Introduction
Even though serial killers have been around forever the name “serial killer” has only been around since 1970. Before this, serial killers were known as “stranger killers”. The name “serial killer” came from the word “series”, since this is the way that a serial killer kills, in series’ (Huppert, 2003) Serial killers have only been acknowledged for about 125 years. The acknowledgment came with Jack the Ripper. Serial killers tend to be white, heterosexual, males. They tend to be between the ages of 20 and 30 years old. Serial killers are dysfunctional and usually have very low self-esteem (Huppert, 2003). They will also usually keep some sort of trophy from their victims.
Serial killer characteristics
A serial killer is identified through seven characteristics. First; killings are separate. There are usually cooling-off periods between murders. Killings last for months or years and will often last until the killer is caught or until the killer dies.
Usually, at least five victims will be killed by a serial killer. Second; killings will be performed one on one. Killings will occasionally be two on one. Third; victims are rarely known by the killer. Likewise, killers are rarely known by their victims. They hardly ever have any previous relationships with their victims. Fourth; although there is usually a pattern, motives are not clear, visible, or rational. Fifth; killers will often commit new murders before the previous victim has even been found. This characteristic has been around only since the invention of convenient travel mechanisms. Sixth; serial killers will often over-kill their victims. Even after the victim is dead, they will perform sexual acts, or continue to beat or torture their victim’s body. Seventh; the weapons of choice for serial killers will be a rope or knife.
Serial killers will usually have very high IQ scores. They are usually average-looking white males. The killers will usually have a clean background and nice family history. They will be living in urban areas with well-paying jobs. The terrible triad is three characteristics of children that almost every serial killer will have when they are young. 60% of all children will wet the bed after the age of 12 years old. They will almost always be fascinated with fire. Serial killers will also enjoy killing small animals as children (Jack, 1985).
Ted Bundy
Serial killing is the most malicious crime a human being can commit in our society. Many people believe you are born a serial killer but that is simply not true. No one is born a serial killer; their surroundings and social groups create the murderer. Many people wonder how such an intelligent and, highly accomplished man such as Bundy would be able to kill so many women. Ted Bundy was one of the most famous serial killers of the 20th century. When looking at Ted Bundy’s case it was his lack of guidance from parents, rejection from social groups and, constant rejection from women, which led him to become a serial killer. These factors all added to make Ted Bundy vengeful, bitter, and mentally unstable.
Although Ted Bundy was a good-looking, intelligent, and respected man, horrible secrets were hidden from outwards appearances. Ted Bundy’s full name is Theodore Robert Bundy and he was born on November 24th in 1946. His place of birth was Burlington, Vermont. When he was born his mother was only twenty-two. Bundy’s father was never involved as he had only dated Bundy’s mother a few times and was in the armed forces. Ted Bundy was put in foster care for the first two months of his life because in 1946 illegitimate children were looked down upon. Bundy’s grandparents took him in as an adopted child and told others that his mother was his sister. Bundy went through childhood thinking his mother was his sister and his grandparents were his parents. Ted admired his grandfather and his grandfather was fond of Bundy. His grandfather was verbally abusive towards other members of the family, as well as physically abusive to his wife and family pet. Bundy’s environment was even worse because of the depression his grandmother faced, which was eventually treated with electroshock therapy.
As Bundy got older it was harder to hide his identity. So when Bundy was four his biological mother moved to Washington and married John Bundy. John then adopted Ted. Bundy always had excellent marks in the school attended boy scouts and church regularly, although he was known to have a violent temper especially when provoked. Eventually, he attended Washington University and fell in love with Stephanie Brooks in 1967. This relationship ended in 1968. Bundy’s first murder was Lynda Ann Healy on January 31, 1974. He killed countless women until he was finally sentenced to death on July 23rd, 1979. There is evidence to say he killed 30 women but many people believed it to be 40 or even some believe it to be close to 100. Bundy’s victims were all white, females, attractive, middle or upper-middle class and, young. Bundy had different methods to get his victims one included pretending he needs help with his car. Another way to attack women at night when they were alone. Bundy would usually beat his victim in the head with an object until they were unconscious. Some of the victims died quickly due to head injuries while others were alive for up to several days. Well, the victim was unconscious Bundy was able to rape them, engage in various forms of abnormal intercourse, as well as mutilation. In some cases, he inserted objects into the vagina. Bundy sometimes kept body parts and was even known to apply make-up after death. He was finally executed in 1989.
