Sacrificial Killer Essay

The mind of a serial killer is not right and is considered a psychopath. This can be caused by brain damage. “After Henry Lee Lucas was convicted, he underwent numerous neurological tests that revealed fairly extensive brain damage. Small contusions indicated a frontal lobe injury, and there was damage to his temporal lobe and pools of spinal fluid at the base of his brain” (Vronsky, 2005). Lucas’s brain damage is just one cause. Another common reason is that the serial killer would of had an abusive childhood. “Traditionally, the answer has been a horrific upbringing. Most serial killers were abused as children, many hideously so.” (Sandi, n.d) This can have a range of different abusive activities. One example would be an abusive mother. The killer’s mother would have abused him therefore making him hate women. That would be an example of how a man killing female serial killer would relate. He would physically abuse the women just like his mother abused him. Another form of abuse is an alcoholic parent. The serial killer would wait outside of a bar and look to see of his potential victims were under the influence. If they were then they would most likely kill the person. A serial killer can also have a euphoric moment. He could see his

Statistically, the average serial killer is a white male from a lower-to-middle-class background, usually in his twenties or thirties. Many were physically or emotionally abused by parents. Some were adopted. As children, fledgling serial killers often set fires, torture animals, and wet their beds (these red-flag behaviors are known as the “triad” of symptoms.) Brain injuries are common. Some are very intelligent and have shown great promise as successful professionals. They are also fascinated with the police and authority in general (Scott).

Although serial killers come in all shapes and sizes, there is a general profile that criminologists go by when trying to profile a criminal. The typical serial killer is a white male in his late 20s to early 30s, kills within his own race, his targeted victims share specific characteristics, and his method of murder is “hands on” in means of strangulation. The types of serial killers include visionaries, missionaries, lust killers, thrill killers, gain killers, and power seekers. Depending on the type of serial killer, their profile may change; for example, certain clues from missionary-type killers can help decide their religious affiliation. Also, certain types of serial killers may generally have different age groups. Most serial

People who have been diagnosed with this cluster are sexually inappropriate, prone to a grandiose view of their own uniqueness and abilities, emotionally unstable, self-centered, lacking and sense of guilt, shame or empathy and are often superficially charming, manipulative and exploitative. Most serial killers exhibit a well known triad of behaviors in childhood: a fascination with fire, cruelty to animals and prolonged bed-wetting. Many become almost uncontrollably interested in pornography as teenagers and anti-social when they reach adulthood. Most were physically and/or sexually abused. However, they appear normal in surface appearance and behavior. Typically with this illness, comes overpowering waves of compulsion to kill that wax and wane over time but normally get worse with age. Serial killers are described by law enforcement as organized or unorganized. Organized killers often appear normal in their appearance and socially. They typically plan their killing, have a mode of transportation and bring some sort of murder “kit”, containing the tools they will need. Most serial killers don’t use guns. The victims usually fit into a certain profile (e.g. gender, race, hair color etc.) and they will hunt down their victims. The organized killer is more likely to have a crime scene picked out, take or discard the weapon, and move or transport the body to a hiding place. In contrast to the organized killer the

You’d be hard pressed to find one in a crowd. The average serial killer generally blends in with everyone else (Directory Journal, 2010). In fact, most are soft-spoken and even polite. Their monstrous nature only comes through when you dig deeper into their personalities, actions, and habits. Most seem to have come from dysfunctional family settings and were emotionally, sexually, or even verbally abused as children (Directory Journal, 2010). It is almost as if this background activates some psychological trigger that increases their feelings of inadequacy or worthlessness that led them to seek out their own heinous form of release.

They see these people as expandable and as a means to an end. They can be divided in two types of Hedonistic Serial Killers: killing for lust or for the thrill. The lust killer kills purely for sexual fulfillment. Their primary motive is sex, even after their victim is dead. They also get pleasure out of the murder. These murders are usually followed by cannibalism (eating the victim), necrophilia (sexual attraction to the corpse), or dismembering. They have a psychological need to be have absolute control and dominance over their victims, and the torture and ultimate death of their victim is an attempt to fulfill their need. They use weapons that require close contact with the victim (e.g. a knife or their hands) (Holmes & Holmes, 1998). Jeffrey Dahmer was a lust killer, after his victims were dead, he performed cannibalism, necrophilia and dismembering. The thrill killer kills purely for the pleasure he/she gets from killing. They usually take a long time to kill, they torture their victims before killing them. After their victims are dead, they lose interest. They believe that they will never be caught (Holmes & Holmes, 1998). Robert Hansen was a thrill killer, he took his victims to a secluded area where he would let them go and then hunt them

In order to identify serial killers before they kill repeatedly, a person needs to study the characteristics that makes up this type of criminals. Most serial killers have been abandoned, by one or both parents, they are emotionally, physically, and even

