Serial Killers Essay

Serial Killers: The Mind Behind the Motive The captivation with serial murder is neither a novel event, nor is it exclusively American. Murder in its simplest form is horrifying, not only to the victim but the public as well. Both families lose a loved one leaving behind mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers and friends. The reality is, a serial killer like Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Gary Ridgway (the “Green River Killer”), or John Wayne Gacy (the “Killer Clown”), can be anyone. They are your neighbors, co-workers, lovers and homeless people on the streets.

Since ancient times, serial murderers have been chronicled around the world. However, public attraction intensified in the late 1880’s when an unknown killer calling himself

Serial killers in this group are not usually psychotic. Some of these serial killers see themselves as changing the world, and curing a societal ill. Joseph Paul Franklin, born as James Clayton April 13, 1950 was inspired to start a race war after reading Mein Kampf. He targeted young black people and interracial couples, Jewish people, essentially anybody that wasn't white. Shootings were his usual including; Rifles, Shotguns, and Handguns. He also incorporated bombs and mace. J. P. Franklin was suspected of twenty-one murders. He confessed to seventeen and was convicted of eight murders. From 1978 till 1995, The Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, (The Unabomber), is another example of this type of killer. Although not considered a serial killer he set off sixteen bombs, that wounded twenty-three people and killed

They are sometimes categorized as demon-mandated or God-mandated. For example, in the early 1970’s Herbert Mullin believed the American casualties in the Vietnam War were preventing California from suffering a major earthquake. To delay a disastrous earthquake from plunging California into the Pacific Ocean he claimed his father contacted him by telepathy to increase the amount of “human sacrifices to nature. In a period of four months Mullin murdered thirteen people. In contrast, a demon-mandated visionary, David Berkowitz, (the Son of Sam) terrorized New York City from July 1976 to August 1977 claiming a demon was sending him directives to kill through his neighbor’s dog. His crime spree would unfortunately end with six murders and seven wounded