Ted Bundy Research Paper
Marlena Betancourt
English 2-C3946
Elizabeth Armstrong
March 20, 2014
Inquiry Proposal: Serial Killers
1. Description. The topic that I have chosen to cover for my proposal is serial killers. The term “serial killer” was established in the 1970’s by Robert Ressler (former director of an FBI program). He chose “serial” because these types of murders are crimes in series. Murderers become serial killers after three or more victims with quiet periods of time in between the murders. The US holds 76% of the world’s serial killers. According to the latest FBI study in 2007, there are approximately 400 serial killers in the US and 80% of them have emerged since 1950. Statistically, the average serial killer is a white male with a lower to middle-class …show more content…
Optional Primary Research. I decided to find documentaries on two of the most notorious serial killers Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer. The first documentary I watched was “Biography: Ted Bundy: The Mind of a Killer (1995).” Ted Bundy was a boy scout, a college graduate, a law student, and a star in Washington State politics. Growing up, Ted was told that his actual grandparents were his mother and father and that his actual mother was his older sister. His grandmother (mother) had health issues such as depression and panic attacks and was eventually introduced to electro-shock therapy and his great grandfather was known to be extremely violent and frightening. His family began noticing at the age of three that Ted wasn’t adjusting well. His first incident happened when he was being babysat by his aunt and she was taking a nap. Ted’s aunt woke up to him placing all the kitchen knives around her body in an outline with the blades pointing towards her. After the incident with his aunt and fighting with his step-father a lot, Ted was forced to move to Tacoma, WA and it devastated him because he thought of his great grandfather as a father and he didn’t want to leave him. Once in Tacoma, Ted’s peers thought of him as a shy person. He stuttered a lot and didn’t date. He really isolated himself from the crowd and started becoming a peeping Tom. Ted started to consider himself above the law. While in college, Ted met a girl named Stephanie and was particularly attracted to her …show more content…
Timeline. I currently still have some questions as to what other similarities might occur between serial killers such as chromosome abnormalities or brain defects. I will be continually checking these doctors and researcher’s information gathered from their testing and experiments to hopefully receive new and improved information. One of the most helpful things to do is watch movies and documentaries on not only serial killers but their families, the detectives, doctors, and the researchers. The one problem that I feel I might encounter is not having enough evidence and consistent information to back it up because it is a new study being done. Although I have continuing questions, I believe that I have covered my research topic to the best of my ability and now my own curiosity will keep me wondering and wanting to know more information than what has been given to me.
Citations
Freeman, Shanna. “How Serial Killers Work.” How Stuff Works. A Discovery Company. 02 October 2007. Web. 20 March 2014.
Mueller, Robert. “Serial Murder.” The FBI. US Government, US Department of Justice. 02 September 2005. Web. 20 March 2014.
Bardsley, Marilyn. “Jeffrey Dahmer.” Crime Library. Criminal Minds & Methods.
04 August 1991. Web. 20 March 2014.
Montaldo, Charles. “The Myths about Serial Killers.” Crime/Punishment. About.com. July 2008. Web. 20 March
English 2-C3946
Elizabeth Armstrong
March 20, 2014
Inquiry Proposal: Serial Killers
1. Description. The topic that I have chosen to cover for my proposal is serial killers. The term “serial killer” was established in the 1970’s by Robert Ressler (former director of an FBI program). He chose “serial” because these types of murders are crimes in series. Murderers become serial killers after three or more victims with quiet periods of time in between the murders. The US holds 76% of the world’s serial killers. According to the latest FBI study in 2007, there are approximately 400 serial killers in the US and 80% of them have emerged since 1950. Statistically, the average serial killer is a white male with a lower to middle-class …show more content…
Optional Primary Research. I decided to find documentaries on two of the most notorious serial killers Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer. The first documentary I watched was “Biography: Ted Bundy: The Mind of a Killer (1995).” Ted Bundy was a boy scout, a college graduate, a law student, and a star in Washington State politics. Growing up, Ted was told that his actual grandparents were his mother and father and that his actual mother was his older sister. His grandmother (mother) had health issues such as depression and panic attacks and was eventually introduced to electro-shock therapy and his great grandfather was known to be extremely violent and frightening. His family began noticing at the age of three that Ted wasn’t adjusting well. His first incident happened when he was being babysat by his aunt and she was taking a nap. Ted’s aunt woke up to him placing all the kitchen knives around her body in an outline with the blades pointing towards her. After the incident with his aunt and fighting with his step-father a lot, Ted was forced to move to Tacoma, WA and it devastated him because he thought of his great grandfather as a father and he didn’t want to leave him. Once in Tacoma, Ted’s peers thought of him as a shy person. He stuttered a lot and didn’t date. He really isolated himself from the crowd and started becoming a peeping Tom. Ted started to consider himself above the law. While in college, Ted met a girl named Stephanie and was particularly attracted to her …show more content…
Timeline. I currently still have some questions as to what other similarities might occur between serial killers such as chromosome abnormalities or brain defects. I will be continually checking these doctors and researcher’s information gathered from their testing and experiments to hopefully receive new and improved information. One of the most helpful things to do is watch movies and documentaries on not only serial killers but their families, the detectives, doctors, and the researchers. The one problem that I feel I might encounter is not having enough evidence and consistent information to back it up because it is a new study being done. Although I have continuing questions, I believe that I have covered my research topic to the best of my ability and now my own curiosity will keep me wondering and wanting to know more information than what has been given to me.
Citations
Freeman, Shanna. “How Serial Killers Work.” How Stuff Works. A Discovery Company. 02 October 2007. Web. 20 March 2014.
Mueller, Robert. “Serial Murder.” The FBI. US Government, US Department of Justice. 02 September 2005. Web. 20 March 2014.
Bardsley, Marilyn. “Jeffrey Dahmer.” Crime Library. Criminal Minds & Methods.
04 August 1991. Web. 20 March 2014.
Montaldo, Charles. “The Myths about Serial Killers.” Crime/Punishment. About.com. July 2008. Web. 20 March