are taking their inspiration from nature. >> technology...it's a vital part of who we are >>they had some dynamic fire behavior... >> and what we do.... >> transcranial direct

stimulation... don't try this at home! >> tech know's team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> this is my selfie... what can you tell me about my future? >> ...can effect and surprise us... >> sharks like affection >> tech know, where technology meets humanity... only on al jazeera america

>> audiences are intelligent and they know that their needs are not being met by american tv news today. >> entire media culture is driven by something that's very very fast... >> there has been a lack of fact based, in depth, serious journalism, and we fill that void... >> there is a huge opportunity for al jazeera america to change the way people look at news. >> we just don't parachute in on a story...quickly talk to a couple of experts and leave... >> one producer may spend 3 or 4 months, digging into a single story... >> at al jazeera, there are resources to alow us as journalists to go in depth and produce the kind of films... the people that you don't see anywhere else on television. >> we intend to reach out to the people who aren't being heard. >>we wanna see the people who are actually effected

by the news of the day... >> it's digging deeper it's asking that second, that third question, finding that person no one spoken to yet... >> you can't tell the stories of the people if you don't get their voices out there, and al jazeera america is doing just that. as we continue our indepth look at "america votes 2014," we look at kansas, it's as red as it can get. president obama lost by 20 points. new governor, won in a landslide. two years later led a purge of moderate republicans from state government. the governments agenda was too extreme for members of his own party, and some republicans are fighting back. tonight, the first of a 3-part series on the battle for kansas, as "america votes 2014." [ cheering ]

>> good morning everyone, and welcome to theansas state fair in hutchison, in what could be a pivotal year in kansas politics. >> reporter: in the race for governor of kansas, challenger paul davis is running neck and neck with the back. >> good morning, kansas. good morning kansas state fair. >>. >> welcome mr davis, good to have you here. i've been coming to these for over 40 years, and i love the kansas get together. >> i'm paul davis, i'm a moderate. commonsense leader, an independent thinker. that's why i'm supported by over 100 current and former republican elected officials. the governor's experiment is not working. we are trailing surrounding states and the rest of the

country in virtually every economic growth indicator there is, and it is one star state deep in debt. >> sam brow back ran in 2010, a huge year, and won a sweeping victory here. he also brought in with him a very, very conservative representatives. >> he became one of the most powerful governors in politics. governor brow back felt the state needed to do something. >> the brow back promise was something along the lines that we would cut taxes and there would be a surge in employment, a surge in economic growth. and that certainly hasn't happened. in fact, what has happened is that as you might expect, when you cut taxes substantially, revenues have plupinged. >> last year kansas lost a fifth of its tax revenue.

two credit agencies lowered the bond rating. >> clearly there's a lot of disfaction for a politician line the governor to fight for his political life. story. >> as governor brow back enact sweeping restrictions on abortion. pro-life groups mobilized to support him. >> i'm a mother and grandmother. since i've been 25, i've been involved in the pro-life movement. when governor brow back came on the scope, there was a lot of desire to pass pro-life bills. we needed them. paul davis voted 80 times against pro-life pills. -- bills. the differences are clear and severe. for us it's a gift. >> conservatives do show up, they feel passionately about the issues, they get out and vote. >> i'm pro life, he is not.

important. >> the people of kansas are by and large conservative. they tend to be republican and conservative. there's a group of 100 republicans against brow back much every person on there that's been elected was voted out of office in part because of this issue. >> i'm pretty conservative, but they went nuts. we had the weirdest builds coming before the legislature, weird things. i was born here, fifth generation. governor brownback, i have known him since he was in high school,

he's well known. immediately he came in with extremely conservative and very out on the edge budget cuts that changed how the state of kansas is financed. he used to say we had a three legged stool - income tax and self tax and property tax. and that was a three-legged stool. he's eliminated the income tax part. and that sounds really good, because nobody wants to pay more income txes. axes, but we have basic responses. the school distributes will have to rely more and more on lobal property taxes to fund their education system. that's not what we want to do. >> school districts cut spending in the classroom. more cuts are expected if the

