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Serial Killers
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Introduction
Serial killers can be defined as people who kill people mainly because they have a need
for psychological gratification (Harmening, 2014). A serial killer can never be defined as a
murderer. The difference is clear. While murderers mainly kill people for various reasons like
revenge or profitable reasons serial killers kill to satisfy their hunger. Serial killer suspects can
therefore be grouped together with psychologically unstable people and when found guilty most
of them are taken to asylums for psychological help. They normally carry out their activities
individually which are arranged in series of two or more deaths in a period of about a month. The
thought of having a serial killer as a neighbor could highly be stressing to anyone because,
everyone might think that they are the next target especially when the serial killer chooses
victims at random. Government and other law enforcement agencies are highly deployed in such
an area especially where there is an indentified suspect. They use their knowledge to put such
people in custody (Vronsky, RJ, & Michael, 2014).
Origin
Serial killing is an ancient crime. There were many such crimes in the ancient days only
that they were not recorded. It only became rampant in the twentieth century probably due to the
increased population, changes in the cultural setup, immense use of media, and changes in the
social status of the current generation. Notorious serial killers for example Erzsebet Bathory and
Jack the ripper have their records dating back before the 20th century. In the 15th century, Joan of
Arc, a wealthy man in Europe sexually assaulted and murdered untold number of children who
belonged to the peasantry class. Jack the ripperwho killed more than five prostitutes was the first
serial killer to be identified in the modern times. His story made headlines in the media. Ever
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since, it is undeniable that serial killing has become rampant especially in the United States of
America and the rest of the world (Harmening, 2014).
Theories
According to (Berry-dee, 2003)there are various theories that explain why people commit
serial murders. Others argue that serial killers are born and not nurtured by environment because
there is something wrong with their brain. These theories include the social process theory, and
Military theory.
The social process theory
The social process theory explains that serial killers are normally pushed into crime by
their friends, family and the environment. As a person interacts with different personalities and
environment, their criminal tendency grows since everyone has an aspect of indulging in crime.
The military theory
The military theory states that most serial killers have a military experience or studied
military. There are two further theories that explain the relationship between serial killing and
military training. These theories include Applied Learning Theory and Social Learning Theory.
Applied learning theory educates that when an individual is learning military, he is taught how to
kill without mercy. The Social Learning Theory comes in when militants are praised for killing
other people. They therefore believe that it is alright to take people’s lives. Trained soldiers do
not normally see their enemies as human. When they turn to serial killing, they perceive their
victims as subjects under their mercy.
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Motivation
According to various psychiatrists, many serial killers are motivated by their
psychological gratification and most of these killers are sexually involved with their victims.
Other aspects that can motivate an individual to be involved in such crimes include visions,
missions, lust, thrill, monetary gains, and seeking recognition in the society. There are four
categories of motivations explained below.
Visionary
Serial killers who are visionary are normally cut off from reality. Most of them believe
that they have been sent by authorities who are superior to them to murder someone, for instance
they have been commissioned to murder by either God or the devil (Perrini, 2013).
Mission oriented serial killers
Such people believe that they have a responsibility to clean up the society they live in by
eliminating people who they think are unworthy to live. For example, there are serial killers who
will target prostitutes, races, and other religions in order to maintain a better society.
Hedonistics
Hedonistic serial killers derive pleasure from their criminal activities. Their actions give them
satisfaction to calm their lust, thrill, and comfort (Harmening, 2014).
Lust
Most serial killers who are motivated by lust get their gratification through immense
torture and mutilation of their victim whether dead or alive. These murders have a hunger to be
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completely in control and dominate their victims. When they torture and cause pain on their
victims, and eventually kill them gives them extreme pleasure and satisfaction. They mostly use
their hands to cause affliction to their victims as this helps them to be in close contact with their
victims. Serial killers who are out to satisfy their sexual desires will have different types of
stimulation and that is why they will look for victims who match their desires. They will look for
beautiful, submissive and eternal lovers.
Thrill
Thrill serial killers get immense stimulation, adrenaline rush, and satisfaction when they
induce pain and terror to their victims. They do not get involved with their stranger victims
sexually and they usually attack and immediately kill their victims.
Comfort and profit
Comfort serial killers use low profile weapons like poison and they mainly target close
relatives for material gains. These types of crime have been noted to happen mostly among
women serial killers
Other motivation for serial killing includes media influence and hunger for power
The media influence
Social media might also have an influence in the activities of an individual. A reasonable number
of serial killers claim that their criminal activities were a product of hardcore criminal films and
pornography. The serial killers tend to emulate an “icon” in the film by doing the same activities
(Berry-dee, 2003).
