One late night on November 19, 1986 there was an intense blizzard casting its cold winter snow over Newtown, Connecticut, but that wasn't the only thing cold brewing In Newtown that night. 'Twas the night that the famous “wood chipper murder” came to be. Richard Craft, an airplane pilot, was married to Helle Craft, a stewardess. They were married for many years, and had 3 children. Helle suspected Richard was being unfaithful so she hired someone to investigate her husband. Sure enough the private investigator was able to capture photographic evidence of richards infidelity. Helle demanded a divorce, divorces cost a pretty penny and Richard did not want to lose a cent, so that’s when he decided to kill his wife. He beat Helle with blunt object to her death, froze her, then cut her…
Experts have subcategorized the paraphilia according to where it falls on the necrophilia spectrum. Necrophilia or Lust murders are homicides in which the offender stabs, cuts, pierces or mutilates the sexual regions or organs of the victim 's body. The sexual mutilation of the victim may include disembowelment, penetration of skin, displacement of the genitalia in both males and females. In Jeffrey Dahmer’s case, all of the psychodynamics of lust murder were acted out on his male victims, some of whom he cannibalized. This type of necrophilia also includes activities such as "posing" and "propping" of the body, the insertion of objects into the body cavities, anthropophagy (consumption of blood and/or flesh) and…
Now let's get something straight, when I say I like serial killers it doesn’t mean I have an obsession with John Wayne Gacy, or a shrine for The Zodiac Killer. It does not mean that I see Aileen Wuornos as a role model. It means the way they think interests me like no other. The psychology behind it. How could someone torture and kill another living, breathing human being? What's the difference between…
Serial killers are driven by their own motivations and reasons. They kill to fulfill strong emotional needs such as anger, thrill, financial gain, and attention (U.S. Department of Justice, 2005). Richard Kuklinski’s anger, need for control, financial gain, and narcissism clearly prove he has the motivation of a serial killer. Most serial killers are psychopaths. Kuklinski’s antisocial and paranoid personality made him void of a conscience, void of a sense of remorse or guilt, impulsive and violent. He trusted no one and would never forgive anyone who did him wrong – all characteristics of common serial killers. Serial killers have multiple indicators during their early childhood. Kuklinski’s childhood had numerous factors that prove he was prone to the pathological behavior of serial killers. Richard Kuklinski is a serial killer. Becoming a hit man just allowed him to make a lucrative career out of being…
In the book Douglas describes serial killer’s main goals are hunting and killing. They want the feeling of being and wanting to have complete control over their victims. Douglas dissects each crime scene, reliving it in his mind, creating profiles and predicts their next moves. Douglas has met and interviewed dozens of serial killers to understand their motives. Manipulation, domination and control.…
They often see a category of people, such as women or prostitutes, as “unclean”, and see their removal of those beings as improving the world. Or, they think that killing the victim, usually in some sort of a ritualistic manner, redeems the victim their wrongdoings. In that case, the killer is a special being and the victim is “chosen” and should be grateful. They often find the victim’s ingratitude infuriating, though unfortunately foreseeable. Serial killers must continuously kill simply because they are addicted to the feelings they get when they do. They also rationalize every aspect and detail of their behavior so there is no reason in their head as to why they should stop. They know what they’re doing, the consequences of their actions, and how to avoid getting caught. Most serial killers, and psychopaths in general, are “consummate chameleons” who are able to hide their rage and true intentions behind a charismatic, civilized facade called the “mask of sanity” (Newton). Psychopaths are amoral and though they knowing the difference between right and wrong, they do not care and lack feelings of remorse or guilt. They tend to objectify other people and treat them as if they were…
There are four Basic Factors in classification of serial murders. First is behavioral background where Basic sources are looked at sources are important in the origins of multicidal behaviors: persisting culture of violence that is accompanied by continuous change in the nature of society-individual relations. And the other is in patterns of early development and interaction in the family setting, this is the major causes of criminal behavior, motive, and behavior orientation. Next is their victims, these are categorized into traits, selection, and relationship pattern, then methods and patterns are looked at such as process-focused versus the act focused, the planned versus the spontaneous, and the organized event versus the disorganized event, then the locations of murders, whether they are concentrated or dispersed through an area. Finally we look at the four types of serial killers are the Visionary type, the mission-oriented type, the hedonistic type, and the power/control-oriented type.…
It was January 1974, and the people of Wichita, Kansas were staying up all night, with their guns in their hands, ready for the unthinkable to happen. Four members of the Ortero family had just been brutally murdered in their own home, in the middle of the day. Julie and Joseph, the mother and father, had been found tied at the hands and wrists, strangled, in their bedroom. Beside them lay their nine year old son Joey, who had been murdered the same way. Even after the police discovered their bodies they were still not prepared for what they found in the basement. The Orteros' daughter, Josie, had been stripped and hung from a sewer pipe. This was just the very beginning of the serial killer career of…
