Female Serial Killers

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His dead body was found in the woods near Daytona Beach, Florida, shot with a twenty two caliber rifle. “She ended up shooting six .22 caliber bullets into him” (McDuff 202). This is just one of the many catastrophes performed by a woman serial killer. Serial killers are a problem in the United States, murdering on average 2000 people each year (Indiana University np). “In fact, serial murder in the United States alone makes up more than three-quarters of the estimated world total” (Innes 5). Although women serial killers are not very common, they still have a huge impact on the death toll of innocent victims. In order to understand how woman serial killers operate, it is important to understand their motives, the different classifications of woman killers, society’s response, and the consequences they face for their actions. There are many differences between the traits of men and women serial killers. A serial killer is defined as “a person who carries out a series of murders” (Farlex np).When men serial killers are studied, the general motives for their killing are sex, power, manipulation, domination, and control. Serial killers who are women have many other reasons to kill such as revenge, elimination, jealously, personal gain, lust, and thrill. The woman’s desire to kill often leads back to her past. “Women nearly always kill someone with whom they already have some sort of relationship; with women, killing is usually an intensely personal thing” (Castleden 563). Serial killers are usually motivated by a rage against some specific aspect of society or their own life. One of the most common things that female serial killers have in common is that they were not raised in a loving or stable home. In some instances, like Ann... ... middle of paper ... ...ww.lsu.edu/faculty/jpullia/femaleserialkillers.htm>. Greig, Charlotte. Evil Serial Killers: In the Minds of Monsters. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2006. Print. Innes, Brian. Serial Killers. London: Quercus, 2006. Print. Kerns, Jeanne Marie. "Women Serial Killers and Their Motives." Associated Content from Yahoo! 24 Apr. 2007. Web. 4 May 2011. . Kerr, Gordon. Professional Killers. London: Futura, 2008. Print. McDuff, Anne. She Devils: True Stories of the World's Most Notorious Female Serial Killers. London: John Blake, 2009. Print. Schurman-Kauflin, Deborah. The New Predator--Women Who Kill: Profiles of Female Serial Killers. New York: Algora Pub., 2000. Print. "Serial Killer." The Free Dictionary. Web. 4 May 2011. .

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