The Role Of A Serial Killer

Many serial killers were sexually abused as children and this left them with a twisted viewpoint on how sex is supposed to be so they end up committing rapes. Often children who were verbally abused or neglected as children commit crimes when they are older because of the brain chemistry that was warped when they were young. Sometimes serial killers before they commit their first crime seem like normal, healthy people but there are subtle clues that lead up to the killer they are about to become. For example, Ted Bundy who murdered at least 36 women was using pornography heavily where he became numb to it and needed to act out his fantasies to feel any excitement. Before that many people reported him being a relatively normal and friendly guy.

As described in article, What makes serial killers tick?”, it mentions that many serial killers were physically or emotionally abused by parents. Other traits as mention in other studies say that antisocial behavior could be an indicator why they might have problems. As defined in article, Early signs of serial killers, it says that “Other signs that one suffers from antisocial disorder include: patterns of lying, aggressiveness, failure to conform to social norms, and irresponsibility.” This demonstrates that these could be

Statistically, the average serial killer is a white male from a lower to middle class background, usually in his twenties or thirties. Many were physically or emotionally abused by parents, while some were adopted. As children, fledgling serial killers often set fires, torture animals, and wet their beds (these red-flag behaviours are known as the "triad" of symptoms.) There are many facts to support the argument that evil people are made and not born that way. Over 90% of famous serial killers such as the infamous Fred West and Henry Lee Lucas were either from broken homes, or were the victims of abusive parents.

Such horrific trauma at such a young age is the reason many believe led John Wayne Gacy to become the brutal serial murderer he is known to be. Had Gacy been raised in a safe and loving family, maybe the world would not know him to be one of the most horrific criminals the public has seen. Research has also shown that a child deprived of love and affection from his mother is more likely to become a criminal than by a child with a caring and nurturing mother (Barbour 87). Ed Kemper, for example, was isolated in the basement as a child by his mother who was afraid he would molest his sister. Kemper’s father would commit those horrendous acts on his daughters and because Ed resembled his father’s looks, his mother neglected him.

Before I introduce these killers, I am going to discuss the psychological makeup and stereotypes of serial killers. Most serial killers exhibit three symptoms as children that would be considered warning flags. This is known as the “triad of Sociopathy […] the triad consists of bed-wetting after the age of five, cruelty to animals and arson or an interest in fire” (Weatherby, Buller, McGinnis). This is supported by John E. Douglas, a FBI profiler, who helped capture many serial killers. In his interviews with serial killers, he found out that most were abused by one of their parents, mostly by their mother.

The obstacles we go through in life and how we react to them defines us. Likely, the environment, especially the home environment, plays a very big role in the development of a serial killer. Usually most serial killers have gone through some sort of childhood trauma which later on results in their acts. Jeffrey Dahmer, a serial killer who was a quiet, shy man and had committed several murders on young boys and men. Jeffrey Dahmer’s father was an engineer and his mother would usually suffer from psychotic breaks, depression and sucidal thoughts.

What horrible tragic set of events could twist a man to murder one or many people. Could Schizophrenia, psychopathy, or sociopathy? Many people have researched this topic and believe that childhood trauma, heavy drugs during the growing phase of life, as well as many other things have twisted the minds of men such as Jeffery Dahmer, Charles Manson, John Wayne Gacy, and David Berkowitz. Many say that their actions were preventable but many other believe that the warning signs were present and that their behavior could have been modified long before the murders began. The triad is the name given to the set of characteristic that serials killers are evident of in their youth.

What frightens people however, is the fact that a huge number of the population has been exposed to at least one of these traumas in their lifetime. The... ... middle of paper ... ...al killers grow into sadistic mass murders. Though both nature and nurture have strong evidence to back them up as an explanation, neither theories explain why serial killers do what they do. While going over both explanations, I believe that it could be a mixture of both genetics and their childhood. My conclusion to these findings, nature does choose the traits we are born with, however, there needs to be a cultural trigger that leads to these individuals committing these horrific crimes.

Many serial killers have a “type,” and their victims usually fit into that type. So what exactly causes someone to become a serial killer? Many signs point to characteristics in the killer’s childhood. According to Michael and Tom Philibin, “psychiatrists established that a serial murderer will have exhibited one or more specific behaviors in childhood: cruelty to animals, setting fires, and wetting the bed” (Philbin 8). Serial killers were usually abused as children by s... ... middle of paper ... ...compares serial killers to black holes.

He’s Convicted serial killer and sex offender Jeffrey Dahmer murdered 17 males between 1978 and 1991. He was killed by a fellow prison inmate in 1994. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1960, Jeffrey Dahmer displayed troubling behavior following childhood surgery. He committed his first murder in 1978, and was arrested multiple times before claiming his second victim, in 1987. In addition to killing the men and teenagers he lured home, he mutilated, photographed and performed sexual acts on the victims ' corpses, keeping body parts as mementos.