tax policies continue. >> we've been a champion for public schools. that's why i oppose governor brownback's largest cutback to schools history, and will make restoring the cuts my top priority as governor. >> everything you have heard from representative davis is wrong, i'm sorry to say. number one - there are more kansas working now than ever in the history of the state. number two - we put more money and education than ever in the history of the state. let's go through this cut much the cut was the obama stimulus money rolling away that paul davis agreed putting in the budget. he left a first call train wreck in the state of kansas, and he's the de. leader, the nancy pelosi of kansas. .

>> that's what he did. >> governor, you can blame everyone you want. the fact that remains is that you made the single largest cut to public school funding. all you have to do is talk to the teachers, i talked to a teacher the other day. over 30 kids she had in her classroom because of cuts to public schools that you've made. >> reporter: teachers across the state are mobilizing in grassroots effort to defeat governor brownback. i'm a republican that voted for brown back. i have not seen a positive cheap, with our state and the economy where it's at, we have to literally have committee meetings to make decisions on where to cut next. if we have brown back again, in january, when the legislature conversations. >> i'm a special education

teacher. we have a sense in our state that government is broken. >> we used to have a commonsense approach on the state. a value of public schools, and that, i think, has lit a fire under the teacher, because they under that people are attacking - public schools are attacking students and teachers, and they have to stand up and do something. we have to do something. this is the election, we are state. >> one question, a fair question to acknowledge is did governor brownback. does he deserve to have time to see if his dam cuts give him time or succeed in the long run. we don't know if that will happen or not depending on what the voters decide. >> it's a small democratic process. you have a governor, he announces plan, implemented his perhaps and is now being judged on them. that is a pretty good demonstration of

democracy. and he certainly can win, without any question. doubt. >> we'll see. right now the race is too close to call. we'll follow mary k kult, and the other over the next two weeks as the battle for cannes assist heats up. >> ahead in our final segment - saying goodbye. >> i don't like to think about life without luther. the book is called "my life with luther", i don't like to thing about that. i know - i know that that day will come. and it will be a sad day. >> good morning, you have a missing dog? >> yes, i do now it is a sad day. ahead we remember an icon we remembered on "america tonight". the world's oldst d.j., a man with one sentence brought chatta

>> pain killer addiction on the rise >> i loved the feeling of not being in pain >> deadly consequences >> the person i married was gone >> are we prescribing an epidemic? >> the last thing drug companies wanted anybody to think was that, this was a prescribing problem >> fault lines, al jazeera america's hard hitting... >> today they will be arrested... >> ground breaking... they're firing canisters of gas at us... award winning investigative documentary series... opioid wars only on al jazeera america

tonight the fashion world mourns an icon. oscar de la renta dressed stars for more than 40 years, but it was first lady jackie kennedy who put the designer on the mat. other first ladies fell for his fashions. his signature look, luminous skirts, embroiled ris and rich covers. one of the last works, his wedding gown for george clooney's bride. he died after a long illness. he was 82 years old. we are also reflecting on an american icon.

luther, the world's oldest d j the the voice of that celebrated broadcaster silenced monday. last fall "america tonight" correspondent adam may had the honour of spending time with that radio legend. >> this is wdgf, radio chattanooga, 5.5 minutes after 9 o'clock. >> he is unlike anybody else. he is chattanooga. >> i'm looking out my window and i see nothing but a beautiful morning in chattanooga. >> luther is the oldest broadcaster in the united states. his career spans more than seven decades. and he still types his scripts on a royal typewriter. long-time co-worker and friend. >> i think luthar probably will die behind the microphone. it's something he loves, it's in

his fibre, and i think he'll do takes. >> his story begins at the town of world war ii, when 17-year-old luther was working at a gas station, the owner of a local baseball team joe engel was starting a radio station. he pulled in looking for gas, but found more. >> he said "you have a good voice, you interested in radio?" i said "i haven't thought much about it, i guess so." he said "we are having audition , come down." i said "i'll be there." "go in and read in." i wept in and read it. he said "you and all right, would you like to be the apprentice or cub announcer." "i'll take it." luther launched a career at that moment that kept going. >> louie jordan with "it's been said", nine minutes until 11.

