Revision as of 05:46, 3 August 2006 editConnor5121 (talk | contribs)3 edits →External links← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 20:51, 19 December 2024 edit undoJet Pilot (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Rollbackers2,718 editsm Reverted edits by 174.196.135.81 (talk) to last version by Swinub: nonconstructive editsTags: Rollback SWViewer [1.6] | ||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{short description|Murderer of multiple people}} | |||
'''Serial killers''' are people who kill on at least three occasions with a break in between each murder. The crimes committed are a result of a compulsion that may have roots in the killer's (often ]al) youth and psychopathological disorders, as opposed to those who are motivated by financial gain (e.g., ]s) or ideological/political motivations (e.g., ], ]). | |||
{{Use American English|date=March 2023}} | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2020}} | |||
{{homicide}} | |||
] murdering Margery Campbell]] | |||
A '''serial killer''' (also called a '''serial murderer''') is a person who ]s three or more people,<ref name="Most common">An offender can be anyone: | |||
* {{harvnb|Holmes|Holmes|1998 |loc=Serial murder is the killing of two or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a significant cooling-off period between the murders The baseline number of three victims appears to be most common among those who are the academic authorities in the field. The time frame also appears to be an agreed-upon component of the definition.}} | |||
* {{harvnb|Petherick|2005|loc=p. 190 Three killings seem to be required in the most popular definition of serial killing since they are enough to provide a pattern within the killings without being overly restrictive.}} | |||
* {{harvnb|Flowers|2012|loc=p. 195 In general, most experts on serial murder require that a minimum of three murders be committed at different times and usually different places for a person to qualify as a serial killer.}} | |||
* {{harvnb|Schechter|2012|loc=p. 73 Most experts seem to agree, however, that to qualify as a serial killer, an individual has to slay a minimum of three unrelated victims.}} | |||
* {{Cite web|title=Definition of Serial Murder|url=https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder#two|access-date=2024-08-20|website=]}} (This source only requires two people)</ref> with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separate events.<ref name="Most common"/><ref>{{harvnb|Burkhalter Chmelir|2003|p=1}}, {{harvnb|Morton|2005|pp=4, 9}}</ref> Their psychological ] is the ] for the killings, and many serial murders involve sexual contact with the victims at different points during the murder process.{{sfn|Geberth|1995|p=? "The base population was 387 serial murderers, who killed (under various motivations), three or more persons over a period of time with cooling-off periods between the events. The author identified 232 male serial murderers who violated their victims sexually"}} The ] ] (FBI) states that the motives of serial killers can include anger, ], financial gain, and ], and killings may be ].{{sfn|Morton|2005|pp=4, 9}} The victims tend to have things in common, such as ], appearance, gender, or ].<ref name="Tick" /> As a group, serial killers suffer from a variety of ]. Most are often not adjudicated as insane under the law.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Serial Murder|url=https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder|access-date=2024-08-20|website=]}}</ref> Although a serial killer is a distinct classification that differs from that of a ]er, ], or ], there are overlaps between them. | |||
==Etymology and definition== | |||
== Defining serial murder == | |||
The term ''serial killer'' |
The English term and concept of ''serial killer'' are commonly attributed to former ] ] ], who used the term ''serial homicide'' in 1974 in a lecture at Police Staff College, in ], ], England.<ref>{{harvnb|Ressler|Schachtman|1993|p=29}}, {{harvnb|Schechter|2003|p=5}}</ref> Author ] postulates in her 2004 book ''Kiss Me, Kill Me'', that the English-language credit for coining the term goes to ] ] Pierce Brooks, who created the ] (ViCAP) system in 1985.{{sfn|Rule|2004|p=225}} | ||
The German term and concept were coined by criminologist ], who described ] as a ''{{lang|de|Serienmörder}}'' ('serial-murderer') in his article "{{lang|de|Die Düsseldorfer Sexualverbrechen}}" (1930).{{sfn|Gennat|1930|pp=7, 27–32, 49–54, 79–82}} In his book, '']'' (2004), criminal justice historian ] notes that while Ressler might have coined the English term "serial homicide" within the law in 1974, the terms ''serial murder'' and ''serial murderer'' appear in ]'s book ''The Meaning of Murder'' (1966).<ref name="=Vronsky"/> The Washington, D.C., newspaper '']'', in a 1967 review of the book:<ref>{{cite news |title=Review: ''The Meaning of Murder'' |work=] |location=Washington, D.C. |date=May 30, 1967 |at=p. 12, col. 4 }}</ref> | |||
The term allows criminologists to distinguish those who kill several people over a long period of time from those who kill several people during a single event (]s). A third type of multiple killer is a spree killer. | |||
{{blockquote|There is the mass murderer, or what he calls the "serial" killer, who may be actuated by greed, such as insurance, or retention or growth of power, like the ] of Renaissance Italy, or ], the "]" of the World War I period, who murdered numerous wives after taking their money.|author=|title=|source=}} | |||
The following are brief definitions of these three types: | |||
*A '''serial killer''' is someone who commits three or more ]s over an extended period of time with cooling-off periods in between. In between their crimes, they appear to be quite normal, a state which ] and ] call the "mask of sanity." There is often — but not always — a sexual element to the murders. | |||
*A ''']er''', on the other hand, is an individual who commits multiple murders in a single event and in one location. The perpetrators sometimes commit ], meaning knowledge of their state of mind and what triggers their actions is often left to more speculation than fact. Mass murderers who are caught sometimes claim they cannot clearly remember the event. | |||
*A ''']''' commits multiple murders in different locations over a period of time that may vary from a few hours to several days. Unlike serial killers, however, they do not revert to their normal behavior in between slayings. | |||
Vronsky states that the term ''serial killing'' first entered into broader American popular usage when published in '']'' in early 1981, to describe Atlanta serial killer ]. Subsequently, throughout the 1980s, the term was used again in the pages of ''The New York Times'', one of the major national news publications of the United States, on 233 occasions. By the end of the 1990s, the use of the term had increased to 2,514 instances in the paper.{{sfn|Vronsky|2013}} | |||
All of the above types of crimes are usually carried out by solitary individuals. There have been examples in all three categories in which two or more perpetrators have acted together. Author ] states that this happens in about a third of the cases. ] and ], who together committed the ], are prime examples of spree killers. | |||
When defining serial killers, researchers generally use "three or more murders" as the baseline,<ref name="Most common"/> considering it sufficient to provide a pattern without being overly restrictive.{{sfn|Petherick|2005|p=190}} Independent of the number of murders, they need to have been committed at different times, and are usually committed in different places.{{sfn|Flowers|2012|p=195}} The lack of a cooling-off period (a significant break between the murders) marks the difference between a ] and a serial killer. The category has, however, been found to be of no real value to law enforcement, because of definitional problems relating to the concept of a "cooling-off period."<ref name="fbi.gov" /> Cases of extended bouts of sequential killings over periods of weeks or months with no apparent "cooling off period" or "return to normality" have caused some experts to suggest a hybrid category of "spree-serial killer".<ref name="=Vronsky">{{harvnb|Vronsky|2004}}</ref> | |||
There are other types of multiple killings as well, although they often involve larger organizations than two or three perpetrators: ] and ]. | |||
In ''Controversial Issues in Criminology'', Fuller and Hickey write that "he element of time involved between murderous acts is primary in the differentiation of serial, mass, and spree murderers", later elaborating that spree killers "will engage in the killing acts for days or weeks" while the "methods of murder and types of victims vary". ] is given as an example of spree killing, while ] is mentioned in connection with mass murder, and ] with serial killing.<ref>Fuller, John R. & Hickey, Eric W.: ; Allyn and Bacon, 1999. p. 36.</ref> | |||
Serial killers are generally perceived to be largely consisting of white males and it is true that they are distinctly over-represented in percentile figures of known serial killers. However this does not take into account the fact that most cases of serial murder that are recorded statistically occur in countries where white males are a significant portion of the population and that many multiple murders by minorities are not included, deemed as ] or ]. Equally as racial and social barriers decine and intra-minority violence is treated more aggressively by police agencies the percentage of white males as serial killers has been in a slow but observable decine. Females are distinctly under-represented in serial killer statistics although noted female exceptions include ], ], and ]. | |||
In 2005, the FBI hosted a multi-disciplinary symposium in San Antonio, Texas, which brought together 135 experts on serial murder from a variety of fields and specialties with the goal of identifying the commonalities of knowledge regarding serial murder. The group also settled on a definition of serial murder which FBI investigators widely accept as their standard: "The unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s) in separate events".<ref name="fbi.gov" /> Serial homicide researcher Enzo Yaksic found that the FBI was justified in lowering the victim threshold from three to two victims given that serial murderers from these groups share similar pathologies.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yaksic |first=Enzo |date=2018-11-01 |title=The folly of counting bodies: Using regression to transgress the state of serial murder classification systems |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359178918300235 |journal=Aggression and Violent Behavior |volume=43 |pages=26–32 |doi=10.1016/j.avb.2018.08.007 |issn=1359-1789}}</ref> | |||
<!--Serial killers are specifically motivated by a variety of ] urges, primarily ] and ]. They often have feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness, sometimes owing to ] and ] in childhood and/or the pressures of ] and low ] status in adulthood, and their crimes compensate for this and provide a sense of potency and often revenge, by giving them a feeling of power, both at the time of the actual killing and afterwards. The knowledge that their actions terrify entire communities and often baffle police adds to this sense of power. This motivational aspect separates them from contract killers and other multiple murderers who are motivated by profit. For example, in ] during the ], ] murdered people in what became known as the "Case of the Body Snatchers." They would not count as serial killers by most criminologists' definitions, however, because their motive was primarily economic. | |||
--> | |||
In many cases, a serial killer will plead ] in a court of law. This defense is almost uniformly unsuccessful at achieving a not-guilty verdict, however, it does allow the defense to introduce evidence about the killers background in hopes that that some sympathy from the jury will spare the client a ]. | |||
==History== | |||
In most US jurisidictions (i.e., the states), the legal definition of ] is still generally based upon the classic common law "right or wrong" test delineated by an English court in the 1843 ] case. The ], as it's generally known in the legal profession, hinges upon whether the defendant knows the difference between ] at the time of the offense. With some serial killers, extensive premeditation, combined with lack of any obvious delusions or ]s that would hinder the defendant's ability to elude detection after committing multiple murders, make this defense extremely difficult. However invoking an insanity plea allows the defense to introduce evidence about the killer's background, such an history of having received ], which would normally be deemed inadmissible. | |||
{{further|List of serial killers before 1900}} | |||
], a ] serial killer also known as "Kerpeikkari" (which means 'executioner'), was one of the most active serial killers of the 19th century, killing as many as 12 people in 1849 within five weeks before being caught.<ref>{{Cite book|isbn=978-952-99946-0-1|title=Twelve murders in five weeks, Heinola's "beast" Finnish record|author=Jarmo Haapalainen|location=Heinola|date=2007|language=fi}}</ref>]] | |||
===Early accounts=== | |||
<!--The United States ] defines serial murder as: "involving the killing of several victims in seven or more separate events." This definition is especially close to that of a spree killer, and perhaps the primary difference between the two is that a serial killer has a cooling-off period. They will commit a murder and temporarily feel sated until they feel their homicidal urges resurface. The time period between murders can vary between a few days to several years and will often decrease the longer the offender eludes arrest. For example, ] murdered his second victim nine years after his first, but his last eight victims were murdered in a span of just seven months. Spree killers, on the other hand, do not have a cooling-off period and are in a state of constant hunting until they are caught or killed, even though their murder spree may sometimes extend to a period of several months. | |||
Historical ] suggest that there have been serial killers throughout history.<ref name="Waller2011">{{cite book|author=S. Waller|title=Serial Killers – Philosophy for Everyone: Being and Killing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EbcTUxIR19QC&pg=PT56|year=2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-4140-9|page=56|access-date=August 30, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053158/https://books.google.com/books?id=EbcTUxIR19QC&pg=PT56|url-status=live}}</ref> Some sources suggest that legends such as ] and ]s were inspired by ] serial killers.{{sfn|Schlesinger|2000|p=5}} In Africa, there have been periodic outbreaks of murder by ].<ref>{{cite news|title=Tanganyika: Murder by Lion |date=November 4, 1957 |magazine=Time |access-date=April 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628222637/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C867859%2C00.html |archive-date=June 28, 2011 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,867859,00.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> ] of China, nephew of the ] Emperor ], was made Prince of Jidong in the sixth year of the middle period of Jing's reign (144 BC). According to the Chinese historian ], he would "go out on marauding expeditions with 20 or 30 ] or with young men who were in hiding from the law, murdering people and seizing their belongings for sheer sport". Although many of his subjects knew about these murders, it was not until the 29th year of his reign that the son of one of his victims finally sent a report to the emperor. Eventually, it was discovered that he had murdered at least 100 people. The officials of the court requested that Liu Pengli be executed; however, the emperor could not bear to have his own nephew killed, so Liu Pengli was made a commoner and banished.{{sfn|Qian|1993|p=387}} In the 9th century (year 257 of the Islamic Calendar), "a strangler from Baghdad was apprehended. He had murdered a number of women and buried them in the house where he was living."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Al-Tabari |pages=868–879 |title=Al-Tabari's History, vol. 36. |url=https://archive.org/download/tabarivolume36/Tabari_Volume_36.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://archive.org/download/tabarivolume36/Tabari_Volume_36.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
--> | |||
Serial killers frequently have extreme ] urges. Those who lack the ability to ] with the suffering of others are frequently called ] or ], terms which have been renamed among professional psychologists as ]. Some serial killers engage in ] and ], loosely defined terms involving, respectively, ] for sexual pleasure and killing victims slowly over a prolonged period of time. | |||
== |
===Inside and outside the United States=== | ||
{{further|List of serial killers by country}} | |||
Most serial killers have dysfunctional backgrounds. Frequently they are physically, sexually, or psychologically abused as children with there often being a correlation between their childhood abuse and their crimes. | |||
The majority of documented serial killers were active in the United States.{{sfn|Newton|2006|p=95}}<ref name="Gibson2014">{{cite book|author=Dirk C. Gibson|title=Serial Killers Around the World: The Global Dimensions of Serial Murder|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-EsTDgAAQBAJ&pg=PR3|year=2014|publisher=Bentham Science Publishers|isbn=978-1-60805-842-6|pages=3–5|access-date=September 1, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120052954/https://books.google.com/books?id=-EsTDgAAQBAJ&pg=PR3|url-status=live}}</ref> In one study of serial homicide in South Africa, many patterns were similar to established patterns in the U.S., with some exceptions: no offenders were female, offenders were lower educated than in the U.S., and both victims and offenders were predominantly black.<ref name="South_Africa">{{cite journal|title=South African Serial Homicide: Offender and Victim Demographics and Crime Scene Actions|journal=Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling|volume=12|pages=18–43|url=http://forensic-psychologist.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/South-African-Serial-Homicide-Offender-and-Victim-Demographics-and-Crime-Scene-Actions-2015.pdf|last=Salfati|first=Gabrielle|display-authors=etal|year=2015|doi=10.1002/jip.1425|access-date=August 15, 2019|archive-date=August 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815160920/http://forensic-psychologist.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/South-African-Serial-Homicide-Offender-and-Victim-Demographics-and-Crime-Scene-Actions-2015.pdf|url-status=live|issn = 1544-4759}}</ref> | |||
In the 15th century, one of the wealthiest men in Europe and a former companion-in-arms of ], ], was alleged to have ] and killed peasant children, mainly boys, whom he had abducted from the surrounding villages and had taken to his castle.{{sfn|Vronsky|2004|pp=45-48}} It is estimated that his victims numbered between 140 and 800.{{sfn|Vronsky|2004|p=47}} Similarly, the ] aristocrat ], born into one of the wealthiest families in ], allegedly ]d and killed as many as 650 girls and young women before her arrest in 1610.{{sfn|Vronsky|2007|p=78}} | |||
The element of ] in serial killer's development is extremely important. They often begin fantasizing about murder during or even before adolescence. Their fantasy lives are very rich and they daydream compulsively about domination, submission, and murder, usually with very specific elements to the fantasy that will eventually be apparent in their real crimes. Others enjoy reading stories of sadism, packed with ], torture and murder. In some cases, these traits are not present. | |||
Between 1564 and 1589, German farmer ] killed 14 children, including his own son. He also murdered two pregnant women and had an incestuous relationship with his daughter. Stumpp claimed to have been granted the ability to turn into a werewolf by the Devil. As punishment for his crimes, Stumpp was put on a torture wheel and executed. His head was later severed and put on a pole next to the figure of a wolf to scare other people away from claiming themselves werewolves too.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-27 |title=2 of the Earliest Serial Killers in History |url=https://aezoutbailbonds.com/2-of-the-earliest-serial-killers-in-history/ |access-date=2023-09-11 |website=aezoutbailbonds.com |archive-date=September 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924064743/https://aezoutbailbonds.com/2-of-the-earliest-serial-killers-in-history/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Some serial killers display one or more of what are known as the "]" of warning signs in childhood. These are: | |||
* ''Fire starting'', invariably just for the thrill of destroying things. | |||
* ''Cruelty to animals'' (related to "]"). Many children may be cruel to animals, such as pulling the legs off ]s, but future serial killers often kill larger animals, like ]s and ]s, and frequently for their solitary enjoyment rather than to impress peers. | |||
* ''Bedwetting'' beyond the age when children normally grow out of such behavior. | |||
It should be noted that recently this Triad, developed in 1963, has been called into question by other researchers. See ] for more information. | |||
Members of the ] cult in India may have murdered a million people between 1740 and 1840.{{sfn|Rubinstein|2004|pp=82–83}} ], a member of the cult, may have murdered as many as 931 victims.{{sfn|Newton|2006|p=117}} In his 1886 book, '']'', psychiatrist ] noted a case of a serial murderer in the 1870s, a ] named Eusebius Pieydagnelle who had a sexual obsession with blood and confessed to murdering six people.{{sfn|Norder|Vanderlinden|Begg|2004}} | |||
Many experts have claimed that once serial killers start they cannot (or only rarely) stop. Recently this view has been called into question as new serial killers are caught through methods that were previously unavailable, such as ]. Some argue that those who are unable to control their homicidal impulses are more easily caught and thus overrepresented in the ]s. | |||
] depicted as a phantom stalking Whitechapel, and as an embodiment of social neglect, in a '']'' cartoon of 1888]] | |||
== Prevalence == | |||
The unidentified killer ], who has been called the first modern serial killer,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://atlanticproductions.tv/productions/jack-the-ripper-the-first-serial-killer/|title=Jack The Ripper: The First Serial Killer|access-date=September 1, 2020|archive-date=February 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202022138/http://www.atlanticproductions.tv/productions/specials/jack-the-ripper-the-first-serial-killer/|url-status=live}}</ref> ], and possibly more,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jack the Ripper {{!}} Identity, Facts, Victims, and Suspects {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jack-the-Ripper |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=www.britannica.com |archive-date=January 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125135247/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jack-the-Ripper |url-status=live }}</ref> in London in 1888. He was the subject of a massive manhunt and investigation by the ], during which many modern criminal investigation techniques were pioneered. A large team of policemen conducted house-to-house inquiries, forensic material was collected and suspects were identified and traced.{{sfn|Canter|1994|pp=12–13}} Police surgeon ] assembled one of the earliest ].{{sfn|Canter|1994|pp=5–6}} | |||
There have been conflicting reports as to the extent of serial murder. The ] claimed in the ] that at any particular time there were roughly 35 active serial killers in the ], meaning that the serial killers in question have committed their first murders but have not yet been apprehended or stopped by other means (e.g., suicide, paralysis or a natural death). | |||
The Ripper murders also marked an important watershed in the treatment of crime by journalists.<ref name="Davenport-Hines 2004">{{harvnb|Davenport-Hines|2004}}, {{harvnb|Woods|Baddeley|2009|pp=20, 52}}</ref> While not the first serial killer in history, Jack the Ripper's case was the first to create a worldwide media frenzy.<ref name="Davenport-Hines 2004"/> The dramatic murders of financially destitute women in the midst of the wealth of London focused the media's attention on the plight of the urban poor and gained coverage worldwide. Jack the Ripper has also been called the most infamous serial killer of all time, and his legend has spawned hundreds of ] and ].<ref name="Trutv.com.com">{{cite web|first=Marilyn |last=Bardsley |title=Jack the Ripper – the most famous serial killer of all time |publisher=] |access-date=August 3, 2009 |url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/ripper/index_1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601180208/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/ripper/index_1.html |archive-date=June 1, 2009 }}</ref> | |||
This figure has often been exaggerated. In his ] book ''Serial Killers: The Growing Menace'', Joel Norris claimed that there were five hundred serial killers active at any one time in the United States, claiming five thousand victims a year, which would be approximately a quarter of known homicides in the country. These statistics are regarded as suspect and unsupported by evidence{{citation needed}}. Some have argued {{citation needed}}that those who study or write about serial killers, be they employed in the ] profession or ], have a vested interest in exaggerating the threat of such offenders. | |||
] was a serial killer in the United States, responsible for the death of at least nine victims in the early 1890s. The case was one of the first involving a serial murderer that gained widespread notoriety and publicity through sensationalized accounts in ]'s newspapers. However, at the same time of the Holmes case, in France, ] became known as "The French Ripper" after killing and mutilating 11 women and children. He was executed in 1898 after confessing to his crimes.<ref name="TRutv.com.com">{{cite web|first=Katherine |last=Ramsland |title=The Werewolf Syndrome: Compulsive Bestial Slaughterers. Vacher the Ripper |publisher=] |access-date=August 3, 2009 |url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/werewolf_killers/14.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090716023114/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/werewolf_killers/14.html |archive-date=July 16, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=French 'Ripper' Guillotined – Joseph Vacher, Who Murdered More Than a Score of Persons, Executed at Bourg-en-Bresse|work=The New York Times|date=January 1, 1899|access-date=August 3, 2009|page=7|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C06E5DF1738E733A25752C0A9679C94689ED7CF|archive-date=June 28, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628200704/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C06E5DF1738E733A25752C0A9679C94689ED7CF|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
In terms of reported cases, there appear to be far more serial killers active in developed Western nations than elsewhere. {{citation needed}}There are several reasons that may contribute to this: | |||
* Detection techniques in developed nations are better. Multiple victims of one offender are quickly identified as being linked, so the apprehension of the offender comes more quickly than in a nation where the police are generally more underfunded and have fewer resources.{{citation needed}} | |||
* Developed nations have a highly competitive ], so cases are reported more quickly. | |||
* The United States and Western ] have avoided the large-scale, state-sanctioned ] that news outlets in certain nations have, in which stories related to serial murder have been suppressed. An example of this is the case in ] of serial murderer ], whose murder spree continued largely unreported and poorly investigated by police in the former ] due to the idea that only supposedly corrupt ] Western countries bred such killers. After the collapse of the USSR, there were a number of reports{{citation needed}} of prolific serial killers whose crimes had previously been hidden from the West behind the ]. | |||
* Cultural differences could account for a larger number of serial killers, not just a larger number of reported cases. | |||
Another notable non-American serial killer is ], a murderer from South America, killed a minimum of 110 young girls between 1969 and 1980. However, he claims that the number is over 300. He was released from a mental facility in 1998 and his whereabouts are still unknown. He is commonly nicknamed the "Monster of the Andes". An additional non-American serial killer is ] from Colombia. Garavito would kill and torture boys using various disguises. He murdered around 140 boys ranging in ages from 8 to 16. He would dump his victims' bodies in mass graves.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Urie |first=Chris |title=9 serial killers from around the world you may not have heard of |url=https://www.insider.com/serial-killers-around-the-world-2018-9 |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=Insider |archive-date=January 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107113509/https://www.insider.com/serial-killers-around-the-world-2018-9 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
== Serial murder before 1900 == | |||
''See also ]''. | |||
===Late 20th century=== | |||
Although the phenomenon of serial murder is generally regarded as a modern one, it can be traced back in history, albeit with a limited degree of accuracy. | |||
] (left) and ] (right), accomplices to serial killer ], who murdered at least 28 teenage boys between 1970 and 1973]] | |||
The serial killing phenomenon in the United States was especially prominent from 1970 to 2000, which has been described as the "golden age of serial murder".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ehrlich|first=Brenna|date=February 10, 2021|title=Why Were There So Many Serial Killers Between 1970 and 2000 – and Where Did They Go?|magazine=Rolling Stone|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/serial-killers-1970s-2000s-murders-1121705/|url-status=live|access-date=May 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429110955/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/serial-killers-1970s-2000s-murders-1121705/|archive-date=April 29, 2021}}</ref> The cause of the spike in serial killings has been attributed to ], which put people in close proximity and offered anonymity.<ref name="u884">{{cite book | last=Martin | first=G. | title=Crime, Media and Culture | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2018 | isbn=978-1-317-36897-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YjZ7DwAAQBAJ&pg=RA2-PT71 | access-date=2024-05-21 | page=2-PT71}}</ref> The number of active serial killers in the United States peaked in 1989 and has been steadily trending downward since, coinciding with an overall decrease in ] since that time. The decline in serial killers has no known single cause but is attributed to a number of factors.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Yaksic |first1=Enzo |last2=Allely |first2=Clare |last3=De Silva |first3=Raneesha |last4=Smith-Inglis |first4=Melissa |last5=Konikoff |first5=Daniel |last6=Ryan |first6=Kori |last7=Gordon |first7=Dan |last8=Denisov |first8=Egor |last9=Keatley |first9=David A. |date=January 2019 |editor-last=Chan |editor-first=Heng Choon (Oliver) |title=Detecting a decline in serial homicide: Have we banished the devil from the details? |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311886.2019.1678450 |journal=Cogent Social Sciences |volume=5 |issue=1 |doi=10.1080/23311886.2019.1678450 |issn=2331-1886}}</ref> ], emeritus professor at Radford University in Virginia, attributes the decline in number of serial killings to less frequent use of ], improved ], and people behaving more cautiously.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Taylor|first=David|date=September 15, 2018|title=Are American serial killers a dying breed?|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/15/are-american-serial-killers-a-dying-breed|url-status=live|access-date=May 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426052444/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/15/are-american-serial-killers-a-dying-breed|archive-date=April 26, 2021}}</ref> Causes for the general reduction in violent crime following the 1990s include increased ], the end of the ], and decreased ] in early childhood.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Levitt |first=Stephen |author-link=Steven Levitt |date=2004 |title=Understanding Why Crime Fell in the 1990s: Four Factors that Explain the Decline and Six that Do Not |url=https://pricetheory.uchicago.edu/levitt/Papers/LevittUnderstandingWhyCrime2004.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051124053340/http://pricetheory.uchicago.edu/levitt/Papers/LevittUnderstandingWhyCrime2004.pdf |archive-date=2005-11-24 |url-status=live |journal=Journal of Economic Perspectives |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=163–190|doi=10.1257/089533004773563485 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=J. Sampson |first1=Robert |last2=S. Winter |first2=Alix |date=May 2018 |title=Poisoned Development: Assessing Childhood Lead Exposure as a Cauase of Crime in a Birth Cohort Followed Through Adolescence: Lead Poisoning and Crime |journal=Criminology |volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=269–301 |doi=10.1111/1745-9125.12171|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Reyes |first=Jessica Wolpaw |date=2007-10-17 |title=Environmental Policy as Social Policy? The Impact of Childhood Lead Exposure on Crime |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.2202/1935-1682.1796/html |journal=The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy |volume=7 |issue=1 |doi=10.2202/1935-1682.1796 |issn=1935-1682 |access-date=November 2, 2022 |archive-date=November 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102183300/https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.2202/1935-1682.1796/html |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
