Theories Of The Beltway Sniper

Mass murder is defined by the FBI as the killing of three or more people in a single event or in the same day (Petersen & Farrington, 2007). Mass murderers are complex and can be examined by the many factors that regularly appear among them, such as violence precipitating events, weapon of choice, and mental illnesses. The motivations and methods for committing mass murder are easily broken down into specific groups, and through the examination of these definitions and specific cases there is much to learn about the mind of a mass murderer.

A similar theme was developed between The Sniper and Ambush. The Sniper’s theme is Stay Focused, What has happened… Happened. Ambush’s theme is Don’t Dwell on the Past.

“Serial killers are human black holes; they scare us because they mirror us,” spoke Shirley Lynn Scott, known author and psychologist. This stands true throughout history, as most serial killers blend in with society. Serial killing is formally defined by the FBI as “a series of three or more killings, having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors.” But what exactly drives someone to kill another human being? What plays as a more drastic motivator for their actions, nature or nurture?

Violent crimes happen every day in America, yet the full scope of why and how they happen are not understood by many outside of law enforcement. But within the ranks of law enforcement and the criminal justice system itself, violent crimes are examined and analyzed at length to determine both how and why the incident occurred, as well as what can be done in the future to prevent a similar event from reoccurring. Investigators use multiple methods and seek various explanations as to why a violent crime occurs. This literature will look at some of those things that investigators try to sort out in the aftermath of a violent crime, such as the killer’s modus operandi and signatures, his psychology, relation to his victims, and how the effect of gender, race, or culture might impact his violent behavior.

The Sniper, written by Liam O’Flaherty, is a story about a Republican sniper in the Irish civil war in 1922. This story tells of a night spent on a roof looking for the enemy, the Free-Staters. In this short description of the nights events, the sniper kills 3 people; a soldier, an informer, and finally an enemy sniper on the roof across the road from him. In the end this enemy sniper turns out to be the republicans brother. This story shows the the specific characteristics a sniper must have to carry out their duty. A key moment in this text which influenced the sniper is the Civil war itself.

Characters in ¡§The Sniper¡¨ are limited in terms of type and variety to show that war brings out only people who possesses a passion to kill and have the courage to be killed. The story focuses on only one sniper and we, the readers use the incident from his point of view. The only characters that are mentioned are the sniper, another sniper, his enemy and an old woman. Apart from the old woman, all other characters are men who represent figures of war and are present to do nothing but kill. They are seekers of death and bring about a web of deaths. The manner in which these men ¡§reign¡¨ over the city by killing, and that ordinary dwellers are imprisoned within their homes for fear of death shows the evil impacts of war.

The biological influences consist of natural selection, genetic predisposition and responding to the environment, brain mechanisms, and hormonal influences. Biologically, some people are born angry and more depressed than others. People who are depressed usually don’t like to see many people happy and having good times with other people. This could be why many mass shootings occur when people are having a good time like at the festival where Stephen Paddlock killed 59 people and injured more than 500. Tia Ghose from LiveScience says “killers often exhibit risk factors that are generally tied to criminality: a history of abuse or ineffective parenting, a tendency to set fires or hurt animals, a sadistic streak, and self-centeredness and a lack of compassion (Ghose).” Many people respond to the environment in many ways, whether its calmly or violently. In this case it was violently.

Valentine’s Day Massacre”). Mission-oriented killers are murderers that believe they are cleansing the Earth, like the Boston Strangler who had presumed that the women he had killed were worthless. Similar to mission-oriented, disciple killers are deluded in that they are influenced to kill by an influential figure, like the followers of Charles Manson. he last type of organized killer is the thrill-seeker. This killer is sometimes interpreted as disorganized as though they may plan, they often kill impulsively, like James Holmes of the Aurora Shooting who had been equipped like a pseudo-commando but had killed for the thrill. While organized mass murders are premeditated, killers can also be classified into the unorganized category which consists of disgruntled employees, visionary/missionary killers, and the aforementioned thrill-seeker. Disgruntled employees are killers that experience recent termination and lash out, like the workplace shooter Andrew Engeldinger. Visionary/missionary killers meanwhile, kill because they believe that it is the will of a higher power, like the nine assailants of the Paris attacks. Defining and categorizing types of mass murderers is a complex task as breeds of mass killers branch out massively into several subtypes that each reveal aspects and insights like depth of planning, methodicalness, and drive.

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

     Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Mark Allen Smith, Richard Chase, Ted Bundy-the list goes on and on. These five men alone have been responsible for at least ninety deaths, and many suspect that their victims may total twice that number. They are serial killers, the most feared and hated of criminals. What deep, hidden secret makes them lust for blood? What can possibly motivate a person to kill over and over again with no guilt, no remorse, no hint of human compassion? What makes a serial killer?

A serial killer is defined as an individual who has murdered three or more people over a time period of longer than a month; with a process called “cooling off” in between the different murders (What are the Different Types of Serial Killers?). The FBI states that motives for serial murder include "anger, thrill, financial gain, and attention seeking.” Throughout history, the FBI has zeroed in on four different types of motives for serial killers, visionary, missionary, hedonistic, and power or control killers.

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

Serial killers is a person that kill three or more people in a short amount of time. He or she murder one after another in a similar way with an inactive period between each murder. The motivation for murdering an adult or child is based on psychological gratification. The serial killer is normally an adult white male in his late twenties, who has killed four or more individuals in separate incident with an inactive period between. It is impossible to tell just by looking at a person who will become a serial killer, the traits of some criminals or serial killers appear to be similar most of the time. The types of behaviors

May 8, 2007. Plot by six men to attack soldiers at U.S. Army base at Fort Dix in New Jersey was averted. Modern day terrorist often choose targets that are easily defeated. The general public of women, children, and the elderly are acceptable losses.

3. The mass murderer kills due to a warped sense of love and loyalty, a desire to save their loved ones from misery and hardship. Typically it is a husband/father who is despondent over the fate of the family unit. Sometimes, as in the case of the Manson family, the murders are done by a cult group being obedient to their charismatic leader.