Just as a predator stalks its prey before making its kill, a serial killer searches for victims to torment for pleasure. In most cases the motive can never truly be identified due to the fact no one really knows why serial killers kill in the first place. This can be seen in the cases of the Boston Strangler and the Zodiac.…
Introduction – (Attention getter) As Ted Bundy once stated, “We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere…” (Orienting material) A serial killer is classified as someone killing three or more people in a short period. The exact reason why people kill is unknown. However, experts suggest that it may date back to traumatic events faced during childhood which…
Glazer points out “Serial killers probably account for at most about 200 victims in the United States each year or 1 percent of all homicides” (Paragraph three). The reasoning for the violent acts varies with killers along with the motives. Glazer says “from head trauma to childhood abuse {…} to explain how someone becomes a serial killer, but many people suffer from such conditions without becoming serial killers” (Paragraph three). These beings unlike murderers kill in a brutal, violent and disgraceful way. Like Glazer states “most serial murder is an intimate experience for the killer in which the torture of the victim and watching the victim die are important parts of the experience. Sexual murderers often engage in bizarre sexual practices with their victims both before and after death” (Paragraph…
"We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere. And there will be more of your children dead tomorrow." - Ted Bundy. Serial killers have long been the taboo of society since the beginning of time. The horror movie industry portrays serial killers through scary masks, or a maniac running around the streets with a knife; but the truth is most serial killers are introverted and were once abused as children. Serial killers are not born serial killers they are influenced at a young age, wether it be by their parents, an older next door neighbor, or a trusted school teacher. Serial killers are not born into the darkness, they are formed into it. An infamous serial killer who too was abused as a child is Jeffrey Dahmer.…
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…
People become serial killers for a reason. The expression “Serial Killers” first presumably originated in 1970 by late FBI Agent Robert Ressler. Before this time society categorized them with Mass Murders. Agent Ressler was lecturing at a college when he heard someone describe the killing as having an unending ‘serial’ cycle. Going back to his childhood, he remembered the movie industry titled “Serial Adventures” which showed short films of Batman and other heroes. None of the shows that were played came to a gratifying close. It always left you wanting more. Ressler came to the conclusion that there should be two separate category’s for mass murders, a single killing of many people at one location, and serial homicide, multiple killings that…
Apparently, all serial killers are murderers, but not all murderers are serial killers according to an article titled "Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture." There are major differences between murderers and serial killers and according to this article,“ Serial killers are only driven by instinct and a desire to kill. Due to these sexual desires and the need to fulfill their arousing fantasies it often urges these individuals to murder those who are complete strangers. Therein lays the fundamental difference.” Now, the article discusses the fact that typically a serial killer’s profile is that of a white male between the ages of 20 and 30 who commonly target their victims within the area of their living space. Note that not all serial killers fit this profile and this is apparent through history, as women have been known to develop into serial killers as well. Psychotics and psychopaths can have personalities in common, such as dull emotions, but they tend to diverge regarding whether he/she can mentally stay within reality. Psychopaths are cunning and manipulative, but they do not experience hallucinations nor delusions. They do not hear the voices of strangers in their minds nor do they hold inaccurate theories about the world. However, no matter his/her sex, age, or race a serial killer is a serial killer. Thus, the question remains: Was it nature or what it nurture? Could it be both? It is evident that nurture takes the principal role in the creation of a serial killer. According to Gina, who wrote the article "Nurture Over Nature: Mental Illness and Traumatic Life Events," while nature does play a chief role in their creation and is accountable for a decent part of the process, it does not take it…
These factors are biological, i.e. high testosterone hormone level or using substances, pathologies such as Autism or Attention Deflect Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), film industry, social learning that become a criminal or be a serial killer can be learnt by observation and applying a reinforcement, developmental process and social environment like education level or availability of the crime. In my point of view, there is no only one important factor which plays in a role in regards to be a serial killer in light of the fact that these all factors depend on the each other. For example, both one person has a childhood problem and is impacted by one serial killers film e.g. he/she was isolated from their friends and as a consequence of that he/she feel alone and neglected. Following this, he watched one serial killers film who killed his/her friend because of the fact that they were ridiculed with the serial killer and he was both affected by the factors. In addition to this, serial killers come from our society so that all humans have a potential to become a serial killer. What is more, on the occasion of looking at these factors, serial killers not only are not insane people but also are not responsible for their actions. In my opinion, I believe that society, traumatic experience and biological factors result in being a serial killers. Therefore, they do not have their autonomy.…
Some killers often get drunk and end up killing (e.g. Jeffrey Dahmer). Another thing to note about serial killer’s home lives is abuse. If you look deep enough into a killers past you more often than not find that they were abused by their parents. Abuse can stay with a person forever and childhood can shape who we are as people. Abuse could also be a reason why killers lack empathy; because the killer feels they felt similar if not worse pain and took it. Lastly, killers have a form of brain damage. Adrien Raine, a criminology professor said “research found criminals with psychopathic tendencies often had a shrunken ventromedial cortex - the area of the brain that controls decision-making.” This would explain why they often continue their bad behaviors until caught and why they do it in the first…
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…
"Why College Athletes Deserve Six-Figure Salaries." The Week. N.p., 14 Sept 2011. Web. 10 Apr 2013.…
There is a phrase that is used to describe a killer who is both medically and legally sane, who murders again and again and again, until they are either captured or dead. That phrase/classification is "Serial Killer.' When most people, icluding myself, hear that phrase we tend to think of a social outcast, who is horribly ugly and mentally deranged. This is generally not true. In fact, most serial killers are very well liked by those who know them, they are also very attractive to members of the opposite sex (or in the case of homosexual serial killers members of the same sex), and usually have an above average I.Q. There are ways to categorize these vicious killers by the calling cards they leave at all of their crime scenes. This is what homicide detectives call "the signature" of the killer. It lies within the very nature of the killer that his signature will be recreated in each and every murder he commits. These categorizations include sadism, necrophilia, picquerism, and cannibalism.…
Everyone’s childhood plays an extremely important role in determining who they will become and who they grow up to be. Your childhood molds and shapes you in every way. But not everyone’s childhood is happy and picture perfect, as some kids grow up in an environment that can set them up for hate and failure, which can ruin their chances for success. The childhood people have is the base that they build on to form their psychological base in adulthood (Vronsky, 2007). So one extremely interesting factor contributing to the makings of a female serial killer is abuse that is experienced in their childhoods. The FBI study has stated and confirmed that most to all serial killers come from an unstable,…
I am going to write about a serial killer. Serial killer’s are people who kill at least 3 people in a period of time at separate places. They usually kill someone then take a short break then kill again. Sometimes when a serial killer attacks they might do sexual acts on that person. Serial killers can be a single person or more. They usually get an adrenaline rush from the murder. Serial killers sometime have unusual patterns of behavior, emotions and thoughts.…
When you think of serial killers who are the first people that come to mind? Some of the names may be Charles Manson, Albert Fish, or even Ted Bundy. All of whom are notorious serial killers that have somehow made names for themselves in the world of crime. Crimes coming from some of these men are often expected. We almost never consider that women are also capable of committing these vile misdeeds as well. Despite being ignored by society, female serial killers are some of the most brutal and most precise killers. The fascinating thing about women is that they often tend to not possess the common characteristics of a serial killer that a male tends to show earlier on in life.…