In the ], one of the wealthiest men in ], ], is said to have abducted, raped and killed at least a hundred young boys. The ] ] ] was arrested in ] and subsequently charged with torturing and butchering as many as 600 young girls. She stated in her diary all of her kills. Although both De Rais and Báthory were reportedly sadistic and addicted to murder, they differ from typical modern-day serial killers in that they were both rich and powerful. Based upon the lack of established police forces and active news media during those centuries, it may very well be that there were plenty of other serial killers at that time who were either not identified or not publicized as well. | |||
==Characteristics== | |||
Some historical criminologists have suggested that there may have been serial murders throughout history, but specific cases were not adequately recorded. Some sources suggest that legends such as ] and ] were inspired by ] serial killers. {{fact}} | |||
Some commonly found characteristics of serial killers include the following: | |||
* They may exhibit varying degrees of ] or ], which may contribute to their homicidal behavior.<ref>{{harvnb|Morton|2005}}, {{harvnb|Skeem|Polaschek|Patrick|Lilienfeld2011|pp=95–162}}</ref> | |||
** For example, someone who is mentally ill may have ] breaks that cause them to believe they are another person or are compelled to murder by other entities.{{sfn|Bartol|Bartol|2004|p=145}} | |||
** Psychopathic behavior that is consistent with traits common to some serial killers include sensation seeking, a lack of ] or ], ], the need for control, and predatory behavior.<ref name="fbi.gov">{{harvnb|Morton|2005}}</ref> ] can seem 'normal' and often quite ], a state of adaptation that ] ] called the "]".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cleckley |first=Hervey M. |year=1951 |title=The Mask of Sanity |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00325481.1951.11694097 |journal=Postgraduate Medicine |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=193–197 |doi=10.1080/00325481.1951.11694097 |pmid=14807904 |issn=0032-5481}}</ref>], also known as ''{{lang|es|La Bestia}}'' ("The Beast"). His father subjected him to severe physical and emotional abuse.]] | |||
* They were often ]—], ], or ]—by a family member.<ref name="Tick"/> | |||
* Serial killers may be more likely to engage in ], ] or ], which are ]s that involve a strong tendency to experience the object of erotic interest almost as if it were a physical representation of the symbolized body. Individuals engage in paraphilias which are organized along a continuum; participating in varying levels of fantasy perhaps by focusing on body parts (partialism), symbolic objects which serve as physical extensions of the body (fetishism), or the anatomical physicality of the human body; specifically regarding its inner parts and sexual organs (one example being necrophilia).{{sfn|Silva|Leong|Ferrari|2004|p=794}} | |||
* A disproportionate number exhibit ] predictors of future violent behavior: | |||
** Many are fascinated with ].<ref name="Tick"/> | |||
** They are involved in ] activity; especially in children who have not reached sexual maturity, this activity may take the form of ].<ref name="Tick"/> | |||
** More than 60 percent, or simply a large proportion, ] beyond the age of 12.<ref name="Tick"/>{{sfn|Singer|Hensley|2004|pp=48, 461–476}} | |||
* They were frequently ] or socially isolated as children.<ref name="Tick"/> For example, ] was ridiculed as a child and later cited the mass rejection by his peers as a cause for his hatred of everyone. ] was teased as a child because he urinated in his pants, suffered twitching, and as a teenager was ignored by his peers.<ref name="Tick" /> | |||
* Some were involved in petty crimes, such as fraud, theft, ], or similar offenses.{{sfn|Mount|2007|pp=131–133}} | |||
* Often, they have trouble staying employed and tend to work in menial jobs. The FBI, however, states, "Serial murderers often seem normal; have families and/or a steady job."<ref name="fbi.gov" /> Other sources state they often come from unstable families.<ref name="Tick"/> | |||
* Studies have suggested that serial killers who got caught generally have an average or low-average ], although they are often described, and perceived, as possessing IQs in the above-average range.<ref name="Tick">{{cite web|first=Shirley Lynn |last=Scott |title=What Makes Serial Killers Tick? |publisher=] |access-date=January 9, 2011 |url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/tick/victims_1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100728094415/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/tick/victims_1.html |archive-date=July 28, 2010}}</ref><ref name="fbi.gov" /><ref name="The Root">Holloway, Lynette. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013160336/https://www.theroot.com/views/course-there-are-black-serial-killers |date=October 13, 2013 }}. '']''.</ref> A sample of 202 IQs of serial killers who got caught had a median IQ of 89.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Serial%20Killer%20Information%20Center/Serial%20Killer%20IQ.htm|title=Serial Killer IQ|access-date=May 13, 2009|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304124633/https://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Serial%20Killer%20Information%20Center/Serial%20Killer%20IQ.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Some organized serial killers who got caught have a slightly higher IQ score averaging a little bit over 99, to where disorganized killers average just under 93 in theirs. The average IQ of serial killers who got caught is 94.7.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Serial Killers: Insane or Super Intelligent? |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/captivating-crimes/202006/serial-killers-insane-or-super-intelligent |access-date=2023-02-11 |website=www.psychologytoday.com |archive-date=January 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107113507/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/captivating-crimes/202006/serial-killers-insane-or-super-intelligent |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
There are exceptions to these criteria, however. For example, ] was a successful professional (a ] working for the ]). He was considered a pillar of the local community; he even won a professional award for a children's asthma clinic and was interviewed by ]'s '']'' on ].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3391897.stm |title=UK | Harold Shipman: The killer doctor |work=BBC News |date=January 13, 2004 |access-date=July 29, 2010 |archive-date=December 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191201003208/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3391897.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> ] was an ex-soldier turned civil servant and trade unionist who had no previous criminal record when arrested. Neither was known to have exhibited many of the tell-tale signs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/nilsen/alone_4.html |title=CrimeLibrary.com/Serial Killers/Sexual Predators/Dennis Nilsen – Growing Up Alone – Crime Library on |publisher=Trutv.com |date=November 23, 1945 |access-date=July 29, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106081640/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/nilsen/alone_4.html |archive-date=January 6, 2010 }}</ref> ], a crime reporter, was a career journalist who was caught after a series of articles he wrote gave clues that he had murdered people.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/serial-murder-journalist-commits-suicide-852848.html |title='Serial murder' journalist commits suicide |work=The Independent |date=June 24, 2008 |access-date=July 29, 2010 |location=London |first=Konstantin |last=Testorides |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/serial-murder-journalist-commits-suicide-852848.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ] was a successful and respected career ] Colonel who was convicted of murdering two women, along with fetish burglaries and rapes.{{sfn|Mellor|2012}} | |||
], a gang leader of the ]n ] cult of assassins, has frequently been said to be the world's most prolific serial killer. According to numerous sources, he was believed to have murdered 931 victims by strangulation by means of a ceremonial cloth (or ''rumal'', which in ] means handkerchief), used by his cult between 1790 and 1830, thus holding the record for the most murders committed by a single person in history. In total, the Thugs as a whole were responsible for approximately 2 million deaths according to ]. The notoriety of the Thugs had eventually led to the word ''thug'' entering the ] as a term for ]s, miscreants, and people who behave in an aggressive manner towards others. | |||
] and ] ]]] | |||
===Development=== | |||
In his famous ] book '']'', ] notes a case of serial murder in the ], that of an ] man named Eusebius Pieydagnelle who had a sexual obsession with blood and confessed to murdering six people. The unidentified killer ] slaughtered prostitutes (the number of victims is not known) in ] in ]. Those crimes gained enormous press attention because London was the center of the world's greatest ] at the time, so having such dramatic murders of financially destitute women in the midst of such wealth focused the news media's attention on the plight of the urban poor and gained coverage worldwide. ] was executed in ] in ] after confessing to killing and mutilating 11 women and children, while American serial killer ] was hanged in ] in ] after confessing to 27 murders. | |||
] with police detectives, November 1924]] | |||
Many serial killers have faced similar problems in their childhood development.<ref name="PlotnikKouyoumdjian2010">{{cite book|author1=Rod Plotnik|author2=Haig Kouyoumdjian|title=Introduction to Psychology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2txsCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA509|year=2010|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1-111-79100-1|page=509|access-date=September 1, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120052954/https://books.google.com/books?id=2txsCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA509|url-status=live}}</ref> Hickey's Trauma Control Model explains how early childhood trauma can set the child up for ] in adulthood; the child's environment (either their parents or society) is the dominant factor determining whether or not the child's behavior escalates into homicidal activity.{{sfn|Holmes|Holmes|2000|p=107}} | |||
== Types of serial killer == | |||
=== Organized and disorganized types === | |||
The ] has roughly categorized serial killers into two different types: organized and disorganized. | |||
* '''Organized types''' are usually of high intelligence and plan their crimes quite methodically, usually abducting victims, killing them in one place and disposing of them in another. They will often lure the victims with ploys appealing to their sense of ]. For example, Bundy would put his arm in a fake plaster cast and ask women to help him carry books to his car, where he would beat them unconscious with the cast and spirit them away. Others specifically target prostitutes, who are likely to voluntarily go with a serial killer posing as a customer. They maintain a high degree of control over the crime scene, and usually have a good knowledge of ] that enables them to cover their tracks, such as by burying the body or weighting it down and sinking it in a river. They follow their crimes in the media carefully and often take pride in their actions, as if it were a grand project. The organized killer is usually socially adequate and has friends and lovers, often even a spouse and children. They are the type who, when captured, are most likely to be described by acquaintances as "a really nice guy" who "wouldn't hurt a fly." Some serial killers go to lengths to make their crimes difficult to discover, such as falsifying ] notes, setting up others to take the blame for their crimes, and faking ]. The case of ], an ] family doctor, is slightly unusual in that his social position and occupation was such that he was able to portray victims as having died of natural causes; between ] and ] he killed at least 250, and possibly well over 400, of his own mostly elderly patients – and until very near the end of his rampage it was not even suspected that any crimes had been committed. | |||
* '''Disorganized types''' are often of low intelligence and commit their crimes impulsively. Whereas the organized killer will specifically set out to hunt a victim, the disorganized will murder someone whenever the opportunity arises, rarely bothering to dispose of the body but instead just leaving it at the same place in which they found the victim. They usually carry out "blitz" attacks, leaping out and attacking their victims without warning, and will typically perform whatever ]s they feel compelled to carry out (e.g., ], mutilation, ], etc.) once the victim is dead. They rarely bother to cover their tracks but may still evade capture for some time because of a level of cunning that compels them to keep on the move. They are often socially inadequate with few friends, and they may have a history of mental problems and be regarded by acquaintances as eccentric or even "a bit creepy." They have little insight into their crimes and may even block out the memories of the killings. | |||
Family, or lack thereof, is the most prominent part of a child's development because it is what the child can identify with on a regular basis.{{sfn|Tithecott|1997|p=38}} "The serial killer is no different from any other individual who is instigated to seek approval from parents, sexual partners, or others."{{sfn|Hale|1993|p=41}} This need for approval is what influences children to attempt to develop social relationships with their family and peers. "The quality of their attachments to parents and other members of the family is critical to how these children relate to and value other members of society."{{sfn|Hasselt|1999|p=162}} | |||
A significant number of serial killers show certain aspects of both organized and disorganized types, although usually the characteristics of one type will dominate. Some killers descend from being organized into disorganized behavior as their killings continue. They will carry out careful and methodical murders at the start, but as their compulsion grows out of control and utterly dominates their lives, they will become careless and impulsive. | |||
Wilson and Seaman (1990) conducted a study on incarcerated serial killers, and what they concluded was the most influential factor that contributed to their homicidal activity.{{sfn|Wilson|Seaman|1992}} Almost all of the serial killers in the study had experienced some sort of environmental problems during their childhood, such as a broken home caused by divorce, or a lack of a parental figure to discipline the child. Nearly half of the serial killers had experienced some type of physical or sexual abuse, and more of them had experienced emotional neglect.{{sfn|Hasselt|1999|p=162}} | |||
=== Motive types === | |||
The organized and disorganized model relates to the killer's methods. With regards to motives, they can be placed into five different categories: | |||
When a parent has a drug or ] problem, the attention in the household is on the parents rather than the child. This neglect of the child leads to the lowering of their self-esteem and helps develop a fantasy world in which they are in control. Hickey's Trauma Control Model supports how parental neglect can facilitate deviant behavior, especially if the child sees substance abuse in action.{{sfn|Hickey|2010|p=107}} This then leads to ] (the inability to attach), which can further lead to homicidal behavior, unless the child finds a way to develop substantial relationships and fight the label they receive. If a child receives no support from anyone, then they are unlikely to recover from the ] event in a positive way. As stated by E. E. Maccoby, "the family has continued to be seen as a major—perhaps ''the'' major—arena for socialization".{{sfn|Maccoby|1992|pp=1006–1017}} | |||
==== Visionary ==== | |||
Contrary to popular opinion, serial killers are rarely insane or motivated by hallucinations and/or voices in their heads. Many claim to be, usually as a way of trying to get acquitted by reason of insanity. There are, however, a few genuine cases of serial killers who were compelled by such delusions. | |||
====Chromosomal makeup==== | |||
] slaughtered 13 people after voices told him that murder was necessary to prevent ] from suffering an ]. (Mullin went to great pains to point out that California did indeed avoid an earthquake during his murder spree.) | |||
There have been studies looking into the possibility that an abnormality with one's ]s could be the trigger for serial killers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-superhuman-mind/201803/do-all-serial-killers-have-genetic-predisposition-kill|title=Do All Serial Killers Have a Genetic Predisposition to Kill? – Exploring a Complex Question|website=Psychology Today|author=Berit Brogaard, D.M.Sci., Ph.D|year=2018|access-date=September 1, 2020|archive-date=September 7, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200907221522/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-superhuman-mind/201803/do-all-serial-killers-have-genetic-predisposition-kill|url-status=live}}</ref> Two serial killers, ] and ], came to attention for reported chromosomal abnormalities. Long had an ].<ref name="speckpt">{{cite web|last1=Ramsland|first1=Katherine|title=Shame and the Serial Killer: Humiliation's influence on criminal behavior needs more attention|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/shadow-boxing/201909/shame-and-the-serial-killer|access-date=September 13, 2020|publisher=Psychology Today|archive-date=January 10, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220110004338/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/shadow-boxing/201909/shame-and-the-serial-killer|url-status=live}}</ref> Speck was erroneously reported to have an ]; in fact, his ] was performed twice and was normal each time.<ref name="Engel 1972">{{cite journal |author=Engel, Eric |date=September 1972 |title=The making of an XYY |journal=Am J Ment Defic |volume=77 |issue=2 |pages=123–7 |pmid=5081078}}</ref> While attempts have been made to link the XYY karyotype to violence, including serial murder, research has consistently found little or no association between violent criminal behaviour and an extra Y chromosome.<ref name="March of Dimes">{{cite book |editor1=Robinson, Arthur |editor2=Lubs, Herbert A. |editor3=Bergsma, Daniel |year=1979 |title=Sex chromosome aneuploidy: prospective studies on children|series=Birth defects original article series '''15''' (1) |location=New York |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-8451-1024-9}} | |||
* {{cite book |editor=Stewart, Donald A. |year=1982 |title=Children with sex chromosome aneuploidy: follow-up studies |series=Birth defects original article series '''18''' (4) |location=New York |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-8451-1052-2}} | |||
* {{cite book |editor1=Ratcliffe, Shirley G. |editor2=Paul, Natalie |year=1986 |title=Prospective studies on children with sex chromosome aneuploidy |series=Birth defects original article series '''22''' (3) |location=New York |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-8451-1062-1}} | |||
* {{cite book |editor1=Evans, Jane A. |editor2=Hamerton, John L. |editor3=Robinson, Arthur |year=1991 |title=Children and young adults with sex chromosome aneuploidy: follow-up, clinical and molecular studies |series=Birth defects original article series '''26''' (4) |location=New York |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-471-56846-9}}</ref> | |||
====Fantasy==== | |||
] claimed that by eating the corpses of women who looked like his deceased mother, he could preserve his mother's ] inside his body. He killed two women who bore passing resemblances to his mother, eating one and being apprehended while in the process of preparing the second woman's body for consumption. He also used the flesh of exhumed corpses to fashion a "woman suit" for himself so that he could "become" his mother, and carried on conversations with himself in a falsetto voice. After his arrest he was placed in a mental facility for the remainder of his life. | |||
Children who do not have the ] to control the mistreatment they suffer sometimes create a new reality to which they can escape. This new reality becomes their ] that they have total control of and becomes part of their daily existence. In this fantasy world, their emotional development is guided and maintained. According to Garrison (1996), "the child becomes ] because the normal development of the concepts of right and wrong and ] towards others is retarded because the child's emotional and ] occurs within his self-centered fantasies. A person can do no wrong in his own world and the pain of others is of no consequence when the purpose of the fantasy world is to satisfy the needs of one person" (Garrison, 1996). Boundaries between fantasy and reality are lost and fantasies turn to dominance, control, sexual conquest, and violence, eventually leading to murder. Fantasy can lead to the first step in the process of a dissociative state, which, in the words of Stephen Giannangelo, "allows the serial killer to leave the stream of consciousness for what is, to him, a better place".{{sfn|Giannangelo|1996|p=33}} | |||
Criminologist Jose Sanchez reports, "The young criminal you see today is more detached from his victim, more ready to hurt or kill. The lack of empathy for their victims among young criminals is just one symptom of a problem that afflicts the whole society."{{sfn|Tithecott|1997|p=38}} Lorenzo Carcaterra, author of ''Gangster'' (2001), explains how potential criminals are ], which can then lead to their offspring also developing in the same way through the ]. The ability for serial killers to appreciate the mental life of others is severely compromised, presumably leading to their dehumanization of others.<ref name="Silva-2004">{{harvnb|Silva|Leong|Ferrari|2004|p=790}}, {{harvnb|Tithecott|1997|page=43}}</ref> This process may be considered an expression of the ] associated with a cognitive deficit regarding the capability to make sharp distinctions between other people and inanimate objects. For these individuals, objects can appear to possess animistic or humanistic power while people are perceived as objects.<ref name="Silva-2004"/> Before he was executed, serial killer ] stated media violence and pornography had stimulated and increased his need to commit homicide, although this statement was made during last-ditch efforts to appeal his death sentence.{{sfn|Hasselt|1999|p=162}} | |||
====Missionary==== | |||
So-called missionary killers believe that their acts are justified on the basis that they are getting rid of a certain type of person (often prostitutes or members of a certain ]), and thus doing society a favor. ], ], and ] are often described as missionary killers. Interestingly, in Wuornos' case, the victims were not prostitutes, but their patrons. Missionary killers differ from other types of serial killer in that their motive is generally non-sexual. | |||
===Organized, disorganized, and mixed=== | |||
==== Hedonistic ==== | |||
] in custody, Florida, United States, July 1978 (State Archives of Florida)]] | |||
This type kills for the sheer pleasure of it, although what aspect they enjoy varies. Some may enjoy the actual "chase" of hunting down a victim more than anything, while others may be primarily motivated by the act of torturing and abusing the victim while they are alive. Yet others may kill the victim quickly, almost as if it were a chore, and then indulge in necrophilia or ] with the body. Usually there is a strong sexual aspect to the crimes, even if it may not be immediately obvious, but some killers obtain a surge of excitement that is not necessarily sexual, such as Berkowitz, who got a thrill out of shooting young couples in cars at random and then running away without ever physically touching the victims. | |||
In the 1970s and 1980s, FBI profilers instigated a simple division of serial killers into "organized" and "disorganized"; that is, those who plan their crimes, and those who act on impulse.<ref>{{Cite journal |last= Cotter |first= P. |year= 2010 |title= The path to extreme violence: Nazism and serial killers |journal= ] |volume= 3 |pages= Article 61, pp. 1–5 |doi= 10.3389/neuro.08.061.2009 |doi-access= free |pmid= 20126638 |pmc= 2813721 }}</ref> The FBI's '']'' now places serial killers into three categories: ''organized'', ''disorganized'', and ''mixed'' (i.e., offenders who exhibit organized and disorganized characteristics).{{sfn|Vronsky|2004|pp=99–100}}<ref name="PerperCina2010">{{cite book|author1=Joshua A. Perper|author2=Stephen J. Cina|title=When Doctors Kill: Who, Why, and How|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WWJUGMh2OhcC&pg=PA51|year=2010|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-1-4419-1371-5|page=51|access-date=September 1, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053206/https://books.google.com/books?id=WWJUGMh2OhcC&pg=PA51|url-status=live}}</ref> Some killers descend from organized to disorganized as their killings continue,<ref name="PeckDolch2001">{{cite book|author1=Dennis L. Peck|author2=Norman Dolch|author3=Norman Allan Dolch|title=Extraordinary Behavior: A Case Study Approach to Understanding Social Problems|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d9lIoA5jurUC&pg=PA253|year=2001|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-97057-4|page=253|access-date=September 1, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053034/https://books.google.com/books?id=d9lIoA5jurUC&pg=PA253|url-status=live}}</ref> as in the case of ] or overconfidence due to having evaded capture. | |||
==== Gain motivated ==== | |||
Most criminals who commit multiple murders for material ends (such as mob hit men) are not classed as serial killers, because they are motivated by greed or economic gain rather than psychopathological compulsion. There is a fine line separating such killers, however. For example, ], who operated in ], would classify as a serial killer. He posed as a member of the ] and lured wealthy ] people to his home, claiming he could smuggle them out of the country. Instead he murdered them and stole their belongings, killing 63 people before he was finally caught. Although Petiot's primary motivation was materialistic, few would deny that a man willing to slaughter so many people simply to acquire a few dozen suitcases of clothes and jewelry was a compulsive killer and psychopath. | |||
Organized serial killers often plan their crimes methodically, usually abducting victims, killing them in one place and disposing of them in another. They often lure the victims with ploys appealing to their sense of sympathy. Others specifically target prostitutes, who are likely to go voluntarily with a stranger. These killers maintain a high degree of control over the ] and usually have a solid knowledge of ] that enables them to cover their tracks, such as burying the body or weighing it down and sinking it in a river. They follow their crimes in the news media carefully and often take pride in their actions as if it were all a grand project.{{sfn|Ressler|Schachtman|1993|p=113}} | |||
<!--==== Power/control ==== | |||
This is the most common serial killer. Their main objective for killing is to gain and exert power over their victim. Such killers are sometimes ], which means they feel incredibly powerless and inadequate, and often they indulge in rituals that are linked, often very specifically, to forms of abuse they suffered themselves. One killer, for example, forced young girls to perform ] on him, after which he would ] the girl before finally strangling her. After capture, the killer claimed that when he was a child his older sister would force him to perform oral sex on her, then she would spank him in order to terrify him into not telling their parents.{{citation needed}} The ritual he performed with his victims would negate the humiliation he felt from his abuse as a child, although such relief would only be temporary, and like other such killers, he would soon feel compelled to repeat his actions until eventual capture. (The vast majority of child abuse victims do not become serial killers, of course, meaning that such abuse is not regarded as the sole trigger of such crimes in these cases.) Many power/control-motivated killers sexually abuse their victims, but they differ from hedonistic killers in that rape is not motivated by lust but as simply another form of dominating the victim. --> | |||
Some serial killers may seem to have characteristics of more than one type. For example, British killer ] appeared to be both a visionary and a mission-oriented killer in that he claimed voices told him to clean up the streets of prostitutes. | |||
Often, organized killers have social and other interpersonal skills sufficient to enable them to develop both personal and romantic relationships, friends and lovers and sometimes even attract and maintain a spouse and sustain a family including children. Among serial killers, those of this type are in the event of their capture most likely to be described by acquaintances as kind and unlikely to hurt anyone. ] and ] are examples of organized serial killers.{{sfn|Ressler|Schachtman|1993|p=113}} In general, the ]s of organized serial killers tend to be normal range, with a mean of 98.7.<ref name="radfordfgcudb">{{cite web|title=Serial Killer Statistics|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342501023|access-date=March 1, 2021}}</ref> | |||
Alternatively, another school of thought classifies motive as being either: need, greed, or power. That said, all crime can be divided into one of these three categories. | |||
Disorganized serial killers are usually far more impulsive, often committing their murders with a random weapon available at the time, and usually do not attempt to hide the body. They are likely to be unemployed, a loner, or both, with very few friends. They often turn out to have a history of mental illness, and their ] (M.O.) or lack thereof is often marked by excessive violence and sometimes ] or sexual violence.<ref name="Serial Killers">{{cite web|url=http://www.enotes.com/forensic-science/serial-killers |title=Serial Killers |access-date=May 21, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309132810/http://www.enotes.com/forensic-science/serial-killers |archive-date=March 9, 2009 }}</ref> Disorganized serial killers have been found to have a lower mean IQ than organized serial killers, at 89.4. Mixed serial killers, with both organized and disorganized traits, have an average IQ of 100.9, but a low sample size.<ref name=radfordfgcudb/> | |||
== Why aren't serial killers caught more quickly? == | |||
It is possible that many would-be serial killers are apprehended before they kill the three or more victims required to qualify them as such in the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Similarly, it is certain that some are detained under mental health regulations and do not directly answer for their crimes. Others go on to kill many more people over years without being apprehended. | |||
===Medical professionals=== | |||
Serial killers, despite the media attention, commit only a tiny fraction of all murders in any time period.<!--cite source!--> Murder is usually either a crime of personal relationships and short intense emotion, or an unintended consequence of other crimes. Because of this, most murders are comparatively simple to solve; in most familial deaths, the murderer makes little effective effort to conceal the crime and confesses easily; in other cases, the murderer is usually a local or is known to the police. These assumptions, with which any law enforcement officer naturally approaches a single murder, are barriers to catching a serial killer. | |||
{{Main|Angel of mercy (criminology)}} | |||
] and her accomplices who killed infants born out of wedlock, 1948]] | |||