A major factor Leading to the murders in Ted Bundy’s life was his constant rejection from women and social groups. All through grade school Bundy was made fun of and publicly humiliated. Students recall Bundy never quite fitting in at school and had a violent temper, especially when rejected or provoked. A second-grade teacher once broke a ruler on his hand for punching a student in the face. Bundy says this is when he first started feelings of “disturbing uneasiness” as described in his own words. Bundy found it very difficult to make friends and spent most of his time alone. Bundy tried out for basketball and baseball but never made the teams, thus having a constant feeling of rejection. This is when he started to ski, a sport he could do alone. Bundy felt rejected because he was not of upper-middle-class background. He resented the fact a lot because he was rejected from those peer groups.
Types of serial killers
There are six types of serial killers. First; there are visionary motive killers. These killers claim to hear voices or to see images that make them kill. They are psychotic killers. Second; mission-orientated killers display no signs of psychosis. These are the family men appearing to have the perfect past. Mission-orientated killers feel a need to rid the world of whatever they see as immoral. These are the types of serial killers that will target gays, minorities, and prostitutes. Third; thrill-orientated killers kill for the fun of it. They enjoy the excitement they get from killing and torturing their victims. Fourth; lust killers will kill for sexual pleasure. The more these killers torture their victims the more they will get sexually excited. Fifth; gain killers will kill a person for personal gain. They will often steal their victims’ money, wallet, and personal belongings. This type of killer will also kill for personal gain besides wealth.
Along with this, there are stable and transient killers. Once serial killers are broken down into the seven groups above, they are broken down into stable or transient killers. Both types of characteristics have six characteristics each. A stable killer is identified by first; living in one area for a long period. Second; stable killers will hunt and kill from the same local area. Third; bodies will be disposed of in the same or similar areas. Fourth; the disposal site is collected for concealment of the killer and body. Fifth; stable killers are known to return to the scene of the crime. Sixth; stable killers will seldom travel. Transient killers are the other type of serial killers. They are classified by first; seldom staying in one place for a long period. They usually do not stay put for longer than a few weeks. Second; crimes will be committed throughout a large area. Third; transient killers dispose of the bodies in random areas. Fourth; the disposal sites of the bodies are determined by convenience for the killer. Fifth; the killer will seldom return to the scene of the crime. Sixth; transient killers will travel a lot. They enjoy traveling for fun and business (Shaffer, D 2002).
Types of crime scenes
Something that helps classify a serial killer is the crime scene. The crime scene is split into four different types. First; organized crimes are 75% of all serial crimes. Organized crime scenes show planning and an individual who knows what he is doing. Organized crimes are always planned out. The body will be moved from the actual crime scene and hidden. The killer demands submissive victims. The victims are also usually strangers. The killer will personalize his victims. The crime scene shows control of the killer over the victim. Aggressive acts are usually performed on the victim before death. Restraint kits are often brought and used, however, evidence will never be left behind. Second; disorganized crime scenes are more hurried. The killer uses materials at hand. The offense is spontaneous, and the body is left at the death scene. The killer will depersonalize his victims. Evidence and the body of the victim will be left in plain sight. Crime scenes of disorganized killers will be sloppy and messy, also sexual acts will usually be performed on the victim after death. Third; mixed crime scenes have characteristics of both disorganized and organized crime scenes. This could mean that there is more than one killer, that the killer was interrupted, or that the killer is trying to stage the scene. Fourth; atypical crime scenes are crime scenes that can not be put into any of the above groups. The bodies are usually decomposed. The killer could have his repetitive patterns, or could be a copycat (Shaffer, D 2002).
