Serial Killer Research Paper

In conclusion, although profiling serial killers is a difficult job, it is still successful in helping the community and investigators. One of the main aspects in profiling a serial killer is identifying and categorizing what type of killer the offender is. Next, investigators have to come up with a profile. This is one of the most difficult parts of the process, considering it is based off of predictions from the three different crime scenes and the victims. Investigators try and relate all the crime scenes back to one another in order to predict who the offender is going to target next. One of the downsides of profiling serial killers is the side effects of technology and social media. Since social media is a big aspect in today’s world,

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

Jeffrey Dahmer murdered 17 men between the years of 1978 to 1991 in which he participated in necrophilia, dismemberment and cannibalism (Meyer, 2006). As a child, Dahmer was shy and suffered from low self-esteem. At a young age, Dahmer displayed abnormal behavior starting with the collecting of dead animals and using acid to strip off the meat having necrophilia desires. This escalated in his teen years turning into fantasies of killing and mutilating men. After graduating from high school, he was living alone and the feelings of abandonment returned giving him justification in his mind to commit crimes. Throughout his teens years he abused alcohol, which also lead to abnormal behavior. By the

Jeffrey Dahmer, also commonly known as the Milwaukee Cannibal, is one of America’s most notorious serial killers. In the span of nearly 15 years, between the years 1978 and 1991, it is estimated that Dahmer was responsible for the death of fifteen to seventeen young men (Radford University). As his nickname suggests Dahmer was known for drugging his victims, then raping them, then disembodying them, and if the mood fit him, cooking and eating his victims. Dahmer’s unique case resulted in him being psychologically analyzed and diagnosed by at least seven different psychologists during his trial (Palermo & Bogaerts, 2014). This paper seeks to explore the diagnostics given to Jeffery Dahmer and prove, through the use of available information, their accuracy.

Jeffery Dahmer is arguably the most notorious serial killer -cannibal in history. Targeting men and boys, Dahmer‘s life of crime began with drinking and sex offending. His murders were exceptionally gruesome, often involving rape, torture, necrophilia, dismemberment, and cannibalism. The media often commented on how “normal” Dahmer appeared. Jeffrey Dahmer made everyone question how one develops into such a monster. By the time of his apprehension, Dahmer had sodomized, murdered, and cannibalized at least seventeen men, mostly black, Hispanic or Asian, in the Milwaukee area between the years of 1978 until his arrest in 1991 (Williams pg.1).

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

A serial killer is traditional defined as the separate killings of three or more people by an individual over a certain period of time, usually with breaks between the murders. (Angela Pilson, p. 2, 2011) This definition has been accepted by both the police and academics and therefore provides a useful frame of reference (Kevin Haggerty, p.1, 2009). The paper will seek to provide the readers with an explanation of how serial killers came to be and how they are portrayed in the media.

Jeffrey Dahmer, one of the most famous serial killers, was a sick and extremely twisted man. Rape, necrophilia, dismemberment, and cannibalism were all involved in Dahmer’s murders. Jeffrey Dahmer was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on May 21, 1960. Dahmer had a fairly normal childhood. His parents recall that Jeffrey was an “energetic and happy child.” Dahmer’s parents believe something went wrong with their son at around the age of four after he had a surgery to try and correct a double hernia. He started becoming distant at around age 10; soon, his interest involved dead animals and drinking. Eventually, his parents grew tired of his outrageous drinking problem and Jeffrey’s father made him enlist in the army. Soon enough, he was kicked out

Jeffrey Dahmer’s life as a boy never indicated the horrific trouble that would follow., Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on May 21, 1960 his parents Lionel and Joyce Dahmer were overjoyed. For the first six years of his life Jeffrey seemed completely normal in every way (Lassieur 87). In middle school Dahmer was often associated with the social Misfits. In High school Jeff was described by his peers as “the loneliest kid in school.” Counselors described Dahmer as a barbed wire portrait of a devil minded teen with Divorcing and Neglectful parents. Dahmer was mimicked and often did imitations of cerebral palsy victims (“My Friend” 65). In January 1979, Dahmer enlisted in the army having begun and dropped out of college. In the Army, Dahmer kept to himself and drank most of the time. Just months before his three year enlistment time was over, Dahmer was discharged for alcohol and drug abuse, this is when his downward spiral began (Lassieur 90).

A serial killer, by definition, is a person who commits a series of murders, often with no apparent motive and typically following a characteristic, predictable behaviour pattern (Oxford University Press). Few serial killers have never been caught, one of those few being the infamous Zodiac Killer, who terrorized northern California during the late 1960’s and early 70’s. Despite evidence from the crimes, various theories, and letters the killer sent to the press, no one was ever caught for the murders and the case remains open. The only reason the Zodiac Killer is a known name is due to the killings he commited.

Serial killers are people who have committed mass murders and feel no remorse for the people they kill. They can use their charm, to persuade you into liking them which in turn makes it easier for them to slaughter you. The psychology of a serial killer is a mostly unsolved mystery. It can have so many different contributing factors such as there past, there family life, there mental state. Many different tests that have been done on criminal serial killers are mixed, the results never add up correctly and correspond with other tests that have been done.

Dahmer’s terrible reputation as a murderer seems to have originated with a pathological fear of being left alone. His fear carried out to the point where he would kill to prevent this from happening. The first time it happened he was living with his parents in Richfield, Ohio, in 1978. He was 18-years-old, already graduated high school and was left at home alone when his parents were away. That night he managed to invite a hitchhiker over for a beer, the young man was 19-year-old Steven Mark Hicks.

What is a serial killer? Retired Special Agent Robert Ressler, a twenty-two year veteran of the FBI’s Behavioral Sciences Unit in Quantico, Virginia, is responsible for creating the term “serial killer.” He defines this person as “one who commits a series of murders, usually three or more, the victims most often being strangers, and usually with a cooling-off period in between each kill” (Kelleher & Kelleher, 1998; Pearson, 1998; Ressler and Shactman, 1997). This precise definition is necessary to distinguish this type of predator from the mass murderer (who kills many simultaneously), mercenaries, war criminals, or mafia hit men.

A serial killer could be dining, sitting, or even living next to you at this very moment. Most killers offer little to no obvious clues that will lead anyone to detect their often secretive, undercover actions. I ask myself, “How can we be so naive to these types of people?” Serial killers amongst us are often well educated, portray an All-American image, yet have a psychotic side to them.

Jeffrey Dahmer was responsible for a series of horrific murders of seventeen young men from 1988 until he was caught on July 22, 1991, in Milwaukee. This single individual grabbed the attention of the entire nation and brought to light the idea that no one in society should be trusted. Although Dahmer presented himself to be a normal yet quiet man, the horrendous details of this 23 year old case are enough to frighten and test the paranoia of many. Jeffrey Dahmer aided in destroying America’s trust in society through his unmerciful ways yet calming and seemingly normal demeanor.