There are many common characteristics the serial killers tend to share. Many serial killers tend to exhibit varying degrees of mental illness which contributes to their homicidal behavior. They are often abused individuals, whether it be physically, emotionally or sexually. They tend to be more likely to engage in fetishism, partialism or necrophilia. The exhibit one or many of the Macdonald triad of predictors which include fascination with fire setting, are involved in sadistic activity which may take form in the torturing of animals, and they tend to wet their beds beyond the age of twelve. They also tend to have been bullied or socially isolated as children or adolescents. There are 4 main types of serial killers. The first is thrill

Richard Ramirez nick-named the night stalker, was an American serial killer who broke into homes all across California raping, torturing, and murdering victims. Ramirez's first known murder took place on June 28, 1984 when he attacked 79 year old Jennie Vincow, who was viciously sexually assaulted, stabbed and murdered during a burglary in her home. Ramirez's second known killing occurred almost nine months after his first attack. On March 17, 1985, he attacked Maria Hernandez, who escaped him, and then instead killed her roommate, Dayle Okazaki. He also shot and killed Tsai Lian Yu the same evening. This spree started a media frenzy that dubbed Ramirez the valley intruder. Ten days later, on March 27, Ramirez murdered 64 year old Vincent Zazzara and Zazzara's wife, Maxine. Ramirez used an attack style that would become a pattern for the him. Vincent was shot first, then Maxine was brutally assaulted and stabbed to death. Ramirez also gouged out Maxine Zazzara's eyes.

The general profile for a serial killer can be described as, but not limited to, Caucasian, male, and late 20s to early 30s in age, often killing within his own race, utilizing a “hands-on” method of murder, and selecting victims that share certain characteristics. However, more specific characteristics of a killer’s profile can vary based on his or her classification as either an organized or disorganized serial killer. Organized killers are typically very intelligent, meticulous, and charming, while disorganized killers usually have low IQ’s, lack close friends or family, and are extremely antisocial. Sometimes, a serial killer can be categorized as mixed; a mixed offender shows careful planning in his crime and indicates a high IQ within this process, but the murder in particular may be messy. Jack the Ripper is a prime example of a disorganized killer, as he primarily used overwhelming force to suddenly attack victims and left their bodies in the same place they were attacked. Ted Bundy is an infamous organized serial killer who was careful in selecting victims and considering the details of his plan to kill each.

4. Serial killers also show signs of a psychopath though this is not always the case. Psychopaths lack empathy and guilt, are egocentric and impulsive and don’t conform to social, moral, or legal norms. Psychopaths have a distinct set of rules for themselves. They appear normal and are often very charming and charismatic.

Serial killers is a person that kill three or more people in a short amount of time. He or she murder one after another in a similar way with an inactive period between each murder. The motivation for murdering an adult or child is based on psychological gratification. The serial killer is normally an adult white male in his late twenties, who has killed four or more individuals in separate incident with an inactive period between. It is impossible to tell just by looking at a person who will become a serial killer, the traits of some criminals or serial killers appear to be similar most of the time. The types of behaviors

There are many myths that describe, or stereotype a serial killer. You may have heard that serial killers are all dysfunctional loners or that all serial killers are white males. One might also hear that

What can cause someone to go on a ravenous murder spree? Serial murders are not indigenous, nor are they a new phenomenon. Ted Bundy and The Zodiac Killer are well-known individuals that are often mentioned when speaking about infamous serial killers. Conventional characteristics such as quantity, time, and place are all put into consideration when classifying a murderer as a serial killer (FBI). The Federal Bureau of Investigation definition states that three or more murders must take place at different locations within a thirty day period while allowing for a “cooling-off period” between each murder. These murders show no apparent motive besides personal gratification for the killer (Johnston). Ambiguous repetitive murders are often the hardest cases to solve and murder analysts continue to search for explanations of these actions. Crime analyst William Anderson states that it 's believed that a variety of biological and social factors correlate to such heinous acts (Anderson). Key traits that are common among serial killers include: social patterns, negative childhood experiences, and neurological abnormalities.

My research project topic was slightly motivated by a murder in the family around 20 years ago. Hearing about this was overwhelming and made me think about murderers themselves, and what motivated them to commit murder and whether these reasons could be categorised. Preliminary research identified that serial killers are people who have committed two or more discrete murders, either acting alone or with another person. A number of secondary sources present information stating that serial killers usually fall into the following categories: Visionary, Mission-Oriented, Hedonistic and Power/Control. The outcome is in the form of an essay explaining the most common serial killers motives. The key finding from my research is that serial killers are not motivated by one particular reason, but there are many other explanations as to why they commit such a heinous crime or are motivated to commit murder.