The social construction of a serial killer can consist of many different behaviors, thoughts, and actions that play out over time. A serial killer in my opinion is one who acts out on his or her impulses. Impulses that are usually made up of fantasies that the individual cannot separate from reality. Most serial killers come from abusive homes and experience traumatic events throughout their lives. I believe that due to these events and abuse serial killers can detach their self emotionally from not only their victims but from what society deems normal. “A large number of serial killings are motivated by sexual urges, and with female serial killers, a large number of the killings are motivated by financial gain” (Hickey 1997, p. 27).…
One of the most famous questions of all time asks, “Why do serial killers, kill?” Everyone is different in their own way, so no one can really answer that question specifically. Dr. Helen Morrison, author of “My Life Among The Serial Killers” interviewed ten famous serial killers to try to answer this question. She found that almost all of them had similar characteristics besides killing. Unlike what most people believe, she surprisingly found that these characteristics did not include insanity, child abuse, or drug abuse. Instead she explains that their most common trait is that they have an emotional age of an infant. Other characteristics include fluent lying, the lacking ability to comprehend that they did anything wrong, and no memory of the murders however when they do remember they show no mercy.…
Serial Killers usually murder not for terror or revenge, but instead for the thrill of taking lives. Approximately two- thirds of serial killers find motivation by the thrill of power or sexual sadism (Buss 106). Serial Killers enjoy the excitement, the sexual satisfaction, as well as the dominance and power that they achieve over the lives of their victims. On the other hand, the reason mass murders kill can range from revenge to hatred. The most publicized type of mass murder involves the indiscriminate shooting of strangers in a public place by a lone gunman. Many massacres are considered suicidal rampages because before the gunman takes their own life; the gunman intends to get even with everyone he or she holds responsible. Thus, showing even though mass murderers and serial killers have different reasons for the actions they take, the reasons are still beyond understanding for…
Mission driven killers kill to eradicate a certain group of people. Terrorists are an example of this kind of motive. Their murders are hate crimes. Financially motivated killers kill to gain money. Women are usually this type of killer. They kill family members for inheritances. Thrill seekers kill because it makes them feel powerful. They enjoy how they feel when they kill someone. Mentally ill serial killers kill because of their own psychosis. They hallucinate that a deity is telling them to commit murder. These killers are usually found incompetent to stand trial. Sadists achieve a sexual release while killing. Similarly to thrill seekers, they kill for the feeling of power, but the power for sadists is…
Motives for male serial killers: Sex Sometimes (Sometimes meaning that the offender killed one of more of their victims for different motives) 46%, Control Sometimes 29%, Money Sometimes 19 %, Enjoyment sometimes 16%, Sex only 9%, Racism 7%, Money only 7%, Mental problems 6%, Cult- inspired sometimes 5%, Hatred 4%, Urge Sometimes 3%, Attention 2%, Enjoyment only 2%, Combination of the “preceding motives” 50%. (Hickey, p 153, 1997)…
Dennis Nilson stated "a mind can be evil without being abnormal". If this is the case, then what makes a serial killer tick? The definition of a serial killer is; a series of two or more murders committed as separate events usually, but not always, by one offender standing alone. (Brookes, 1988) Over the years, many murderers have been given this term. From the early days of Jack the Ripper, to the most recently publicized case of "the sniper", all have different motives and reasons to the crimes that they commit. Most of the serial killers suffer from mental illness/addictions or have had traumatic life experiences. This is not always the case though; some can also be racially motivated. The typical serial killer is a lower to middle class white male in his twenties to thirties. As children, they usually have a "triad" of symptoms which include bed wetting, playing with fire, and animal torturing. In one instance, Peter Kurten of Dusseldorf, Germany would have sexual relations with animals including pigs, goats, and sheep. While having sex with sheep, he would repeatedly stab them.…
The most commonly known “early signs” of a child being prone to becoming a serial killer are three traits known as the “MacDonald Triad”, they are fire-starting, bedwetting, and cruelty to animals. Not all serial killers displayed these traits in childhood and not all children who do these things will become serial murderers, but it is fairly common. Some other common traits in serial killers are that most are white males, usually around the mid-twenties to thirties, most are divorced or have had unhappy relationships in the past. Most serial killers also experienced bullying, being social outcasts and loners. Many have also had former run-ins with the law such as being arrested for petty crimes like stealing, or vandalism. Each serial murderer, for the most part, falls into a category of killing motivation. Some serial killers kill for power, thrill, or lust, while other kill for other reasons such as hearing voices, wanting to “rid the world” of a certain class of people.…