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The psychology behind serial killers pdf
Essays on the psychology of serial killers
The psychology behind serial killers pdf
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A Closer Look on Serial Killers
Ever wondered if there is a serial killer in your community? The characteristics of a serial killer may shock you or be surprisingly familiar to some of you. It is important for society to get informed about the various types of serial killers that are out there. It is essential for families to educate their children about strangers, to be careful with everyone they encounter on the streets, store, and even in their neighborhoods. A serial killer is defined as a person who murders three or more people in at least three separate events, with a "cooling-off period" between the kills. The big question is, what makes a person do these atrocious killings? We will analyze personal histories, categorized serial killers,
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Most of them come from broken or abusive families. John Wayne Gacy, Gary Ridgeway, and Ed Gein were all physically and verbally abuse by a parent and most likely endured some type of trauma (LaBrode, R). Childhood abuse has been the main factor in the development of a serial killer. According to Ressler's research, 100 percent [of serial killers] had been abused as children, either with violence, neglect, or humiliation; moreover, over 40 percent of the [serial] murderers reported being physically beaten and abused in their childhoods and more than70 percent said they had witnessed or been part of sexually stressful event when young (Mitchell, H., and Aamodt, M.). Many serial killers' methodology of murder traces back to their childhood traumas; inflicting their pain to others into. This can be seen most apparently in the case of Edward Kemper, who ripped his mother's throat as he revenged for all the years of verbal and emotional abuse he had sustained from her; showing no empathy or guilt for that matter. In many cases, serial killers kill a certain group or "class of persons" to construct revenge towards a person who might have hurt them in the past. Like for example, Carl Panzram, who only murdered young males of the age he was when he got raped by a group of gang …show more content…
They have no close relationships with friends or family members. When this group of serial killers choose their victims, is usually when the opportunity is brought to him, like an impulsive action. They do not plan their attacks or take any steps to cover up their tracks; they usually kill at one site and consider their mission over, leaving behind evidence such as blood, semen, fingerprints, and the murder weapon. A character of this type is usually compelled to perform other rituals with the victim's dead body, like cannibalisms, sexual intercourse, or cutting it up; they tend to depersonalize the victim with a "thing" or "it." Moreover, considering their careless mechanism, they tend to move cities and even states a lot to avoid arrest. Disorganized serial killers are very straightforward: messy and
Serial killers are a type person who commits a series of murders, often with no apparent motive and typically following a characteristic, predictable behavior pattern. Most of the time something triggers them and then they go on their serial rampage. Some things that can be part of a serial killer's profile is they are normally white males, late 20’s early 30’s, kills with in own race, method of murder is hands on, and their victims are selected because they share specific characteristics. The types of serial killers are disorganized asocial and organized nonsocial. The different types of serial killers are: missionary killers, power seeking, lust killing, visionary killer, thrill killing. The profiling of a serial killer's changes upon the
A serial killer is a person who murders three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a "cooling off" period between each murder, and whose motivation for killing is largely based on psychological gratification. Most people do not understand what can make a person want to kill multiple people for no reason other than own satisfactional gain. In actuality serial killers have been studied for over hundreds of years, and the information that has been documented continues to grow. The research that I have gathered about serial killers focuses on their childhood development, the differences and similarities between men and female serial kills, and finally general information on how their brains operate and their motives for committing such harmful acts.
Taking the life of another person is one of the worst infractions of the law to commit. The Bureau of Justice defines serial killing as “[involving] the killing of several victims in three or more separate events” (“Michigan” 1). Serial killers often commit extremely violent crimes; they usually become infamous for these crimes. The first recorded serial killers are probably Jack the Ripper in 1888 and Fritz Haarmann in 1924 (“Michigan” 1). Jack the Ripper is also one of the most well-known criminals, almost everyone knows who he is or has at least heard of him. Most people know what he is famous for and associate him with being a bad person. Serial killers are typically sadistic and sociopathic, meaning that they are unable to feel empathy for people who are suffering (“Michigan” 1). Whimsical sociopaths who have sadistic tendencies are very dangerous. They inflict pain because they do not care that someone else is suffering, they only care that it makes t...
The mind of a serial killer can be very interesting in being able to find out what makes them want to do what they do. Knowing if someone was abused as a child and if this makes them more likely to become a serial killer or not become a serial killer is something I was very curious to learn about. Something that happens in a person’s childhood can affect the way they act when they become adults. I found two sources talking about childhood abuse and serial killers. The first source was an internet article entitled “Serial Killer Motives” found on the website How Stuff Works and was written by Shanna Freeman. The second source I found was a video entitled “Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer” which is found off of the website Big Think. This video was narrated by Michael Stone. Both of these sources are able to answer the question if childhood abuse or neglect makes someone more or less likely to become a serial killer later on in their lives.
