And it won’t be fun for you Pippa,’ he says. When Pippa attempts to escape, Strike blocks her exit, informing her that “‘If you go for that door one more time I’m calling the police and I’ll testify and be glad to watch you go down for attempted murder. Having detained her in his office, the detective asks for Pippa’s ID, revealing her trans status. In a scene from The Silkworm, a trans woman named Pippa attempts to stab Strike. Rowling’s latest literary affront to trans folks builds on the transphobic representation furthered earlier in the series. Williams, who had previously served as a commander in the Canadian military, was arrested in February 2010 and sentenced to two life sentences for first-degree murder, as well as an additional 122 years for the litany of other charges. Williams’ crimes are too recent to have influenced Levine’s portrayal, but they are markedly similar to the details of Brudos’ case.īetween 20, Williams broke into the homes of more than 80 women in order to steal their underwear, with two robbery attempts resulting in the rape and murder of his victims. Films such as Silence of the Lambs and Dressed to Kill reinforce a message that trans people are dangerous and not to be trusted, a theme that’s also prevalent in trans bathroom panic.

While Brudos’ story isn’t popularly known, his cinematic counterpart, Buffalo Bill, is widely cited as one of the key examples of the transgender serial killer trope. Sometimes described as “The Fetish Killer,” one of Brudos’ trademarks is that he would wear the clothing of his female victims. Brudos, who is responsible for the murders of four women in Oregon between the years of 19, was one of the inspirations for actor Ted Levine when he was conceiving the “Buffalo Bill” character in Jonathan Demme’s Oscar-winning 1991 film Silence of the Lambs.

The silence of the lambs books in order