My story really begins the day my father handed me my first copy of Nancy Drew—the spark that ignited my love and undying passion for reading, writing, and investigating. I was hooked, becoming a voracious reader. Consequently, becoming a writer of my own stories followed suit.
I started writing stories from a very young age, dreaming of being an author one day. My father is a published author, and I wanted to hand him my published work one day. My love for academia and research also came from my father, as he is a college professor. It did not take long for my thirst for knowledge, research, and investigation to lead me into forensic psychology.
As early as middle school, my dad remembers editing my book reports on forensic psychology topics. By high school, I was already reading forensic psychology focused on psychopathy college textbooks. Then, earning my degree from Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts.
I have advanced training at Death Investigation Academy and prison field training, including PREA, suicide prevention, boundary-setting, Inmate manipulation, de-escalation, restraint, CPR, and riot training.
Author Laura Brand beside the entry sign for California State Prison, San Quentin
It was at the age of twenty-six in 2014 when I traveled to San Quentin's death row to interview my first serial killer, Lawrence Bittaker, face to face. It was that year that I started my collective study on serial murders. Today, it is the largest collective study ever conducted and is still currently ongoing. Forensic Psychologist Dr. John White has joined to help scale and analyze the research, and our hope is to publish the study and our findings.
While doing research in the field of Forensic Psychology, I inadvertently got swept up in private investigations as I had started my own investigation back into the case of the toolbox killers. I started working for a P.I. agency in 2019 and am now studying to take the exam to become a licensed California Private Detective. I plan to write many more books on the experiences I encounter working on death row with serial offenders, but the investigations back into cases for the unknown. With a decade of experience on San Quentin's death row, I don't think I will be struggling for writing ideas for a very long time. I hope my trilogy, which is just centered on one case out there, truly shows all the secrets within San Quentin's Death Row walls.
Author Laura Brand
Laura Brand is a criminologist who has Interviewed over fifty serial killers as part of her work leading the largest collective study of serial offenders ever conducted. She has recently partnered with licensed forensic psychologist Dr. John White to help analyze and publish the groundbreaking findings.
Laura has spent the better part of the last decade inside the nation's most dangerous death row in the nation; San Quentin's death row. During one of her interviews here, Lawrence Bittaker, one of the most sadistic serial killers in American history, revealed to her where two of his missing victims are after staying silent for nearly forty years. Brand has made it her personal mission to recover the two girls' remains and identify all of his other unknown victims. Her work into the case was turned into a true crime documentary "The Toolbox Killer," streaming on Peacock.
Recovering missing victims, identifying john and jane does, as well as helping victims of sexual assault and domestic violence are issues that have become even more near and dear to Brand's heart after her best friend was murdered by her own cousin. Brand’s work with some of the nation's most dangerous serial killers has also fueled her fight for justice. Hearing the horrific details first hand from the offenders themselves has not only motivated Brand but has unequivocally sharpened her investigative skills into cases.
Laura's work has been featured in NBC & Fox news, Newsweek, Daily Mail, LAD Bible, The Independent, The Hollywood reporter, Distractify, Our culture magazine, E online and Oxygen. Laura is in the final stages of her first book which documents Brand's tenacious work re-examining the Lawrence Bittaker & Roy Norris case. She has also partnered with Strong island films for another true crime series in hopes of acquiring funding for victim search and recovery and victim identification from information Brand obtained from serial killers out of San Quentin's death row.
