Unlike the hit man who is seen as an established member of organized crime, the professional independent contract murderer is rarely described and is least understood of all the types of contract murderers. This article presented an in-depth psychological study of an independent professional contract murderer who killed over 100 people. He eluded law enforcement for 30 years and killed several associates who he believed could implicate him in various crimes. The homicides eventually led to his arrest. This professional contract murderer had a background of poverty and childhood abuse. However, as an adult, he pursued a middle-class lifestyle with his family kept totally separate from his criminal career. Also, he displayed a number of characteristics that helped him carry out his crimes in a well planned, methodical, and organized manner: adept social judgement; personality traits of orderliness, control, and paranoid vigilance; useful defense mechanisms of rationalization and reframing; and an exceptional ability to encapsulate emotions. Contract murderers, particularly the semiprofessional and professional, frequently elude law enforcement. Those who are apprehended are rarely examined psychologically causing them to be poorly understood and in some ways enigmatic. There should be a goal toward increased detection and apprehension, as well as intervention and prevention. References