A serial killer is a person who has killed three or more people over a month apart. Their motivation for killing is usually based on psychological issue.(Sanmartín,2001) In the U.S, the most reported serial killers are lower middle class white males, usually in their late twenties to early thirties (Skrapec,2001). Serial killers, often, are liars. They have no sense of remorse or guilt. Most of the time they are not in serious relationship or have any emotional obsession to any one person, besides their victims. Most of the well-known serial killers are: Robert Pickton, Charles Manson, Anthony Sowell, Ted Bundy, The Zodiac Killer, The Green River Killer, and The BTK murderer. (Sanmartín,2001). Often, women were never seen as even a suspect
Whereas, disorganized serial killers typically have low IQ’s and are extremely antisocial. Pick their victims at random whenever the opportunity crosses. They find themselves compelled to perform rituals with every victim. It’s also known that some of these killers suffer with a history of mental illness.
A serial killer is traditionally 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. Several serial killers have a definitive and common personality profile.
Serial killers have been around since ancient times. “Serial murder is the killing of three or more people over a period of 30 days, with a significant cooling-off period” (Knight 1190). People have many assumptions as to what could have caused these individuals to commit these crimes. Serial killers come in all different forms: male and female, young and old, rich and poor, mentally ill and mentally healthy. “The average serial killer profile is white, male, low-middle socioeconomic status, in his 20s or 30s, has a history of childhood abuse or neglect, is sociopathic/psychopathic, is a chameleon to his environment, and appears normal to others” (LaBrode 154). They are obsessed with power and dominance, usually killing or injuring animals
According to federal law, the term ‘serial killings’ means 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. Throughout history, serial killers have always been a fascination among many individuals. On numerous occasions, law enforcement has tried to dive into the psyche of these killers to determine why they kill. There have also been numerous stereotypes placed on serial killers. Typical stereotypes are serial killers are all white males, loners, and that their crimes are driven by sex.
Serial killers have many frightening facets. The most frightening thing about them is that experts still do not know what makes a human become a serial killer. Many experts believe serial killers become what they are because they have a genetic disposition or brain abnormality while other experts believe that a serial killer is created by childhood abuse; and some other experts believe that it is a combination of both brain abnormalities and abusive childhood experiences that creates a serial killer. A murderer is considered a serial killer when they “murder three or more persons in at least three separate events with a “cooling off period” between kills” (Mitchell and Aamodt 40). When defining a serial killer, their background, genes, and brain are not mentioned; perhaps one day those aspects of the serial killer can be included.
'Serial murder'; has long been a term used to describe those human beings that repeatedly commit heinous crimes. It is rare that the average person probes the mind of a serial killer without bias. However, what lies behind the eyes of a serial killer deserves more than the cold hard look that society so often gives (Aaronson, Inter...
So what makes a serial killer? Levin points out that contrary to popular belief, serial killers don't just 'snap'; or 'go crazy'; (Douglas, p. 137). Many of the serial killers have been the victims of childhood abuse. Jack Levin stated 'Research shows many serial killers suffered abuse, incest or neglect as children and develop poor self images'; (Douglas, p. 137). Serial killers often have a childhood marked by the absence of any nurturing relationship. 'They often come from families where the parents were absent or ineffective, where authority was not defined, and where they could engage in destructive behavior undeterred-violent play, cruelty to animals, and incidents of arson being some of the childhood behavior patterns noted among many serial killers'; (Clark, p. 206).
In order to identify serial killers before they kill repeatedly, a person needs to study the characteristics that makes up this type of criminals. Most serial killers have been abandoned, by one or both parents, they are emotionally, physically, and even sexually abused by a family member, or relatives from unstable families who have criminal, psychiatric and alcoholic histories, or tend to have hate for their parents and people in general which makes them have antisocial personality disorder. They have conflicted pain or tortured animals at a young age and most are highly interested in gaining control over things. Even though not every serial killers posses these characteristics, but most share these characteristics the same way they share the psychological need to have complete control and power over people.
Classifying a serial murderer is something law enforcement has been trying to figure out for years. The inevitable question is, is a mass murderer considered a serial killer? Technically no. “A serial killer is someone who, through pre-meditation, kills three or more victims over a period of time” (“Serial Murder” 2). These people are more than likely normal everyday people who have an itch to kill. Along with the number and how many victims are recovered, there are numerous other possibilities to classify a serial murderer. Although most work alone, killers have been known to work in teams, be male or female, and can be killing for a reason or no reason at all. One thing that all serial killers have in common is some sort of psychological impairment that is the main reason scientists believe to be responsible for their actions. These psychological impairments that accompany most killers include characteristics like superficial charm, unreliability, untruthfulness, lack of remorse, and failure to follow any life plan. Although there is no exact answer for why these criminals keep on killing, scientists believes they have a theory. These scientists claim that by charting traumatizing events in a killer’s childhood along with their crimes, they can explain why they kill (Life’s Little Mysteries, 1). Although t...
Serial killers have been a major problem in the United States for a long time. We don’t know why they kill human beings, but many people are trying to figure out why. A serial killer is a person that has murdered three or more people over a period of a month. There is also a period of time between the murders know as the “cooling off period”. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there have been approximately four hundred serial killers in the United States within the past century. The number of these murderers have increased over the past thirty years, with around eighty percent of them emerging since 1950.