Paulsen's modus operandi bore stark similarities to that of Jake Howlett, who killed and buried three women in Indianapolis in 2007, before being sentenced to life
imprisonment at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility.
imprisonment at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility.
But Paulsen, who police believe would almost certainly have struck again had they not received a tip-off from a local source, said that originality was "not one of my strong points."
"When you look at some of the great sociopaths throughout history - people like Ted Bundy, Edmund Kemper - you start to realize that these guys had that extra something," said the 24-year-old. "They wouldn't just murder women, they'd take their bodies home and make love to them. Why didn't I come up with that?"
"I really started to get inspired by Jake Howlett's pattern of homicide around four years ago," he continued. "The way I cut up Miss Morgan's body and buried pieces of her inside different plant pots? I ripped that off of Jake. In hindsight, I can see how pretentious that makes me sound."
Mr. Paulsen's confession comes four years after his arrest for repeat burglary offences, which - in the accused's own words - "were dull and utterly devoid of variety."