Female Serial Killer Essay

According to the studies of Kelleher and Kelleher (1998), they were able to discover that the methods behind a female serial killer was based on motivation. They established a theory based on the limitations defined by serial killers; which often excluded women as serial killers. Based on the findings of Farrell, 2006; Jensen, 2001; Mann, 1996; Pollock, Mulllings, & Crouch, 2006; Schurman-Kauflin, 2000; Scott, 2005, they were able to conclude that women have the ability, to be sensitive, rather than predatory like men when they decide to commit murder. As a result, many believe in the stereotype, that women who murders either an intimate partner of violence or a woman who has been belittled most of her life kill out of oppression rather than anger (Jensen, 2001; Scott, 2005). However, we must remember that these women are different than those who murder for the lust of power or control, similar to psychopaths, however some have no real choice in the matter. According to Alvarez & Bachman (2003), majority of serial killers have been defined as men; however there are cases where women commit serial murders. To illustrate, the article mentioned Aileen Carol Wuornos Pralle, was a prostitute from Florida who committed numerous killings of at least seven men between 1989 until 1990. As a result, this idea brought controversy among women becoming serial killers. Therefore, if one women was able to commit this type of crime relentlessly; women in general, began to those societal need for innocence. Then again, female serial killers tend to operate differently than their targets. For example, many female serial killers kill their male counterparts over a long period of time. As explained by Hickey (2006), he suggested that women are assumed to be excused from the definition of serial killers based on their sex. For instance, Hickey stated that the crimes considered committed by their male counterparts such as sexual attacks, tortures and violence; women are more