The Murder Of Serial Killers

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,

Serial killers came actually known in the 1900’s. Serial killers are people who have killed three or more people over a period of time. There are many serial killers and most of them are men, except for one Aileen Wuornos. One specific serial killer during the 1900’s is Jeffrey Dahmer, who was more into men and got a thrill out of killing, raping, and eating his victims. There is a wide variety of serial killers, some think they are bettering the world to kill off like prostitutes, some do it because of a person they have had a past with, and some do it just for the thrill of killing.

Murder, willingly taking another human's life, is considered a heinous crime in the United States, and from the sociological perspective, breaks an important more. Serial Murder, therefore, is a sociologically deviant phenomenon where a person kills two or more people in distinct events, and an FBI overview of serial killers states “No single cause, trait, or even a group of traits can differentiate or identify serial killers … from other types of violent offenders” (FBI). We can, however, use sociological perspectives to identify potential factors in these cases. As a boy, Jeffrey Dahmer was described as being a loner and a poor student- and had been sexually abused by a neighbor. He is homosexual, and all of his victims were males- which

Serial killers are a relatively rare, yet commonly publicized, part of our society. The media portrayal of serial killers skews the opinions and creates a stereotype of murderers for the public. James Knoll, MD states in his article, “Serial Murder: A Forensic Psychiatric Perspective”, that no evidence supports the idea that serial murder is a “growing epidemic” as people believe it is (qtd. in Johnson-Sheehan & Paine, “Writing Today”, pg 332). This misperception of serial killing was exhibited in the way the media portrayed the “Hillside Strangler”, a murderer who was killing women in the Los Angeles area by strangling them and leaving them nude in the hilly areas in 1977. The articles reporting the

     Serial killings are not a new phenomenon. In 1798, for example, Micajah and Wiley Harpe traveled the backwoods of Kentucky and Tennessee in a violent, year-long killing spree that left at

Throughout history, serial killers and murderers have received a significant number of news articles dedicated to them and have attracted audiences all around the world; however, the question that nobody can seem to answer is, “Why?” What causes people to grow up with the desire to kill and what can we do to prevent others from becoming serial killers in the future? “All serial killers are murderers, but not all murderers are serial killers,” as stated on The Undergraduate Times. A serial murder is defined by Encyclopedia Britannica as “the unlawful homicide of at least two people, carried out in a series over a period of time,” while mass murder is the

The stereotype that exists for individuals who commit serial murder is one that mainly includes males of a specific race. However, it is now known that white males are not the only individuals who commit serial murder. Men and women from all racial and ethnic backgrounds and socio-economic statuses have been found to be serial murderers. Although this information has been presented to society, the cultural schema of the white male serial killer is still prevalent. The assumptions that involve serial murderers often include two aspects, the serial murderer is male and the serial murder is a type of “lust murder”, often involving sexual crimes by a sadist (Keeney and Heide, 1995). Keeney and Heide (1994) define serial murder to be the

Women kill largely for instrumental reasons such as monetary gain rather than affective reasons such as achieving motional satisfaction. Absent is the presence of sexual fantasy as a motivating factor (Richard N.Kocsis, 2007). A survey of known serial killers worldwide reveals that 41% of homicidal women kill for profit or greed. Female serial killers who victimize their own children and other relatives sometimes have a much stranger motive than profit. According to psychiatrists, some of them become addicted to the sympathetic attention they receive after the death of their loved ones (Micheal & John, 2008).

Serial killers have dated back to the Roman Empire where a group of matrons allegedly murdered men with a poisoned ring. Although many centuries have passed and the murder methods have changed, serial killers are still about. However over the course of the years, forensic professionals have determined some general traits that serial killers usually possess. Such traits include childhood abuse, a desire for power, manipulative charm, lack of empathy, substance abuse, fantasies, acting out said fantasies on animals, lonely and isolated youth, physical injuries, being antisocial, bedwetting, and early interests in voyeurism and fetishism. But what defines one as a serial killer? A serial killer is defined as person who murders at least three

What is a serial killer? Serial killers are very sick and distraught compared to others. As indicated by the Vancouver Sun, a serial killer is characterized as somebody who is responsible for more than three killings over a period that than traverses over one month.In 2005 the fbi changed it to at least two killings with no reference to intention or time span. Generally, serial killers murder for some kind of mental benefit. Serial Killers can come in all shapes and sizes: don 't be tricked by moxy, charm, and attractiveness.The MO is basically the way the predator commits the crime. While the MO tells us something about how he did it, the signature gives us some insight into why.The signature is a ritual, something the subject does intentionally for emotional satisfaction. The MO could be changed throughout the time of the killings. Ted Bundy and Gary Ridgway are two serial killers with some similarity in their style but different MO’s.

Throughout history, serial killers have sparked interest in the minds of many. Serial killers researched today are generally single people who murder for many different psychological reasons, still not fully understood. What happens when you get a group of four psychopaths in the same house, all with the same drive for murder, leads to a bloody trail of death. In the 1800’s, on a remote trail in Kansas, a so called ‘family’ started killing travelers. Working as a unit to execute their murders, these four ‘family’ members would continue their rampage from the same location, killing approximately 11 victims.

As members in today's data fixated society, we are always being reminded of the horrific acts that people nowadays are able to commit. One watches the news and catches wind of a homicide, or reads an interesting book about killers. The only time that the New York Daily News has ever surpassed the New York Times, was the point at which the feature showed the true identification of Jack the Ripper (Landau, Harding, 2014). As you wade through these odds and ends of reality, one cannot resist the urge to be unearthed by the idea, what makes a person effectively commit such repulsive acts? There have been wide ranges of studies done with expectations of discovering an answer. For a crime as heinous as serial murder, there are two primary theories. The key notion is that serial killing is brought about by a variation from the norm in the frontal lobe area of the

serial killings have become more frequent. We have even seen up to a half dozen

The act of Serial murder and mass murder have similar characteristics, however they are not the same. Before they can be defined, it is necessary to first understand what exactly constitutes murder. According to the United States Code-section 1111, murder is defined as the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought (FindLaw, 2014). With that said, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, “the term serial murder implies that there are at least three different murder events at three different locations, with a “cooling off” period between each event” (Ramsland, 2009). Individuals who perpetrate the crime of serial murder are referred to as serial killers. The term “serial killer” was coined in the

Welcome to my world, where monsters exist. Some may beg to differ that monsters do not exist in real life but quite frankly they do. When I say monsters I’m not speaking on behalf of the ideal scary monsters that hide under children’s bed or in their closets. The monsters I’m referring to are serial killers that live and breathe the same air as us. In my opinion, Serial killers are sick psychopaths with no conscience, a damaged past, a lack morals and self-worth. After viewing the film “Life and Death of a Serial Killer” starring one of America’s first female serial killers, Aileen Wuornos; I began to wonder why do individuals become serial killers? What is so special about committing murders and what causes the urge, thrill and the desire to kill? What exactly is the reason behind it all? These questions constantly cross my mind.