Childhood Characteristics Of Serial Killers

Research has revealed various behaviors shared amongst serial killers throughout their childhood and adults lives. More specifically, the psychopathological triad explains a combination of three childhood characteristics of many serial killers (Chalmers, 2009). These characteristics include enuresis, pyromania, and animal torture. Although these characteristics may exist throughout one’s childhood, they are simply red flags and do not necessarily mean an individual will, in fact, become a serial killer. Enuresis, or bed-wetting, is not an alarming phenomenon, and is extremely common amongst children in preschool and under the age of seven (Chalmers, 2009). However, bed-wetting becomes problematic when it persists throughout teenage years, and is often the result of deeper emotional disturbances (Henson, 2016). According to an FBI report, 60% of sexually motivated serial killers experience bed-wetting well into their adolescent years (Chalmers, 2009). For example, teen killer, Todd Rizzo, admitted “ I wet the bed from birth until tenth grade”, he continued by saying “ I know it was out of my control but sometimes I let it happen when I could easily get up and walk to the toilet” (Chalmers, 2009, p. 134). Another serial
killer, Arthur Shawcross or the “Genesee River Killer”, experienced bed-wetting well into his late teens and talked like a baby until the age of six (Chalmers, 2009).
Pyromania is often linked to a variety of emotional and physical reactions to setting fires, and is often related to sexual gratification amongst serial killers (Henson, 2016).
This practice often begins at a young age, and many serial killers have been noted for being juvenile arsonist. David Berkowitz, also known as, the “Son of Sam”, confessed to more than fourteen hundred acts of arson, and was so infatuated with fire setting that he obtained the nickname “Pyro” by many of his peers (Chalmers, 2009). Carl Gary, the “ Stocking Strangler”, and Henry Lee Lucus were also juvenile arsonist. Gary burned down a grocery store during his teens, and Lucus was setting fires to abandoned homes throughout his neighborhood by the age of six (Chalmers,
2009).
Animal torture is much more that killing a spider, which is essentially “normal”. It goes beyond playful behavior, and involves vicious and deadly behaviors towards animals simply for pleasure (Chalmers, 2009). This act involves extreme violence and cruelty, such as, mutilation or bestiality, which indicates signs of deep seeded psychological, mental and emotional issues (Chalmers, 2009). In most cases, this behavior intensifies and transpires from harming animals to harming people. According to Chalmers (2009), Jeffery Dahmer, one of the most famous serial killers, collected road kill, nailed live frogs to trees, and often performed “surgery on cats and dogs throughout the neighborhood, as well as, his per goldfish to examine their insides. Dahmer provided further insight on his obsession with torturing animals by stating, “ I found a dog and cut it open just to see what the insides looked like, and for some reason I thought it would be a fun prank to stick the head on a stake and set it out in the woods” (Chalmers, 2009, p. 139-140). The following has highlighted the three childhood behaviors that make up the psychopathological triad. “These acts often represent deeper issues such as, physical abuse, molestation, bullying, and sexual or violent thoughts” (Chalmers, 2009, p. 142). Though some of these behaviors are completely normal to a certain degree, they can reach a certain point that becomes deadly. Essentially, enuresis, pyromania, and animal torture are warning signs that are consistent amongst many serial killers, and require much attention.