Some people with a pathological interest in the power of life and death tend to be attracted to medical professions or acquiring such a job.<ref>{{harvnb|Hickey|2010|p=142}}</ref> These kinds of killers are sometimes referred to as "angels of death"<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/angels/index.html |title=Angels of Death |journal=New Scientist |volume=225 |issue=3007 |pages=40–43 |access-date=December 30, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218133027/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/angels/index.html |archive-date=December 18, 2008 |bibcode=2015NewSc.225...40W |last1=Wires |first1=Linda |year=2015 |doi=10.1016/S0262-4079(15)60268-8 }}</ref> or angels of mercy. Medical professionals will kill their patients for money, for a sense of sadistic pleasure, for a belief that they are "easing" the patient's pain, or simply "because they can".{{sfn|Holmes|Holmes|1998|p=204}} Perhaps the most prolific of these was the British doctor ]. Another such killer was nurse ], who admitted during her murder trial that she was ].<ref name="Female_Lust_Kill">{{cite web|title=When Women Kill Together |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_go1613/is_1_16/ai_n29335603/ |first=Katherine |last=Ramsland |work=The Forensic Examiner |publisher=American College of Forensic Examiners Institute |date=March 22, 2007 |access-date=August 2, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100829110653/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_go1613/is_1_16/ai_n29335603/ |archive-date=August 29, 2010}}</ref> She would administer a drug mixture to patients she chose as her victims, lie in bed with them and hold them close to her body as they died.<ref name="Female_Lust_Kill"/> | |||
Another medical professional serial killer is ]. It is believed she killed 11 to 46 infants and children while working at Bexar County Medical Center Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, United States.<ref name="biography.com-2012">{{cite web|title=Genene Jones Biography|url=http://www.biography.com/people/genene-jones-235417#criminal-background|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603170851/http://www.biography.com/people/genene-jones-235417|archive-date=3 June 2012}}</ref> She is currently serving a 99-year sentence for the murder of Chelsea McClellan and the attempted murder of Rolando Santos,<ref name="biography.com-2012" /> and became eligible for parole in 2017 due to a law in Texas at the time of her sentencing to reduce ].<ref name="biography.com-2012" /> A similar case occurred in Britain in 1991, where nurse ] killed four children at the hospital where she worked, attempted to kill three more, and injured a further six over the course of two months. A 21st-century example is Canadian nurse ], who murdered elderly patients in the nursing homes where she worked. William George Davis is another hospital nurse who was sentenced to death in Texas for the murder of four patients.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/crime/texas-hospital-nurse-serial-killer-murdered-patients-with-ivs/|title=Murder in the ICU: Inside the Twisted Case of a Hospital Nurse Who Turned Out To Be a Serial Killer|website=Peoplemag|access-date=April 12, 2022|archive-date=April 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412123130/https://people.com/crime/texas-hospital-nurse-serial-killer-murdered-patients-with-ivs/|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
Another barrier to serial killers' early capture is their diverse backgrounds, choices of victim, and methods of killing. They almost never have any links to their victims—they pick by whim or impulse, seeking types or opportunity rather than any easily detectable link. As noted above, organized offenders can take steps to minimize the evidence they leave behind, and commit crimes away from their locale. It can take a number of murders before a serial killer is even suspected. | |||
===Female=== | |||
Even if a serial killer is known to be operating, it is difficult to catch the culprit. Potential victims can be identified only by broad type, and generic area warnings produce little more than fear and misdirected violence. | |||
]'', killed more than 150 people. ] called them the "most prolific murder partnership".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-prolific-murder-partnership|title=Most prolific murder partnership|publisher=]|access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref>]] | |||
Female serial killers are rare compared to their male counterparts.<ref name="Kelleher 1998 12">{{harvnb|Kelleher|Kelleher|1998|p=12}}, {{harvnb|Wilson|Hilton|1998|pp=495–498}}, {{harvnb|Frei|Völlm|Graf|Dittmann|2006|pp=167–176}}</ref> Sources suggest that female serial killers represented less than one in every six known serial murderers in the United States between 1800 and 2004 (64 females from a total of 416 known offenders), or that around 15% of U.S. serial killers have been women, with a collective number of victims between 427 and 612.<ref>{{harvnb|Hickey|2010|pp=187, 257, 266}}, {{harvnb|Vronsky|2007|p=9}}, {{harvnb|Farrell|Keppel|Titterington|2011|pp=228–252}}</ref> The authors of ''Lethal Ladies'', Amanda L. Farrell, Robert D. Keppel, and Victoria B. Titterington, state that "the Justice Department indicated 36 female serial killers have been active over the course of the last century."<ref name="Farrell">{{harvnb|Farrell|Keppel|Titterington|2011|pp=228–252}}</ref> According to ''The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology'', there is evidence that 16% of all serial killers are women.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{harvnb|Newton|2006}}</ref> | |||
Michael D. Kelleher and C. L. Kelleher created several categories to describe female serial killers. They used the classifications of '']'', '']'', ''sexual predator'', ''revenge'', ''profit or crime'', ''team killer'', ''question of sanity'', ''unexplained'', and ''unsolved''. In using these categories, they observed that most women fell into the categories of the black widow or team killer.<ref name="Frei"/> Although motivations for female serial killers can include attention seeking, addiction, or the result of psychopathological behavioral factors,<ref name="concordia1"/> female serial killers are commonly categorized as murdering men for material gain, usually being emotionally close to their victims,<ref name="Kelleher 1998 12"/> and generally needing to have a relationship with the victim,<ref name="Frei">{{harvnb|Frei|Völlm|Graf|Dittmann|2006|pp=167–176}}</ref> hence the traditional cultural image of the "black widow". | |||
In addition, police departments are often reluctant to admit they have a serial killer on their hands due to the immediate public pressure on them to catch them that quickly ensues. Law enforcement departments are known to try and "wait it out" hoping the killer will move to another jurisdiction, rather than publicly admit they have a killer on their hands. | |||
] killed seven men in Florida between 1989 and 1990.]] | |||
The commonality of habitual traits of serial killers allows the construction of a psychological ]. This allows targeted interviewing of suspects, although there are often a large number of entirely innocent individuals who have some match to the profile. Also, some serial killers are skilled at concealing their true selves behind a charming façade. | |||
The methods that female serial killers use for murder are frequently covert or low-profile, such as murder by poison (the preferred choice for killing).<ref>{{harvnb|Wilson|Hilton|1998|pp=495–498}}, {{harvnb|Frei|Völlm|Graf|Dittmann|2006|pp=167–176}}, {{harvnb|Holmes|Holmes|1998|p=171}}, {{harvnb|Newton|2006}}</ref> Other methods used by female serial killers include shootings (used by 20%), suffocation (16%), stabbing (11%), and drowning (5%).<ref name="concordia1">{{cite book|url=http://www-psychology.concordia.ca/fac/Laurence/forensic/ProfileAnalysis1.ppt |title=Educated attempt to provide specific information about a certain type of suspect |publisher=Department of Psychology, Concordia University |format=PPT |year=2008 |access-date=July 1, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426081443/http://www-psychology.concordia.ca/fac/Laurence/forensic/ProfileAnalysis1.ppt |archive-date=April 26, 2012}}</ref> They commit killings in specific places, such as their home or a health-care facility, or at different locations within the same city or state.<ref>{{harvnb|Vronsky|2007|pp=1, 42–43}}, {{harvnb|Schechter|2003|p=312}}</ref> A notable exception to the typical characteristics of female serial killers is ],<ref>{{harvnb|Schechter|2003|p=31}}, {{harvnb|Fox|Levin|2005|p=117}}</ref> who killed outdoors instead of at home, used a gun instead of poison, and killed strangers instead of friends or family.<ref>{{harvnb|Schmid|2005|p=231}}, {{harvnb|Arrigo|Griffin|2004|pp=375–393}}</ref> One "analysis of 86 female serial killers from the United States found that the victims tended to be spouses, children or the elderly".<ref name="Frei"/> Other studies indicate that since 1975, increasingly strangers are marginally the most preferred victim of female serial killers,{{sfn|Vronsky|2007|p=41}} or that only 26% of female serial killers kill for material gain only.{{sfn|Hickey|2010|p=267}} Sources state that each killer will have her own proclivities, needs and triggers.<ref name="Wilson 1998 495–498">{{harvnb|Wilson|Hilton|1998|pp=495–498}}</ref><ref name="Frei"/> A review of the published literature on female serial murder stated that "sexual or ] motives are believed to be extremely rare in female serial murderers, and psychopathic traits and histories of childhood abuse have been consistently reported in these women."<ref name="Frei"/> | |||
A study by Eric W. Hickey (2010) of 64 female serial killers in the United States indicated that sexual activity was one of several motives in 10% of the cases, enjoyment in 11% and control in 14% and that 51% of all U.S. female serial killers murdered at least one woman and 31% murdered at least one child.{{sfn|Hickey|2010|p=265}} In other cases, women have been involved as an accomplice with a male serial killer as a part of a serial killing team.<ref name="Wilson 1998 495–498"/><ref name="Frei"/> A 2015 study published in ''The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology'' found that the most common motive for female serial killers was for financial gain and almost 40% of them had experienced some sort of mental illness.{{sfn|Harrison|Murphy|Ho|Bowers2015|pp=383–406}} | |||
Unfortunately, profiles are built upon historical precedents of known serial killers that sometimes do not accurately model actual culprits. Such problems plagued the hunt for the ] John Muhammad and John Lee Malvo, whose initial profile indicated a white male. A different problem plagued the hunt for ] in ]'s "Highway Killer" case; police initially believed the killer to be male. | |||
] in '']'' (2007) maintains that female serial killers today often kill for the same reason males do: as a means of expressing rage and control. He suggests that sometimes the theft of the victims' property by the female "black widow" type serial killer appears to be for material gain, but really is akin to a male serial killer's collecting of totems (souvenirs) from the victim as a way of exerting continued control over the victim and reliving it.{{sfn|Vronsky|2007}} By contrast, Hickey states that although popular perception sees "black widow" female serial killers as something of the ] past, in his statistical study of female serial killer cases reported in the United States since 1826, approximately 75% occurred since 1950.<ref>, (2010).</ref> | |||
Serial killer investigations sometimes reveal an unsatisfactory side to ] — inertia, incompetence, ], mismanagement, agency "turf wars," missed opportunities, racial or gender ], and other failures can slow down the investigation and, indirectly, allow further murders. | |||
] countess ] is thought to have murdered hundreds of young women]] | |||
] is sometimes cited as the most prolific female serial killer in all of history. Formally countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed (Báthory Erzsébet in ], August 7, 1560 – August 21, 1614), she was a countess from the renowned ]. Before her husband's death, Elizabeth took great pleasure in torturing the staff, by jamming pins under the servant's fingernails or stripping servants and throwing them into the snow.{{sfn|Yardley|Wilson|2015|pp=1–26}} After her husband's death, she and four collaborators were accused of torturing and killing hundreds of girls and young women, with one witness attributing to them over 600 victims, though the number for which they were convicted was 80. Elizabeth herself was neither tried nor convicted. In 1610, however, she was imprisoned in the Csejte Castle, where she remained bricked in a set of rooms until her death four years later.{{sfn|Vronsky|2007|p=73}} | |||
A 2010 article by Perri and Lichtenwald addressed some of the misconceptions concerning female criminality.<ref name="Perri">{{harvnb|Perri|Lichtenwald|2010|pp=50–67}}</ref> In the article, Perri and Lichtenwald analyze the current research regarding female psychopathy, including case studies of female psychopathic killers featuring ], cesarean section homicide, fraud detection homicide, female kill teams, and a female serial killer.<ref name="Perri"/> | |||
While there is a public misconception that serial killers generally want to be discovered, in most instances this is not the case, as serial killers will often go to great lengths to prevent capture or to push police and investigators towards the wrong subjects. | |||
===Juvenile=== | |||
== Serial killers in popular culture == | |||
Juvenile serial killers are rare. There are three main categories that juvenile serial killers can fit into: primary, maturing, and secondary killers. There have been studies done to compare and contrast these three groups and to discover similarities and differences between them.{{sfn|Kirby|2009}} Although these types of serial killers are less common, oftentimes adult serial killers may make their debut at an early age and it can be an opportunity for researchers to study what factors brought about the behavior. While juvenile serial killers are rare, the youngest felon on death row is a juvenile serial killer named ] who was 17 at the time of his crimes and 18 at the time of his arrest.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/shadow-boxing/201207/youngest-serial-killer-death-row|title=Youngest Serial Killer on Death Row|website=Psychology Today|access-date=March 2, 2018|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053024/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/shadow-boxing/201207/youngest-serial-killer-death-row|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-01-21 |title=Harvey Robinson |url=https://teenkillers.org/juvenile-lifers/offenders-cases-state/pennsylvania-offenders/harvey-robinson/ |access-date=2022-03-27 |website=National Organization of Victims of Juvenile Murderers |archive-date=May 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517172407/https://teenkillers.org/juvenile-lifers/offenders-cases-state/pennsylvania-offenders/harvey-robinson/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Because of the horrific nature of their crimes, their highly varied personalities and profiles, and their ability to evade detection and kill many victims before finally being captured and imprisoned, serial killers have quickly become something of a ], and have been featured in many ]s, ]s, ]s, ]s, ] works, ]s, and other media. | |||
===Ethnicity and demographics in the United States=== | |||
The public's fascination with serial killers led to many successful ] and films about ], including ]' '']''; and especially ]' '']'' and its ]-winning movie adaptation, whose main ], the cannibalistic serial killer ], is a cultural icon. The character John Doe, from the movie '']'', is another well-known fictional serial killer. | |||
<!-- NOTE: Refrain from adding too much information about one race and/or ethnicity, as to avoid bias and WP:UNDUE WEIGHT--> | |||
] confirmed his involvement in at least 60 murders, the ] for any serial killer in American history.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lowery |first1=Wesley |last2=Knowles |first2=Hannah |last3=Berman |first3=Mark |date=November 30, 2020 |title=How America's deadliest serial killer went undetected for four decades |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/samuel-little-serial-killer/part-one/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203025501/https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/samuel-little-serial-killer/part-one/ |archive-date=December 3, 2020 |newspaper=]}} Indifferent Justice Part 1: The Perfect Victim</ref> ]] | |||
There is a myth that most serial killers are white males.<ref name="fbi.gov"/> However, according to the FBI, based on percentages of the U.S. population, white males are not more likely than other races to be serial killers.<ref name="fbi.gov"/> White males are actually greatly under-represented among serial killers in proportion to their overall numbers in the United States.<ref name="y076">{{cite book | last1=Walsh | first1=A. | last2=Jorgensen | first2=C. | title=Criminology: The Essentials | publisher=Sage Publications | year=2019 | isbn=978-1-5443-7539-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W-LFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT291 | access-date=2024-05-21 | page=291}} "The reality is that white males are very much underrepresented among serial killers in proportion to their numbers in the population. Hickey (2006) claims that about 44% of serial killers operating from 1995 to 2004 have been African American, which is about 3.4 times greater than expected by the proportion of African Americans in the population. More recently, the Radford University's Serial Killer Information Center (Aamodt, 2016) found that since 2000 African Americans have been 59.8% of serial killers in the United States, whites 30.8%, Hispanics 6.7%, and Asian Americans 0.1%."</ref> According to a 2016 study, since the year 2000, African Americans accounted for roughly 60% of all serial killers in the United States.<ref name="y076" /> | |||
Anthony Walsh found that the prevalence of non-white serial killers has typically been drastically underestimated in both professional research literature and the mass media. Black males were over-represented among serial killers by a factor of 2.<ref name="t623">{{cite journal | last=Walsh | first=Anthony | title=African Americans and Serial Killing in the Media: The Myth and the Reality | journal=Homicide Studies | date=2011-11-28 | url=https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/crimjust_facpubs/113/ | access-date=2024-05-21}} "There were many expressions of shock and surprise voiced in the media in 2002 when the “D.C. Sniper” turned out to be two Black males. Two of the stereotypes surrounding serial killers are that they are almost always White males and that African American males are barely represented in their ranks. In a sample of 413 serial killers operating in the United States from 1945 to mid-2004, it was found that 90 were African American. Relative to the African American proportion of the population across that time period, African Americans were overrepresented in the ranks of serial killers by a factor of about 2...The myth that serial killers are rarely African-Americans has had two detrimental effects. First, Whites tend to argue that Blacks are not sufficiently psychologically complex or intelligent to commit a series of murders without being caught. Second, police tend to neglect the protection of potential victims of serial killers in African-American communities. 1 table, 4 notes, and 64 references"</ref>{{sfn|Walsh|2005|pp=271–291}} Walsh argues that the popular media ignores black serial killers because of a fear of allegations of racism, and that this may enable black serial killers to operate more effectively, as their crimes do not get the same media attention as the crimes of non-black serial killers.<ref name="t623" /> | |||
== Bibliography == | |||
*Douglas, John and Olshaker, Mark. ''Journey into Darkness''. Pocket Books, ]. ISBN 0671003941 | |||
==Motives== | |||
*Douglas, John and Olshaker, Mark. ''Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit''. Pocket Books, ]. ISBN 0671013750 | |||
*Lane, Brian and Gregg, Wilfred. ''The New Encyclopedia Of Serial Killers''. Headline Book Publishing, ]. ISBN 0747253617 | |||
The ] of serial killers are generally placed into four categories: ''visionary'', ''mission-oriented'', ''hedonistic'', and ''power or control''; however, the motives of any given killer may display considerable overlap among these categories.<ref>{{harvnb|Holmes|Holmes|1998|pp=43–44}}, {{harvnb|Bartol|Bartol|2004|p=284}}</ref> | |||
*MacDonald, J. M. "The threat to kill." ''American Journal of Psychiatry'' 120 (]): 125-130. | |||
*Norris, Joel. ''Serial Killers: The Growing Menace''. Arrow Books, ]. ISBN 0099717506 | |||
===Visionary=== | |||
*Ressler, Robert K. and Schachtman, Thomas. ''Whoever Fights Monsters''. St. Martins Mass Market Paper, ]. ISBN 0312950446 | |||
Visionary serial killers suffer from ] breaks with reality,<ref name="Bonn2014c">{{cite book|author=Scott Bonn|title=Why We Love Serial Killers: The Curious Appeal of the World's Most Savage Murderers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WUJgBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT108|year=2014|publisher=Skyhorse|isbn=978-1-63220-189-8|pages=108–|access-date=September 1, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053014/https://books.google.com/books?id=WUJgBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT108|url-status=live}}</ref> sometimes believing they are another person or are compelled to murder by entities such as the ] or God.{{sfn|Holmes|Holmes|1998|p=62}} The two most common subgroups are "demon mandated" and "God mandated".{{sfn|Bartol|Bartol|2004|p=145}} | |||
*Schechter, Harold and Everitt, David. ''The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers''. Pocket Books, ]. ISBN 0671537911 | |||
*Vronsky, Peter. ''Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters''. The Berkley Publishing Group, Penguin Group, ]. ISBN 0-425-19640-2 | |||
] believed the American casualties in the ] were preventing California from experiencing ]. As the war wound down, Mullin claimed his father instructed him via ] to raise the number of "human sacrifices to nature" to delay a catastrophic earthquake that would plunge California into the ocean.{{sfn|Ressler|Schachtman|1993|p=146}} ] ("Son of Sam") may also be an example of a visionary serial killer, having claimed a demon transmitted orders through his neighbor's dog and instructed him to commit murder.{{sfn|Schechter|2003|p=291}} Berkowitz later described those claims as a hoax, as originally concluded by psychiatrist David Abrahamsen.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Demons of 'Son of Sam' |date=July 1, 1979 |last=Abrahamsen |first=David |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/139894111 |newspaper=] |volume=101 |issue=168 |pages=2G, 5G |access-date=February 1, 2018 |archive-date=February 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202190246/http://www.newspapers.com/image/139894111/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
*Wilson, Colin. ''A Plague Of Murder''. Robinson Publishing, Ltd., ]. ISBN 1854872494 | |||
===Mission-oriented=== | |||
] in 1982. Ridgway stated that he wanted to kill as many ] as possible.]] | |||
Mission-oriented killers typically justify their acts as "ridding the world" of certain types of people perceived as undesirable, such as the ], ], ], ], prostitutes, or people of different ethnicity or religion; however, they are generally not psychotic.{{sfn|Holmes|Holmes|1998|p=43}} Some see themselves as attempting to change society, often to cure a societal ill.{{sfn|Holmes|Holmes|2002|p=112}} | |||
An example of a mission-oriented killer would be ], an American ] who exclusively targeted ], ], and African American individuals for the purpose of inciting a "]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fox19.com/2020/02/18/worst-serial-killer-i-ever-dealt-with-confession-joseph-paul-franklin/|title='The worst serial killer I ever dealt with': The confession of Joseph Paul Franklin|first=Jason|last=Scott|website=www.fox19.com|date=February 18, 2020 |access-date=May 30, 2020|archive-date=August 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807065217/https://www.fox19.com/2020/02/18/worst-serial-killer-i-ever-dealt-with-confession-joseph-paul-franklin/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wicked-deeds/201809/understanding-pragmatic-mission-killers|title=Understanding Pragmatic Mission Killers|website=Psychology Today|access-date=September 1, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053023/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wicked-deeds/201809/understanding-pragmatic-mission-killers|url-status=live}}</ref> ] was a serial killer convicted of murdering at least sixteen women in his native Iran, many of whom were sex workers. He reported his goal was to cleanse his city of "moral corruption" and that his mission was sanctioned by God.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ramsey |first=Nancy |date=2004-05-25 |title=Out of Iran, a chilling truth |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-may-25-et-ramsey25-story.html |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=Los Angeles Times |archive-date=November 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114065018/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-may-25-et-ramsey25-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
===Hedonistic=== | |||
This type of serial killer seeks thrills and derives pleasure and satisfaction from killing, seeing people as expendable means to this goal. ] have identified three subtypes of the hedonistic killer: "lust", "thrill", and "comfort".{{sfn|Bartol|Bartol|2004|p=146}} | |||
====Lust==== | |||
Sex is the primary motive of lust killers, whether or not the victims are dead, and fantasy plays a large role in their killings.<ref name="BartolBartol2008"/> Their sexual gratification depends on the amount of torture and ] they perform on their victims. The sexual serial murderer has a psychological need to have absolute control, dominance, and power over their victims, and the infliction of torture, pain, and ultimately death is used in an attempt to fulfill their need.{{sfn|Myers|McElroy|Burton|Recoppa|1993|pp=435–451}} They usually use weapons that require close contact with the victims, such as knives or hands. As lust killers continue with their murders, the time between killings decreases or the required level of stimulation increases, sometimes both.<ref>{{harvnb|Bartol|Bartol|2004|p=146}}, {{harvnb|Holmes|Holmes|2001|p=163}}, {{harvnb|Dobbert|2004|pp=10–11}}</ref> | |||
] raped and murdered at least seven young women.]] | |||
], one of the "]s", murdered women and girls of different ages, races, and appearance because his sexual urges required different types of stimulation and increasing intensity.{{sfn|Dobbert|2004|p=10-11}} ] searched for his perfect fantasy lover—beautiful, submissive and eternal. As his desire increased, he experimented with drugs, alcohol, and exotic sex. His increasing need for stimulation was demonstrated by the dismemberment of victims, whose heads and genitals he preserved, and by his attempts to create a "living zombie" under his control (by pouring acid into a hole drilled into the victim's skull).<ref>{{harvnb|Giannangelo|2012}}, {{harvnb|Fulero|Wrightsman|2008}}, {{harvnb|Dvorchak|Holewa|1991}}</ref> | |||
Dahmer once said, "Lust played a big part of it. Control and lust. Once it happened the first time, it just seemed like it had control of my life from there on in. The killing was just a means to an end. That was the least satisfactory part. I didn't enjoy doing that. That's why I tried to create living zombies with acid and the drill." He further elaborated on this, also saying, "I wanted to see if it was possible to make—again, it sounds really gross—uh, zombies, people that would not have a will of their own, but would follow my instructions without resistance. So after that, I started using the drilling technique."{{sfn|MacCormick|2003|p=431}} He experimented with ] to "ensure his victims would always be a part of him".{{sfn|Dobbert|2004|p=11}} | |||
====Thrill==== | |||
{{Main|Thrill killing}} | |||
{{Further|Serial offender hunting patterns}} | |||
], the so-called "serial strangler" reportedly admired the primordial, violent manhood of her teenage years.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.iltasanomat.fi/kotimaa/art-1444805886271.html| title = Vankilasta paenneen sarjakuristajan rikoshistoria on poikkeuksellisen synkkä| work = Ilta-Sanomat| date = 2015-10-14| access-date = 2015-10-15| language = fi-FI |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202112313/http://www.iltasanomat.fi/kotimaa/art-1444805886271.html |archive-date=2016-02-02 |url-status=dead}}</ref>]] | |||
The primary motive of a thrill killer is to induce pain or terror in their victims, which provides stimulation and excitement for the killer.<ref name="BartolBartol2008">{{cite book|author1=Curt R. Bartol|author2=Anne M. Bartol|title=Introduction to Forensic Psychology: Research and Application|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=on2XfplaMTQC&pg=PA285|year=2008|publisher=Sage|isbn=978-1-4129-5830-1|pages=285–286|access-date=September 1, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053022/https://books.google.com/books?id=on2XfplaMTQC&pg=PA285|url-status=live}}</ref> They seek the ] rush provided by hunting and killing victims. Thrill killers murder only for the kill; usually, the attack is not prolonged, and there is no sexual aspect. Usually, the victims are strangers, although the killer may have followed them for a period of time. Thrill killers can abstain from killing for long periods of time and become more successful at killing as they refine their ]. Many attempt to commit the ] and believe they will not be caught.<ref>{{harvnb|Bartol|Bartol|2004|p=146}}, {{harvnb|Howard|Smith|2004|p=4}}</ref> | |||
] took his victims to a secluded area, where he would let them loose and then hunt and kill them.{{sfn|Howard|Smith|2004|p=4}} In one of his letters to ] newspapers in San Francisco, California, the ] wrote " gives me the most thrilling experience it is even better than getting your rocks off with a girl".{{sfn|Graysmith|2007|pp=54–55}} ] was described by a surviving victim as "excited and hyper and clappin' and just making noises like he was excited, that this was gonna be fun" during the 1982 attack.<ref name=Cbs2004>{{cite news | url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-deal-with-the-devil-14-10-2004/ | title = A Deal With the Devil? | publisher = ] | date = October 14, 2004 | access-date = June 28, 2008 | archive-date = October 18, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131018183418/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/14/60minutes/main649363.shtml | url-status = live }}</ref> Slashing, stabbing, hanging, drowning, asphyxiating, and strangling were among the ways Watts killed.{{sfn|Mitchell|2006|pp=207–208}} | |||
====Comfort (profit)==== | |||
Material gain and a comfortable lifestyle are the primary motives of comfort killers.<ref name="BartolBartol2012">{{cite book|author1=Curt R. Bartol|author2=Anne M. Bartol|title=Criminal & Behavioral Profiling|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SYcgAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT197|year=2012|publisher=Sage Publications|isbn=978-1-4522-8908-3|pages=197–199|access-date=September 1, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053022/https://books.google.com/books?id=SYcgAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT197|url-status=live}}</ref> Usually, the victims are family members and close acquaintances.<ref name="BartolBartol2008"/> After a murder, a comfort killer will usually wait for a period of time before killing again to allow any suspicions by family or authorities to subside. They often use poison, most notably ], to kill their victims. Female serial killers are often comfort killers, although not all comfort killers are female.<ref>{{harvnb|Bartol|Bartol|2004|p=146}}, {{harvnb|Schlesinger|2000|p=276}}, {{harvnb|Holmes|Holmes|2000|p=41}}</ref> | |||
] killed her tenants for their ] checks and buried them in the backyard of her home.{{sfn|Holmes|Holmes|2000|p=44}} ] killed for insurance and business profits.{{sfn|Holmes|Holmes|2000|p=43}} Puente and Holmes had previous records of crimes such as theft, fraud, ], ] and others of a similar nature. Dorothea Puente was finally arrested on a parole violation, having been on parole for a previous fraud conviction.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/puente/9.html |title=Dorothea Puente, Killing for Profit – Easy Money |publisher=Trutv.com |access-date=July 29, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114083906/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/puente/9.html |archive-date=January 14, 2010 }}</ref> ] ("hitmen") may exhibit similar characteristics of serial killers, but are generally not classified as such because of third-party killing objectives and detached financial and emotional incentives.<ref name="Madjd-Sadjadi2013">{{cite book|author=Zagros Madjd-Sadjadi|title=The Economics of Crime|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dd7XAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT162|year=2013|publisher=Business Expert Press|isbn=978-1-60649-583-4|page=162|access-date=August 30, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053041/https://books.google.com/books?id=Dd7XAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT162|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Holmes|Holmes|1998|p=7}}<ref name="WilsonYardley2015">{{cite book|author1=David Wilson|author2=Elizabeth Yardley|author3=Adam Lynes|title=Serial Killers and the Phenomenon of Serial Murder: A Student Textbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iXg7CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA43|year=2015|publisher=Waterside Press – Drew University|isbn=978-1-909976-21-4|page=43|access-date=August 30, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053040/https://books.google.com/books?id=iXg7CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA43|url-status=live}}</ref> Nevertheless, there are occasionally individuals that are labeled as both a hitman and a serial killer.<ref name="WilsonYardley2015a">{{cite book|author1=David Wilson|author2=Elizabeth Yardley|author3=Adam Lynes|title=Serial Killers and the Phenomenon of Serial Murder: A Student Textbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iXg7CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA43|year=2015|publisher=Waterside Press|isbn=978-1-909976-21-4|page=43|access-date=August 30, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053026/https://books.google.com/books?id=iXg7CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA43|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
