Serial Killers : Richard Chase Vs. Richard Ramirez

Serial Killer Richard Ramirez Crescendo of Terror Late in the 20th Century, Hell glutted on humanity. Its first bloodletting of that season of the Devil occurred on the warm evening of June 28, 1984, when an earth-bound Lucifer found his way into the small Glassel Park apartment of 79-year-old Jennie Vincow. Throughout the Los Angeles area a damp humidity had oppressed the air that day, and when the evening came and the temperature slightly cooled, Jennie left her window open to invite what little breeze there might be into her flat.

There are many theories as to why people become serial killers. Almost all of these concepts are associated with the Nature vs. Nurture theory. Are serial killers born with the need to kill, or is it something that they learn to long for as they grew up? Many believe that the nurture theory is the likely concept to believe; that serial killers are created from bad childhood experiences including being abused by their parents, or molested at an early age. Psychologist and sociologist have interviewed serial killers and picked apart their minds, to find out what it is that makes them feel the need to perform these heinous crimes. It is the nature theory that they are looking for when

Serial killers are the byproduct of many different things: trauma, death of loved ones, abuse, neglect, adoption, and even witnessing abuse (Are Serial). Serial killers have had to endure a massive amount of something such as trauma or abuse to an unimaginable extent to become what they are; the extent of the abuse, the trauma, the psychological damage they endure is incomprehensible to many. The destruction of one’s innocence can occur at any given time in his or her life, but he or she is more impressionable in his or her youth by the negativism of someone else’s actions (Scott, Shirley L. What Makes Serial Killers Tick ~ Childhood Event). People are susceptible to what they endure in their adolescence, and cruel upbringings, such as

In his early life Ramirez was influenced into becoming a killer by his cousin Mike, his cousin Mike was a Vietnam war veteran who boasted of killing and torturing all of his Vietnamese enemies. Mike showed Ramirez polaroid pictures of his victims. Another big influence may have been that Ramirez was present the day his cousin Mike shot and killed his wife, all of her blood splattered on Richard’s face.

Richard Ramirez’s chances at a normal life were greatly reduced by biology, but his environment certainly did not lead him toward a good future. Julian was a very abusive father and Richard witnessed him beating his older brother on several occasions. In spite of the violence and negativity that he faced every, people in his life thought of him as “a good boy” until he was about ten years old. (Bruno, 2012) Around that time, Richard’s Cousin Michael, a former Green Beret for the United States military, returned to El Paso from Vietnam. Richard and Mike spent most of their time together doing drugs and discussing the violence that Mike experienced during his deployment. Mike told him about the women who he beat, tortured, and raped just for pleasure, and Richard was very intrigued with his gruesome details and photos. At age

Ever heard of the zodiac killer? He was a serial killer who operated in northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The killer's identity remains unknown. The Zodiac murdered victims in 5 states between December 1968 and October 1969. The general profile for a serial killer is a person who commits a series of murders, often with no apparent motive and typically following a characteristic, predictable behavior pattern. There are many types of serial killers. There are natural born killers who are born willing to kill someone, insane killers which have mental and physical disorders and criminaloids who do not exhibit specific traits. The childhood of a serial killer would typically be someone who is neglected by their family mainly their mothers. They tend to be antisocial and have anger issues. Poor families often cannot provide what the child always wants so they might commit crimes to get want they want. Abused children have a higher chance of being killers also because they have a lot of built up aggression and anger. All can lead to substance abuse which is never a good thing to mix in with a potential serial killer in the making. General behavioral progression from pre-crime to post-crime are that they use killing as a source of relief. Before committing a serious crime they could have built up anger and hatred. They is a high possibility that they are suffering from depression and anxiety too. After killing someone the killer feels relieved. They also feel

According to FBI Special Agent Robert K. Ressler, more than 60 percent of serial killers went the bed beyond the age of 12. Many are involved in vicious activities. Frequently, serial murders come from dysfunctional families, where the father is almost absent and the mother is often passively domineering. (Julieta, p.2, N.D.) Families of serial killers will often have criminal, psychiatric or alcoholic histories. Family members often abused the serial killer as they were growing up, physically, emotionally or sexually.

A full police operation yielded no solid evidence, and Ramirez repeated his attack pattern on the couple, William and Lillie Doi in April 1985. Over the next two month period Ramirez's murder rate increased rapidly, killing another dozen victims in a frenzy of burglary, assault and

The mind of a serial killer can be very interesting in being able to find out what makes them want to do what they do. Knowing if someone was abused as a child and if this makes them more likely to become a serial killer or not become a serial killer is something I was very curious to learn about. Something that happens in a person’s childhood can affect the way they act when they become adults. I found two sources talking about childhood abuse and serial killers. The first source was an internet article entitled “Serial Killer Motives” found on the website How Stuff Works and was written by Shanna Freeman. The second source I found was a video entitled “Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer” which is found off of the website Big Think. This

Murders Richard Ramirez was found guilty of thirteen different murders. He was also convicted on many more crimes besides killing. It was believed by many that he killed more, but was never found guilty for more than thirteen.

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.

Studies show that traits of a serial killer can be seen in a person at a very young age. Most warning signs go unnoticed which is why the growth of the killer continues. A thing such as animal cruelty is one of many clues inside the growth of a serial killers mind “They often start out their careers by maiming, harming, and torturing small animals.” “In extreme cases, they have been known to spend hours inflicting a slow death on animals...this is a form of control that allows them the power to crave” (Kocsis,2008) . Many future serial killers also show a major interest in setting fires. Even though it is common for most young children to show a slight interest in fire, those with serial killing in their future are somewhat pyromaniacs.

There are many traits that make a serial killer, with abuse during childhood playing a major factor. The four main aspects of abuse that seem to make killers are: emotional, psychological, sexual and physical abuse. The serial killer group has six times more reported physical abuse during childhood than the general population. Research has demonstrated that many serial killers have much in common when it comes to their childhood experiences Emotional abuse often diminishes a child’s self-esteem, making it hard for them to adapt to their surroundings, such as situations involving school or work. Due to this factor, most serial killers often find it hard to keep jobs and intimate relationships for longer than a very short period of time. Emotional neglect also impairs a child’s ability to develop empathy, therefore lacking compassion. If the child grows up to become a murderer, having no empathy means they are able to kill someone without

“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