Serial killer statistics
The U.S. makes up 76% of the world’s serial killers. California is responsible for most of the United States’ serial killers. California has had about 35 reported serial killers in its past. These 35 killers have been responsible for at least 350 deaths in California alone (John, 1996). Patrick W. Kearny was responsible for 28 deaths between 1975 and 1977. Kearny was a freeway killer. He was an extremely neat and good-looking homosexual male. He was an Army veteran. Kearny would dismember the victims’ bodies and toss them onto the freeway into garbage bags in Redondo Beach. Charles Ng and Leonard Lake are responsible for the deaths of 25 between 1982 and 1985. They had a torture chamber and snuff parlor in northern California. They were caught after being arrested for shoplifting at a local supermarket. Juan Corona killed 25 men in the early 1970s. Juan was a farmworker in Yuba City. He would sexually assault other male workers. Then to prevent the males from talking to others he would hack them to pieces with an ax. Richard Ramirez was responsible for at least 16 murders in the 1980s. Ramirez was known as the L.A. Night Stalker. He would break into houses rape his victims and then kill them. After he killed his victims he would party in their house.
Randy Kraft was a “Freeway Killer”. He was responsible for at least16 lives. Kraft was finally caught in May 1983. Kraft would pick up young marines in Orange County and kill them. He was sentenced to death on September 11, 2000. William Bonin killed at least 14 people in the 1970s. Bonin was another “Freeway Killer”. Bonin was a truck driver in Downey, California. He would pick up teenage boys hitchhiking, and kill them. Bonin was the first lethal injection in California. William Lester Snuff killed anywhere from 13 to 22 people during the late 1980s. Snuff was also known as the “Riverside Prostitute Killer”. In 1974 William beat and killed his 2-year-old daughter. In 1984 Snuff was let out on parole. A few years later Snuff went on a killing spree. Snuff was finally found guilty in 1995.
Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buon also known as the “Hillside Strangler” murdered at least 10 people in the late 1970’s. They would impersonate cops in Hollywood. Bianchi and Buon would pick up hookers, kill them, and then put them in provocative positions. Edmund Kemper III murdered 10 in the early 1970s. Kemper hated his mother so much that he first killed his grandparents. He would then find coeds with similar characteristics to his mother and he would kill them. Kemper would then cut off their heads and bury them in his mother’s yard facing her bedroom window. After burying their heads he would have sex with the decapitated bodies.
David J. Carpenter killed 10 people in the early 1970s. Carpenter was known as the “Trailside Killer” in San Francisco. David would kill women and then dispose of their bodies along the trailside of a park. Dorothy Puente killed anywhere from 8 to 25 senior citizens in the late 1980’s. Puente owned a boarding house in Sacramento. She would kill and bury senior citizens that stayed at her boarding house. Puente would continue to cash in their social security checks.
Loren Joseph Herzog and Wesley Howard Shermanter killed at least 6 teens in Stockton in the late 1980s to early 1990s. Douglas Edward Gretzler and Willie Luther Steelman were other teams that killed during the early 1990s. They were responsible for at least 16 murders.
Robert Joseph Silvera was known as the “Boxcar Murderer”. He killed at least 14 and was caught at the Sacramento train station in 1995. Herbert Mullin also had a nickname was the “Mercy Killer” from Santa Cruz. Mullin killed 13 in the early 1970s. Gerald Parker from Orange County was known as the “Bedroom Basher”. Parker killed at least 6 in the late 1970s.
Vaughn Greenwood was an African American serial killer. Vaughn killed 11 between 1974 and 1975. Cops found smashed pills in the already slashed throats of his victims. Johnnie Malarkey killed 10 in 1993. Seven of Johnnie’s kills were at a club in Fresno. He barged into the club and just opened fire. Malarkey could be considered both a serial killer and a mass murderer.
Cleophus Prince Jr. killed 6 women in San Diego in the early 1990s. Morris Solomon killed at least 6 female hitchhikers in Sacramento in the 1980s. Ricardo Caputo was known as the “Lady Killer”. Caputo killed at least 4 women in the mid-1990s in the Las Angeles area.
