Ever speculated what causes the compulsion in humans to gruesomely kill? An extensive amount of people lack the awareness of the various categorizations of serial killers. These disparate types of serial killers can be differentiated on the basis of their motives but the majority of them share a similar past. The occurrences of the past immensely impact the actions and demeanor of the future. Each occurrence can conceivably influence the future of an individual. There are four predominant classifications of serial killers based upon the inclusive motive of the individual. Thrill seekers acquire immense satisfaction from the course of murder while instilling extreme pain or terror within their victims. Those who believe they do society a …show more content…
They believe they are not themselves or feel compelled to murder by spiritual souls such as God or the devil. Visionary killers are typically easy to locate, due to the fact that they are unorganized murderers who leave behind a chaotic crime scene with an abundance of physical evidence. Also, such killers suffer from a mental illness which is commonly schizophrenia, the voices within the offender's mind encourage them to viciously massacre within their own insanity. In correlation, visionary serial killers select their victims seemingly at random based acumen, since the act of killing is their instantaneous goal they choose the nearest individual. David Berkowitz is another famous serial killer, also referred to as the .44 caliber killer, he shot thirteen people who were not connected in any shape or form during 1976 and 1977. Berkowitz believed that a dog owned by his neighbor was a demon in disguise sending him murderous messages in its persistent barking. Afore his arrest, he sent the police and press handwritten letters asserting that Satan was ordering him to kill in order to rid of his sins. After a questionnaire session with an FBI agent, David revealed the reasoning behind his killings and mental issues were due to the fact that he felt resentment toward his mother and other women who had rejected him during his childhood. Although Joseph Paul Franklin and David Berkowitz were both troubled serial killers who had terrible mothers, their motives for their killings differed. Visionary serial killers murder due to the perception of imaginary voices within their head, but they do not desire anything from their victims. Whereas the Lust serial killers only murder to satisfy their sexual
In the article The Serial Killer Phenomenon Richard Whittington-Egan aims to explain what exactly a serial killer is and how they differ from a mass murderer. Whittington-Egan breaks down and showcases the defining characteristics of a serial kill with the help of numerous cases of evidence to confirm the accuracy of each statement. The article concludes with examining the future of this phenomenon, what has been done, and most importantly how difficult it will be to solve such an unpredictable behavior.
Throughout time there has always been mentally disturbed people, but the problem is that they are on the streets and not in a psych ward. As you read this paper you will learn about some of the most infamous serial killers of the 20th century and the horrific atrocities they committed. We will go inside the mind of a serial killer and discover what drives them to kill people and also why some serial killers love to devour their victims, keep their limbs and even continue to preform sexual acts with them even after there are already dead.
Brogaard, Berit. "The Making of a Serial Killer." Psychology Today. Sussex Directories, Inc., 7 Dec. 2012. Web. 03 May 2014.
In order to understand how serial killers are affected by social changes, one must understand their psyche. A serial killer is "sexually motivated but the underlying reason is power" (Newton 197). The killer wants power over his victims. Serial killing, itself, is a "distinctly modern phenomenon, a product of relatively recent social and cultural conditions to which criminologists can provide fresh insight by accentuating the broad institutional frameworks, motivations, and opportunity structures within which serial killing occurs" (Haggerty and Ellerbrok 6). According to John E. Douglas, co-author of Mindhunters, the reason that murders committed by serial killers, at first blush, seem to be senseless crimes is because serial killers are often "motivated by a strong emotional feeling" (Dokterman), such as hate, vengeance, or regret. FBI agents have identified domination,
Many of times we think of serial killers as all being a Visionary serial killer, especially when we watch films and documentaries on them, often times when they are described as insane, or really detached from the world, and then script right of their kill sites it's often times very bloody messy unclean but not all killers are like this. In fact, Visionary serial killers are the minority. One example of a Visionary serial killer that we learned about in our lectures is Cleo-Green, he was a black male in his early thirties and was in a suburb of Kentucky. Cleo-Green Was quite detached from the world in fact after returning to his car after a night out he believed that there was a demon in his car and the demon
Several serial killers have a definitive and common personality profile. Almost every major social, biological, psychological behavioural influence that has been seriously suggested as playing a role in causing crime has been thoroughly thought as potentially
Serial Killer: (n) A serial killer is a person who murders three or more people, usually in service of abnormal psychological gratification; ex. Charles Albright. His childhood was quite unusual, being that he started out life as an orphan and was adopted by foster parents Delle and Fred Albright. It is said that his mother was extremely strict and overprotective, which caused him to have little to no friends. Charles was never a very social child. He did exceptionally well in school and was even able to skip two grades. He got his first gun at thirteen and proceeded to kill small animals with it as a taxidermist, or in other words, he kept the hollow corpses of the animals he hunted and stuffed them to be lifelike memorabilia. There is no
Though serial killer may have a fairly specific definition, there is no single precise profile for the serial killer. Each has a unique identity, set of motives and methods, and a unique psychopathology that would attempt to explain the mens rea, that is, the purpose or intent of the murder. “Psychological profiling is an investigative tool used strictly to answer the how of the crime, not the why” (Severence et al, 1992; Lanier and Henry, 1998). By examining the psychological make-up of the serial killer, it is often possible to explain the behavior, which might make it a useful tool in solving crimes.
