The Traits of a Serial Killer Present in James Clayton Vaughn Jr

Around the world, several new cases of serial homicides are reported every year. (Vronsky 15). Ninety-seven percent of serial murders are committed by psychopaths: someone who lacks a conscience, feels no remorse, cares exclusively for his own pleasures and cannot empathize with the suffering of his victims (Levin and Fox 4). The psychopathic state is not a mental illness but is a behavioral or personality disorder (Vronsky 245). When these behavioral components are combined with the desire to kill, an addiction is triggered and rarely broken. The psychology of a psychopathic serial killer produces specific character traits that cannot be altered therefore rehabilitation and imprisonment will be unsuccessful in treatment.

This essay aims to examine weather serial killers are born a certain way and their genetics define their psychotic tendencies or whether they're a product of a bad environment that they grew up. This essay looks at recent killings in the late 20th century as there is more information on the killers from this period and it's easier to gain details about their childhoods. Whilst I will look at various different killers to reach more rounded conclusions (see appendix for comparison table), this essay will focus on four in detail to examine the debate; Ted Bundy (1946-89), Jeffery Dahmer (1960-1994), John Wayne Gacy (1942-1994) and Gary Ridgway (1949-present).

Serial murder crime though rare, is not a a new phenomenon. This crime has been committed for centuries and will continue to be a crime that is committed throughout the world. It is unfortunate and scary that this is probably one of the most serious of crimes that cannot be prevented. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, serial murderers commit their crimes because they want to. Rehabilitation is not obtainable for serial killers due to their inability for remorse and empathy, or to see people as people and not objects(Knight 2006). This research paper will focus primarily on serial murder within the U.S. First and foremost, a legal definition provided by the U.S. Department of Justice will be presented to set forth the discussion of this research paper. As follows will be a detailed discussion explaining serial killer typologies with the use of examples of known serial killers in the U.S. Types of serial killers are: power oriented, mission oriented, visionary, and hedonistic, each typology will be clearly defined and explained. Some serial killers can have a mixture of each typology’s characteristic. Serial killers that will be discussed and used as examples to represent the content of this research paper will be, John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Robert Berdella, Jeffery Dahmer, and lastly the most prolific serial killer in American history, Gary Ridgeway. Problems with studying serial killing, are that because of rarity and access. Most of what we think

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

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.

A serial killer is defined as “a person who commits more than three murders over a period that spans more than one month. For the most part, serial killers commit murder for some sort of psychological benefit.” A serial killer who is well known in American history is H.H Holmes, as well as the infamous Bloody Benders.

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.

Due to today’s advanced media technology, we as a society are more aware and instantly informed about mass murders and serial killers. There is a difference between a mass murderer and a serial killer, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, statistics Bureau. (“Mental Floss”, 2008). A “mass

Serial killers can be defined as a person who kills multiple people over a long period of time. American media spreads stereotypical information about serial killers. The media portrays serial killers as either a monster or a charming guy next door (Forsyth 868). Serial killers cannot be fitted into the medias cookie-cutter definition. Everyone has experienced unique events throughout their life that shapes their personality and serial killers are not an exception. Ronald Dominique, a serial killer suffered a traumatic event while in jail; he was raped, and this event triggered his serial killings. “Serial murderers like those who kill only once, fit into no single profile; and create too wide a burden to be explained with one idea. They do seem to have one similar characteristic –that is; to blend into society and appear normal” (Forsyth 872).

In this world, there are people who are able to shoot, bludgeon, or torture a whole family and then sleep peacefully just hours after. Serial Killers have piqued the American public’s interest for generations. In the 1970s, for example, America was enthralled by the danger and fear of Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy, famous serial killers who killed a combined number of over a hundred people. Following suit of the popularity of serial killers, they have become ingrained in our culture through art, books, news, talk-shows, and movies. A famous example of this trend is in Flannery O’Connor’s ”A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, where the antagonist, The Misfit, brutally murders a family of six. O’Connor described The Misfit as a calm, polite, analytical, morally-confused, murderer with leadership skills and “strong white teeth.” This archetype, a person who can be perfectly calm while being aggressive and lacks a sense of right or wrong, has also been an interest of study in the medical field. The medical community has come together for patients that are described as lacking a moral conscious, naming their disorder psychopathy (Robinson). In Flannery O’Connor’s ”A Good Man Is Hard to Find” The Misfit exhibits signs of psychopathy, shown from his manipulating control over Bobby Lee and Hiram, and staying calm while he directly and indirectly kills six people.

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

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.

A serial killer is a person defined as a series of two or more murders, committed as separate events. “They are generally cunning, manipulative, and know the difference between right and wrong but dismiss it as applying to them” (Montaldo, n.d.) We are often captivated by what they have done and not in a positive way but the intriguing part as to “why”. In reality I stop to think what was happening to this person or within their minds that caused them to behave in such a way. It’s said that these acts are due to Abnormal Psychology gratification, this is the unusual patterns of behavior, emotion and thought. After thorough research Dr. Helen Morrison believes that it is due to a chromosome abnormality. Dr. Morrison believes that serial killers begin to start expressing these tendencies in their teen

It is important to remember that serial murder is a form of patterned violence. Serial murders as defined by the FBI are, “a series of three or more killings, not less than one of which was committed within the United States, having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors” (FBI). There is also typically a “cooling off” period between murders. This is a period of time in which the perpetrator of the murders takes up a period of rest between killings. Some suspect this period to be an emotional break before their next outburst and the next murder (FBI).

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.