Douglas Clark and Carol Bundy were boyfriend and girlfriend in L.A. They killed at least 6 female prostitutes in the early 1980s. They would hire prostitutes along the sunset strip. Carol would shoot the prostitutes while they were performing oral sex on Doug. They would then cut off the heads of the victims and put make-up on their faces. Richard Trenton Chase was responsible for 6 deaths in the late 1970s. Chase was known as the “Vampire Killer”. Chase was killed in Sacramento is only a four-day-long killing spree. Chase would kill his victims, mix their blood and body organs, and then drink them. Juan Chavez killed 5 L.A. citizens in the late 1990s. Chavez would kill his victims and steal their ATM cards. This is a rare case of a gain killer. Chavez was finally caught by a bank teller ATM video camera.
Ramon Jay Rogers killed at least 3 women in the mid-1990s. Roger would kill his girlfriends and collect their body parts. Wayne Adam Ford killed female hitchhikers in Eureka in the late 1990s. Ford would kill the women and save their breasts. Harvey Murray Glatman killed and raped at least 3 women in Hollywood in 1958. Darrell Rich killed 4 women in Shasta in 1978. Earle Nelson was responsible for the deaths of 22 women in 1926. He would rape and strangle the women. Earle was known as the “Gorilla Murderer”. Gerald and Charlene Gallego was a Sacramento couple that killed 10 during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Lawrence Bittaker and Ray Norris were another serial killing duo. They killed at least 5 in the 1980s.
Randall Woodfield was yet another “Freeway Killer”. He killed all along interstate 5. Woodfield was responsible for 13 deaths in the 1980s. Andrew Uridales was responsible for the deaths of at least 8. Uridales were killed during the early 1990s. Roger Kibbe killed at least 2 during the 1980s. Herbierto Seda killed 3 people in 1992. Seda was a “Zodiac Killer”. Seda lived in San Francisco. Seda planned to kill someone from every zodiac sign. ( Jill, 1995).
Throughout the U.S. the rate of serial killers in the last 30 years has increased 940%. There are at least 35 killers loose. By 2010 serial killers will probably account for 11 deaths a day (John, 1996). However, in California, serial killer deaths have dropped from 1975 to 1995. In the 1970s there were 12 serial killers in California accounting for 146 deaths. In 1980 there were 10 serial killers in California accounting for 114 deaths. By 1990 the number dropped to 9 serial killers in California accounting for 75 deaths.
The FBI plays a large role in catching serial killers. Serial murders are incredibly hard for the cops to figure out, and this is why the federal government often steps in. A serial killer will have no reasonable explanation making them incredibly hard to understand. The next move is always unpredictable. The FBI developed the CPRP (Criminal Personality Research Project). The CPRP is an accumulation of past serial killers that helps the FBI understand more about serial killers. The Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP), and the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) were also developed by the FBI to help end serial murders.
Categorizing a serial killer
There is a phrase that is used to describe a killer who is both medically and legally sane, who murders again and again and again until they are either captured or dead. That phrase/classification is “ËśSerial Killer.’ When most people hear that phrase we tend to think of a social outcast, who is horribly ugly and mentally deranged. This is generally not true. Most serial killers are very well-liked by those who know them, they are also very attractive to members of the opposite sex (or in the case of homosexual serial killers members of the same sex) and usually have an above-average I.Q. There are ways to categorize these vicious killers by the calling cards they leave at all of their crime scenes. This is what homicide detectives call “the signature” of the killer. It lies within the very nature of the killer that his signature will be recreated in every murder he commits. These categorizations include sadism, necrophilia, picquerism, and cannibalism.
When categorizing a serial killer as a sadist one must be careful to recognize its underlying significance and meaning. According to Webster’s online dictionary, sadism is “a sexual perversion in which gratification is obtained by the infliction of physical or mental pain on others. “Cannibalism is the first term to be considered in describing serial killers. When most people think of cannibalism they think of Dr. Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lector from The Silence of the Lambs, or more recently from the movie Hannibal. It is in such films that acts of cannibalism are glorified and made to look more outwardly than anything that could happen in real life. But they do. A cannibal is someone who eats the flesh or body parts of another human being in a ritualistic manner. This is often done to achieve some sort of unity with their victims. As you can see there are many categories of serial killers. These categorizations are often interpreted as the signature of a killer. The calling cards that a criminal leaves at all of his crime scenes are usually what law enforcement officials use and examine to catch the deranged killers before they strike again.