and going as vinyl became tape, and is going to this day as tape became digital. >> i found a jack russell area. >> did you think back then that you would still be sitting in a radio booth today? >> this many years later, no, i did not. i didn't get in it saying i want to make a lifetime of this. it was pleasant work. good pay. not too much at the beginning, but, no, it was all right. >> cloudy skies. >> james howard has been luther's coe host for 20 years. he wrote a book called my life with luther, a look at their friendship and luther's influence on chattanooga. luther caused a gas shortage. what happened? >> it takes simple words out of luther.

what he says, people believe. luther went on the radio and said we have a gas shortage, and beware, we need to fill up. everybody did that. by the end of the day we were - there wasn't a drop of fuel in and around chattanooga. >> in the tennessee valley. >> that's right, exactly. >> anyone get mad at you for that. >> yes. they said "luther, don't do that again, that's aggravating." i said "i'll try not to." >> we managed to find one person who hardly ever listens to luther's show. >> you heard of talk about you on the radio and stuff? >> i really don't know, because i don't listen to the radio. i'm sorry. >> reporter: she doesn't listen to your show. everyone in chattanooga listens to your show. >> ground for divorce. >> mary and luther got married in 1957.

they live in the same house they moved into almost 60 years ago. >> we met in church. i knew his mother way before i knew him. >> reporter: when you heard he was a radio personality. >> did you change your mind? >> no, i maybe i should have. he was nice, sweet and calming. >> reporter: two kids later, two grandkids. still in love. >> still in love. >> yes. >> yes. anything. >> i wouldn't trade you for anything either. >> come on. >> honey. >> he is said to be the only person in the world who is on air for pearl harbour and inch. in addition to working his morning radio shift, the 91-year-old appeared daily since the 1950s on wdef television.

[ clapping ] imented luther, welcome to the hall of fame. that is yours. . >> luther was welcomed into the national radio hall of fame last year, and chattanooga also gave him its own honour. >> reporter: what is it like when you drive by this sign on the way to work every day? >> it's a good feeling, because they spelt the name right. >> reporter: luther, you are, i think, it's fair to say, the oldest dj in the u.s. right now. >> that's what they say, yes. title? >> people kid me about it, when you going to retire? >> i said i have no plans. if my voice starts failing as it does in an older person, and i'm at that old age now, the 1, but if it begins to quifr, i'll down. >> i think it's incredible when

you go around the town, the way people react to him. i can only imagine what it would be like when he is gone. have you thought about that? >> yes. >> reporter: a big loss. >> yes, absolutely. absolutely. i don't like to think about life without luther, because the book is called "my life with luther." i don't like to think about that. i know - i know that that day will come. and it will be a sad day "america tonight"s adam may remembering luther as chattanooga always will finally, we remember the legendary ben bradbury as executive editor of

"the washington post", he was 93 years old, leading the water gate scandal coverage tomorrow, crime and justice and a controversial tactic - the choke hold. new critical attention focussed on a tender police practice. sara hoy with a look at the concerns on both sides. >> if you would like to comment on any stories you have stephen, log on to the website aljazeera.com/americatonight and join the conversation on twitter or facebook. goodnight. more of "america tonight" tomorrow. >> an american votes 2014 special report kansas >> in our state, government is broken >> a republican governor has made drastic changes >> the highlight of this is... eventually doing away with income taxes... >> the democratic challenger says, these policies aren't working >> we are trailing the

states in our region >> can governor brownbac win again? >> i think you spend your money better than the government spends it.. >> america votes 2014 battle for kansas only on al jazeera america his i "real money". his i