===Power/control=== | |||
], one of ]'s victims]] | |||
The main objective for this type of serial killer is to gain and exert power over their victim. Such killers are sometimes ], leaving them with feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy as adults. Many power- or control-motivated killers ] their victims, but they differ from hedonistic killers in that rape is not motivated by lust (as it would be with a lust murder) but as simply another form of dominating the victim.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Egger|first=Steven A.|year=2000|title=Why Serial Murderers Kill: An Overview|journal=Contemporary Issues Companion: Serial Killers}}</ref> ] is an example of a power/control-oriented serial killer. He traveled around the United States seeking women to control.{{sfn|Peck|Dolche|2000|p=255}} | |||
===Media influences=== | |||
Many serial killers claim that a violent culture influenced them to commit murders. During his final interview, ] stated that ] was responsible for his actions. Others idolise figures for their deeds or perceived ] justice, such as ], who idolized ], or ] and ], who both idolized the actor ].<ref name="Tick" /> | |||
Killers who have a strong desire for fame or to be renowned for their actions desire media attention as a way of validating and spreading their crimes; fear is also a component here, as some serial killers enjoy causing fear. An example is ], who sought attention from the press during his murder spree.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.biography.com/people/dennis-rader-241487|title = Dennis Rader|access-date = January 1, 2016|website = Biography|publisher = A&E Television Networks|archive-date = March 18, 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190318200921/https://www.biography.com/people/dennis-rader-241487|url-status = live}}</ref> | |||
===Theories=== | |||
====Biological and sociological==== | |||
Theories for why certain people commit serial murder have been advanced. Some theorists believe the reasons are biological, suggesting serial killers are born, not made, and that their violent behavior is a result of abnormal brain activity. Holmes believe that "until a reliable sample can be obtained and tested, there is no scientific statement that can be made concerning the exact role of ] as a determining factor of a serial killer personality."{{sfn|Holmes|Holmes|2010|pp=55–56}} | |||
The "Fractured Identity Syndrome" (FIS) is a merging of ]'s "]" and ]'s "virtual" and "actual social identity" theories. The FIS suggests a social event, or series of events, during one's childhood results in a fracturing of the personality of the serial killer. The term "fracture" is defined as a small breakage of the personality which is often not visible to the outside world and is only felt by the killer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fbilibrary.fbiacademy.edu/bibliographies/serialkillers.htm |title=Serial Killers |publisher=] |access-date=May 26, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100520203225/http://fbilibrary.fbiacademy.edu/bibliographies/serialkillers.htm |archive-date=May 20, 2010 }}</ref> | |||
"Social Process Theory" has also been suggested as an explanation for serial murder. Social process theory states that offenders may turn to crime due to peer pressure, family and friends. Criminal behavior is a process of interaction with social institutions, in which everyone has the potential for criminal behavior. A lack of family structure and identity could also be a cause leading to serial murder traits. A child used as a scapegoat will be deprived of their capacity to feel guilt. Displaced anger could result in animal torture, as identified in the ], and a further lack of basic identity.{{sfn|Claus|Lindberg|1999|pp=427–435}} | |||
====Military==== | |||
] participated in the kidnapping, sadistic torture, rape, and murder of numerous victims.]] | |||
The "military theory" has been proposed as an explanation for why serial murderers kill, as some serial murderers have served in the military or related fields. According to Castle and Hensley, 7% of the serial killers studied had military experience.<ref>{{harvnb|Castle|Hensley|2002|pp=453–465}}, {{harvnb|DeFronzo|Prochnow|2004|pp=104–108}}</ref> This figure may be a proportional under-representation when compared to the number of military veterans in a nation's total population. For example, according to the United States census for the year 2000, military veterans comprised 12.7% of the U.S. population;<ref>{{Cite web|last1= Richardson |first1= Christy |last2= Waldrop |first2= Judith |title= Veterans: 2000 |url= https://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-22.pdf |publisher= U.S. Census Bureau |year= 2003 |access-date= July 13, 2011 |page= 5 |journal= |archive-date= August 25, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110825194126/http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-22.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> in England, it was estimated in 2007 that military veterans comprised 9.1% of the population.{{sfn|Woodhead|Sloggett|Bray|Bradbury|2009|pp=50–54}} Though by contrast, about 2.5% of the population of Canada in 2006 consisted of military veterans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/98-187-x/4151287-eng.htm#table3|title=Estimated population of Canada, 1605 to present|date=July 6, 2009|publisher=Statistics Canada|access-date=May 23, 2011|archive-date=June 30, 2019|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20190630114202/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/98-187-x/4151287-eng.htm#table3|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Veteran Population and the People We Serve |url=http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/sub.cfm?source=department%2Freports%2Ffiveyearplan03%2Fplan03_population |year=2003 |work=Veterans Affairs Canada |access-date=July 13, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001151839/http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/sub.cfm?source=department%2Freports%2Ffiveyearplan03%2Fplan03_population |archive-date=October 1, 2012 }}</ref> | |||
There are two theories that can be used to study the correlation between serial killing and military training: ''Applied learning theory'' states that serial killing can be learned. The military is training for higher kill rates from servicemen while training the soldiers to be desensitized to taking a human life.{{sfn|Castle|Hensley|2002}} ''Social learning theory'' can be used when soldiers get praised and accommodated for killing. They learn or believe that they learn, that it is acceptable to kill because they were praised for it in the military. Serial killers want accreditation for the work that they have done.<ref name="Exploring">{{cite web |url=http://www.deviantcrimes.com/serialmurder_sociallearning.htm |title=Social Learning and Serial Murder |website=www.deviantcrimes.com |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104221523/http://www.deviantcrimes.com/serialmurder_sociallearning.htm |archive-date=4 January 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
In both military and serial killing, the offender or the soldier may become desensitized to killing as well as compartmentalized; the soldiers do not see enemy personnel as "human" and neither do serial killers see their victims as humans.{{sfn|Hamamoto|2002|pp=105–120}} The theories do not imply that military institutions make a deliberate effort to produce serial killers; to the contrary, all military personnel are trained to recognize when, where, and against whom it is appropriate to use deadly force, which starts with the basic '']'', taught during the ], and may include more stringent policies for military personnel in law enforcement or security.{{sfn|Atwood|1992}} | |||
==Investigation== | |||
===FBI: Issues and practices=== | |||
In 2008, the FBI published a handbook titled ''Serial Murder'' which was the product of a symposium held in 2005 to bring together the many issues surrounding serial murder, including its investigation.<ref name="FBI-2010">{{cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder|title=Serial Murder|publisher=]|access-date=June 3, 2011|archive-date=October 28, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101028051224/http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
====Identification==== | |||
], who was an ]]] | |||
According to the FBI, identifying one, or multiple, murders as being the work of a serial killer is the first challenge an investigation faces, especially if the victim(s) come from a marginalized or high-risk population and is normally linked through forensic or behavioral evidence.<ref name="FBI-2010"/> Should the cases cross multiple jurisdictions, the law enforcement system in the United States is fragmented and thus not configured to detect multiple similar murders across a large geographic area.<ref name="egger1998">{{harvnb|Egger|2002}}</ref> Ted Bundy was particularly famous for such geographic exploitations. He used his knowledge about the lack of communication between multiple jurisdictions to avoid arrest and detection.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sanchez |first1=Shanell |title=1.1 Crime and the Criminal Justice System |url=https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/ccj230/chapter/goals/ |website=Introduction to the American Criminal Justice System |publisher=Open Oregon Educational Resources |access-date=9 September 2022 |archive-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909212054/https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/ccj230/chapter/goals/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The FBI suggests utilizing databases and increasing interdepartmental communication. Keppel suggests holding multi-jurisdictional conferences regularly to compare cases giving departments a greater chance to detect linked cases and overcome linkage blindness.<ref name="keppel1990">{{harvnb|Keppel|2000}}</ref> | |||
One collaboration, the Serial Homicide Expertise and Information Sharing Collaborative, was formed in 2010 and made serial murder data widely accessible after multiple experts combined their databases to aid in research and investigation.<ref>Boyne, E. Serial Homicide Collaborative Brings Research Data Together. CJ Update: A Newsletter for Criminal Justice Educators. Retrieved from <nowiki>https://tandfbis.s3.amazonaws.com/rt-files/docs/SBU3/Criminology/CJ%20UPDATE%20FallWinter%202014.pdf</nowiki></ref> Another collaboration, the ''Radford/FGCU Serial Killer Database Project''<ref>{{cite web|title=Radford/FGCU Serial Killer Database Project – Justice Studies FGCU|url=http://skdb.fgcu.edu/info.asp|last=Elink-Schuurman-Laura|first=Kristin|publisher=]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508064156/http://skdb.fgcu.edu/info.asp|archive-date=8 May 2013|access-date=February 2, 2013}}</ref> was proposed at the 2012 ] Annual Conference.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fdiai.org/2012%20Conference%20Daily%20Schedule.htm |title=FDIAI 52nd Annual Conference |access-date=February 2, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031044256/http://fdiai.org/2012%20Conference%20Daily%20Schedule.htm |archive-date=October 31, 2012 }}</ref> Utilizing ]'s Serial Killer Database as a starting point, the new collaboration,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Serial%20Killer%20Information%20Center/Serial%20Killer%20Statistics.pdf|title=Serial Killer Statistics|last=Aamodt|first=Mike|publisher=Radford University|access-date=February 6, 2013|archive-date=March 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309034112/http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Serial%20Killer%20Information%20Center/Serial%20Killer%20Statistics.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> hosted by ] Justice Studies, has invited and is working in conjunction with other universities to maintain and expand the scope of the database to also include ] and ]s. Utilizing over 170 data points, multiple-murderer ] and ]; researchers and Law Enforcement Agencies can build ] and statistical profiles to further research the ''Who, What, Why and How'' of these types of crimes. | |||
====Leadership==== | |||
Leadership, or administration, should play a small or virtually non-existent role in the actual investigation past assigning knowledgeable or experienced homicide investigators to lead positions. The administration's role is not to run the investigation but to establish and reaffirm the primary goal of catching the serial killer, as well as provide support for the investigators. The FBI (2008) suggests completing Memorandums of Understanding to facilitate support and commitment of resources from different jurisdictions to an investigation.<ref name="FBI-2010"/> Egger takes this one step further and suggests completing mutual aid pacts, which are written agreements to provide support to each other in a time of need, with surrounding jurisdictions. Doing this in advance would save time and resources that could be used on the investigation.<ref name="egger1998"/> | |||
====Organization==== | |||
], who claimed to be the "]", after being caught in Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1967]] | |||
The structural organization of an investigation is key to its success, as demonstrated by the investigation of ], the Green River Killer. Once a serial murder case was established, a task force was created to track down and arrest the offender. Over the course of the investigation, for various reasons, the task force's organization was radically changed and reorganized multiple times – at one point including more than 50 full-time personnel, and at another, only a single investigator. Eventually, what led to the end of the investigation was a conference of 25 detectives organized to share ideas to solve the case.<ref name="guillen2007">{{harvnb|Guillen|2007}}</ref> | |||
The FBI handbook provides a description of how a task force should be organized but offers no additional options on how to structure the investigation. While it appears advantageous to have a full-time staff assigned to a serial murder investigation, it can become prohibitively expensive. For example, the Green River Task Force cost upwards of $2 million per year,<ref name="guillen2007"/> and as was witnessed with the Green River Killer investigation, other strategies can prevail where a task force fails. A common strategy, already employed by many departments for other reasons, is the conference, in which departments get together and focus on a specific set of topics.<ref name="egger1990">{{harvnb|Egger|1990}}</ref> With serial murders, the focus is typically on unsolved cases, with evidence thought to be related to the case at hand. | |||
Similar to a conference is an information clearing-house in which a jurisdiction with a suspected serial murder case collects all of its evidence and actively seeks data that may be related from other jurisdictions.<ref name="egger1990"/> By collecting all of the related information into one place, they provide a central point in which it can be organized and easily accessed by other jurisdictions working toward the goal of arresting an offender and ending the murders. A task force provides for a flexible, organized, framework for jurisdictions depending on the needs of the investigation. Unfortunately due to the need to commit resources (manpower, money, equipment, etc.) for long periods of time it can be an unsustainable option.<ref name="egger1990"/><ref name="FBI-2010"/><ref name="keppel1990"/> | |||
In the case of the investigation of Aileen Wournos, the Marion County Sheriff coordinated multiple agencies without any written or formal agreement.<ref name="egger1998"/> While not a specific strategy for a serial murder investigation, this is certainly a best practice in so far as the agencies were able to work easily together toward a common goal. Finally, once a serial murder investigation has been identified, the use of an FBI Rapid Response Team can assist both experienced and inexperienced jurisdictions in setting up a task force. This is completed by organizing and delegating jobs, by compiling and analyzing clues, and by establishing communication between the parties involved.<ref name="egger1998"/> | |||
====Resource augmentation==== | |||
During the course of a serial murder investigation, it may become necessary to call in additional resources; the FBI defines this as Resource Augmentation. Within the structure of a task force, the addition of a resource should be thought of as either long-term or short-term. If the task force's framework is expanded to include the new resource, then it should be permanent and not removed. For short-term needs, such as setting up roadblocks or canvassing a neighborhood, additional resources should be called in on a short-term basis. The decision of whether resources are needed short or long term should be left to the lead investigator and facilitated by the administration.<ref name="FBI-2010"/> | |||
The confusion and counter productiveness created by changing the structure of a task force mid investigation is illustrated by the way the Green River Task Force's staffing and structure was changed multiple times throughout the investigation. This made an already complicated situation more difficult, resulting in the delay or loss of information, which allowed Ridgway to continue killing.<ref name="guillen2007"/> The FBI model does not take into account that permanently expanding a task force, or investigative structure, may not be possible due to cost or personnel availability. Egger (1998) offers several alternative strategies including; using investigative consultants, or experienced staff to augment an investigative team. Not all departments have investigators experienced in serial murder and by temporarily bringing in consultants, they can educate a department to a level of competence then step out. This would reduce the initially established framework of the investigation team and save the department the cost of retaining the consultants until the conclusion of the investigation.<ref name="egger1998"/> | |||
====Communication==== | |||
The FBI handbook (2008) and Keppel (1989) both stress communication as paramount. The difference is that the FBI handbook concentrates primarily on communication within a task force, while Keppel makes getting information out to and allowing information to be passed back from patrol officers a priority.<ref name="FBI-2010"/><ref name="keppel1990"/> The FBI handbook suggests having daily e-mail or in-person briefings for all staff involved in the investigation and providing periodic summary briefings to patrol officers and managers. Looking back on a majority of serial murderer arrests, most are exercised by patrol officers in the course of their everyday duties and unrelated to the ongoing serial murder investigation.<ref name="egger1998"/><ref name="keppel1990"/> | |||
Keppel provides examples of Larry Eyler, who was arrested during a traffic stop for a parking violation, and Ted Bundy, who was arrested during a traffic stop for operating a stolen vehicle.<ref name="keppel1990"/> In each case, it was uniformed officers, not directly involved in the investigation, who knew what to look for and took the direct action that stopped the killer. By providing up-to-date (as opposed to periodic) briefings and information to officers on the street the chances of catching a serial killer, or finding solid leads, are increased. | |||
====Data management==== | |||
A serial murder investigation generates staggering amounts of data, all of which needs to be reviewed and analyzed. A standardized method of documenting and distributing information must be established and investigators must be allowed time to complete reports while investigating leads and at the end of a shift (FBI 2008).<ref name="FBI-2010"/> When the mechanism for data management is insufficient, leads are not only lost or buried but the investigation can be hindered and new information can become difficult to obtain or become corrupted.<ref name="guillen2007"/> | |||
During the Green River Killer investigation, reporters would often find and interview possible victims or witnesses ahead of investigators. The understaffed investigation was unable to keep up the information flow, which prevented them from promptly responding to leads. To make matters worse, investigators believed that the journalists, untrained in interviewing victims or witnesses of crimes, would corrupt the information and result in unreliable leads.<ref name="guillen2007"/> | |||
==Memorabilia== | |||
Notorious and infamous serial killers number in the thousands and a subculture revolves around their legacies.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Getting away with murder|url=https://www.minotdailynews.com/opinion/national-columnists/2020/01/getting-away-with-murder/|access-date=2021-04-10|website=minotdailynews.com|archive-date=April 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410161909/https://www.minotdailynews.com/opinion/national-columnists/2020/01/getting-away-with-murder/|url-status=live}}</ref> That subculture includes the collection, sale, and display of serial killer memorabilia, dubbed "]" by Andrew Kahan, one of the best-known opponents of collectors of serial killer remnants. Kahan is the director of the Mayor's Crime Victims Office in Houston. He is backed by the families of murder victims and "]s" existing in some states that prevent murderers from profiting from the publicity generated by their crimes.<ref name="Ramsland">{{cite web|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/s_k_culture/1.html |title=Serial Killer Culture |last=Ramsland |first=Katherine |author2=Karen Pepper |publisher=Tru.tv Crime Library |access-date=April 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106080546/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/s_k_culture/1.html |archive-date=January 6, 2010 }}</ref> | |||
Such memorabilia includes the paintings, writings, and poems of these killers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=91786&page=1|title=Serial Killer Action Figures For Sale|last=Robinson|first=Bryan|publisher=ABC News|access-date=April 1, 2010|date=January 7, 2006|archive-date=June 28, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628194135/http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=91786&page=1|url-status=live}}</ref> Recently, marketing has capitalized even more upon interest in serial killers with the rise of various merchandise such as ]s, ]s, and books. Some serial killers attain celebrity status in the way they acquire fans and may have previous personal possessions auctioned off on websites like ]. A few examples of this are ]'s 150-pound stolen gravestone and ]'s sunglasses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/s_k_culture/6.html |title=Serial Killer Culture |last=Ramsland |first=Katherine |author2=Karen Pepper |publisher=Tru.tv Crime Library |access-date=April 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601230659/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/s_k_culture/6.html |archive-date=June 1, 2009 }}</ref> | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
* ] | |||
*] | |||
* ] | |||
*] | |||
* ] | |||
*] | |||
* ] | |||
*] | |||
* ] | |||
==Footnotes== | |||
{{Reflist|30em}} | |||
==Bibliography== | |||
{{refbegin|30em}} | |||
* {{cite journal|doi=10.1002/bsl.583|last1=Arrigo|first1=B.|last2=Griffin |first2=A. |year=2004|title=Serial Murder and the Case of Aileen Wuornos: Attachment Theory, Psychopathy, and Predatory Aggression|journal=Behavioral Sciences & the Law|volume=22|issue=3|pages=375–393|pmid=15211558}} | |||
* {{cite web|last= Atwood |first= Donald J. |title= Department of Defense Directive AD-A272 176: Use of Deadly Force and the Carrying of Firearms by DoD Personnel Engaged in Law Enforcement and Security Duties |date= February 25, 1992 |publisher= DoD |url= http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a272176.pdf |access-date= July 13, 2011 |archive-date= March 28, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180328204733/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a272176.pdf |url-status= live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Bartol |first1=Curt R. |first2=Anne M. |last2=Bartol |title=Introduction to Forensic Psychology: Research and Application |publisher=SAGE Publications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=on2XfplaMTQC&pg=PP1 |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-4129-5830-1 |access-date=February 19, 2018 |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063509/https://books.google.com/books?id=on2XfplaMTQC&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Pat |title=Killing for Sport: Inside the Minds of Serial Killers |date=2008 |publisher=Phoenix Books, Inc. |isbn=9781597775755 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gzLkN3VmVhwC&pg=PA12 }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Bruno |first1=Anthony |title=The Iceman: the True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer |date=1993 |publisher=Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers |isbn=9780385307789 }} | |||
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Burkhalter Chmelir |first=Sandra |editor=Robert Kastenbaum |encyclopedia=Macmillan Encyclopedia of Death and Dying |title=Serial Killers |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_gx5214/is_2003/ai_n19132282?tag=content;col1 |year=2003 |publisher=Macmillan Reference USA/Thomson/Gale |volume=2 |location=New York |page=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503121235/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_gx5214/is_2003/ai_n19132282/?tag=content;col1 |archive-date=May 3, 2009 |url-status=dead }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Canter |first1=David |title=Criminal Shadows: Inside the Mind of the Serial Killer |date=1994 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=9780002552158 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nJkbAQAAMAAJ&q=0002552159 |access-date=September 9, 2020 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053033/https://books.google.com/books?id=nJkbAQAAMAAJ&q=0002552159 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite journal |last1=Castle |first1=T. |last2=Hensley |first2=C. |year=2002 |title=Serial killers with military experience: Applying learning theory to serial murder |url=http://www.shsu.edu/~stdrem26/pictures/MilitarySerialKillers.pdf |journal=International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=453–465 |doi=10.1177/0306624x02464007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111027101009/http://www.shsu.edu/~stdrem26/pictures/MilitarySerialKillers.pdf |archive-date=October 27, 2011 |pmid=12150084 |s2cid=35278358 }} | |||
* {{cite journal | last1 = Claus | first1 = C. | last2 = Lindberg | first2 = L. | year = 1999 | title = Serial Murder as a 'Shariar Syndrome'| journal = The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry | volume = 10 | issue = 2| pages = 427–435 | doi=10.1080/09585189908403694}} | |||
* {{cite ODNB |last1=Davenport-Hines |first1=Richard |title=Jack the Ripper (fl. 1888), serial killer |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-38744 |year=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/38744 |access-date=October 2, 2018 |archive-date=July 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708162551/https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-38744 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite journal | last1 = DeFronzo | first1 = J | last2 = Prochnow | first2 = J | year = 2004 | title = Violent cultural factors and serial homicide by males| journal = Psychological Reports | volume = 94 | issue = 1| pages = 104–108 | doi=10.2466/pr0.94.1.104-108| pmid = 15077753 | s2cid = 29686594 }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Dobbert |first=Duane L. |title=Halting the Sexual Predators Among Us: Preventing Attack, Rape, and Lust Homicide |publisher=Greenwood |year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=79BtniCkcLsC&pg=PP1 |isbn=9780275978624 |access-date=February 27, 2016 |archive-date=September 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901214523/https://books.google.com/books?id=79BtniCkcLsC&lpg=PP1 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Dvorchak |first1=Robert J. |last2=Holewa |first2=Lisa |title=Milwaukee Massacre: Jeffrey Dahmer and the Milwaukee Murders |date=1991 |publisher=Dell Pub. |isbn=9780440212867 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9p3iAAAACAAJ&q=9780440212867 |access-date=November 21, 2020 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053044/https://books.google.com/books?id=9p3iAAAACAAJ&q=9780440212867 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Egger |first1=Steven A. |title=Serial Murder: An Elusive Phenomenon |date=1990 |publisher=Praeger Publishers Inc |isbn=9780275929862 }}< | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Egger |first1=Steven A. |title=The Killers Among Us: An Examination of Serial Murder and Its Investigation |date=2002 |publisher=Prentice Hall |isbn=9780130179159 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MqLyAAAAMAAJ |access-date=September 9, 2020 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053046/https://books.google.com/books?id=MqLyAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite journal|first1=Amanda L. |last1=Farrell|first2=Robert D. |last2=Keppel|first3=Victoria B. |last3=Titterington|title=Lethal Ladies: Revisiting What We Know About Female Serial Murderers|journal=Homicide Studies|date=August 2011|volume=15|issue=3|pages=228–252|doi=10.1177/1088767911415938|s2cid=144327931}} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Flowers |first1=R. Barri |title=The Dynamics of Murder: Kill or Be Killed |date=2012 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=9781439879740 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MQnSBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA195 |access-date=June 15, 2016 |archive-date=September 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901122726/https://books.google.com/books?id=MQnSBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA195 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Fox |first1=James Alan |first2=Jack |last2=Levin |title=Extreme Killing: Understanding Serial and Mass Murder |publisher=] |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=txPYzY1_HLQC&pg=PP1 |isbn=9780761988571 |access-date=February 27, 2016 |archive-date=September 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160902175701/https://books.google.com/books?id=txPYzY1_HLQC&lpg=PP1 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite journal|doi=10.1002/cbm.615|last1=Frei|first1=A.|last2=Völlm |first2=B. |last3=Graf |first3=M. |last4= Dittmann |first4=V. |year=2006|title=Female serial killing: Review and case report |journal=Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health|volume=16|issue=33|pages=167–176|pmid=16838388}} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Fulero |first1=Solomon M. |last2=Wrightsman |first2=Lawrence S. |title=Forensic Psychology |date=2008 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-1111804954 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dRYHAAAAQBAJ&q=9780495506492 |access-date=November 21, 2020 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053039/https://books.google.com/books?id=dRYHAAAAQBAJ&q=9780495506492 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite journal |last1=Geberth |first1=Vernon J. |year=1995 |title=Psychopathic sexual sadists: The psychology and psychodynamics of serial killers |journal=Law and Order |volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=82–86 |url=http://www.practicalhomicide.com/articles/psexsad.htm |access-date=July 25, 2013 |archive-date=January 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200105212917/http://www.practicalhomicide.com/articles/psexsad.htm |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite news |last=Gennat |first=Ernst |title=Die Düsseldorfer Sexualmorde |work=Kriminalistische Monatshefte |year= 1930 }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Giannangelo |first1=Stephen J. |title=The Psychopathology of Serial Murder: A Theory of Violence |date=1996 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=9780275954345 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rPLpWHyrM-MC&pg=PA33 |access-date=September 9, 2020 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053040/https://books.google.com/books?id=rPLpWHyrM-MC&pg=PA33 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Giannangelo |first1=Stephen J. |title=Real-life Monsters: A Psychological Examination of the Serial Murderer |date=2012 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9780313397844 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zLgAQNc_HXwC&q=0313397848 |access-date=November 21, 2020 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053113/https://books.google.com/books?id=zLgAQNc_HXwC&q=0313397848 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Godwin |first1=Grover Maurice |title=Hunting Serial Predators |date=2008 |publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning |isbn=9780763735104 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V3jUu-vIcaAC&pg=PA60 }} | |||
