Serial_Killers

Serial Killers What is a serial killer' “A serial killer is a person who usually murders 3 or more people over a period of more than 30 days with a "cooling off" period between each murder, whose motivation for killing is largely based on psychological gratification.” (Wikipedia, 2009) The serial killer and the mass murderer are very different. Some would confuse the two. The definition of a mass murderer according to Wikipedia is “Mass murder (in military contexts, sometimes interchangeable with mass destruction) is the act of murdering a large number of people, typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time.”(2009) An example of a mass murderer would be to think of the recent school shootings in the past few years. This is an example of a onetime incident when a person killed many people at once. No one truly knows how many active serial killers there are today. There are many cases that go unsolved because they are extremely hard to capture. “Historical criminologists have suggested that there may have been serial murderers throughout history, but specific cases were not adequately recorded. “ (Absolute Astronomy, 2009) Serial killers are appearing more in numbers today. We as a society are making them famous. We allow them to have books written on them, TV shows about them, and even do in-prison interviews of them. Making the serial killer feel famous and proud of what they did to innocent lives and families. Many cases of serial murder will go undetected or unreported because of the lack of evidence, or the person missing is one that is simply not noticed as missing. Education of the general public with regards to serial killers could possibly save many lives. Serial killers have common traits about them. Most of them are white males between 20-30 years of age. Many of them are “normal” looking, and fit into their roles in society well. One cannot tell a serial killer by simply looking at them! “The motives of serial killers are generally placed into four categories: “visionary”, “mission-orientated”, “hedonistic”, and “power/control”; however, there is often considerable overlap of these categories.” (Absolute Astronomy, 2009) I will break down what these categories mean, so that we can understand what they are about. “Visionary serial killers suffer from psychotic breaks from reality, sometimes believing they are another person or compelled to murder by other entities such as the devil or God.”(Wikipedia, 2009) David Berkowitz would be known as a visionary serial killer. “He claimed a demon transmitted orders through his neighbor’s dog instructing him to murder.” (Wikipedia, 2009) This is an example I chose to use, because he went through a neighbor’s dog, something many of us have next door. Many humans have a hard time wrapping their brains around this, but the reality is, this does exist in some people. “Mission orientated killers justify their acts on the basis that they are getting rid of a certain type of person, such as homosexuals, prostitutes, blacks or Catholics, whom they find undesirable; however, they are not psychotic.” (Wikipedia, 2009) The “Unabomber” would be classified in this category, because he targets Universities, and airlines. I will now explain about the Hedonistic serial killer. “This type of serial killer seeks thrills and derives pleasure from killing, seeing people as objects for their enjoyment.” (Wikipedia, 2009) The Power-Control serial killer states that, “There main objective for killing is to gain, and exert power over their victim.” Ted Bundy would be classified as a Power-Control serial killer. A serial killer will usually stick with the same kind of victim for each kill. For example, prostitutes, children, women with certain hair colors, elderly people. Of course this will vary considerably. Serial killers are normally fantasizing about their dreams from childhood or teenage years until they reach adult age, and act upon their fantasies. A number of serial killers are disappointed by their murder and therefore, will murder again to achieve satisfaction. Normally the killings are separate (serial), meaning only one at time. These killings will often escalade over time. Certain serial killers have killed more than one victim at a time, although this is rare. Predicting who will become a serial killer is hard. John M. McDonald started the “McDonald Triad”. “The Macdonald Triad is a set of three behavioral characteristics which are associated with sociopath behavior.” (Wikipedia, 2009) The three “factors consisted of chronic bedwetting, fire setting, and the torture of small animals.” (Wikipedia, 2009) The “McDonald Triad” is not believed to be a cause of violence, but only a set of symptoms people can look for. “Further studies have suggested that these behaviors are often a product of parental neglect, cruelty or trauma, and that such events in a person’s childhood can result in “homicidal proneness”. (Wikipedia, 2009) Is there a way we can spot a serial killer' I have searched online and found a list of things the typical person can look for. The first set of things to look for is to “Realize that serial killers tend to be white males with higher than normal IQs.” (Answer Bag, 2007) I am not saying that all males with high IQ’s are serial killers; I am simply listing what one can look for. The next thing a person can look for is to “be wary of "stalkers" or easily obsessed males.” (Answer Bag, 2007) This one we can look for is spot on. No one I know likes the feeling of having a stalker, or obsessed person in his-or-her life. The third on the list is to “Spot a serial killer by their family background.” (Answer Bag, 2007) Obviously not everyone with a bad family background is or can become a serial killer. The reality that many children grow up in dysfunctional families is sad, but true. This is just one more sign one can watch out for. The fourth sign on the list is “Consider the fact that many serial killers have been abused as children. The abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, and verbal or a combination of all of these. They may have a history of being bullied or teased by other children.” (Answer Bag, 2007) I have to state again, that not all children who are abused will grow up to be a serial killer. But, if we see abuse happening morally as a human we should report it. Another thing we can watch out for is to “Note that serial killers have an interest in sado-masochistic and fetish pornography. Most serial killers gravitate to extreme forms of torture pornography from a young age, and may have extensive collections of it in their home or workplace.” (Answer Bag, 2007) I believe this one can speak, for itself. The last thing on the list is “Remember that serial killers look normal, or even geeky. They don't look or act like monsters in everyday life. They might actually be polite and soft-spoken. It's their personalities and habits that give them away, not their looks.” (Answer Bag, 2007) After reading this list, I hope that this will bring more education on what we can look for in potential serial killers. “The FBI estimates that of the 500 recorded serial killers in U.S. history.” (Kirschner, David, 2006). This is a staggering number considering how many serial killers we do not even know about. “Female serial killers are rare in occurrence.” (Wikipedia, 2009) I believe it is important to mention that not all serial killers are male. Females “tend to murder men for personal gain (such as money) or have a preference for elderly victims, and are usually emotionally close to their victims.” (Wikipedia, 2009) This is a huge difference between male and female serial killers. Males normally kill people they do not know. For female serial killers “Their victims are typically not strangers, and the methods they use for murder are covert or "low profile" (such as murder by poison).” (Wikipedia, 2009) A female is less likely to over kill with anger, than a male, according to these statistics. There have been instances where “On rare occasions, women may be involved with a male serial killer as a part of a serial killing team."(Wikipedia, 2009) A team of serial killers sends shivers up my spine. Having one serial killer is bad enough, but to have a team of them looking for prey is horrific. Serial killers have likely been around as long as man. Profiling has become a valuable tool in helping law enforcement capture serial killers. One can only believe that the only way to stop them is, for law enforcement to think like them. If we educated ourselves, that can only benefit society. The acts that these monsters commit are extremely horrible, hard to catch and many lives are lost. Why is that we keep making them famous'