Serial Killers kill three or more unrelated victims separated by a cooling off period and may involve sadistic, sexual violence. Special Agent Robert K. Ressler, one of the pioneers of the F.B.I’s Behavioral Science Unit first coined the phrase “Serial Killer”. According to Resslers account (published in his book, Whoever Fights Monsters), he was lecturing at the British Police Academy when the participants referred to “crimes in series”. Impressed by the phrase, Ressler began using the variation “Serial Killers” in his classes (Schechter and Everitt pp 69-70). Criminal Profiling is a process called “criminal investigative analysis”. Profilers study forensic and behavioral aspects of a crime (F.B.I. Profile of a Serial Killer n.d.). They study details and evidence left behind and the crime scene and try to piece it together. Several common traits are found in Serial Killers, thus creating a typical profile. Some traits are personality traits which often begin developing during childhood and adolescence. As a child, future Serial Killers exhibit certain behavioral traits or tendencies that are not considered normal. A trait by itself does not indicate a problem but when many of the traits are seen together the correlation validity between reported childhood behavior indicators and serial murder (The Serial Killer as a Child n.d.). Some of the most common behavioral issues are: Daydreaming, compulsive masturbation, isolation, chronic lying, bed wetting, rebelliousness, nightmares, destroying property, fire setting, stealing, cruelty to children, poor body image, temper tantrums, sleep problems, assault to adults, phobias, running away, headaches, cruelty to animals or self mutilation (The Serial Killer as a Child n.d.). Most children seem to show one or more of these behaviors throughout their childhood. The problem is when the behaviors are not overcome and continue throughout their growing up. The three most common as addressed in The
References: No Author (2008). Serial Killers: Ted Bundy. Retrieved September 21, 2008 from www.crimelibrary.com Harold Schechter and David Everitt (1997). The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers (pp 69-70) F.B.I. Profiler of a Serial Killer (n.d.) Retrieved September 21, 2008 from http://lafayettesheirf.com/site71.php Serial Killer Typology (Part 1) (n.d.) Retrieved September 21, 2008 from http://faculty.ncwc.edu/TOConner/428/428lect06.htm The Serial Killer as a Child (n.d.) Retrieved September 21, 2008 from http://www.macalester.edu/psychology/whathap/UBNRP/serialkillers/childhood.html