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Jill Lyons
Clarence Illario, Instructor
Criminal Justice 1010-003
April 2012
SERIAL KILLERS
"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
He was handsome, athletic, and a well-spoken young man. He was polite and popular,
appeared caring and concerned to those he associated with. He was well educated, sophisticated,
and well mannered. A graduate with a degree in psychology, he worked as a suicide counselor at
a phone-in crisis clinic and had been admitted into law school in Seattle. The state government
hired him as a crime-control consultant and he even wrote a rape-prevention handbook for
women. Does this sound like the type of young man you would want your daughter to bring
home?
The true man behind this façade, had a sexual attraction to corpses, kidnapped, murdered,
raped and mutilated, twenty college-age women over a period of sixteen months. At one point
he kept four of their heads in his apartment. He burned the head of another in his girlfriend’s
fireplace. His name was Theodore “Ted” Bundy.
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What images do you conjure up in your mind when you hear the phrase “serial killer”,
monster, depraved, freaks of nature, outcast and drifters? Do you think you would be able to
spot one in a crowd of people? There's no way to "tell" a serial killer simply by his appearance -most of them look like everyone else. Yet if you hear the names: the Zodiac Killer, John Wayne
Gacy, Ted Bundy, son of Sam, and Jeffrey Dahmer, images immediately come to your mind,
those type of images that we would like to erase. Serial killers come in all different shapes and
sizes, colors and races; and by all account they appear as average; attractive, successful,
members of the community -- until their crimes were discovered.
The Term “Serial Killer
It seems as long as man has walked the earth there has been not only murder, such as
Cain and Able, but the motiveless killing of strangers. However, not until Ted Bundy was the
term “serial killer” made a household word. The actual term “serial killer” was coined in the
mid-1970s by Robert Ressler, the former director of the FBI's Violent Criminal Apprehension
Program. He chose "serial" because the police in England called these types of murders "crimes
in a series". Prior to this, these types of crimes were sometimes known as mass murders or
stranger-on-stranger crime. The FBI defines serial murder as:

A minimum of three to four victims, with a "cooling off" period in between;

The killer is usually a stranger to the victim — the murders appear unconnected or
random;

The murders reflect a need to sadistically dominate the victim;

The motivation for killing is largely based on psychological gratification.
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Personality/Classification Profiles of Serial Killers
When serial killers are profiled, there appears to be apparent reasoning, at least to them,
behind their aggression. Profilers have attempted to classify serial killers into different types and
each type has its own agenda and reason for killing. However, there are common traits found
among all serial killers.

White male from a lower-to-middle-class background, usually in his twenties or thirties.

Some are very intelligent and have shown great promise as successful professionals

More than 60% of serial killers wet their beds past the age of 12.

Have a fascination with fire, which may be an early manifestation of their fondness for
mass destruction.