* {{cite journal |last1=Goldberg |first1=Carl |last2=Crespo |first2=Virginia |title=A psychological examination of serial killer cinema: The case of copycat. |journal=Post Script |year=2003 |volume=22 |issue=2 |url=http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Post-Script/105657303.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616180423/http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Post-Script/105657303.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 16, 2018 |issn=0277-9897 }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Graysmith |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Graysmith |title=Zodiac |url=https://archive.org/details/zodiac00gray |url-access=registration |publisher=] |year=2007 |edition=Reissue |isbn=978-0-425-21218-9 }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Guillen |first1=Tomas |title=Serial Killers: Issues Explored Through the Green River Murders |date=2007 |publisher=Pearson Prentice Hall |isbn=9780131529663 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QJnyAAAAMAAJ |access-date=September 9, 2020 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053115/https://books.google.com/books?id=QJnyAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite journal | last1 = Hamamoto | first1 = D | year = 2002 | title = Empire of death: militarized society and the rise of serial killing and mass murder| journal = New Political Science | volume = 24 | issue = 1| pages = 105–120 | doi=10.1080/07393140220122662| s2cid = 145617529 }} | |||
* {{cite journal|title = Female serial killers in the United States: means, motives, and makings|journal = The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology|volume = 26|issue = 3|pages = 383–406|doi = 10.1080/14789949.2015.1007516|first1 = Marissa A.|last1 = Harrison|first2 = Erin A.|last2 = Murphy|first3 = Lavina Y.|last3 = Ho|first4 = Thomas G.|last4 = Bowers|first5 = Claire V.|last5 = Flaherty|year = 2015|s2cid = 145149823}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Hasselt|first=V. B. Van|year=1999|title=Handbook of psychological approaches with violent offenders: Contemporary strategies and issues|publisher=Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K4v-xqq4SmsC&pg=PP1|isbn=9780306458453|access-date=September 9, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053044/https://books.google.com/books?id=K4v-xqq4SmsC&lpg=PP1|url-status=live}} | |||
* {{cite journal |last1=Hale |first1=Robert L. |title=The Application of Learning Theory to Serial Murder or 'You Too Can Learn to be a Serial Killer' |journal=American Journal of Criminal Justice |date=January 9, 1993 |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=37–45 |doi=10.1007/BF02885952 |s2cid=144186286 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225783432 |access-date=October 1, 2018 |archive-date=October 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003061744/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225783432 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book|last1=Howard |first1=Amanda |first2=Martin |last2=Smith |title=River of Blood: Serial Killers and Their Victims |publisher=Universal |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-58112-518-4 }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Hickey |first=Eric W.|year=2010|title=Serial murderers and their victims|publisher=Wadsworth, Cengage Learning }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Holmes |first1=Ronald M. |first2=Stephen T. |last2=Holmes |url=https://archive.org/details/serialmurder0000holm_c5e3 |url-access=registration |title=Serial murder |edition=3rd |year=2010 |publisher=Thousand Oaks, Sage, California |isbn=978-1-4129-7442-4 }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Holmes |first1=Ronald M. |first2=Stephen T. |last2=Holmes |title=Serial Murder |edition=Second |publisher=] |year=1998 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ol24tui7vo8C&pg=PP1 |isbn=978-0-7619-1367-2 |access-date=February 19, 2018 |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063506/https://books.google.com/books?id=ol24tui7vo8C&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |title=Mass murder in the United States|first1=Ronald M|last1= Holmes| first2=Stephen T|last2= Holmes|publisher=Prentice Hall|year=2000|isbn=978-0-13-934308-7}} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Holmes |first1=Ronald M. |first2=Stephen T. |last2=Holmes |title=Sex Crimes: Patterns and Behavior |publisher=Sage |year=2001 |edition=Second |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_zqOsZSZxYQC&pg=PP1 |isbn=978-0-7619-2417-3 |access-date=February 19, 2018 |archive-date=March 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200309233442/https://books.google.com/books?id=_zqOsZSZxYQC&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Holmes |first1=Ronald M. |first2=Stephen T. |last2=Holmes |title=Profiling Violent Crimes: An Investigative Tool |publisher=Sage |year=2002 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a2uYI0C_AXkC&pg=PP1 |isbn=978-0-7619-2594-1 |access-date=February 19, 2018 |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063513/https://books.google.com/books?id=a2uYI0C_AXkC&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book | first1 = Richard M. | last1 = Hough | first2 = Kimberly D. | last2 = McCorkle | title = American Homicide | publisher = ] | year = 2016 | isbn = 978-1439138854 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_XtZDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT248 | access-date = September 2, 2020 | archive-date = January 20, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053047/https://books.google.com/books?id=_XtZDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT248 | url-status = live }} | |||
* {{cite book|last1=Kelleher|first1=Michael D.|last2=Kelleher|first2=C.L.|title=Murder Most Rare: The Female Serial Killer|publisher=]|location=Westport, Connecticut|url=https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14217482|year=1998|isbn=978-0-275-96003-2|access-date=September 11, 2017|archive-date=April 20, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420055859/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o|url-status=live}} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Keppel |first1=Robert D. |title=Serial Murder: Future Implications for Police Investigations |date=2000 |publisher=Authorlink Pr |isbn=9781928704188 }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Kirby |first1=Ashley M. |title=Juvenile Serial Killers: Descriptive Characteristics and Profiles |date=2009 |publisher=Alliant International University, California School of Forensic Psychology, Fresno |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kpn1ZwEACAAJ |access-date=September 9, 2020 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053115/https://books.google.com/books?id=Kpn1ZwEACAAJ |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Linedecker |first1=Clifford L. |first2=William A. |last2=Burt |title=Nurses who Kill |publisher=Windsor |year=1990 |isbn=978-1-55817-449-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/nurseswhokill00line }} | |||
* {{cite journal|last= Maccoby|first= E. E|year= 1992|doi= 10.1037/0012-1649.28.6.1006|title= The role of parents in the socialization of children: An historical overview|volume= 28|issue= 6|pages= 1006–1017|journal= Developmental Psychology|s2cid= 7266774}} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=MacCormick |first1=Alex |title=The Mammoth Book of Maneaters: Over 250 Terrifying True Accounts of Predators from Pre-history to the Present |date=2003 |publisher=Running Press |isbn=9780786711703 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fVikswEACAAJ&q=0786711701 |access-date=November 21, 2020 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053048/https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Mammoth_Book_of_Maneaters/fVikswEACAAJ?hl=en |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Mellor |first1=Lee |title=Cold North Killers: Canadian Serial Murder |date=2012 |publisher=Dundurn |isbn=9781459701243 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=owE8L_8s21EC&q=9781459701243 |access-date=November 21, 2020 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053055/https://books.google.com/books?id=owE8L_8s21EC&q=9781459701243 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Mitchell |first1=Corey |title=Evil Eyes |date=2006 |publisher=Pinnacle Books |isbn=9780786016761 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQFezeQkRFMC&pg=PT1 }} | |||
* {{cite web|last=Morton|first=RJ|url=https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder/serial-murder-july-2008-pdf|format=PDF|title=Serial murder multi-disciplinary perspectives for investigators|publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation|year=2005|access-date=July 16, 2011|journal=|archive-date=June 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160615114825/https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder/serial-murder-july-2008-pdf|url-status=live}} | |||
* {{cite journal|last=Mount|first=George|year=2007|title=Predicting Dangerousness|journal=Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations|volume=7|pages=131–133|doi=10.1300/j173v07n01_11|s2cid=216088854}} | |||
* {{cite journal|last1=Myers|first1=Wade C.|first2=Ross |last2=McElroy |first3=Karen |last3=Burton |first4=Lawrence |last4=Recoppa |title=Malignant Sex and Aggression: An Overview of Serial Sexual Homicide|journal=Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law|year=1993|volume=21|issue=4|pages=435–451|pmid=8054674}} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Newton |first1=Michael |title=The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers |date=2006 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=9780816069873 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DwNVbOcTncwC |access-date=February 27, 2016 |archive-date=June 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601140757/https://books.google.com/books?id=DwNVbOcTncwC |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Norder |first1=Dan |last2=Vanderlinden |first2=Wolf |last3=Begg |first3=Paul |title=Ripper Notes: Madmen, Myths and Magic |date=2004 |publisher=Inklings Press |isbn=9780975912911 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w2YjJKWZvz4C&pg=PA18 }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Peck |first1=Dennis L. |first2=Norman Allan |last2=Dolche |title=Extraordinary Behavior: A Case Study Approach to Understanding Social Problems |publisher=Greenwood |year=2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rDBqd3zKGoYC&pg=PP1 |isbn=978-0-275-97057-4 |access-date=February 19, 2018 |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063457/https://books.google.com/books?id=rDBqd3zKGoYC&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite journal | last1 = Perri | first1 = Frank S. | last2 = Lichtenwald | first2 = Terrance G. | year = 2010 | url = http://www.all-about-forensic-psychology.com/support-files/female-psychopathic-killers.pdf | title = The Last Frontier: Myths & The Female Psychopathic Killer | journal = Forensic Examiner | volume = 19 | issue = 2 | access-date = June 12, 2010 | archive-date = July 7, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110707111926/http://www.all-about-forensic-psychology.com/support-files/female-psychopathic-killers.pdf | url-status = live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Petherick |first1=Wayne |title=Serial Crime: Theoretical and Practical Issues in Behavioral Profiling |date=2005 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=9780080468549 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U3-zunZ5eF4C&pg=PA190 |access-date=June 15, 2016 |archive-date=September 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160902193757/https://books.google.com/books?id=U3-zunZ5eF4C&pg=PA190 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Qian |first=Sima |title=Records of the Grand Historian: Han dynasty |publisher=Columbia University Press |edition=Revised |year=1993 |volume=I |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wDDLb8LjlNAC&pg=PP1 |chapter=Han Dynasty |isbn=978-0-231-08164-1 |access-date=February 19, 2018 |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063511/https://books.google.com/books?id=wDDLb8LjlNAC&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Ressler |first1=Robert K. |author-link1=Robert Ressler |first2=Thomas |last2=Schachtman |title=Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI |publisher=]/] |year=1993 |location=New York |isbn=978-0-312-95044-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/whoeverfightsmo00ress }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Rubinstein |first1=W. D. |title=Genocide: A History |date=2004 |publisher=Pearson Longman |isbn=9780582506015 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nMMAk4VwLLwC |access-date=February 27, 2016 |archive-date=September 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910110549/https://books.google.com/books?id=nMMAk4VwLLwC |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Rule |first1=Ann |title=Kiss Me, Kill Me: Ann Rule's Crime Files |date=2004 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=9781416500032 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jtj8_7WxpUkC&pg=PA225 }} | |||
* {{cite book | last = Schechter | first = Harold | author-link = Harold Schechter | title = The Serial Killer Files: The Who, What, Where, How, and Why of the World's Most Terrifying Murderers | publisher = ] | year = 2003 | isbn = 978-0-345-47200-7 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5qroGXAa-wIC&pg=PP1 | access-date = February 19, 2018 | archive-date = May 14, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063514/https://books.google.com/books?id=5qroGXAa-wIC&pg=PP1 | url-status = live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Schechter |first1=Harold |title=The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers |date=2012 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=9781439138854 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zM7ROzJPK2MC&pg=PA73 |access-date=June 15, 2016 |archive-date=September 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901231854/https://books.google.com/books?id=zM7ROzJPK2MC&pg=PA73 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Schlesinger |first=Louis B. |title=Serial Offenders: Current Thought, Recent Findings |url=https://archive.org/details/Serial_Offenders_Current_Thought_Recent_Findings |publisher=CRC Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-8493-2236-5 }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Schmid |first=David |title=Natural Born Celebrities: Serial Killers in American Culture |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a_GwiSGfZFoC&pg=PP1 |isbn=978-0-226-73867-3 |access-date=February 19, 2018 |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063506/https://books.google.com/books?id=a_GwiSGfZFoC&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Sitpond |first=M. |title=Addicted to murder: The true story of Dr Harold Shipman |publisher=Virgin Books |year=2000|isbn=978-0-7535-0445-1}} | |||
* {{cite journal | last1 = Silva | first1 = J. Arturo | last2 = Leong | first2 = Gregory B. | last3 = Ferrari | first3 = Michelle M. | doi = 10.1002/bsl.620 | pmid = 15568202 | title = A neuropsychiatric developmental model of serial homicidal behavior| journal = Behavioral Sciences & the Law | volume = 22 | year = 2004 | issue = 6| pages = 787–799 }} | |||
* {{cite journal|doi= 10.1177/0306624X04265087|last1= Singer|first1= S.D|last2= Hensley|first2= C|year= 2004|title= Learning theory to childhood and adolescent fire-setting: Can it lead to serial murder|issue= 4|pages= 461–476|volume= 48|journal= International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology|pmid= 15245657|s2cid= 5991918}} | |||
* {{cite journal |doi=10.1177/1529100611426706 |pmid=26167886 |title=Psychopathic Personality: Bridging the Gap Between Scientific Evidence and Public Policy |year=2011 |last1=Skeem |first1=J. L. |last2=Polaschek |first2=D. L. L. |last3=Patrick |first3=C. J. |last4=Lilienfeld |first4=S. O. |journal=Psychological Science in the Public Interest |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=95–162 |s2cid=8521465 |url=http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/journals/pspi/psychopathy.html |access-date=February 21, 2014 |archive-date=February 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222023333/http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/journals/pspi/psychopathy.html |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book|first=R|last=Tithecott|year=1997|title=Of Men and Monsters: Jeffrey Dahmer and the Construction of the Serial Killer|publisher=Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9E9navv807cC&pg=PP1|isbn=978-0-299-15680-0|access-date=February 19, 2018|archive-date=May 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063520/https://books.google.com/books?id=9E9navv807cC&pg=PP1|url-status=live}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Vronsky |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Vronsky |title=Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters |publisher=]/Berkley |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-425-19640-3 }} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Vronsky|first=Peter|year=2007|title=Female Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters|publisher=New York: Berkley Publishing Group|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lff8T6YnG10C|isbn=978-0-425-21390-2|access-date=February 27, 2016|archive-date=May 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063521/https://books.google.com/books?id=lff8T6YnG10C|url-status=live}} | |||
* {{cite book|title="Serial Killer Zombie Apocalypse and the Dawn of the Less Dead: An Introduction to Sexual Serial Murder Today", in Serial Killers: True Crime Anthology 2014|first=Peter|last=Vronsky|publisher=RJ Parker Publishing|year=2013|isbn=978-1494325893 }} | |||
* {{cite journal |last1=Walsh |first1=Anthony |title=African Americans and Serial Killing in the Media |journal=Homicide Studies |date=November 2005 |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=271–291 |doi=10.1177/1088767905280080 |s2cid=143399844 |url=https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/crimjust_facpubs/113/ |issn=1088-7679 |access-date=October 2, 2018 |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063509/https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/crimjust_facpubs/113/ |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Whittle |first1=Brian |first2=Jean |last2=Ritchie |title=Prescription for Murder: The True Story of Mass Murderer Dr Harold Frederick Shipman |url=https://archive.org/details/prescriptionform0000whit |url-access=registration |publisher=Warner |year=2000 |isbn=9780751529982 }} | |||
* {{cite journal|doi=10.2466/PR0.82.2.495-498|last1=Wilson|first1=W.|last2=Hilton |first2=T. |year=1998|title=Modus operandi of female serial killers|journal=Psychological Reports|volume=82|issue=2|pages=495–498|pmid=9621726}} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Colin |last2=Seaman |first2=Donald |title=The Serial Killers: A Study in the Psychology of Violence |date=1992 |publisher=True Crime |isbn=9780863696152 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GeR9QgAACAAJ |access-date=September 9, 2020 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053120/https://books.google.com/books?id=GeR9QgAACAAJ |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite journal |last1=Woodhead |first1=Charlotte |first22=Andy |last2=Sloggett |first3=Issy |last3=Bray |first4=Jason |last4=Bradbury |first5=Sally |last5=McManus |first6=Howard |last6=Meltzer |first7=Terry |last7=Brugha |first8=Rachel |last8=Jenkins |first9=Neil |last9=Greenberg |first10=Simon |last10=Wessely |first11=Nicola |last11=Fear |title=An Estimate of the Veteran Population in England: Based on data from the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey |journal=Population Trends |volume=138 |issue=1 |pages=50–54 |year=2009 |doi=10.1057/pt.2009.47 |pmid=20120251 |s2cid=8483631 |doi-access=free }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Woods |first1=Paul |last2=Baddeley |first2=Gavin |title=Saucy Jack: The Elusive Ripper |date=2009 |publisher=Ian Allan |isbn=9780711034105 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e5JfPgAACAAJ |access-date=September 9, 2020 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053056/https://books.google.com/books?id=e5JfPgAACAAJ |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Yardley |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Wilson |first2=David |title=Female Serial Killers in Social Context: Criminological Institutionalism and the Case of Mary Ann Cotton |date=2015 |publisher=Policy Press |isbn=9781447327639 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wCu4nQAACAAJ |access-date=September 9, 2020 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053123/https://books.google.com/books?id=wCu4nQAACAAJ |url-status=live }} | |||
{{refend}} | |||
==Further reading== | |||
{{refbegin|30em}} | |||
* {{cite book|author1=Borgeson|author2=Kristen Kuehnle|title=Serial Offenders: Theory and Practice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V-QteCtDSswC|year=2010|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers|isbn=978-0-7637-7730-2|access-date=February 19, 2018|archive-date=May 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063457/https://books.google.com/books?id=V-QteCtDSswC|url-status=live}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Brady|first=Ian|author-link=Moors murders#Ian Brady|author2=] (Introduction)|author3= ] (Afterword)|title=The Gates of Janus: Serial Killing and Its Analysis|publisher=]|year=2001|isbn=978-0922915736}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Douglas|first=John|author-link=John E. Douglas|author2=Mark Olshaker|title=Journey into Darkness|publisher=Pocket Books|year=1997|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CFo6GM5i-W0C&pg=PP1|isbn=978-0-671-00394-4|author2-link=Mark Olshaker|access-date=February 19, 2018|archive-date=August 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819023811/https://books.google.com/books?id=CFo6GM5i-W0C&pg=PP1|url-status=live}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Douglas|first=John|author2=Mark Olshaker|title=Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit|publisher=Pocket Books|year=1997|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgj6kXeIgYMC&pg=PP1|isbn=978-0-671-01375-2|access-date=February 27, 2016|archive-date=September 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160902195047/https://books.google.com/books?id=bgj6kXeIgYMC&lpg=PP1|url-status=live}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Douglas |first=John E. |author2=Allen G. Burgess |author3=Robert K. Ressler |author4=Ann W. Burgess |title=Crime Classification Manual: A Standard System for Investigating and Classifying Violent Crimes |publisher=Wiley |year=2006 |edition=Second |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2IprmNStlAwC&pg=PP1 |isbn=978-0-7879-8501-1 |access-date=February 19, 2018 |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063505/https://books.google.com/books?id=2IprmNStlAwC&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite journal |last=Haggerty |first=Kevin D. |title=Crime, Media, Culture: Modern Serial Killer |journal=Crime, Media, Culture |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=1–21 |year=2009 |doi=10.1177/1741659009335714 |s2cid=11395289 }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Holmes |first=Ronald M. |author2=Stephen T. Holmes |title=Contemporary Perspectives on Serial Murder |publisher=SAGE Publications |year=1998 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0yfoJz6jHwkC&pg=PP1 |isbn=978-0-7619-1421-1 |access-date=February 19, 2018 |archive-date=August 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818163408/https://books.google.com/books?id=0yfoJz6jHwkC&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Holmes |first=Ronald M. |author2=Stephen T. Holmes |title=Murder in America |publisher=] |year=2000 |edition=Second |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WC6OFOW4a6wC&pg=PP1 |isbn=978-0-7619-2092-2 |access-date=February 19, 2018 |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063509/https://books.google.com/books?id=WC6OFOW4a6wC&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Jensen |first=Sybil |title=Top 10 American Serial Killers:Inside The Minds of Psychopaths |publisher=Haselton Media Group |year=2014 | asin=B00KGDUJ2U}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Kiam |first=O.M. |title=The Second One: A Serial Killer's Account of His First Two Kills |publisher=Milford Press |year=2013 |url=https://www.amazon.com/Second-One-serial-killers-account-ebook/dp/B00HJTQRW0/ |access-date=September 11, 2017 |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063457/https://www.amazon.com/Second-One-serial-killers-account-ebook/dp/B00HJTQRW0 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Lane|first=Brian|title=The New Encyclopedia of Serial Killers|publisher=Facts on File|year=2006|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DwNVbOcTncwC&pg=PP1|isbn=978-0816061952|edition=2nd|access-date=February 19, 2018|archive-date=May 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063505/https://books.google.com/books?id=DwNVbOcTncwC&pg=PP1|url-status=live}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Leyton|first=Elliott|title=Hunting Humans: The Rise of the Modern Multiple Murderer|publisher=]|year=1986|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZV8OstrJKn0C&pg=PA1|isbn=978-0-7710-5025-1|access-date=February 19, 2018|archive-date=May 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063510/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZV8OstrJKn0C&pg=PA1|url-status=live}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Lukin |first=Grigory |title=Madmen's Manifestos: Chris Dorner, Charles Manson, Timothy McVeigh and others |year=2013 |asin=B00BM5L2HW}} | |||
* {{cite journal |last=MacDonald |first=J. M |url=http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleID=149172 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303093153/http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleID=149172 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 3, 2014 |journal=American Journal of Psychiatry |title=The threat to kill |volume=120 |pages=125–130 |year=1963 |issue=2 |publisher=American Psychiatric Association |doi=10.1176/ajp.120.2.125 |access-date=May 31, 2011 }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Newitz |first=Annalee |title=Pretend We're Dead: Capitalist Monsters in American Pop Culture |publisher=Duke University Press |year=2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ySly2TdG-w8C&pg=PP1 |isbn=978-0-8223-3745-4 |access-date=February 19, 2018 |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063520/https://books.google.com/books?id=ySly2TdG-w8C&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Norris|first=Joel|title=Serial Killers: The Growing Menace|publisher=Arrow Books|year=1990|isbn=978-0-09-971750-8}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Panzram |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Panzram |year=2002 |orig-date=1970 |editor1-first=Thomas E.|editor1-last=Gaddis |editor1-link=Thomas E. Gaddis |editor2-last=Long |editor2-first=James O. |title=Killer: A Journal of Murder |publisher=Amok Books|title-link=Killer: A Journal of Murder }} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Ramsland|first=Katherine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i4PjlaAOEHEC&pg=PR1|title=Inside the Minds of Healthcare Serial Killers: Why They Kill|publisher=Praeger|year=2007|isbn=978-0-275-99422-8|access-date=February 19, 2018|archive-date=May 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063509/https://books.google.com/books?id=i4PjlaAOEHEC&pg=PR1|url-status=live}} | |||
* {{cite web |url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/s_k_culture/1.html |title=Serial Killer Culture |last=Ramsland |first=Katherine |author2=Karen Pepper |publisher=Tru.tv Crime Library |access-date=April 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100416034209/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/s_k_culture/1.html |archive-date=April 16, 2010 }} | |||
* {{cite web |url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/s_k_culture/6.html |title=Serial Killer Culture |last=Ramsland |first=Katherine |author2=Karen Pepper |publisher=Tru.tv Crime Library |access-date=April 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410145929/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/s_k_culture/6.html |archive-date=April 10, 2010 }} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Reavill |first=Gil |author-link=Gil Reavill |title=Aftermath, Inc.: Cleaning Up After CSI Goes Home |publisher=Gotham |year=2007 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781592402960 |url-access=registration |isbn=978-1-59240-296-0 }} | |||
* {{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=91786&page=1|title=Serial Killer Action Figures For Sale|last=Robinson|first=Bryan|publisher=ABC News|access-date=April 1, 2010|date=January 7, 2006|archive-date=June 28, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628194135/http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=91786&page=1|url-status=live}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Rosner |first=Lisa |title=The Anatomy Murders. Being the True and Spectacular History of Edinburgh's Notorious Burke and Hare and of the Man of Science Who Abetted Them in the Commission of Their Most Heinous Crimes |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-8122-4191-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/anatomymurdersbe00rosn }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Roy |first=Jody M. |title=Love to Hate: America's Obsession with Hatred and Violence |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2002 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hcKDXg0bNrEC |isbn=978-0-231-12569-7 |access-date=February 27, 2016 |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063459/https://books.google.com/books?id=hcKDXg0bNrEC |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Rushby |first=Kevin |title=Children of Kali: Through India in Search of Bandits, the Thug Cult, and the British Raj |publisher=Walker & Company |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-8027-1418-3}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Seltzer |first=Mark |title=Serial Killers: Death and Life in America's Wound Culture |publisher=Routledge |year=1998 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQ-AGFx0hBMC&pg=PP1 |isbn=978-0-415-91481-9 |access-date=February 19, 2018 |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063506/https://books.google.com/books?id=UQ-AGFx0hBMC&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Vronsky |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Vronsky |title=Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters |publisher=]/Berkley |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-425-19640-3 |ref=none}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Wilson|first=Colin|title=A Plague of Murder|publisher=Constable & Robinson|year=1995|isbn=978-1-85487-249-4}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Yudofsky |first=Stuart C. |title=Fatal Flaws: Navigating Destructive Relationships with People with Disorders of Personality and Character |publisher=American Psychiatric Publishing |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ip3FA7RZUR4C |isbn=9781585626588 |access-date=February 27, 2016 |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514063503/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ip3FA7RZUR4C |url-status=live }} | |||
{{Refend}} | |||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
{{Commons category|Serial killers}} | |||
* | |||
* | * | ||
* Official FBI publication | |||
* | |||
* | |||
*] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
{{Authority control}} | |||
] | |||
] | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Serial Killer}} | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] |
Latest revision as of 20:51, 19 December 2024
Murderer of multiple people
A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people, with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separate events. Their psychological gratification is the motivation for the killings, and many serial murders involve sexual contact with the victims at different points during the murder process. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) states that the motives of serial killers can include anger, thrill-seeking, financial gain, and attention seeking, and killings may be executed as such. The victims tend to have things in common, such as demographic profile, appearance, gender, or race. As a group, serial killers suffer from a variety of personality disorders. Most are often not adjudicated as insane under the law. Although a serial killer is a distinct classification that differs from that of a mass murderer, spree killer, or contract killer, there are overlaps between them.