Why they kill?
Serial Killers can be thought of as one of the worlds “imperfections”. Why they kill? It is not known and there are no excuses for it but there are people who have come up with their own theories for that answer. It may be a Social problem or a Psychological problem; this essay will elaborate on some of those theories. Serial Killer are made, and not born into society because the Social Control Theory and Agnew’s General Strain Theory justify these claims. Aileen Pittman, born February 29th 1956 in Rochester, Michigan, is an example of a serial killer who follows under the Social Control Theory. Her teenage parents separated months before she was born and her father Leo Pittman moved on to serve time in Kansas and Michigan mental hospitals as a deranged child-molester. Her mother Diane Pratt left both her and her older brother Keith to their grandparents Laurie and Britta claiming they were crying, unhappy babies. Wuornos later adopted them.
Aileen’s childhood was ruff and being brought up by grandparents did not help the situation. Not having a mother around probably made her feel like she was not good enough to have her mothers love. When her grandmother Britta died of liver failure July 7th 1971 Diane suspected Aileen’s grandfather of murder, claiming he threatened to kill Aileen and Keith if they were not removed from his home. Seeing as how Aileen might have been threatened by her grandfather, a male, she started taking her anger out on men that were in her life; eventually killing 7 of them.
Ted Bundy took his first breath on November 24th 1946 and was forced to consider that his grandparents were his parents and his mother was his older sister. The news was kept from him in order to protect his birth mother from harsh criticism and prejudice of being an unwed mother. He never knew his birth father who was an air force veteran. As a youth Ted was shy and uncomfortable in social situations and was often the center of jokes made by bullies, but Ted always kept up a high grade point average. When in college Ted met a girl that changed his life, though they were different they loved to ski and would go on ski trip together where they fell in love. She liked Ted slot but thought he had no future goals or any real direction. When she broke up with him Ted never recovered and what started as love became obsession.
Ted Bundy fits into the Agnew General Strain Theory because once his girlfriend broke up with him and that was the only girl he ever truly loved. Agnew noted two different ways of identifying and measuring strain in a person’s life. The first way is the subjective approach, where the researcher directly asks the “individual if they dislike the way that they are being treated”. The second approach is the objective view, in which the researcher asks individuals about pre-determined causes of strain. Bundy’s emotional Strain was caused by his break-up which prevented him from reaching positively valued goals like finish college.
John Wayne Gracy Jr. was welcomed to the world the earth on March 17th 1982 in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in a loving home with a loving mother and 2 sisters but his father was a drunk who often beat up his family. He was born with a bottleneck heart, a serious condition, which made him very weak as a child and prevented him of playing sports in school. This Serial Killer falls under the Social Control Theory. His father was abusive and Gracy was victimized along with his mother and sisters. Seeing his father doing those things and making it seem as if he did not love his son would cause a young boy pain. Not getting to go to his father’s funeral made it worse because he never got to say good-bye the right way.
Serial Killer are made, and not born into society because the Social Control Theory and Agnew’s General Strain Theory justify these claims. Wuornos’ and Gracy’s situation seems to have started with some sort of childhood traumatization. Wournos she never really had any love from her parents and she seemed to do things as a cry for help and a plea for attention. Plus he grandfather supposedly threatened bother her and her brother so she may have taken her anger our on males. Gracy was just trying to be noticed by his father, he could not play sports because of his bottleneck heart and maybe because he could not find a common ground with his father or a common interest he felt he was not loved and chose to rebel, he was trying to get the love he could not from his father; but went about it the wrong way. Bundy was convinced he found the love of his life and thought she would always be there but that was not the case; so his love turned into obsession and he started killing girls in college that looked or reminded him of this perfect girl he couldn’t do without.
