What Drives A Person Insane? Serial Killers

Serial killer is described as an example of a murderer who kills several individuals over a long period of time. While these people are usually male motivated by various psychological motives such as power, the number of female serial killers has increased significantly in the recent past. Unlike their male counterparts, female serial killers use less visible means of murder such as poisoning in order to keep under the radar and remain discrete (Gilbert et. al., 2003). Since the less visible methods account for 80 percent of deaths caused by female serial killers, these criminals can be considered as gentle 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,

A serial killer by definition of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is a person who kills three or more people on different occasions (Barkan and Bryjak 70). Serial killers have been present in societies all throughout history, giving researchers opportunities to study them and bringing attention to their name. Fear and fascination with them enables the media to intrigue society as it creates TV shows, movies, and documentaries about famous serial killers of the past and how they develop (“Subtypes, Patterns, and Motives”). The creation of a serial killer is not based on just one aspect, but instead includes a combination of factors stemming from childhood, a biological and psychological basis (“Development, Dynamic, and Forensics”). When apprehending a serial killer, it is pivotal to assess the individual to determine the level of sanity in order to proceed in the criminal justice system (Grasham).

In an article called “The Traits of A Serial Killer,” by Simon (2004), psychopaths are not “created” over night, but rather their behavior can be connected all the way to their childhood. What trauma a child experiences plays a major role in the rest of his or her life. A serial killer, most of the time,

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

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.

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.

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).

Throughout time there has always been mentally disturbed people, but the problem is that they are on the streets and not in a psych ward. As you read this paper you will learn about some of the most infamous serial killers of the 20th century and the horrific atrocities they committed. We will go inside the mind of a serial killer and discover what drives them to kill people and also why some serial killers love to devour their victims, keep their limbs and even continue to preform sexual acts with them even after there are already dead.

One motivation that quickly becomes apparent within a serial killer is that of psychopathy. Psychopathic traits include narcissism, irresponsibility, lack of empathy, promiscuity, poor behavior, lying, and impulsivity (Arrigo & Griffin, 2004). Because psychopaths lack the ability to care or feel for their victims, it is easy for the perpetrator to disregard them and perform whatever acts they wish upon them. A psychopathic person also feels a low sense of self-worth, which can be

According to statistics 50% of Serial Killers suffered emotional,physical and sexual abuse and neglect during childhood. Often times family members were usually at odds with each other and had malfunction and debilitating relationships. As young children they would be often forced to witness violent sexual acts between parents and family members. The forms of punishment that many had to face would cause them to suffer from humiliation, were normal if not always unfair, unpredictable, destructive, and wicked. When a child is merely neglected huge developmental failures can occur. More than 20 known Serial Killers were forced to dress up as a girl as a wicked punishment. They would also be sexually abused by family members and punished for masturabating as children. Such experiences in a young child will create violent fantasies that go into adulthood. From these forms of punishment a child would and will become desensitized and will begin to believe that this emotionally barren world that he or she lives in is normal. Thus due to these punishments a child will become devoid of empathy for others. (Gerber

Serial killers have been a rare phenomenon throughout history. Although, they are rare researchers have long since tried to determine characteristics and typologies of serial killers. Their main goal is to get into the minds of these vicious offenders. This article is intends to discuss the different characteristics and typologies that law enforcement, researchers and criminologists have used to tried to explain what create a serial killer and develop a profile in hope to be able to catch serial killers quickly, if not before they kill.

It can be said that most serial killers share some of the same personality traits, such as being characterized as power hungry, charming, and manipulative; traits all of which can be expressed by non-murders as well. So what makes serial killers different from normal people, non-murderous people, but also different from what we think of when discussing people with an abnormal mind? Some say, this specific type of psychopath may be a product of nature rather than nurture. Undoubtedly nurture does play some role in the formation of these covertly manic people. In many cases, such as with Charles Manson, reports of neglect throughout both childhood and young adulthood could have also been a key factor in “making a murder” out of a presumably normal human being, as is discussed throughout many studies of abnormal psychology.

“The Incidence of Child Abuse in Serial Killers” was performed by Heather Mitchell and Michael G. Aamodt. This research study looked at serial killers and if they experienced child abuse in their childhood; to see if child abuse is a reason that a serial killer performs such heinous crimes. A serial killer is someone who murders multiple persons separately with time in between each kill. In this research study, child abuse is categorized as four different types: physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect. Physical abuse is causing or allowing non- accidental harm. Sexual abuse is the practice of any sexual activity that is unhealthy for a child’s development or any illegal sexual that is acted upon a child. Psychological abuse is any emotional damage caused to a child. Neglect is failing to provide necessities a child needs to develop. There are different types of serial killers, based on their motive to kill such as money, the experience of thrill, the sense of power, the desire to get rid of evil people, and lust. This study focuses on lust killers which kill mainly for sexual pleasure. Some lust killers will have sex with their victims then kill them to get

What is a serial killer? Retired Special Agent Robert Ressler, a twenty-two year veteran of the FBI’s Behavioral Sciences Unit in Quantico, Virginia, is responsible for creating the term “serial killer.” He defines this person as “one who commits a series of murders, usually three or more, the victims most often being strangers, and usually with a cooling-off period in between each kill” (Kelleher & Kelleher, 1998; Pearson, 1998; Ressler and Shactman, 1997). This precise definition is necessary to distinguish this type of predator from the mass murderer (who kills many simultaneously), mercenaries, war criminals, or mafia hit men.