Etymology and definition
The English term and concept of serial killer are commonly attributed to former Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent Robert Ressler, who used the term serial homicide in 1974 in a lecture at Police Staff College, in Bramshill, Hampshire, England. Author Ann Rule postulates in her 2004 book Kiss Me, Kill Me, that the English-language credit for coining the term goes to Los Angeles Police Department detective Pierce Brooks, who created the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP) system in 1985.
The German term and concept were coined by criminologist Ernst Gennat, who described Peter Kürten as a Serienmörder ('serial-murderer') in his article "Die Düsseldorfer Sexualverbrechen" (1930). In his book, Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters (2004), criminal justice historian Peter Vronsky notes that while Ressler might have coined the English term "serial homicide" within the law in 1974, the terms serial murder and serial murderer appear in John Brophy's book The Meaning of Murder (1966). The Washington, D.C., newspaper Evening Star, in a 1967 review of the book:
There is the mass murderer, or what he calls the "serial" killer, who may be actuated by greed, such as insurance, or retention or growth of power, like the Medicis of Renaissance Italy, or Landru, the "bluebeard" of the World War I period, who murdered numerous wives after taking their money.
Vronsky states that the term serial killing first entered into broader American popular usage when published in The New York Times in early 1981, to describe Atlanta serial killer Wayne Williams. Subsequently, throughout the 1980s, the term was used again in the pages of The New York Times, one of the major national news publications of the United States, on 233 occasions. By the end of the 1990s, the use of the term had increased to 2,514 instances in the paper.
When defining serial killers, researchers generally use "three or more murders" as the baseline, considering it sufficient to provide a pattern without being overly restrictive. Independent of the number of murders, they need to have been committed at different times, and are usually committed in different places. The lack of a cooling-off period (a significant break between the murders) marks the difference between a spree killer and a serial killer. The category has, however, been found to be of no real value to law enforcement, because of definitional problems relating to the concept of a "cooling-off period." Cases of extended bouts of sequential killings over periods of weeks or months with no apparent "cooling off period" or "return to normality" have caused some experts to suggest a hybrid category of "spree-serial killer".
In Controversial Issues in Criminology, Fuller and Hickey write that "he element of time involved between murderous acts is primary in the differentiation of serial, mass, and spree murderers", later elaborating that spree killers "will engage in the killing acts for days or weeks" while the "methods of murder and types of victims vary". Andrew Cunanan is given as an example of spree killing, while Charles Whitman is mentioned in connection with mass murder, and Jeffrey Dahmer with serial killing.
In 2005, the FBI hosted a multi-disciplinary symposium in San Antonio, Texas, which brought together 135 experts on serial murder from a variety of fields and specialties with the goal of identifying the commonalities of knowledge regarding serial murder. The group also settled on a definition of serial murder which FBI investigators widely accept as their standard: "The unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s) in separate events". Serial homicide researcher Enzo Yaksic found that the FBI was justified in lowering the victim threshold from three to two victims given that serial murderers from these groups share similar pathologies.
History
Further information: List of serial killers before 1900Early accounts
Historical criminologists suggest that there have been serial killers throughout history. Some sources suggest that legends such as werewolves and vampires were inspired by medieval serial killers. In Africa, there have been periodic outbreaks of murder by leopard men. Liu Pengli of China, nephew of the Han Emperor Jing, was made Prince of Jidong in the sixth year of the middle period of Jing's reign (144 BC). According to the Chinese historian Sima Qian, he would "go out on marauding expeditions with 20 or 30 slaves or with young men who were in hiding from the law, murdering people and seizing their belongings for sheer sport". Although many of his subjects knew about these murders, it was not until the 29th year of his reign that the son of one of his victims finally sent a report to the emperor. Eventually, it was discovered that he had murdered at least 100 people. The officials of the court requested that Liu Pengli be executed; however, the emperor could not bear to have his own nephew killed, so Liu Pengli was made a commoner and banished. In the 9th century (year 257 of the Islamic Calendar), "a strangler from Baghdad was apprehended. He had murdered a number of women and buried them in the house where he was living."
Inside and outside the United States
Further information: List of serial killers by countryThe majority of documented serial killers were active in the United States. In one study of serial homicide in South Africa, many patterns were similar to established patterns in the U.S., with some exceptions: no offenders were female, offenders were lower educated than in the U.S., and both victims and offenders were predominantly black.
In the 15th century, one of the wealthiest men in Europe and a former companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc, Gilles de Rais, was alleged to have sexually assaulted and killed peasant children, mainly boys, whom he had abducted from the surrounding villages and had taken to his castle. It is estimated that his victims numbered between 140 and 800. Similarly, the Hungarian aristocrat Elizabeth Báthory, born into one of the wealthiest families in Transylvania, allegedly tortured and killed as many as 650 girls and young women before her arrest in 1610.
Between 1564 and 1589, German farmer Peter Stumpp killed 14 children, including his own son. He also murdered two pregnant women and had an incestuous relationship with his daughter. Stumpp claimed to have been granted the ability to turn into a werewolf by the Devil. As punishment for his crimes, Stumpp was put on a torture wheel and executed. His head was later severed and put on a pole next to the figure of a wolf to scare other people away from claiming themselves werewolves too.
Members of the Thuggee cult in India may have murdered a million people between 1740 and 1840. Thug Behram, a member of the cult, may have murdered as many as 931 victims. In his 1886 book, Psychopathia Sexualis, psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing noted a case of a serial murderer in the 1870s, a Frenchman named Eusebius Pieydagnelle who had a sexual obsession with blood and confessed to murdering six people.
The unidentified killer Jack the Ripper, who has been called the first modern serial killer, killed at least five women, and possibly more, in London in 1888. He was the subject of a massive manhunt and investigation by the Metropolitan Police, during which many modern criminal investigation techniques were pioneered. A large team of policemen conducted house-to-house inquiries, forensic material was collected and suspects were identified and traced. Police surgeon Thomas Bond assembled one of the earliest character profiles of the offender.
The Ripper murders also marked an important watershed in the treatment of crime by journalists. While not the first serial killer in history, Jack the Ripper's case was the first to create a worldwide media frenzy. The dramatic murders of financially destitute women in the midst of the wealth of London focused the media's attention on the plight of the urban poor and gained coverage worldwide. Jack the Ripper has also been called the most infamous serial killer of all time, and his legend has spawned hundreds of theories on his real identity and many works of fiction.
H. H. Holmes was a serial killer in the United States, responsible for the death of at least nine victims in the early 1890s. The case was one of the first involving a serial murderer that gained widespread notoriety and publicity through sensationalized accounts in William Randolph Hearst's newspapers. However, at the same time of the Holmes case, in France, Joseph Vacher became known as "The French Ripper" after killing and mutilating 11 women and children. He was executed in 1898 after confessing to his crimes.
Another notable non-American serial killer is Pedro Lopez, a murderer from South America, killed a minimum of 110 young girls between 1969 and 1980. However, he claims that the number is over 300. He was released from a mental facility in 1998 and his whereabouts are still unknown. He is commonly nicknamed the "Monster of the Andes". An additional non-American serial killer is Luis Garavito from Colombia. Garavito would kill and torture boys using various disguises. He murdered around 140 boys ranging in ages from 8 to 16. He would dump his victims' bodies in mass graves.
Late 20th century
The serial killing phenomenon in the United States was especially prominent from 1970 to 2000, which has been described as the "golden age of serial murder". The cause of the spike in serial killings has been attributed to urbanization, which put people in close proximity and offered anonymity. The number of active serial killers in the United States peaked in 1989 and has been steadily trending downward since, coinciding with an overall decrease in crime in the United States since that time. The decline in serial killers has no known single cause but is attributed to a number of factors. Mike Aamodt, emeritus professor at Radford University in Virginia, attributes the decline in number of serial killings to less frequent use of parole, improved forensic technology, and people behaving more cautiously. Causes for the general reduction in violent crime following the 1990s include increased incarceration in the United States, the end of the crack epidemic in the United States, and decreased lead exposure in early childhood.
Characteristics
Some commonly found characteristics of serial killers include the following:
- They may exhibit varying degrees of mental illness or psychopathy, which may contribute to their homicidal behavior.
- For example, someone who is mentally ill may have psychotic breaks that cause them to believe they are another person or are compelled to murder by other entities.
- Psychopathic behavior that is consistent with traits common to some serial killers include sensation seeking, a lack of remorse or guilt, impulsivity, the need for control, and predatory behavior. Psychopaths can seem 'normal' and often quite charming, a state of adaptation that psychiatrist Hervey Cleckley called the "mask of sanity".
- They were often abused—emotionally, physically, or sexually—by a family member.
- Serial killers may be more likely to engage in fetishism, partialism or necrophilia, which are paraphilias that involve a strong tendency to experience the object of erotic interest almost as if it were a physical representation of the symbolized body. Individuals engage in paraphilias which are organized along a continuum; participating in varying levels of fantasy perhaps by focusing on body parts (partialism), symbolic objects which serve as physical extensions of the body (fetishism), or the anatomical physicality of the human body; specifically regarding its inner parts and sexual organs (one example being necrophilia).
- A disproportionate number exhibit Macdonald triad predictors of future violent behavior:
- Many are fascinated with fire setting.
- They are involved in sadistic activity; especially in children who have not reached sexual maturity, this activity may take the form of torturing animals.
- More than 60 percent, or simply a large proportion, wet their beds beyond the age of 12.
- They were frequently bullied or socially isolated as children. For example, Henry Lee Lucas was ridiculed as a child and later cited the mass rejection by his peers as a cause for his hatred of everyone. Kenneth Bianchi was teased as a child because he urinated in his pants, suffered twitching, and as a teenager was ignored by his peers.
- Some were involved in petty crimes, such as fraud, theft, vandalism, or similar offenses.
- Often, they have trouble staying employed and tend to work in menial jobs. The FBI, however, states, "Serial murderers often seem normal; have families and/or a steady job." Other sources state they often come from unstable families.
- Studies have suggested that serial killers who got caught generally have an average or low-average IQ, although they are often described, and perceived, as possessing IQs in the above-average range. A sample of 202 IQs of serial killers who got caught had a median IQ of 89. Some organized serial killers who got caught have a slightly higher IQ score averaging a little bit over 99, to where disorganized killers average just under 93 in theirs. The average IQ of serial killers who got caught is 94.7.
There are exceptions to these criteria, however. For example, Harold Shipman was a successful professional (a General Practitioner working for the NHS). He was considered a pillar of the local community; he even won a professional award for a children's asthma clinic and was interviewed by Granada Television's World in Action on ITV. Dennis Nilsen was an ex-soldier turned civil servant and trade unionist who had no previous criminal record when arrested. Neither was known to have exhibited many of the tell-tale signs. Vlado Taneski, a crime reporter, was a career journalist who was caught after a series of articles he wrote gave clues that he had murdered people. Russell Williams was a successful and respected career Royal Canadian Air Force Colonel who was convicted of murdering two women, along with fetish burglaries and rapes.
Development
Many serial killers have faced similar problems in their childhood development. Hickey's Trauma Control Model explains how early childhood trauma can set the child up for deviant behavior in adulthood; the child's environment (either their parents or society) is the dominant factor determining whether or not the child's behavior escalates into homicidal activity.
Family, or lack thereof, is the most prominent part of a child's development because it is what the child can identify with on a regular basis. "The serial killer is no different from any other individual who is instigated to seek approval from parents, sexual partners, or others." This need for approval is what influences children to attempt to develop social relationships with their family and peers. "The quality of their attachments to parents and other members of the family is critical to how these children relate to and value other members of society."
Wilson and Seaman (1990) conducted a study on incarcerated serial killers, and what they concluded was the most influential factor that contributed to their homicidal activity. Almost all of the serial killers in the study had experienced some sort of environmental problems during their childhood, such as a broken home caused by divorce, or a lack of a parental figure to discipline the child. Nearly half of the serial killers had experienced some type of physical or sexual abuse, and more of them had experienced emotional neglect.
When a parent has a drug or alcohol problem, the attention in the household is on the parents rather than the child. This neglect of the child leads to the lowering of their self-esteem and helps develop a fantasy world in which they are in control. Hickey's Trauma Control Model supports how parental neglect can facilitate deviant behavior, especially if the child sees substance abuse in action. This then leads to disposition (the inability to attach), which can further lead to homicidal behavior, unless the child finds a way to develop substantial relationships and fight the label they receive. If a child receives no support from anyone, then they are unlikely to recover from the traumatic event in a positive way. As stated by E. E. Maccoby, "the family has continued to be seen as a major—perhaps the major—arena for socialization".
Chromosomal makeup
There have been studies looking into the possibility that an abnormality with one's chromosomes could be the trigger for serial killers. Two serial killers, Bobby Joe Long and Richard Speck, came to attention for reported chromosomal abnormalities. Long had an extra X chromosome. Speck was erroneously reported to have an extra Y chromosome; in fact, his karyotype was performed twice and was normal each time. While attempts have been made to link the XYY karyotype to violence, including serial murder, research has consistently found little or no association between violent criminal behaviour and an extra Y chromosome.
Fantasy
Children who do not have the power to control the mistreatment they suffer sometimes create a new reality to which they can escape. This new reality becomes their fantasy that they have total control of and becomes part of their daily existence. In this fantasy world, their emotional development is guided and maintained. According to Garrison (1996), "the child becomes sociopathic because the normal development of the concepts of right and wrong and empathy towards others is retarded because the child's emotional and social development occurs within his self-centered fantasies. A person can do no wrong in his own world and the pain of others is of no consequence when the purpose of the fantasy world is to satisfy the needs of one person" (Garrison, 1996). Boundaries between fantasy and reality are lost and fantasies turn to dominance, control, sexual conquest, and violence, eventually leading to murder. Fantasy can lead to the first step in the process of a dissociative state, which, in the words of Stephen Giannangelo, "allows the serial killer to leave the stream of consciousness for what is, to him, a better place".
Criminologist Jose Sanchez reports, "The young criminal you see today is more detached from his victim, more ready to hurt or kill. The lack of empathy for their victims among young criminals is just one symptom of a problem that afflicts the whole society." Lorenzo Carcaterra, author of Gangster (2001), explains how potential criminals are labeled by society, which can then lead to their offspring also developing in the same way through the cycle of violence. The ability for serial killers to appreciate the mental life of others is severely compromised, presumably leading to their dehumanization of others. This process may be considered an expression of the intersubjectivity associated with a cognitive deficit regarding the capability to make sharp distinctions between other people and inanimate objects. For these individuals, objects can appear to possess animistic or humanistic power while people are perceived as objects. Before he was executed, serial killer Ted Bundy stated media violence and pornography had stimulated and increased his need to commit homicide, although this statement was made during last-ditch efforts to appeal his death sentence.
Organized, disorganized, and mixed
In the 1970s and 1980s, FBI profilers instigated a simple division of serial killers into "organized" and "disorganized"; that is, those who plan their crimes, and those who act on impulse. The FBI's Crime Classification Manual now places serial killers into three categories: organized, disorganized, and mixed (i.e., offenders who exhibit organized and disorganized characteristics). Some killers descend from organized to disorganized as their killings continue, as in the case of psychological decompensation or overconfidence due to having evaded capture.
Organized serial killers often plan their crimes methodically, usually abducting victims, killing them in one place and disposing of them in another. They often lure the victims with ploys appealing to their sense of sympathy. Others specifically target prostitutes, who are likely to go voluntarily with a stranger. These killers maintain a high degree of control over the crime scene and usually have a solid knowledge of forensic science that enables them to cover their tracks, such as burying the body or weighing it down and sinking it in a river. They follow their crimes in the news media carefully and often take pride in their actions as if it were all a grand project.
Often, organized killers have social and other interpersonal skills sufficient to enable them to develop both personal and romantic relationships, friends and lovers and sometimes even attract and maintain a spouse and sustain a family including children. Among serial killers, those of this type are in the event of their capture most likely to be described by acquaintances as kind and unlikely to hurt anyone. Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy are examples of organized serial killers. In general, the IQs of organized serial killers tend to be normal range, with a mean of 98.7.
Disorganized serial killers are usually far more impulsive, often committing their murders with a random weapon available at the time, and usually do not attempt to hide the body. They are likely to be unemployed, a loner, or both, with very few friends. They often turn out to have a history of mental illness, and their modus operandi (M.O.) or lack thereof is often marked by excessive violence and sometimes necrophilia or sexual violence. Disorganized serial killers have been found to have a lower mean IQ than organized serial killers, at 89.4. Mixed serial killers, with both organized and disorganized traits, have an average IQ of 100.9, but a low sample size.
Medical professionals
Main article: Angel of mercy (criminology)Some people with a pathological interest in the power of life and death tend to be attracted to medical professions or acquiring such a job. These kinds of killers are sometimes referred to as "angels of death" or angels of mercy. Medical professionals will kill their patients for money, for a sense of sadistic pleasure, for a belief that they are "easing" the patient's pain, or simply "because they can". Perhaps the most prolific of these was the British doctor Harold Shipman. Another such killer was nurse Jane Toppan, who admitted during her murder trial that she was sexually aroused by death. She would administer a drug mixture to patients she chose as her victims, lie in bed with them and hold them close to her body as they died.
Another medical professional serial killer is Genene Jones. It is believed she killed 11 to 46 infants and children while working at Bexar County Medical Center Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, United States. She is currently serving a 99-year sentence for the murder of Chelsea McClellan and the attempted murder of Rolando Santos, and became eligible for parole in 2017 due to a law in Texas at the time of her sentencing to reduce prison overcrowding. A similar case occurred in Britain in 1991, where nurse Beverley Allitt killed four children at the hospital where she worked, attempted to kill three more, and injured a further six over the course of two months. A 21st-century example is Canadian nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer, who murdered elderly patients in the nursing homes where she worked. William George Davis is another hospital nurse who was sentenced to death in Texas for the murder of four patients.
Female
Female serial killers are rare compared to their male counterparts. Sources suggest that female serial killers represented less than one in every six known serial murderers in the United States between 1800 and 2004 (64 females from a total of 416 known offenders), or that around 15% of U.S. serial killers have been women, with a collective number of victims between 427 and 612. The authors of Lethal Ladies, Amanda L. Farrell, Robert D. Keppel, and Victoria B. Titterington, state that "the Justice Department indicated 36 female serial killers have been active over the course of the last century." According to The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, there is evidence that 16% of all serial killers are women.
Michael D. Kelleher and C. L. Kelleher created several categories to describe female serial killers. They used the classifications of black widow, angel of death, sexual predator, revenge, profit or crime, team killer, question of sanity, unexplained, and unsolved. In using these categories, they observed that most women fell into the categories of the black widow or team killer. Although motivations for female serial killers can include attention seeking, addiction, or the result of psychopathological behavioral factors, female serial killers are commonly categorized as murdering men for material gain, usually being emotionally close to their victims, and generally needing to have a relationship with the victim, hence the traditional cultural image of the "black widow".
The methods that female serial killers use for murder are frequently covert or low-profile, such as murder by poison (the preferred choice for killing). Other methods used by female serial killers include shootings (used by 20%), suffocation (16%), stabbing (11%), and drowning (5%). They commit killings in specific places, such as their home or a health-care facility, or at different locations within the same city or state. A notable exception to the typical characteristics of female serial killers is Aileen Wuornos, who killed outdoors instead of at home, used a gun instead of poison, and killed strangers instead of friends or family. One "analysis of 86 female serial killers from the United States found that the victims tended to be spouses, children or the elderly". Other studies indicate that since 1975, increasingly strangers are marginally the most preferred victim of female serial killers, or that only 26% of female serial killers kill for material gain only. Sources state that each killer will have her own proclivities, needs and triggers. A review of the published literature on female serial murder stated that "sexual or sadistic motives are believed to be extremely rare in female serial murderers, and psychopathic traits and histories of childhood abuse have been consistently reported in these women."
A study by Eric W. Hickey (2010) of 64 female serial killers in the United States indicated that sexual activity was one of several motives in 10% of the cases, enjoyment in 11% and control in 14% and that 51% of all U.S. female serial killers murdered at least one woman and 31% murdered at least one child. In other cases, women have been involved as an accomplice with a male serial killer as a part of a serial killing team. A 2015 study published in The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology found that the most common motive for female serial killers was for financial gain and almost 40% of them had experienced some sort of mental illness.
Peter Vronsky in Female Serial Killers (2007) maintains that female serial killers today often kill for the same reason males do: as a means of expressing rage and control. He suggests that sometimes the theft of the victims' property by the female "black widow" type serial killer appears to be for material gain, but really is akin to a male serial killer's collecting of totems (souvenirs) from the victim as a way of exerting continued control over the victim and reliving it. By contrast, Hickey states that although popular perception sees "black widow" female serial killers as something of the Victorian past, in his statistical study of female serial killer cases reported in the United States since 1826, approximately 75% occurred since 1950.
Elizabeth Báthory is sometimes cited as the most prolific female serial killer in all of history. Formally countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed (Báthory Erzsébet in Hungarian, August 7, 1560 – August 21, 1614), she was a countess from the renowned Báthory family. Before her husband's death, Elizabeth took great pleasure in torturing the staff, by jamming pins under the servant's fingernails or stripping servants and throwing them into the snow. After her husband's death, she and four collaborators were accused of torturing and killing hundreds of girls and young women, with one witness attributing to them over 600 victims, though the number for which they were convicted was 80. Elizabeth herself was neither tried nor convicted. In 1610, however, she was imprisoned in the Csejte Castle, where she remained bricked in a set of rooms until her death four years later.
A 2010 article by Perri and Lichtenwald addressed some of the misconceptions concerning female criminality. In the article, Perri and Lichtenwald analyze the current research regarding female psychopathy, including case studies of female psychopathic killers featuring Munchausen syndrome by proxy, cesarean section homicide, fraud detection homicide, female kill teams, and a female serial killer.
Juvenile
Juvenile serial killers are rare. There are three main categories that juvenile serial killers can fit into: primary, maturing, and secondary killers. There have been studies done to compare and contrast these three groups and to discover similarities and differences between them. Although these types of serial killers are less common, oftentimes adult serial killers may make their debut at an early age and it can be an opportunity for researchers to study what factors brought about the behavior. While juvenile serial killers are rare, the youngest felon on death row is a juvenile serial killer named Harvey Miguel Robinson who was 17 at the time of his crimes and 18 at the time of his arrest.
Ethnicity and demographics in the United States
There is a myth that most serial killers are white males. However, according to the FBI, based on percentages of the U.S. population, white males are not more likely than other races to be serial killers. White males are actually greatly under-represented among serial killers in proportion to their overall numbers in the United States. According to a 2016 study, since the year 2000, African Americans accounted for roughly 60% of all serial killers in the United States.
Anthony Walsh found that the prevalence of non-white serial killers has typically been drastically underestimated in both professional research literature and the mass media. Black males were over-represented among serial killers by a factor of 2. Walsh argues that the popular media ignores black serial killers because of a fear of allegations of racism, and that this may enable black serial killers to operate more effectively, as their crimes do not get the same media attention as the crimes of non-black serial killers.
Motives
The motives of serial killers are generally placed into four categories: visionary, mission-oriented, hedonistic, and power or control; however, the motives of any given killer may display considerable overlap among these categories.
Visionary
Visionary serial killers suffer from psychotic breaks with reality, sometimes believing they are another person or are compelled to murder by entities such as the Devil or God. The two most common subgroups are "demon mandated" and "God mandated".
Herbert Mullin believed the American casualties in the Vietnam War were preventing California from experiencing the Big One. As the war wound down, Mullin claimed his father instructed him via telepathy to raise the number of "human sacrifices to nature" to delay a catastrophic earthquake that would plunge California into the ocean. David Berkowitz ("Son of Sam") may also be an example of a visionary serial killer, having claimed a demon transmitted orders through his neighbor's dog and instructed him to commit murder. Berkowitz later described those claims as a hoax, as originally concluded by psychiatrist David Abrahamsen.
Mission-oriented
Mission-oriented killers typically justify their acts as "ridding the world" of certain types of people perceived as undesirable, such as the homeless, ex-cons, homosexuals, drug users, prostitutes, or people of different ethnicity or religion; however, they are generally not psychotic. Some see themselves as attempting to change society, often to cure a societal ill.