Upon tracing the steps of an individual’s childhood, many discoveries can be made, which lead to explanations behind such callous acts as murder. Socialization, and the family in particular, are major influences. Socialization is ‘the process by which children acquire the beliefs, values, and behaviors considered desirable or appropriate by the society to which they belong'(Shaffer, 2002). Modern researchers have rejected this simplistic model however, and favored more of a ‘systems’ approach. This approach basically recognizes that parents influence their children’s behavior. (Shaffer, 2002).
To what extent this occurs however, must be examined when investigating criminal behavior. We must look at an individual’s family situation and whether this has had a positive or negative influence on the individual’s life. Furthermore, when dealing with most criminals, it becomes necessary to take into account how much involvement their parents in fact had in their lives. This is apparent in many criminal cases. Aileen Wuornos was the child of teenage parents who abandoned her several times in her early life. Edmund Kemper was passed onto his grandparents after his parents divorced, and Charles Manson’s mother, who was a prostitute, used to pass him off to other people, and disappear for periods of time.
Aggression seems to be an important factor to look at when dealing with murderers. Aggression is generally, ‘behavior performed with the intention of harming a living being who is motivated to avoid this treatment’ (Shaffer, 2002). Aggressive behavior could result from upbringing, as previously mentioned, however it may also be triggered by emotion. This theory could be used to explain the behavior of Andrei Chikatilo, whose gruesome murders involved the mutilation of his victim’s genitalia, and other sex related acts. These could have been a result of his emotional aggression towards women as they teased him in the past about his impotence.
Such deviant behaviors as those previously explored, are also sometimes believed to be inherited. Although psychologists have typically assumed that our environments shape our personalities, family studies and other longitudinal projects reveal that many core dimensions of personality are genetically influenced. In terms of personality traits however, there is no such evidence to support that deviant behavior is inherited, apart from twin studies which reveal that many personality traits are ‘moderately heritable’ (Shaffer, 2002). Mental illness on the other hand, seems to be. Many serial killers suffer from psychoses which are ‘gross disturbances involving a loss of reality’ and these are ‘primarily genetic in origin, although childhood and adult experiences shape their expression.’ (Westen, 2002).
Schizophrenia is another mental disorder suffered by a collection of serial killers, and thus, could be explained as a cause for their actions. David Berkowitz, who killed after hearing voices, and Peter Sutcliffe were two serial killers diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenics. Rose West’s father was also a paranoid schizophrenic. Although she didn’t suffer from it herself, she may have had elements of it in her personality, as ‘most people with an underlying biological vulnerability, develop the disorder’ (Westen, 2002). Generally, schizophrenia is a term for a number of psychotic disorders that ‘involve disturbances in nearly every dimension of human psychology, including thought, perception, language, behavior, communication and emotion’ (Westen, 2002). Sufferers, such as Berkowitz and Sutcliffe, experienced ‘blunt emotional responses and performed socially inappropriate behaviors’ (Westen, 2002), which are known symptoms of the illness. Such an illness could therefore be an explanation for performing such negative behavior as murder.
As well as schizophrenia, personality disorders seem common in nearly all serial killers. Aillen Wuornos was believed to suffer from borderline personality disorder. This is marked by ‘extremely unstable interpersonal relationships, dramatic mood swings, an unstable sense of identity, manipulativeness and impulsive behavior’ (Westen, 2002), which sounds like the exact sort of behavior demonstrated by many murderers. However, the most common personality disorder suffered by serial killers, and perhaps the best explanation behind their actions, is that of an anti-social personality disorder. This is marked by ‘irresponsible and socially disruptive behavior in a variety of areas’, and sufferers experience a sheer lack of empathy or remorse. (Westen, 2002) Although not all murderers are diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder, the sheer ability to be capable of multiple murders, suggests signs of the disorder.
