Colin Ireland was called a serial killer "wanna-be" who bypassed his morbid daydreams in order to consciously and deliberately murder five gay males as part of a New Year's resolution to see if he could do it. His extreme planning and attempts to hide evidence made investigators' jobs more difficult. Ireland would call police stations and drop little hints, essentially taunting the police. His choice of homosexual male victims who he picked up at a local gay bar earned him the nickname "The Gay Slayer." He selected homosexual males because he figured that they would be less sympathetic victims in addition to the fact that they would be less likely to go to the police.