An example of a mission-oriented killer would be Joseph Paul Franklin, an American white supremacist who exclusively targeted Jewish, biracial, and African American individuals for the purpose of inciting a "race war". Saeed Hanaei was a serial killer convicted of murdering at least sixteen women in his native Iran, many of whom were sex workers. He reported his goal was to cleanse his city of "moral corruption" and that his mission was sanctioned by God.
Hedonistic
This type of serial killer seeks thrills and derives pleasure and satisfaction from killing, seeing people as expendable means to this goal. Forensic psychologists have identified three subtypes of the hedonistic killer: "lust", "thrill", and "comfort".
Lust
Sex is the primary motive of lust killers, whether or not the victims are dead, and fantasy plays a large role in their killings. Their sexual gratification depends on the amount of torture and mutilation they perform on their victims. The sexual serial murderer has a psychological need to have absolute control, dominance, and power over their victims, and the infliction of torture, pain, and ultimately death is used in an attempt to fulfill their need. They usually use weapons that require close contact with the victims, such as knives or hands. As lust killers continue with their murders, the time between killings decreases or the required level of stimulation increases, sometimes both.
Kenneth Bianchi, one of the "Hillside Stranglers", murdered women and girls of different ages, races, and appearance because his sexual urges required different types of stimulation and increasing intensity. Jeffrey Dahmer searched for his perfect fantasy lover—beautiful, submissive and eternal. As his desire increased, he experimented with drugs, alcohol, and exotic sex. His increasing need for stimulation was demonstrated by the dismemberment of victims, whose heads and genitals he preserved, and by his attempts to create a "living zombie" under his control (by pouring acid into a hole drilled into the victim's skull).
Dahmer once said, "Lust played a big part of it. Control and lust. Once it happened the first time, it just seemed like it had control of my life from there on in. The killing was just a means to an end. That was the least satisfactory part. I didn't enjoy doing that. That's why I tried to create living zombies with acid and the drill." He further elaborated on this, also saying, "I wanted to see if it was possible to make—again, it sounds really gross—uh, zombies, people that would not have a will of their own, but would follow my instructions without resistance. So after that, I started using the drilling technique." He experimented with cannibalism to "ensure his victims would always be a part of him".
Thrill
Main article: Thrill killing Further information: Serial offender hunting patternsThe primary motive of a thrill killer is to induce pain or terror in their victims, which provides stimulation and excitement for the killer. They seek the adrenaline rush provided by hunting and killing victims. Thrill killers murder only for the kill; usually, the attack is not prolonged, and there is no sexual aspect. Usually, the victims are strangers, although the killer may have followed them for a period of time. Thrill killers can abstain from killing for long periods of time and become more successful at killing as they refine their murder methods. Many attempt to commit the perfect crime and believe they will not be caught.
Robert Hansen took his victims to a secluded area, where he would let them loose and then hunt and kill them. In one of his letters to San Francisco Bay Area newspapers in San Francisco, California, the Zodiac Killer wrote " gives me the most thrilling experience it is even better than getting your rocks off with a girl". Carl Watts was described by a surviving victim as "excited and hyper and clappin' and just making noises like he was excited, that this was gonna be fun" during the 1982 attack. Slashing, stabbing, hanging, drowning, asphyxiating, and strangling were among the ways Watts killed.
Comfort (profit)
Material gain and a comfortable lifestyle are the primary motives of comfort killers. Usually, the victims are family members and close acquaintances. After a murder, a comfort killer will usually wait for a period of time before killing again to allow any suspicions by family or authorities to subside. They often use poison, most notably arsenic, to kill their victims. Female serial killers are often comfort killers, although not all comfort killers are female.
Dorothea Puente killed her tenants for their Social Security checks and buried them in the backyard of her home. H. H. Holmes killed for insurance and business profits. Puente and Holmes had previous records of crimes such as theft, fraud, non-payment of debts, embezzlement and others of a similar nature. Dorothea Puente was finally arrested on a parole violation, having been on parole for a previous fraud conviction. Contract killers ("hitmen") may exhibit similar characteristics of serial killers, but are generally not classified as such because of third-party killing objectives and detached financial and emotional incentives. Nevertheless, there are occasionally individuals that are labeled as both a hitman and a serial killer.
Power/control
The main objective for this type of serial killer is to gain and exert power over their victim. Such killers are sometimes abused as children, leaving them with feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy as adults. Many power- or control-motivated killers sexually abuse their victims, but they differ from hedonistic killers in that rape is not motivated by lust (as it would be with a lust murder) but as simply another form of dominating the victim. Ted Bundy is an example of a power/control-oriented serial killer. He traveled around the United States seeking women to control.
Media influences
Many serial killers claim that a violent culture influenced them to commit murders. During his final interview, Ted Bundy stated that hardcore pornography was responsible for his actions. Others idolise figures for their deeds or perceived vigilante justice, such as Peter Kürten, who idolized Jack the Ripper, or John Wayne Gacy and Ed Kemper, who both idolized the actor John Wayne.
Killers who have a strong desire for fame or to be renowned for their actions desire media attention as a way of validating and spreading their crimes; fear is also a component here, as some serial killers enjoy causing fear. An example is Dennis Rader, who sought attention from the press during his murder spree.
Theories
Biological and sociological
Theories for why certain people commit serial murder have been advanced. Some theorists believe the reasons are biological, suggesting serial killers are born, not made, and that their violent behavior is a result of abnormal brain activity. Holmes believe that "until a reliable sample can be obtained and tested, there is no scientific statement that can be made concerning the exact role of biology as a determining factor of a serial killer personality."
The "Fractured Identity Syndrome" (FIS) is a merging of Charles Cooley's "looking glass self" and Erving Goffman's "virtual" and "actual social identity" theories. The FIS suggests a social event, or series of events, during one's childhood results in a fracturing of the personality of the serial killer. The term "fracture" is defined as a small breakage of the personality which is often not visible to the outside world and is only felt by the killer.
"Social Process Theory" has also been suggested as an explanation for serial murder. Social process theory states that offenders may turn to crime due to peer pressure, family and friends. Criminal behavior is a process of interaction with social institutions, in which everyone has the potential for criminal behavior. A lack of family structure and identity could also be a cause leading to serial murder traits. A child used as a scapegoat will be deprived of their capacity to feel guilt. Displaced anger could result in animal torture, as identified in the Macdonald triad, and a further lack of basic identity.
Military
The "military theory" has been proposed as an explanation for why serial murderers kill, as some serial murderers have served in the military or related fields. According to Castle and Hensley, 7% of the serial killers studied had military experience. This figure may be a proportional under-representation when compared to the number of military veterans in a nation's total population. For example, according to the United States census for the year 2000, military veterans comprised 12.7% of the U.S. population; in England, it was estimated in 2007 that military veterans comprised 9.1% of the population. Though by contrast, about 2.5% of the population of Canada in 2006 consisted of military veterans.
There are two theories that can be used to study the correlation between serial killing and military training: Applied learning theory states that serial killing can be learned. The military is training for higher kill rates from servicemen while training the soldiers to be desensitized to taking a human life. Social learning theory can be used when soldiers get praised and accommodated for killing. They learn or believe that they learn, that it is acceptable to kill because they were praised for it in the military. Serial killers want accreditation for the work that they have done.
In both military and serial killing, the offender or the soldier may become desensitized to killing as well as compartmentalized; the soldiers do not see enemy personnel as "human" and neither do serial killers see their victims as humans. The theories do not imply that military institutions make a deliberate effort to produce serial killers; to the contrary, all military personnel are trained to recognize when, where, and against whom it is appropriate to use deadly force, which starts with the basic Law of Land Warfare, taught during the initial training phase, and may include more stringent policies for military personnel in law enforcement or security.
Investigation
FBI: Issues and practices
In 2008, the FBI published a handbook titled Serial Murder which was the product of a symposium held in 2005 to bring together the many issues surrounding serial murder, including its investigation.
Identification
According to the FBI, identifying one, or multiple, murders as being the work of a serial killer is the first challenge an investigation faces, especially if the victim(s) come from a marginalized or high-risk population and is normally linked through forensic or behavioral evidence. Should the cases cross multiple jurisdictions, the law enforcement system in the United States is fragmented and thus not configured to detect multiple similar murders across a large geographic area. Ted Bundy was particularly famous for such geographic exploitations. He used his knowledge about the lack of communication between multiple jurisdictions to avoid arrest and detection. The FBI suggests utilizing databases and increasing interdepartmental communication. Keppel suggests holding multi-jurisdictional conferences regularly to compare cases giving departments a greater chance to detect linked cases and overcome linkage blindness.
One collaboration, the Serial Homicide Expertise and Information Sharing Collaborative, was formed in 2010 and made serial murder data widely accessible after multiple experts combined their databases to aid in research and investigation. Another collaboration, the Radford/FGCU Serial Killer Database Project was proposed at the 2012 FDIAI Annual Conference. Utilizing Radford's Serial Killer Database as a starting point, the new collaboration, hosted by FGCU Justice Studies, has invited and is working in conjunction with other universities to maintain and expand the scope of the database to also include spree and mass murders. Utilizing over 170 data points, multiple-murderer methodology and victimology; researchers and Law Enforcement Agencies can build case studies and statistical profiles to further research the Who, What, Why and How of these types of crimes.
Leadership
Leadership, or administration, should play a small or virtually non-existent role in the actual investigation past assigning knowledgeable or experienced homicide investigators to lead positions. The administration's role is not to run the investigation but to establish and reaffirm the primary goal of catching the serial killer, as well as provide support for the investigators. The FBI (2008) suggests completing Memorandums of Understanding to facilitate support and commitment of resources from different jurisdictions to an investigation. Egger takes this one step further and suggests completing mutual aid pacts, which are written agreements to provide support to each other in a time of need, with surrounding jurisdictions. Doing this in advance would save time and resources that could be used on the investigation.
Organization
The structural organization of an investigation is key to its success, as demonstrated by the investigation of Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer. Once a serial murder case was established, a task force was created to track down and arrest the offender. Over the course of the investigation, for various reasons, the task force's organization was radically changed and reorganized multiple times – at one point including more than 50 full-time personnel, and at another, only a single investigator. Eventually, what led to the end of the investigation was a conference of 25 detectives organized to share ideas to solve the case.
The FBI handbook provides a description of how a task force should be organized but offers no additional options on how to structure the investigation. While it appears advantageous to have a full-time staff assigned to a serial murder investigation, it can become prohibitively expensive. For example, the Green River Task Force cost upwards of $2 million per year, and as was witnessed with the Green River Killer investigation, other strategies can prevail where a task force fails. A common strategy, already employed by many departments for other reasons, is the conference, in which departments get together and focus on a specific set of topics. With serial murders, the focus is typically on unsolved cases, with evidence thought to be related to the case at hand.
Similar to a conference is an information clearing-house in which a jurisdiction with a suspected serial murder case collects all of its evidence and actively seeks data that may be related from other jurisdictions. By collecting all of the related information into one place, they provide a central point in which it can be organized and easily accessed by other jurisdictions working toward the goal of arresting an offender and ending the murders. A task force provides for a flexible, organized, framework for jurisdictions depending on the needs of the investigation. Unfortunately due to the need to commit resources (manpower, money, equipment, etc.) for long periods of time it can be an unsustainable option.
In the case of the investigation of Aileen Wournos, the Marion County Sheriff coordinated multiple agencies without any written or formal agreement. While not a specific strategy for a serial murder investigation, this is certainly a best practice in so far as the agencies were able to work easily together toward a common goal. Finally, once a serial murder investigation has been identified, the use of an FBI Rapid Response Team can assist both experienced and inexperienced jurisdictions in setting up a task force. This is completed by organizing and delegating jobs, by compiling and analyzing clues, and by establishing communication between the parties involved.
Resource augmentation
During the course of a serial murder investigation, it may become necessary to call in additional resources; the FBI defines this as Resource Augmentation. Within the structure of a task force, the addition of a resource should be thought of as either long-term or short-term. If the task force's framework is expanded to include the new resource, then it should be permanent and not removed. For short-term needs, such as setting up roadblocks or canvassing a neighborhood, additional resources should be called in on a short-term basis. The decision of whether resources are needed short or long term should be left to the lead investigator and facilitated by the administration.
The confusion and counter productiveness created by changing the structure of a task force mid investigation is illustrated by the way the Green River Task Force's staffing and structure was changed multiple times throughout the investigation. This made an already complicated situation more difficult, resulting in the delay or loss of information, which allowed Ridgway to continue killing. The FBI model does not take into account that permanently expanding a task force, or investigative structure, may not be possible due to cost or personnel availability. Egger (1998) offers several alternative strategies including; using investigative consultants, or experienced staff to augment an investigative team. Not all departments have investigators experienced in serial murder and by temporarily bringing in consultants, they can educate a department to a level of competence then step out. This would reduce the initially established framework of the investigation team and save the department the cost of retaining the consultants until the conclusion of the investigation.
Communication
The FBI handbook (2008) and Keppel (1989) both stress communication as paramount. The difference is that the FBI handbook concentrates primarily on communication within a task force, while Keppel makes getting information out to and allowing information to be passed back from patrol officers a priority. The FBI handbook suggests having daily e-mail or in-person briefings for all staff involved in the investigation and providing periodic summary briefings to patrol officers and managers. Looking back on a majority of serial murderer arrests, most are exercised by patrol officers in the course of their everyday duties and unrelated to the ongoing serial murder investigation.
Keppel provides examples of Larry Eyler, who was arrested during a traffic stop for a parking violation, and Ted Bundy, who was arrested during a traffic stop for operating a stolen vehicle. In each case, it was uniformed officers, not directly involved in the investigation, who knew what to look for and took the direct action that stopped the killer. By providing up-to-date (as opposed to periodic) briefings and information to officers on the street the chances of catching a serial killer, or finding solid leads, are increased.
Data management
A serial murder investigation generates staggering amounts of data, all of which needs to be reviewed and analyzed. A standardized method of documenting and distributing information must be established and investigators must be allowed time to complete reports while investigating leads and at the end of a shift (FBI 2008). When the mechanism for data management is insufficient, leads are not only lost or buried but the investigation can be hindered and new information can become difficult to obtain or become corrupted.
During the Green River Killer investigation, reporters would often find and interview possible victims or witnesses ahead of investigators. The understaffed investigation was unable to keep up the information flow, which prevented them from promptly responding to leads. To make matters worse, investigators believed that the journalists, untrained in interviewing victims or witnesses of crimes, would corrupt the information and result in unreliable leads.
Memorabilia
Notorious and infamous serial killers number in the thousands and a subculture revolves around their legacies. That subculture includes the collection, sale, and display of serial killer memorabilia, dubbed "murderabilia" by Andrew Kahan, one of the best-known opponents of collectors of serial killer remnants. Kahan is the director of the Mayor's Crime Victims Office in Houston. He is backed by the families of murder victims and "Son of Sam laws" existing in some states that prevent murderers from profiting from the publicity generated by their crimes.
Such memorabilia includes the paintings, writings, and poems of these killers. Recently, marketing has capitalized even more upon interest in serial killers with the rise of various merchandise such as trading cards, action figures, and books. Some serial killers attain celebrity status in the way they acquire fans and may have previous personal possessions auctioned off on websites like eBay. A few examples of this are Ed Gein's 150-pound stolen gravestone and Bobby Joe Long's sunglasses.
See also
- Serial crime
- Serial rapist
- List of serial killers by country
- List of serial killers by number of victims
- List of songs about or referencing serial killers
Footnotes
- ^ An offender can be anyone:
- Holmes & Holmes 1998, Serial murder is the killing of two or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a significant cooling-off period between the murders The baseline number of three victims appears to be most common among those who are the academic authorities in the field. The time frame also appears to be an agreed-upon component of the definition.
- Petherick 2005, p. 190 Three killings seem to be required in the most popular definition of serial killing since they are enough to provide a pattern within the killings without being overly restrictive.
- Flowers 2012, p. 195 In general, most experts on serial murder require that a minimum of three murders be committed at different times and usually different places for a person to qualify as a serial killer.
- Schechter 2012, p. 73 Most experts seem to agree, however, that to qualify as a serial killer, an individual has to slay a minimum of three unrelated victims.
- "Definition of Serial Murder". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved August 20, 2024. (This source only requires two people)
- Burkhalter Chmelir 2003, p. 1, Morton 2005, pp. 4, 9
- Geberth 1995, p. ? "The base population was 387 serial murderers, who killed (under various motivations), three or more persons over a period of time with cooling-off periods between the events. The author identified 232 male serial murderers who violated their victims sexually".
- Morton 2005, pp. 4, 9.
- ^ Scott, Shirley Lynn. "What Makes Serial Killers Tick?". truTV. Archived from the original on July 28, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2011.
- "Serial Murder". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
- Ressler & Schachtman 1993, p. 29, Schechter 2003, p. 5
- Rule 2004, p. 225.
- Gennat 1930, pp. 7, 27–32, 49–54, 79–82.
- ^ Vronsky 2004
- "Review: The Meaning of Murder". Evening Star. Washington, D.C. May 30, 1967. p. 12, col. 4.
- Vronsky 2013.
- Petherick 2005, p. 190.
- Flowers 2012, p. 195.
- ^ Morton 2005
- Fuller, John R. & Hickey, Eric W.: Controversial Issues in Criminology; Allyn and Bacon, 1999. p. 36.
- Yaksic, Enzo (November 1, 2018). "The folly of counting bodies: Using regression to transgress the state of serial murder classification systems". Aggression and Violent Behavior. 43: 26–32. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2018.08.007. ISSN 1359-1789.
- Jarmo Haapalainen (2007). Twelve murders in five weeks, Heinola's "beast" Finnish record (in Finnish). Heinola. ISBN 978-952-99946-0-1.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - S. Waller (2011). Serial Killers – Philosophy for Everyone: Being and Killing. John Wiley & Sons. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-4443-4140-9. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
- Schlesinger 2000, p. 5.
- "Tanganyika: Murder by Lion". Time. November 4, 1957. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
- Qian 1993, p. 387.
- Al-Tabari. "Al-Tabari's History, vol. 36" (PDF). pp. 868–879 . Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022.
- Newton 2006, p. 95.
- Dirk C. Gibson (2014). Serial Killers Around the World: The Global Dimensions of Serial Murder. Bentham Science Publishers. pp. 3–5. ISBN 978-1-60805-842-6. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- Salfati, Gabrielle; et al. (2015). "South African Serial Homicide: Offender and Victim Demographics and Crime Scene Actions" (PDF). Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. 12: 18–43. doi:10.1002/jip.1425. ISSN 1544-4759. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 15, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- Vronsky 2004, pp. 45–48.
- Vronsky 2004, p. 47.
- Vronsky 2007, p. 78.
- "2 of the Earliest Serial Killers in History". aezoutbailbonds.com. April 27, 2022. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
- Rubinstein 2004, pp. 82–83.
- Newton 2006, p. 117.
- Norder, Vanderlinden & Begg 2004.
- "Jack The Ripper: The First Serial Killer". Archived from the original on February 2, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- "Jack the Ripper | Identity, Facts, Victims, and Suspects | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
- Canter 1994, pp. 12–13.
- Canter 1994, pp. 5–6.
- ^ Davenport-Hines 2004, Woods & Baddeley 2009, pp. 20, 52
- Bardsley, Marilyn. "Jack the Ripper – the most famous serial killer of all time". truTV. Archived from the original on June 1, 2009. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
- Ramsland, Katherine. "The Werewolf Syndrome: Compulsive Bestial Slaughterers. Vacher the Ripper". truTV. Archived from the original on July 16, 2009. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
- "French 'Ripper' Guillotined – Joseph Vacher, Who Murdered More Than a Score of Persons, Executed at Bourg-en-Bresse". The New York Times. January 1, 1899. p. 7. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
- Urie, Chris. "9 serial killers from around the world you may not have heard of". Insider. Archived from the original on January 7, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
- Ehrlich, Brenna (February 10, 2021). "Why Were There So Many Serial Killers Between 1970 and 2000 – and Where Did They Go?". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- Martin, G. (2018). Crime, Media and Culture. Taylor & Francis. p. 2-PT71. ISBN 978-1-317-36897-7. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
- Yaksic, Enzo; Allely, Clare; De Silva, Raneesha; Smith-Inglis, Melissa; Konikoff, Daniel; Ryan, Kori; Gordon, Dan; Denisov, Egor; Keatley, David A. (January 2019). Chan, Heng Choon (Oliver) (ed.). "Detecting a decline in serial homicide: Have we banished the devil from the details?". Cogent Social Sciences. 5 (1). doi:10.1080/23311886.2019.1678450. ISSN 2331-1886.
- Taylor, David (September 15, 2018). "Are American serial killers a dying breed?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- Levitt, Stephen (2004). "Understanding Why Crime Fell in the 1990s: Four Factors that Explain the Decline and Six that Do Not" (PDF). Journal of Economic Perspectives. 18 (1): 163–190. doi:10.1257/089533004773563485. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 24, 2005.
- J. Sampson, Robert; S. Winter, Alix (May 2018). "Poisoned Development: Assessing Childhood Lead Exposure as a Cauase of Crime in a Birth Cohort Followed Through Adolescence: Lead Poisoning and Crime". Criminology. 56 (2): 269–301. doi:10.1111/1745-9125.12171.
- Reyes, Jessica Wolpaw (October 17, 2007). "Environmental Policy as Social Policy? The Impact of Childhood Lead Exposure on Crime". The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy. 7 (1). doi:10.2202/1935-1682.1796. ISSN 1935-1682. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
- Morton 2005, Skeem et al., pp. 95–162
- ^ Bartol & Bartol 2004, p. 145.
- Cleckley, Hervey M. (1951). "The Mask of Sanity". Postgraduate Medicine. 9 (3): 193–197. doi:10.1080/00325481.1951.11694097. ISSN 0032-5481. PMID 14807904.
- Silva, Leong & Ferrari 2004, p. 794.
- Singer & Hensley 2004, pp. 48, 461–476.
- Mount 2007, pp. 131–133.
- Holloway, Lynette. Of Course There Are Black Serial Killers Archived October 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. The Root.
- "Serial Killer IQ". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
- "Serial Killers: Insane or Super Intelligent?". www.psychologytoday.com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2024. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
- "UK | Harold Shipman: The killer doctor". BBC News. January 13, 2004. Archived from the original on December 1, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
- "CrimeLibrary.com/Serial Killers/Sexual Predators/Dennis Nilsen – Growing Up Alone – Crime Library on". Trutv.com. November 23, 1945. Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
- Testorides, Konstantin (June 24, 2008). "'Serial murder' journalist commits suicide". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
- Mellor 2012.
- Rod Plotnik; Haig Kouyoumdjian (2010). Introduction to Psychology. Cengage Learning. p. 509. ISBN 978-1-111-79100-1. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- Holmes & Holmes 2000, p. 107.
- ^ Tithecott 1997, p. 38.
- Hale 1993, p. 41.
- ^ Hasselt 1999, p. 162.
- Wilson & Seaman 1992.
- Hickey 2010, p. 107.
- Maccoby 1992, pp. 1006–1017.
- Berit Brogaard, D.M.Sci., Ph.D (2018). "Do All Serial Killers Have a Genetic Predisposition to Kill? – Exploring a Complex Question". Psychology Today. Archived from the original on September 7, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Ramsland, Katherine. "Shame and the Serial Killer: Humiliation's influence on criminal behavior needs more attention". Psychology Today. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
- Engel, Eric (September 1972). "The making of an XYY". Am J Ment Defic. 77 (2): 123–7. PMID 5081078.
- Robinson, Arthur; Lubs, Herbert A.; Bergsma, Daniel, eds. (1979). Sex chromosome aneuploidy: prospective studies on children. Birth defects original article series 15 (1). New York: Alan R. Liss. ISBN 978-0-8451-1024-9.
- Stewart, Donald A., ed. (1982). Children with sex chromosome aneuploidy: follow-up studies. Birth defects original article series 18 (4). New York: Alan R. Liss. ISBN 978-0-8451-1052-2.
- Ratcliffe, Shirley G.; Paul, Natalie, eds. (1986). Prospective studies on children with sex chromosome aneuploidy. Birth defects original article series 22 (3). New York: Alan R. Liss. ISBN 978-0-8451-1062-1.
- Evans, Jane A.; Hamerton, John L.; Robinson, Arthur, eds. (1991). Children and young adults with sex chromosome aneuploidy: follow-up, clinical and molecular studies. Birth defects original article series 26 (4). New York: Wiley-Liss. ISBN 978-0-471-56846-9.
- Giannangelo 1996, p. 33.
- ^ Silva, Leong & Ferrari 2004, p. 790, Tithecott 1997, p. 43
- Cotter, P. (2010). "The path to extreme violence: Nazism and serial killers". Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. 3: Article 61, pp. 1–5. doi:10.3389/neuro.08.061.2009. PMC 2813721. PMID 20126638.
- Vronsky 2004, pp. 99–100.
- Joshua A. Perper; Stephen J. Cina (2010). When Doctors Kill: Who, Why, and How. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-4419-1371-5. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- Dennis L. Peck; Norman Dolch; Norman Allan Dolch (2001). Extraordinary Behavior: A Case Study Approach to Understanding Social Problems. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 253. ISBN 978-0-275-97057-4. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ Ressler & Schachtman 1993, p. 113.
- ^ "Serial Killer Statistics". Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- "Serial Killers". Archived from the original on March 9, 2009. Retrieved May 21, 2009.
- Hickey 2010, p. 142
- Wires, Linda (2015). "Angels of Death". New Scientist. 225 (3007): 40–43. Bibcode:2015NewSc.225...40W. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(15)60268-8. Archived from the original on December 18, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
- Holmes & Holmes 1998, p. 204.
- ^ Ramsland, Katherine (March 22, 2007). "When Women Kill Together". The Forensic Examiner. American College of Forensic Examiners Institute. Archived from the original on August 29, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
- ^ "Genene Jones Biography". Archived from the original on June 3, 2012.
