Serial Killers: A Short Story

As if molded directly from the depths of nightmares, both fascinating and terrifying. Serial killers hide behind bland and normal existences. They are often able to escape being caught for years, decades and sometimes an eternity. These are America’s Serial Killers (America’s Serial Killers). “Even when some of them do get caught, we may not recognize what they are because they don’t [sic] match the distorted image we have of serial killers” (Brown). What is that distorted image? That killers live among everyday life, they are the ones who creep into someone’s life unknowingly to torture and kill them. The serial killers that are in the movies, Norman Bates, Michael Myers, and the evil master mind of SAW, these characters are just that

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

Serial murder is one of the most baffling crimes that occur in the U.S. and all over the world. Knight (2006) defines serial murder as the killing of three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a significant cooling-off period. The cooling off period may be weeks, months or even years long. Researchers have proposed various psychological, biological and sociological theories that offer a partial understanding of the nature of serial murder. Some propose that the basis for criminal behavior is a predisposition to violence as well as a mix between environment, personality traits and biological factors. Serial killers are predominantly male. Only 3 percent of serial murders are committed by women (U.S. News and World Report,

The National Geographic film, A Portrait of a Killer, examines the types of stress that living beings can endure, and how it can thus affect the rest of their bodies. Severe chronic stress can lead even lead to the destruction of brain cells. Dr. Robert Sapolsky is a neurobiologist of Stanford University who has been researching stress for over thirty years. In order to study stress and its implications upon nonhumans, he went to Africa to study baboons. This species has only three hours of stress caused by eating, and the rest of their daily routine is consumed by about nine hours of free time. Much like Western society, baboons socially stress out one another, as they have social hierarchies to regulate how them interact with one another.

A serial killer is a person who murders three or more people, usually in service of abnormal psychological gratification, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant break which can also be called a "cooling off period” between them. There are different types of serial killers. Some are mission oriented serial killers; others are visionary killers. There are equally power and control killers and thrill or hedonistic killers. There are many serial killers in the world at large with different motives for killing. Some people are serial killers on their own while others kill as a couple. In this case, we will talk about serial killers as a couple. We have the Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo who have a mix of hedonistic killers and power and control killers. We equally have Ray and Faye Copeland which also falls under power and control killers. The paper will focus on the background, victims, and trail of Ray and Faye Copeland and Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo.

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.

America has some of the most infamous serial killers who marked history, serial killers who once didn’t even think to harm any human being. Many people grow up differently from others, some people grow up in a safe environment surrounded with caring people and others grow up in a completely different environment being missed treated by others, therefore are serial killers made or born?

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.

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 question of whether or not man is predetermined at birth to lead a life of crime is a question that has been debated for decades. Are serial killers born with the lust for murder, or are their desires developed through years of abuse and torment? Many believe it is impossible for an innocent child to be born with the capability to commit a horrible act such as murder. But at the same time, how could we have corrupted society so much as to turn an innocent child into a homicidal maniac? Forensic psychologists have picked apart the minds of serial killers to find an answer as to what forces them to commit such perverse acts. Their ultimate goal is to learn how to catch a serial killer before

Serial killers traumatize entire communities and cause tremendous disturbance to everyone. The Gilgo Beach serial killer is also known as the Long Island serial killer and Craigslist Ripper is said to have been responsible for 10 to 17 murders. The killer is said to target those who work in the sex industry and is believed to have been active for more than 20 years. Although the killer has been active more than 20 years the police are nit anywhere near to catching him. This essay will take a look at the investigation of the serial killer, take a look at who some of the victims were and finally give my opinion on how the case is being handled. It is important to note that the identity of the killer has not been identified therefore there has not been a trial and a sentencing. Also for the purpose of this essay I will be referring to the Unsub as The Gilgo Beach serial killer or simply as the killer.

Although the prevalence of the serial killer is ultimately unknown, many researchers agree about “one-half of 1%” of homicides are determined to be the product of serial killers (Homant & Kennedy, 2014). In order to prevent future victims, improve the ability of law enforcement to detect and apprehend, potentially incorporate treatment for current serial killers, and increase the ability to detect potential future serial killers it is important to identify characteristics that may cause one to become a serial killer. The question researchers have strived to answer is are serial killers born or are there explicit factors that contribute to someone ultimately becoming a serial killer? Researchers have potentially exposed several factors that potentially contribute to one becoming a serial killer. These conditions are notably greater in prevalence in known serial killers compared to the general population. These factors consist of family dynamics/parental characteristics, experienced child abuse (physical, sexual, and neglect), and psychological disorders.

Many things today confuse, yet enthrall the masses. War, murder, medical science, incredible rescues, all things you would see on The History Channel. There is another topic that is also made into documentaries however, serial killers. Dark twisted people that commit multiple murders are of interest to the population, but what caused them to be this way. What horrible tragic set of events could twist a man to murder one or many people. Could Schizophrenia, psychopathy, or sociopathy? Many people have researched this topic and believe that childhood trauma, heavy drugs during the growing phase of life, as well as many other things have twisted the minds of men such as Jeffery Dahmer, Charles Manson,

“The serial killer ‘is an entirely different criminal,’ ”The term serial killer is misleading on the ground that each murder is intended to be the last.” We see them as a figure of “the dark side of human potential,” but they believe they’re “on a heroic quest for the biggest score possible” They believe they are “the archetypal figure of impurity, the representative of a world which needs cleansing.” However, society knows that serial killers are not heroes, and they’re not cleansing the world. “The figure of the serial killer is violent impurity personified, and it is a construction that necessitates figures of violent purity to confront it.” While it can be argued whether having mental disorders should prevent a serial killer from being capitally punished, it is proven that many serial killers suffer from “paranoid schizophrenia, manic-depressive psychosis, or psychopathology.” It’s even said that “this crime is actually a form of disease. Its carriers are serial killers who suffer from a variety of crippling and eventually fatal symptoms, and its immediate victims are the people struck down seemingly at random by the disease carriers.” Serial killers usually have a stressor in their life that makes them start killing, and when they do “homicidal mania becomes ‘a necessity… linked to the very existence of a psychiatry which had made itself autonomous but needed thereafter to secure a basis for its intervention by gaining recognition as a component of public

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