What methods could one use to determine if a serial killer is at work?

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Alright, I read the news every day, and lately there seems to be an unusual amount of mysterious deaths. Just a hunch really. But I'm pretty keen and also paranoid so the fact I haven't had this occur to me before is decent enough of a starting point.

Tried to check missing persons reports for statistics to see if there was a spike, but there's too many problems with sample size and white noise to be able to get a firm read. Missing people naturally go up in the summer time, and there's false reports and double reports and reports that are obviously not murders, such as plane crashes.

So presumably the only option left is to see if there is a connection between certain deaths, but that's tricky too. How do you tell the difference between a crime of passion and a serial killer striking?

Anyway, here are the deaths/disappearances I consider potentially part of the pattern.

http://www.news1130.com/2017/07/26/no-arrests-one-week-teens-body-found-burnaby-park/

http://vancouversun.com/news/crime/homicide-police-say-body-found-in-mission-was-chelsey-gauthier

http://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/major-crime-unit-investigating-after-body-discovered-at-victoria-school-1.3558279

http://bc.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=2087&languageId=1&contentId=51599

http://-grc.gc.ca/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=2087&languageId=1&contentId=51734

any advice?