Have you ever wondered why people do the things they do? Everyday we question ourselves about activities we see others performing and wonder what could possibly be their reasoning behind it all. Asking more questions is something we should all be doing. Some researchers have taken this curiosity to the next level and have asked themselves “Are serial killers born or created?” Are the actions of these psychopaths brought on by different events, or are they simply born with the ability to take another person 's life? These are the million dollar questions that everyone should be asking about serial killers. Something is different about those who are capable
The minds and the inner workings of a serial killer have been analyzed, investigated, and pondered upon for many years. “Questions such as what makes his or her mind tick? Does he or she target one fitting victim? What are his or her motives?” are some of the most common that spring to mind. We all hold the power of being aggressive, of encompassing unthinkable and destructive thoughts of “torture, sadism and murder”, but we do not all become serial murderers (Knight, 21). This deviant behavior is often feared because it displays a small but troubled percentage of people who immerse in the torture and death of other
One of the most interesting aspects of catching serial killers is examining their psyche to determine their motivations, their classification, and underlying stressors that influence their behavior. This is called a behavior profile. Much like bloody fingerprints, no one serial killer is exactly like another. Classifications can vary from rage motivated killers to financially motivated killers to power/thrill killers. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, “regardless of motive, serial murderers commit crimes because they want to,” (Serial Murder).
A serial killer by definition of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is a person who kills three or more people on different occasions (Barkan and Bryjak 70). Serial killers have been present in societies all throughout history, giving researchers opportunities to study them and bringing attention to their name. Fear and fascination with them enables the media to intrigue society as it creates TV shows, movies, and documentaries about famous serial killers of the past and how they develop (“Subtypes, Patterns, and Motives”). The creation of a serial killer is not based on just one aspect, but instead includes a combination of factors stemming from childhood, a biological and psychological basis (“Development, Dynamic, and Forensics”). When apprehending a serial killer, it is pivotal to assess the individual to determine the level of sanity in order to proceed in the criminal justice system (Grasham).
This literature review focuses on serial killers from a psychological viewpoint while trying to answer the question, “Are serial killers born to kill or are they bred to kill?” Firstly, this review will define a serial killer and the different kinds of killers, then it will take a look at different case studies of children who fantasized about mass killing and identify similarities between the cases attempt to find a way to possibly prevent their fantasies from becoming reality. The debate of nature vs. nurture is also discussed as psychologists and researchers come to the conclusion that environmental factors play a bigger role in the developmental character of a person than genetics, but there is still no definite answer as to why some individuals grow up with the urge to murder other people and/or animals.
The events of the past can hold a great influence on the actions and behaviors of the future. From being raised in a supportive and loving home, to one that is full of neglect and abuse, each event can potentially impact the future of an individual. In the case of serial killers, there has been some debate on whether the evil ones are made or born; does it happen because of a genetic factor, environmental factor, or is it simply they addicted to the feeling of slaughtering another individual’s life? Although, the most important key in finding the truth deals with the past and shapes the outcome of the future. Upon viewing in a psychological stance, there is no clear understanding of why one aspect that most serial killers share, namely
Serial killers kill for different reasons. Some serial killers are missionaries and think that it is their responsibility to get rid of unwanted elements of the society. They see themselves as a hero who has abolished a bad practice of the