- "Murder in the ICU: Inside the Twisted Case of a Hospital Nurse Who Turned Out To Be a Serial Killer". Peoplemag. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
- "Most prolific murder partnership". Guinness World Records. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
- ^ Kelleher & Kelleher 1998, p. 12, Wilson & Hilton 1998, pp. 495–498, Frei et al. 2006, pp. 167–176
- Hickey 2010, pp. 187, 257, 266, Vronsky 2007, p. 9, Farrell, Keppel & Titterington 2011, pp. 228–252
- Farrell, Keppel & Titterington 2011, pp. 228–252
- Newton 2006
- ^ Frei et al. 2006, pp. 167–176
- ^ Educated attempt to provide specific information about a certain type of suspect. Department of Psychology, Concordia University. 2008. Archived from the original (PPT) on April 26, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
- Wilson & Hilton 1998, pp. 495–498, Frei et al. 2006, pp. 167–176, Holmes & Holmes 1998, p. 171, Newton 2006
- Vronsky 2007, pp. 1, 42–43, Schechter 2003, p. 312
- Schechter 2003, p. 31, Fox & Levin 2005, p. 117
- Schmid 2005, p. 231, Arrigo & Griffin 2004, pp. 375–393
- Vronsky 2007, p. 41.
- Hickey 2010, p. 267.
- ^ Wilson & Hilton 1998, pp. 495–498
- Hickey 2010, p. 265.
- Harrison et al., pp. 383–406.
- Vronsky 2007.
- Eric W. Hickey, (2010).
- Yardley & Wilson 2015, pp. 1–26.
- Vronsky 2007, p. 73.
- ^ Perri & Lichtenwald 2010, pp. 50–67
- Kirby 2009.
- "Youngest Serial Killer on Death Row". Psychology Today. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
- "Harvey Robinson". National Organization of Victims of Juvenile Murderers. January 21, 2021. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
- Lowery, Wesley; Knowles, Hannah; Berman, Mark (November 30, 2020). "How America's deadliest serial killer went undetected for four decades". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Indifferent Justice Part 1: The Perfect Victim
- ^ Walsh, A.; Jorgensen, C. (2019). Criminology: The Essentials. Sage Publications. p. 291. ISBN 978-1-5443-7539-7. Retrieved May 21, 2024. "The reality is that white males are very much underrepresented among serial killers in proportion to their numbers in the population. Hickey (2006) claims that about 44% of serial killers operating from 1995 to 2004 have been African American, which is about 3.4 times greater than expected by the proportion of African Americans in the population. More recently, the Radford University's Serial Killer Information Center (Aamodt, 2016) found that since 2000 African Americans have been 59.8% of serial killers in the United States, whites 30.8%, Hispanics 6.7%, and Asian Americans 0.1%."
- ^ Walsh, Anthony (November 28, 2011). "African Americans and Serial Killing in the Media: The Myth and the Reality". Homicide Studies. Retrieved May 21, 2024. "There were many expressions of shock and surprise voiced in the media in 2002 when the “D.C. Sniper” turned out to be two Black males. Two of the stereotypes surrounding serial killers are that they are almost always White males and that African American males are barely represented in their ranks. In a sample of 413 serial killers operating in the United States from 1945 to mid-2004, it was found that 90 were African American. Relative to the African American proportion of the population across that time period, African Americans were overrepresented in the ranks of serial killers by a factor of about 2...The myth that serial killers are rarely African-Americans has had two detrimental effects. First, Whites tend to argue that Blacks are not sufficiently psychologically complex or intelligent to commit a series of murders without being caught. Second, police tend to neglect the protection of potential victims of serial killers in African-American communities. 1 table, 4 notes, and 64 references"
- Walsh 2005, pp. 271–291.
- Holmes & Holmes 1998, pp. 43–44, Bartol & Bartol 2004, p. 284
- Scott Bonn (2014). Why We Love Serial Killers: The Curious Appeal of the World's Most Savage Murderers. Skyhorse. pp. 108–. ISBN 978-1-63220-189-8. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- Holmes & Holmes 1998, p. 62.
- Ressler & Schachtman 1993, p. 146.
- Schechter 2003, p. 291.
- Abrahamsen, David (July 1, 1979). "The Demons of 'Son of Sam'". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Vol. 101, no. 168. pp. 2G, 5G. Archived from the original on February 2, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- Holmes & Holmes 1998, p. 43.
- Holmes & Holmes 2002, p. 112.
- Scott, Jason (February 18, 2020). "'The worst serial killer I ever dealt with': The confession of Joseph Paul Franklin". www.fox19.com. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
- "Understanding Pragmatic Mission Killers". Psychology Today. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- Ramsey, Nancy (May 25, 2004). "Out of Iran, a chilling truth". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- Bartol & Bartol 2004, p. 146.
- ^ Curt R. Bartol; Anne M. Bartol (2008). Introduction to Forensic Psychology: Research and Application. Sage. pp. 285–286. ISBN 978-1-4129-5830-1. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- Myers et al. 1993, pp. 435–451.
- Bartol & Bartol 2004, p. 146, Holmes & Holmes 2001, p. 163, Dobbert 2004, pp. 10–11
- Dobbert 2004, p. 10-11.
- Giannangelo 2012, Fulero & Wrightsman 2008, Dvorchak & Holewa 1991
- MacCormick 2003, p. 431.
- Dobbert 2004, p. 11.
- "Vankilasta paenneen sarjakuristajan rikoshistoria on poikkeuksellisen synkkä". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). October 14, 2015. Archived from the original on February 2, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
- Bartol & Bartol 2004, p. 146, Howard & Smith 2004, p. 4
- Howard & Smith 2004, p. 4.
- Graysmith 2007, pp. 54–55.
- "A Deal With the Devil?". 60 Minutes. October 14, 2004. Archived from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2008.
- Mitchell 2006, pp. 207–208.
- Curt R. Bartol; Anne M. Bartol (2012). Criminal & Behavioral Profiling. Sage Publications. pp. 197–199. ISBN 978-1-4522-8908-3. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- Bartol & Bartol 2004, p. 146, Schlesinger 2000, p. 276, Holmes & Holmes 2000, p. 41
- Holmes & Holmes 2000, p. 44.
- Holmes & Holmes 2000, p. 43.
- "Dorothea Puente, Killing for Profit – Easy Money". Trutv.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
- Zagros Madjd-Sadjadi (2013). The Economics of Crime. Business Expert Press. p. 162. ISBN 978-1-60649-583-4. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
- Holmes & Holmes 1998, p. 7.
- David Wilson; Elizabeth Yardley; Adam Lynes (2015). Serial Killers and the Phenomenon of Serial Murder: A Student Textbook. Waterside Press – Drew University. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-909976-21-4. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
- David Wilson; Elizabeth Yardley; Adam Lynes (2015). Serial Killers and the Phenomenon of Serial Murder: A Student Textbook. Waterside Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-909976-21-4. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
- Egger, Steven A. (2000). "Why Serial Murderers Kill: An Overview". Contemporary Issues Companion: Serial Killers.
- Peck & Dolche 2000, p. 255.
- "Dennis Rader". Biography. A&E Television Networks. Archived from the original on March 18, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
- Holmes & Holmes 2010, pp. 55–56.
- "Serial Killers". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Archived from the original on May 20, 2010. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- Claus & Lindberg 1999, pp. 427–435.
- Castle & Hensley 2002, pp. 453–465, DeFronzo & Prochnow 2004, pp. 104–108
- Richardson, Christy; Waldrop, Judith (2003). "Veterans: 2000" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 25, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
- Woodhead et al. 2009, pp. 50–54.
- "Estimated population of Canada, 1605 to present". Statistics Canada. July 6, 2009. Archived from the original on June 30, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
- "The Veteran Population and the People We Serve". Veterans Affairs Canada. 2003. Archived from the original on October 1, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
- Castle & Hensley 2002.
- "Social Learning and Serial Murder". www.deviantcrimes.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2009. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- Hamamoto 2002, pp. 105–120.
- Atwood 1992.
- ^ "Serial Murder". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
- ^ Egger 2002
- Sanchez, Shanell. "1.1 Crime and the Criminal Justice System". Introduction to the American Criminal Justice System. Open Oregon Educational Resources. Archived from the original on September 9, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
- ^ Keppel 2000
- Boyne, E. Serial Homicide Collaborative Brings Research Data Together. CJ Update: A Newsletter for Criminal Justice Educators. Retrieved from https://tandfbis.s3.amazonaws.com/rt-files/docs/SBU3/Criminology/CJ%20UPDATE%20FallWinter%202014.pdf
- Elink-Schuurman-Laura, Kristin. "Radford/FGCU Serial Killer Database Project – Justice Studies FGCU". FGCU Department of Justice Studies. Archived from the original on May 8, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
- "FDIAI 52nd Annual Conference". Archived from the original on October 31, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
- Aamodt, Mike. "Serial Killer Statistics" (PDF). Radford University. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 9, 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- ^ Guillen 2007
- ^ Egger 1990
- "Getting away with murder". minotdailynews.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
- Ramsland, Katherine; Karen Pepper. "Serial Killer Culture". Tru.tv Crime Library. Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
- Robinson, Bryan (January 7, 2006). "Serial Killer Action Figures For Sale". ABC News. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
- Ramsland, Katherine; Karen Pepper. "Serial Killer Culture". Tru.tv Crime Library. Archived from the original on June 1, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
Bibliography
- Arrigo, B.; Griffin, A. (2004). "Serial Murder and the Case of Aileen Wuornos: Attachment Theory, Psychopathy, and Predatory Aggression". Behavioral Sciences & the Law. 22 (3): 375–393. doi:10.1002/bsl.583. PMID 15211558.
- Atwood, Donald J. (February 25, 1992). "Department of Defense Directive AD-A272 176: Use of Deadly Force and the Carrying of Firearms by DoD Personnel Engaged in Law Enforcement and Security Duties" (PDF). DoD. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
- Bartol, Curt R.; Bartol, Anne M. (2004). Introduction to Forensic Psychology: Research and Application. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-1-4129-5830-1. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- Brown, Pat (2008). Killing for Sport: Inside the Minds of Serial Killers. Phoenix Books, Inc. ISBN 9781597775755.
- Bruno, Anthony (1993). The Iceman: the True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer. Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780385307789.
- Burkhalter Chmelir, Sandra (2003). "Serial Killers". In Robert Kastenbaum (ed.). Macmillan Encyclopedia of Death and Dying. Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan Reference USA/Thomson/Gale. p. 1. Archived from the original on May 3, 2009.
- Canter, David (1994). Criminal Shadows: Inside the Mind of the Serial Killer. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780002552158. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- Castle, T.; Hensley, C. (2002). "Serial killers with military experience: Applying learning theory to serial murder" (PDF). International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. 46 (4): 453–465. doi:10.1177/0306624x02464007. PMID 12150084. S2CID 35278358. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 27, 2011.
- Claus, C.; Lindberg, L. (1999). "Serial Murder as a 'Shariar Syndrome'". The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry. 10 (2): 427–435. doi:10.1080/09585189908403694.
- Davenport-Hines, Richard (2004). "Jack the Ripper (fl. 1888), serial killer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/38744. Archived from the original on July 8, 2019. Retrieved October 2, 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- DeFronzo, J; Prochnow, J (2004). "Violent cultural factors and serial homicide by males". Psychological Reports. 94 (1): 104–108. doi:10.2466/pr0.94.1.104-108. PMID 15077753. S2CID 29686594.
- Dobbert, Duane L. (2004). Halting the Sexual Predators Among Us: Preventing Attack, Rape, and Lust Homicide. Greenwood. ISBN 9780275978624. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- Dvorchak, Robert J.; Holewa, Lisa (1991). Milwaukee Massacre: Jeffrey Dahmer and the Milwaukee Murders. Dell Pub. ISBN 9780440212867. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- Egger, Steven A. (1990). Serial Murder: An Elusive Phenomenon. Praeger Publishers Inc. ISBN 9780275929862.<
- Egger, Steven A. (2002). The Killers Among Us: An Examination of Serial Murder and Its Investigation. Prentice Hall. ISBN 9780130179159. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- Farrell, Amanda L.; Keppel, Robert D.; Titterington, Victoria B. (August 2011). "Lethal Ladies: Revisiting What We Know About Female Serial Murderers". Homicide Studies. 15 (3): 228–252. doi:10.1177/1088767911415938. S2CID 144327931.
- Flowers, R. Barri (2012). The Dynamics of Murder: Kill or Be Killed. CRC Press. ISBN 9781439879740. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- Fox, James Alan; Levin, Jack (2005). Extreme Killing: Understanding Serial and Mass Murder. SAGE. ISBN 9780761988571. Archived from the original on September 2, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- Frei, A.; Völlm, B.; Graf, M.; Dittmann, V. (2006). "Female serial killing: Review and case report". Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health. 16 (33): 167–176. doi:10.1002/cbm.615. PMID 16838388.
- Fulero, Solomon M.; Wrightsman, Lawrence S. (2008). Forensic Psychology. Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-1111804954. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- Geberth, Vernon J. (1995). "Psychopathic sexual sadists: The psychology and psychodynamics of serial killers". Law and Order. 43 (4): 82–86. Archived from the original on January 5, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
- Gennat, Ernst (1930). "Die Düsseldorfer Sexualmorde". Kriminalistische Monatshefte.
- Giannangelo, Stephen J. (1996). The Psychopathology of Serial Murder: A Theory of Violence. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780275954345. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- Giannangelo, Stephen J. (2012). Real-life Monsters: A Psychological Examination of the Serial Murderer. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313397844. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- Godwin, Grover Maurice (2008). Hunting Serial Predators. Jones & Bartlett Learning. ISBN 9780763735104.
- Goldberg, Carl; Crespo, Virginia (2003). "A psychological examination of serial killer cinema: The case of copycat". Post Script. 22 (2). ISSN 0277-9897. Archived from the original on June 16, 2018.
- Graysmith, Robert (2007). Zodiac (Reissue ed.). Berkley. ISBN 978-0-425-21218-9.
- Guillen, Tomas (2007). Serial Killers: Issues Explored Through the Green River Murders. Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 9780131529663. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- Hamamoto, D (2002). "Empire of death: militarized society and the rise of serial killing and mass murder". New Political Science. 24 (1): 105–120. doi:10.1080/07393140220122662. S2CID 145617529.
- Harrison, Marissa A.; Murphy, Erin A.; Ho, Lavina Y.; Bowers, Thomas G.; Flaherty, Claire V. (2015). "Female serial killers in the United States: means, motives, and makings". The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology. 26 (3): 383–406. doi:10.1080/14789949.2015.1007516. S2CID 145149823.
- Hasselt, V. B. Van (1999). Handbook of psychological approaches with violent offenders: Contemporary strategies and issues. Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers. ISBN 9780306458453. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- Hale, Robert L. (January 9, 1993). "The Application of Learning Theory to Serial Murder or 'You Too Can Learn to be a Serial Killer'". American Journal of Criminal Justice. 17 (2): 37–45. doi:10.1007/BF02885952. S2CID 144186286. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- Howard, Amanda; Smith, Martin (2004). River of Blood: Serial Killers and Their Victims. Universal. ISBN 978-1-58112-518-4.
- Hickey, Eric W. (2010). Serial murderers and their victims. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
- Holmes, Ronald M.; Holmes, Stephen T. (2010). Serial murder (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Sage, California. ISBN 978-1-4129-7442-4.
- Holmes, Ronald M.; Holmes, Stephen T. (1998). Serial Murder (Second ed.). Sage. ISBN 978-0-7619-1367-2. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- Holmes, Ronald M; Holmes, Stephen T (2000). Mass murder in the United States. Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-934308-7.
- Holmes, Ronald M.; Holmes, Stephen T. (2001). Sex Crimes: Patterns and Behavior (Second ed.). Sage. ISBN 978-0-7619-2417-3. Archived from the original on March 9, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- Holmes, Ronald M.; Holmes, Stephen T. (2002). Profiling Violent Crimes: An Investigative Tool. Sage. ISBN 978-0-7619-2594-1. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- Hough, Richard M.; McCorkle, Kimberly D. (2016). American Homicide. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-1439138854. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- Kelleher, Michael D.; Kelleher, C.L. (1998). Murder Most Rare: The Female Serial Killer. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-96003-2. Archived from the original on April 20, 2010. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
- Keppel, Robert D. (2000). Serial Murder: Future Implications for Police Investigations. Authorlink Pr. ISBN 9781928704188.
- Kirby, Ashley M. (2009). Juvenile Serial Killers: Descriptive Characteristics and Profiles. Alliant International University, California School of Forensic Psychology, Fresno. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- Linedecker, Clifford L.; Burt, William A. (1990). Nurses who Kill. Windsor. ISBN 978-1-55817-449-8.
- Maccoby, E. E (1992). "The role of parents in the socialization of children: An historical overview". Developmental Psychology. 28 (6): 1006–1017. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.28.6.1006. S2CID 7266774.
- MacCormick, Alex (2003). The Mammoth Book of Maneaters: Over 250 Terrifying True Accounts of Predators from Pre-history to the Present. Running Press. ISBN 9780786711703. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- Mellor, Lee (2012). Cold North Killers: Canadian Serial Murder. Dundurn. ISBN 9781459701243. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- Mitchell, Corey (2006). Evil Eyes. Pinnacle Books. ISBN 9780786016761.
- Morton, RJ (2005). "Serial murder multi-disciplinary perspectives for investigators" (PDF). Federal Bureau of Investigation. Archived from the original on June 15, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
- Mount, George (2007). "Predicting Dangerousness". Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations. 7: 131–133. doi:10.1300/j173v07n01_11. S2CID 216088854.
- Myers, Wade C.; McElroy, Ross; Burton, Karen; Recoppa, Lawrence (1993). "Malignant Sex and Aggression: An Overview of Serial Sexual Homicide". Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. 21 (4): 435–451. PMID 8054674.
- Newton, Michael (2006). The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 9780816069873. Archived from the original on June 1, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- Norder, Dan; Vanderlinden, Wolf; Begg, Paul (2004). Ripper Notes: Madmen, Myths and Magic. Inklings Press. ISBN 9780975912911.
- Peck, Dennis L.; Dolche, Norman Allan (2000). Extraordinary Behavior: A Case Study Approach to Understanding Social Problems. Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-275-97057-4. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- Perri, Frank S.; Lichtenwald, Terrance G. (2010). "The Last Frontier: Myths & The Female Psychopathic Killer" (PDF). Forensic Examiner. 19 (2). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
- Petherick, Wayne (2005). Serial Crime: Theoretical and Practical Issues in Behavioral Profiling. Elsevier. ISBN 9780080468549. Archived from the original on September 2, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- Qian, Sima (1993). "Han Dynasty". Records of the Grand Historian: Han dynasty. Vol. I (Revised ed.). Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-08164-1. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- Ressler, Robert K.; Schachtman, Thomas (1993). Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI. New York: Macmillan/St. Martin's. ISBN 978-0-312-95044-6.
- Rubinstein, W. D. (2004). Genocide: A History. Pearson Longman. ISBN 9780582506015. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- Rule, Ann (2004). Kiss Me, Kill Me: Ann Rule's Crime Files. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781416500032.
- Schechter, Harold (2003). The Serial Killer Files: The Who, What, Where, How, and Why of the World's Most Terrifying Murderers. Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-47200-7. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- Schechter, Harold (2012). The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781439138854. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- Schlesinger, Louis B. (2000). Serial Offenders: Current Thought, Recent Findings. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-2236-5.
- Schmid, David (2005). Natural Born Celebrities: Serial Killers in American Culture. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-73867-3. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- Sitpond, M. (2000). Addicted to murder: The true story of Dr Harold Shipman. Virgin Books. ISBN 978-0-7535-0445-1.
- Silva, J. Arturo; Leong, Gregory B.; Ferrari, Michelle M. (2004). "A neuropsychiatric developmental model of serial homicidal behavior". Behavioral Sciences & the Law. 22 (6): 787–799. doi:10.1002/bsl.620. PMID 15568202.
- Singer, S.D; Hensley, C (2004). "Learning theory to childhood and adolescent fire-setting: Can it lead to serial murder". International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. 48 (4): 461–476. doi:10.1177/0306624X04265087. PMID 15245657. S2CID 5991918.
- Skeem, J. L.; Polaschek, D. L. L.; Patrick, C. J.; Lilienfeld, S. O. (2011). "Psychopathic Personality: Bridging the Gap Between Scientific Evidence and Public Policy". Psychological Science in the Public Interest. 12 (3): 95–162. doi:10.1177/1529100611426706. PMID 26167886. S2CID 8521465. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
- Tithecott, R (1997). Of Men and Monsters: Jeffrey Dahmer and the Construction of the Serial Killer. Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-15680-0. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- Vronsky, Peter (2004). Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters. Penguin Group/Berkley. ISBN 978-0-425-19640-3.
- Vronsky, Peter (2007). Female Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters. New York: Berkley Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-425-21390-2. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- Vronsky, Peter (2013). "Serial Killer Zombie Apocalypse and the Dawn of the Less Dead: An Introduction to Sexual Serial Murder Today", in Serial Killers: True Crime Anthology 2014. RJ Parker Publishing. ISBN 978-1494325893.
- Walsh, Anthony (November 2005). "African Americans and Serial Killing in the Media". Homicide Studies. 9 (4): 271–291. doi:10.1177/1088767905280080. ISSN 1088-7679. S2CID 143399844. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
- Whittle, Brian; Ritchie, Jean (2000). Prescription for Murder: The True Story of Mass Murderer Dr Harold Frederick Shipman. Warner. ISBN 9780751529982.
- Wilson, W.; Hilton, T. (1998). "Modus operandi of female serial killers". Psychological Reports. 82 (2): 495–498. doi:10.2466/PR0.82.2.495-498. PMID 9621726.
- Wilson, Colin; Seaman, Donald (1992). The Serial Killers: A Study in the Psychology of Violence. True Crime. ISBN 9780863696152. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- Woodhead, Charlotte; Sloggett; Bray, Issy; Bradbury, Jason; McManus, Sally; Meltzer, Howard; Brugha, Terry; Jenkins, Rachel; Greenberg, Neil; Wessely, Simon; Fear, Nicola (2009). "An Estimate of the Veteran Population in England: Based on data from the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey". Population Trends. 138 (1): 50–54. doi:10.1057/pt.2009.47. PMID 20120251. S2CID 8483631.
- Woods, Paul; Baddeley, Gavin (2009). Saucy Jack: The Elusive Ripper. Ian Allan. ISBN 9780711034105. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- Yardley, Elizabeth; Wilson, David (2015). Female Serial Killers in Social Context: Criminological Institutionalism and the Case of Mary Ann Cotton. Policy Press. ISBN 9781447327639. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
Further reading
- Borgeson; Kristen Kuehnle (2010). Serial Offenders: Theory and Practice. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7637-7730-2. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- Brady, Ian; Colin Wilson (Introduction); Peter Sotos (Afterword) (2001). The Gates of Janus: Serial Killing and Its Analysis. Feral House. ISBN 978-0922915736.
- Douglas, John; Mark Olshaker (1997). Journey into Darkness. Pocket Books. ISBN 978-0-671-00394-4. Archived from the original on August 19, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- Douglas, John; Mark Olshaker (1997). Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit. Pocket Books. ISBN 978-0-671-01375-2. Archived from the original on September 2, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- Douglas, John E.; Allen G. Burgess; Robert K. Ressler; Ann W. Burgess (2006). Crime Classification Manual: A Standard System for Investigating and Classifying Violent Crimes (Second ed.). Wiley. ISBN 978-0-7879-8501-1. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- Haggerty, Kevin D. (2009). "Crime, Media, Culture: Modern Serial Killer". Crime, Media, Culture. 5 (2): 1–21. doi:10.1177/1741659009335714. S2CID 11395289.
- Holmes, Ronald M.; Stephen T. Holmes (1998). Contemporary Perspectives on Serial Murder. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-0-7619-1421-1. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- Holmes, Ronald M.; Stephen T. Holmes (2000). Murder in America (Second ed.). Sage. ISBN 978-0-7619-2092-2. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- Jensen, Sybil (2014). Top 10 American Serial Killers:Inside The Minds of Psychopaths. Haselton Media Group. ASIN B00KGDUJ2U.
- Kiam, O.M. (2013). The Second One: A Serial Killer's Account of His First Two Kills. Milford Press. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
- Lane, Brian (2006). The New Encyclopedia of Serial Killers (2nd ed.). Facts on File. ISBN 978-0816061952. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- Leyton, Elliott (1986). Hunting Humans: The Rise of the Modern Multiple Murderer. McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 978-0-7710-5025-1. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- Lukin, Grigory (2013). Madmen's Manifestos: Chris Dorner, Charles Manson, Timothy McVeigh and others. ASIN B00BM5L2HW.
- MacDonald, J. M (1963). "The threat to kill". American Journal of Psychiatry. 120 (2). American Psychiatric Association: 125–130. doi:10.1176/ajp.120.2.125. Archived from the original on March 3, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
- Newitz, Annalee (2006). Pretend We're Dead: Capitalist Monsters in American Pop Culture. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-3745-4. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- Norris, Joel (1990). Serial Killers: The Growing Menace. Arrow Books. ISBN 978-0-09-971750-8.
- Panzram, Carl (2002) . Gaddis, Thomas E.; Long, James O. (eds.). Killer: A Journal of Murder. Amok Books.
- Ramsland, Katherine (2007). Inside the Minds of Healthcare Serial Killers: Why They Kill. Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-99422-8. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- Ramsland, Katherine; Karen Pepper. "Serial Killer Culture". Tru.tv Crime Library. Archived from the original on April 16, 2010. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
- Ramsland, Katherine; Karen Pepper. "Serial Killer Culture". Tru.tv Crime Library. Archived from the original on April 10, 2010. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
- Reavill, Gil (2007). Aftermath, Inc.: Cleaning Up After CSI Goes Home. Gotham. ISBN 978-1-59240-296-0.
- Robinson, Bryan (January 7, 2006). "Serial Killer Action Figures For Sale". ABC News. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
- Rosner, Lisa (2010). The Anatomy Murders. Being the True and Spectacular History of Edinburgh's Notorious Burke and Hare and of the Man of Science Who Abetted Them in the Commission of Their Most Heinous Crimes. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-4191-4.
- Roy, Jody M. (2002). Love to Hate: America's Obsession with Hatred and Violence. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-12569-7. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- Rushby, Kevin (2003). Children of Kali: Through India in Search of Bandits, the Thug Cult, and the British Raj. Walker & Company. ISBN 978-0-8027-1418-3.
- Seltzer, Mark (1998). Serial Killers: Death and Life in America's Wound Culture. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-91481-9. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- Vronsky, Peter (2004). Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters. Penguin Group/Berkley. ISBN 978-0-425-19640-3.
- Wilson, Colin (1995). A Plague of Murder. Constable & Robinson. ISBN 978-1-85487-249-4.
- Yudofsky, Stuart C. (2005). Fatal Flaws: Navigating Destructive Relationships with People with Disorders of Personality and Character. American Psychiatric Publishing. ISBN 9781585626588. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
External links
- Crime Library's Serial Killer page
- Serial Murder: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for Investigators Official FBI publication
- James Fallon: The Brains of Serial Killers (Talk)