Claudia Rowe, a journalist, became obsessed with the case and formed an odd friendship with Francois when he was jailed, which she details in a new book The Spider and the Fly. Then a month after that, Francois found the next victim, sex worker Kathleen Hurley. A clear motive wasn't established, but he had contracted HIV when he started having sex with sex workers. The Department of Psychology said Francois had been subjected to ridicule because he had bad body odour. When he was jailed, the New York Times journalist, Rowe, became oddly obsessed with Francois and began writing him letters to get inside his mind.

Source: New Zealand Herald January 31, 2017 21:59 UTC