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What are the types of serial killers
Female serial killers research paper
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Female serial killers have long careers, and it is often hard to interview them because they are rare (Johnston, 2012). There are different types of female serial killers, and different things motivate them. This leads one to ask: What are the different types and causes of female serial killers, and how do they target their victims? Background There have been many different definitions of a serial killer, but the FBI’s official definition of a serial killer as of 2010 is “the unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender, in separate events” (“FBI”, 2010). Female serial killers are rare, however famous ones include DESCRIBE Beverly Awitt and Rosemary West (McIvor, 2004). Aileen Wuornos is a famous serial killer from the United States. Wuornos was convicted of killing six men (Arrigo, 2004). There are less female serial murderers than there are males, but their careers last longer because, they use subtle methods of killing (Johnston, 2012).Women serial killers will often know their victims, and their methods of killing are covert (Frei, Völlm, and Dittmann, 2006). However the most popular methods they use are poison, drowning, stabbing, suffocation, and shooting (Taylor, Lambeth, Green, Bone, Cahillane, 2012). Only few female serial killers use guns (Frei et al,. 2006). Men will kill their victims in a shooting, but there are patterns to the killing (Petherick, Kennedy, & Homant, 2005). Other methods used by men include strangling, torture, and using weapons (Interviewing Serial Killers, n.d.). Types of Serial Killers and Causes Different types of serial killers include the black widow, angel of death, sexual predator, and profit or crime killers power/control killers, who kill to demonstrate power over ... ... middle of paper ... ...y Today. Retrieved January 23, 2014 from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-equation/201205/female-serial-killers McIvor, G. (2004) Women who offend. London, GBR: Jessica Kingsley Publishers Petherick, W., Kennedy, D., Homant, R. (2005). Serial crime : Theoretical and practical issues in behavioral profiling. Burlington, MA, USA: Academic Press Schechter, H. (2003). The serial killer files: The who, what, where, how, and why of the world's most terrifying murderers. Random House LLC. Schurman-Kauflin, D. (2000) New predator : Profiles of female serial killers. New York, NY: Algora Publishing Taylor, S., Lambeth, D., Green, G., Bone, R., & Cahillane, M. A. (2012). Cluster analysis examination of serial killer profiling categories: A bottom-up approach. Journal Of Investigative Psychology & Offender Profiling, 9(1), 30-51. Retrieved from Ebsco
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
Mainly we have talked about male, but now let’s talk about female serial killers. When people think of a psychopathic killer, typically a male comes to mind and we have no sense of what a females capabilities are. After studies in this article, they categorized female serial killers into 7 different categories. Those categories would be black widow, angel of death, revenge killer, murder for profit or crime, killer whose sanity is in question, team killer, and sexual predator. So you see, female serial killers may not be common but often are in low profile and quite dangerous when put into play. When looking for a psychopath, there is a unique check list that they have talked about using in this article. First and for most they tend to be quiet and unsociable, but at the same time come off charming. They are very manipulative in getting what they want, this goes back to the “Sadomasochistic Serial Killer Protagonist in the Killer Inside of me” article. This article is a great representation of my topic because it focuses on how to know when someone is a psychopath aka “Serial Killer”. It directly answers my question on what makes a serial killer by identifying the personality traits of
In a study conducted by Hickey, he discovered that out of thirty-four female serial killers, almost one in two had a male accomplice committing murders with them (Holmes et al., 1991). He also revealed that 97% were white and the average age the women started committing murders was thirty-three (Holmes et al., 1991). Women serial killers differ from men in that most women kill for material gain, such as money or insurance benefits, and they usually commit murder with pills or poison. Stephen Holmes, Ronald Holmes, and Eric Hickey developed a typology for female serial killers similar to the one developed by Holmes and Holmes, discussed earlier. They begin with visionary serial killers, who are compelled by some force, such as God, or spirits, to commit murders. The second type is the comfort killer, who usually kills acquaintances and does so for a material gain, money or real estate (Holmes et al., 1991). The third category is hedonistic female serial killers, which is similar to the earlier typology in that the offender connects murder with sexual gratification. This is the least represented category for female offenders, but evidence for this type of killer can be seen in the case of Carol Bundy (Holmes et al., 1991). Bundy allegedly helped her husband kidnap, murder, and decapitate the
As years go on so will the research on serial killers and hopefully we as a society will fully understand them and one day be able to cure whatever inside that makes them have the urge to kill. Works Cited The Electronic Journal of Sociology, published by the University of Guelph, Ontario. http://www.scribd.com/doc/167086215/How-Serial-Killers-Work. According to the article “10 Most Common Traits of Potential Serial Killers By Hestie Barnard Gerber. According to Comrade Chikatilo: The Psychopathology of Russia's Notorious Serial Killer.
They have no sense of remorse or guilt. Most of the time they are not in serious relationship or have any emotional obsession with 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. (Sanmartn, 2001). Often, women were never seen as even a suspect in a serial murder, but little did they know, women were just as bad as men.
Almost all people know who serial killers are, but what exactly defines a serial killer. The FBI defines serial murder as “a minimum of three to four victims with a ‘cooling off’ period between, the killer is usually a stranger to the victim, the murders reflect a need to sadistically dominate the victim, and the murder is rarely for profit.” (Vronsky, 2004, p.36) Serial killers are usually a white male from a lower-to-middle-class background typically in his twenties or thirties. Also, 85% of the world’s serial killers live in America, with at least twenty to fifty unidentified active serial killers plotting another one of their killings. On average, every person has seen or met at least 37 serial killers in their lifespan.
Serial killers commonly attack a single target at a time one on one. There also tends to be no or very little relation between the person being killed and the killer (murder 1). “The nature of this drive has been heavily debated, but there is a consensus on some points (Anderson 1).” Many researchers have noted sexual behavior in the murder.
The FBI defines serial killing as “the unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s) in separate events” (Farrell, Keppal, & Titterington, 2011, p. 231). While individuals who partake in such activity do receive a large amount of attention, the female parts of this population are vastly under recognized. Female serial killers receive little academic attention, even though they are a complex and dynamic group to study (p. 229). Women make up 15% of American serial killers, with 36 known to be active in the last century (p. 230). It is speculated that at any given time there are 50-70 serial killers in the United States, and approximately 7-8 of them are female (Schurman, 2000, p. 12).
Ricard, Suzanne, Thompson, Jennie. “Women’s Role in Serial Killing Teams: Reconstructing a Radical Feminist Perspective.” Critical Criminology 17(4): 261-275
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.
Miller, Laurence. "The predator's brain: Neuropsychodynamics of serial killers."Serial offenders: Current thought, recent findings, unusual syndromes (2000): 135-166.
Holmes, R., & Holmes, S. (1996). Profiling violent crimes: An investigative tool (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
...r from the truth. (Kelleher p. xi) There may not be as many female serial killers as their male counterparts although 100 female serial killers have been identified since 1900. This may seem shocking to the casual reader, but what will shock them even more is the fact that many female serial killers are never identified. This is because the methods of these predators are far superior to those of their male counterpart; like most women they are deceitfully cunning. 'These highly allusive predators are meticulous in planing and disposing of any evidence that will link them to the crime '(Kelleher p. 20).
A serial killer is a person whom everybody knows as a friend, a lover or even a father but no one knows about his killer instinct until it's to late. Serial killers have plagued this country and others for many years. They are hard to find and virtually undetectable until they start murdering the innocent.
Arndt, W., Hietpas, T., & Kim, J (2004). Critical characteristics of male serial murderers. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 29(1).