Tracing back one more step, and discovering what causes these personality disorders can lead to further explanations for such behavior as serial killing. Several studies implicate sexual abuse as a cause for borderline personality disorder, and thus is could be the constant abuse that Aileen Wuornos suffered from those men she solicited for sex, that caused her to suffer from it. In addition, a ‘chaotic home life, a mother with troubled attachment history, a male relative who is sexually abusive, and a genetic tendency towards impulsivity and negative affect’ provide fertile ground for the development of this disorder. Wuornos is a textbook case. She grew up with abuse, abandonment and violence, and didn’t find out that her grandparents weren’t in fact in her real parents until later in life, her mum was just a teenager when she had her and abandoned her, and her father was a sociopath who was convicted for the rape and murder of a seven year old child.
Antisocial personality disorder in many respects resembles that of borderline personality disorder, except that physical abuse is more common than sexual abuse, and biological contributions to the disorder are better established. ‘Both cognitive- behavioral and psychodynamic approaches implicate physical abuse, neglect and absent or criminal male role models’ (Westen, 2002). Once again, these conditions are generally all ones which were experienced and suffered by many known serial killers, thus providing further explanations for their behavior.
Most serial killers are sociopaths who feel no remorse for what they have done. Victims are usually seen as tools within society. These tools are there for only one reason and that is to fulfill the needs of the serial killer. The other important aspect to remember is that a serial killer has a strong desire for sexual sadism. They find pleasure in raping, mutilating, and sodomizing their victims to death. This gives a serial killer dominance and power over others. This is their source of greatest pleasure.
Predictions have been attempted but a number of problems exist within the aspect of prediction. There are a lot of white males ranging from the ages of late twenties to thirties who desire power and dominance in society but most of them truthfully do not commit brutal acts such as serial killing. Most serial killers have had a rough childhood through abuse or abandonment but it isn’t safe to say that all the children who are experiencing these things know are going to be our “future serial killers”. These unfortunate difficulties continue through out investigations and some times the only thing some authorities can rely on is luck.
In investigating a serial killer three types should be taken into consideration. There are the thrill killings that occur and these are the most popular of the three. Within the thrill there is sexual sadism and dominance over a victim. Next, there is mission style of serial killing and in this type there are the reformist and the visionary. Most serial killers that fall under this category believe that they are riding the world of the filth and evil that exists within society. Finally, there are the killings for the sake of expediency. Within this there are the killings that exist within a main plan of the killer.
The victims of serial killers are extremely vulnerable people within society. Examples are prostitutes, drug users, elderly people, and hitchhikers. The easier it is to obtain a person the most likely they are to becoming a victim. Possible victims such as these still do not put any care into the situation. Prostitutes would rather take the chance for the money than quit what they are doing. The serial killer called the “angel of death” is one who seeks out to kill the elderly. The power of this killer exists in the idea of playing God. These are one of the most difficult killings to investigate due to the fact that elderly people die every day.
Sadly enough most serial killings continue to be unsolved. These cases are extremely difficult to investigate and many problems tend to pop up for authorities. The killings are mainly done by complete strangers and with no motive making things very complicated. Profiles have been done to help authorities but the results only label a certain type of killer and not the actual killer. There is the organized and disorganized type of killers where the organized killer tends to be smarter and socially and sexually competent. These profiles are aids in ranging toward a group of suspects rather than point to one particular individual. Success rates in identifying serial killers are unfortunately very low.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there must be an agreement on how disturbing these situations can be. It is amazing, yet also scary, that serial killers are not that easy to pick out of a crowd. When thinking about its credit must be given to the authorities that strive to end these situations with all of the problems that exist in the investigation process. Also, there is always going to be the fear of becoming a victim but society cannot live a life of hibernation. Yes, a strict look out on the situation must exist but let us not forget to live our lives while we have them.
References
Huppert, M. (2003) ‘The Criminal Mind’ week 5 lecture ‘Biological Perspective’, Monash University.
Jack Levin and James Alan Fox, Mass Murder, America’s Growing Menace, 1985, Plenum Press.
Jill Serjeant, Mad or Simply Evil? Serial Killers test experts., Reuters, 1995.
John Douglas, Mind Hunter, Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit, Pocket Star Books, 1996.
Shaffer, D. (2002) ‘Developmental Psychology’ 6t Edition.
Westen, D. (2002) ‘Psychology: Brain, Behavior & Culture’, John Wiley & Sons Inc., USA.