In addition, almost every serial killer starts his abuse and sadistic torture on animal
victims.
The Visionary: A person who hears voices telling him to kill other people, are often
schizophrenic or psychotic. Propelled to kill by the voices they hear or
visions they see. David Berkowitz, the “Son of Sam” label came from
the story that Berkowitz attributed all of his kills to a demonically
possessed dog named Sam. Speculation on his true motives is
rampant, but what is obvious is that Berkowitz was dangerously
unbalanced and probably very delusional, seeing and hearing and
reacting to things that didn’t exist. This does not mean, however, that he was too insane to stand
trial—for all his hallucinations, Berkowitz knew what he was doing and why it was wrong. In
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his letters he begged the police to find him and stop him, so why is it he never took steps to stop
himself?
The Missionary: This is a person who often feels as if it is his “calling” to rid society of
a certain group of people, such as women, children, gay men,
and prostitutes. Randy Kraft, known as “the Scorecard Killer”.
When he was first arrested, the corpse of his latest victim was
propped up in the passenger side of the car he was driving, and
the seat was soaked with blood. Underneath the seat were photos
of some of his other victims in various states of torture,
mutilation, and death. Also in his car was a coded "scorecard" on which he kept track of his
recent murders. Kraft himself was homosexual and targeted men - most of whom were also gay.
The Lust Killer: The type of killer frequently feels the urge to kill because of sexual
motivations. This is possibly the largest category of serial killers. Their crimes almost always
exhibit a certain element of sadism. Contrary to what most people believe, lust killers - or any
serial killers for that matter, are not opportunistic. The time and amount of
planning that they go through before they commit their crimes is usually
associated with very organized personalities. Jerome “Jerry” Henry Brudos
known as the “Shoe Fetish Slayer.” Between 1968 and 1969, Brudos
bludgeoned and strangled four young women. The only initial evidence
was witness sightings of a large man dressed in women's clothing. When
police finally caught him they found that he had kept the shoes, underwear
and even body parts from his victims as trophies in his garage.
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A Thrill Killer: Kills for the joy of killing. This type of serial killer tends to be a
sociopath, which is a disorder of character, not mind, and is a person without conscience or
remorse. The sociopath cares only about himself. His killing thrills him as it gives him control
over sometimes thousands of residents in an area who are terrified of
him. What distinguishes the Thrill Killer is that even though sexual
abuse may take place, sexual gratification is not his main motivation but rather to experience a high or a buzz through the act of murder.
Jeffrey Dahmer, murdered 17 men and boys, between 1978 and 1991,
mostly in the area of Milwaukee, WI., where he lived. His gruesome crimes of rape, torture,
dismemberment, and cannibalism earned him the nicknames of "The Milwaukee Cannibal" and
"The Milwaukee Monster". He was a known sex offender and was arrested in 1988 for taking
lascivious photos of a 13-year-old minor; however he was released on bail just a week later.
Most of his murders then occurred during the next three and a half years.
The Power Seeker: Controlling another’s life is the ultimate form of domination for this
type of serial killers. They are aware of social and culture norms, but choose to ignore them and
live by their own personal rules and norms. Focused killings, prolong
the killing scene as long as possible in order to obtain the most
gratification, and also generally uses a hand on weapons but has a
tendency to strangle his victims. Dennis Rader “the BTK strangler”
who killed people for the purpose of controlling the speed and manner in which they died or
clung to life. Dennis Rader could not reach sexual satisfaction without binding, torturing and
killing other human beings. He just didn’t see why another life should stop his perfect
‘moment’.
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The Gain Serial Killer: This group of killers displays the apparently rare (among serial
killers) motive of financial or personal gain. For this type of killer
the murder is often incidental and a troublesome event that moves
them closer to their goal. Even though we tend to think of gain
killings as something that happened in decades or even centuries
gone by, the availability of firearms, and other weapons matched
with the rise in bank robberies, mugging etc. leads us to think a new generation of serial killers is
emerging. This type of serial killer is more likely to be female. Dorothea Puente, “the Boarding
House Killer” was a sweet-faced elderly grandmother type that no one suspected as being a cold
blooded killer. Puente ran a boarding house for those that were down and out, and during her
years running the house she slowly drugged and murdered the frail boarders who lived with her.
She would forge their signature on social security checks, in order that she was able to live the
high life. Puente would bury their remains in the yard she so lovingly cared for, one body was
found in the back yard with its head, arms and legs removed. Puente showed no remorse for her
crimes. Not the type of grandmother I would want!
What Motivates a Serial Killer?
One of the most studied aspects of serial murder is “why?” This kind of killer doesn’t
just “go crazy” one day and being to kill a lot of people. So what makes a person not only
murder, but murder multiple people over periods of days, weeks and years? A number of
theories have been set forth as potential explanations. But in reality, there is not one answer, only
possible theories, known as the “triad” of symptoms:
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Childhood Neglect and Abuse
One theory centers on the neglect and abuse that almost every serial killers experience as
children, whether it is sexually, emotionally, physically, or psychologically. Most serial killers
tend to come from highly unstable or dysfunctional families, and are usually abandoned by their
fathers and raised by very controlling mothers. So needless to say they usually grow up hating
their parents. During a child's development, there are important periods in which he learns about
love, trust, empathy and basic rules about how to interact with other human beings. If these traits
aren't imprinted upon the child during that period, it may not be possible for him to learn them
later in life.
Serial Killer Sanity
For some people, the only way to explain serial murder is to say that serial killers are
"insane” or mentally ill. Most serial killers do have records of early psychiatric problems and
often spent time in institutions as children. So are they insane? Not by legal standards. The
legal definition of insanity is based on the 19th century M’Naghten Rule which states: “that a
person is legally insane and therefore not criminally responsible, if, at the time of the offense, he
or she was not able to distinguish between right and wrong” (CJ, 127). If he flees or makes any
attempt to hide the crime, then the offender is not insane, because his actions show that he
understood that what he was doing was wrong.
Brain Injury
Some researchers theorize that serial killers have brain damage or other biological
abnormalities that contribute to their actions. Damage to areas like the frontal lobe, the
hypothalamus and the limbic system can contribute to extreme aggression, loss of control, loss of
judgment and violence.
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Catching a Serial Killer
A serial killer keeps killing until one of four things happens: he is caught, he dies, he kills
himself or he burns out. Obviously once law enforcement determines that a string of murders can
be attributed to one person, the goal is to catch him as soon as possible. But how do they figure
this out? And how are serial killers caught?
According to FBI profiler John Douglas, they look for a signature, "a ritual, something
the subject does intentionally for emotional satisfaction -- something that isn't necessary to
perpetuate the crime” (Profiler, 179). Investigators also look at the MO, or modus operandi, of
the crime. The MO reflects what the killer had to do to commit the crime. This includes
everything from luring and restraining his victim to the way that he actually murders her or him.
A serial killer's MO can change over time; essentially, they learn from their previous mistakes
and get better with their killing methods over time.
With TV shows such as “Criminal Minds” and “CSI”, it might lead you to believe that
forensic analysis and criminal profiling alone are instrumental in leading law enforcement to a
particular suspect, however if there is one thing I have learned in my criminal justice class, this is
not entirely true. So, what role do forensic analysis and criminal profiling play in police
investigations? Criminal profiling can be useful when narrowing the field of suspects but is of
minimal help when trying to identify definitively a perpetrator.
Not all serial killers are caught. Some are arrested or picked up for other crimes, and
evidence leads investigators to their murders. Ted Bundy was caught at a routine traffic stop,
while David Berkowitz, the "Son of Sam," was initially picked up for loitering and was thought
to be a witness to the crimes instead of the killer.
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Until we know more about how to stop serial killers before they start to kill or refine
ways of capturing them before they continue the cycle of murder, they will continue to be as
much a part of reality as murder itself.
"We are family members and loved ones of murder victims. We desperately miss
the parents, children, siblings, and spouses we have lost. We live with the pain and
heartbreak of their absence every day and would do anything to have them back.
We have been touched by the criminal justice system in ways we never imagined
and would never wish on anyone. Our experiences compel us to speak out.”
~ LETTER TO THE NEW JERSY STATE LEGISLATURE,
Signed by 63 New Jerseyans
who lost loved ones to murder ~
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Work Cited
Brown, Pat, and Bob Andelman. The Profiler. New York, NY. Hyperion. 2010
Gaines, Larry K., and Roger LeRoy Miller. Criminal Justice in Action: Sixth Edition.
Mason,Ohio. Cengage Learning. 2010.
Hodel, Steve. Most Evil: Avenger, Zodiac, and the Further Serial Murders of Dr. George Hill
Hodel. London. Dutton. 2009.