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Exhibiting power
There are other serial killers who would love to gain immense power over their victims.
These victims might have suffered sexual, psychological or physical abuse when they were
young children. They mainly torture their victims, both physically and sexually.
Classification of serial killers
Apart from distinguishing serial killers from murders like mass murdering, and killing
sprees serial killers can also be classified according to the type of crime committed. For instance
some of them are motivated by vision, like killing for pleasure, others treat their killing activity
as a mission which they use to communicate to a particular authority, while others feel a sense of
power and authority whenever they take someone’s life.
Characteristics of serial killers
An individual can never be born as a serial killer. The crime is cultivated from their early
years in life, into various stages like arson, to animal abuse into human abuse. Signs of a serial
killer can be recognized early in childhood when a child shows signs of trauma and abuse. Most
serial killers are anti social, and their psychiatric condition may make them to see the world in a
whole different direction from normal people.
Serial killers have common characteristics which are mainly used by experts to identify
them. Some of these characteristics may include mental disorder/psychopath a condition that
may drive them into crimes. They normally lack remorse and sense of guilt. Some would love to
be in control and exhibit predatory characteristics. Even though psychopaths are abnormal, some
of them appear to be completely normal and have a charming nature a situation normally referred
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to as having a mask of sanity (Vronsky, RJ, & Michael, 2014). Some of them may have been
abused by a close family member at a tender age and have grown up with the anger of revenge.
In their tender age, they were frequently bullied, ridiculed, and isolated from others. This can
cause the individual to hate everyone and thus, killing them becomes easy. Some serial killers
may start with minor crimes like stealing and vandalism. Most of them are rarely have permanent
jobs. Others may come from unstable backgrounds especially those with financial strain. Their
IQ is generally average or low and could be engaged in activities like fetishism. The sight of a
fire highly fascinates them and could be sadistic in nature, especially towards animals (Vronsky,
RJ, & Michael, 2014).
Female serial killers
Most serial killers are presumed to be men. Only a small number of women have been
found to commit this crime. According to (Perrini, 2013), in the United States of America the
ratio was placed at 1:6 from the year 1800-2004. According to Kelleher according to Kelleher
and Kelleher, female serial killers are grouped into various categories, for example black widow,
angel of death, profit, revenge and sexual predator. Their main motivations may include
attention, addiction, and financial gains. Some of them may be desperate for love which they are
not getting and in return they kill their partners (Vronsky, RJ, & Michael, 2014).
Most of their victims are close family members like their spouses, children and elder
members of their families. Sadistic characteristics are very rare in women suspects and a very
high number of these women kill for material gain. They have different motives when they
commit the crime and most of them have shown a history of being abused when they were
young. According to (Perrini, 2013), most researches show that many women turn into serial
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killers for reasons same as those of men which are rage and gain. Most women prefer killing
their victims using low profile methods like poisoning shooting and suffocating and drowning.
Is ethnicity related to serial killing?
United States of America is home for various races including African Americans, Asians,
Hispanics and Caucasians. Most serial killers brought to justice were identified to be white men
whose financial background was lower and middle class even though other races were also
apprehended (Harmening, 2014).
Investigating serial murder
According to (Harmening, 2014), identifying a crime as serial murder poses immense
challenge to the investigation authorities and this is even more challenging when the suspect
comes from a marginalized population. Using databases and immense teamwork is needed so as
to detect linked cases. The administration should not play a leading role in the investigation but
should highly provide support to the investigating team. After a clear serial murder case has been
put on the table, there are personnel who are well trained to track the offenders.
Childhood life of a serial killer
Consequently, many serial killers have a common background of a problematic
childhood. According to Hickey’s Trauma Control Model a child who suffered trauma is likely
to develop undesired behaviors which might affect him in adult life. Parents and the society play
a pertinent role in the development of a child’s behavior. Neglecting and rejecting children
denies them self esteem and this leads them to develop their own world where they are in total
command (Vronsky, RJ, & Michael, 2014). How a child mingles with the parents and other
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members of the society could also dictate how the child will interact with the rest of the society
and how they will value other people. Broken homes, separation could also lead to a child
developing undesired behaviors (Vronsky, RJ, & Michael, 2014).
When children realize that they cannot control the situations they are in which causes
them suffering, they start to build a fantasy world where they escape from reality. In this new
world they become sociopathic and regard to fellow man is decreased, therefore, it becomes
impossible for the child to feel guilty. Later on, the person cannot differentiate between fantasy
and reality. In the fantasy world, the child has authority over his subjects therefore can cause
pain whenever desired. The child can no longer recognize the mental life of others and this
makes it easy for them to dehumanize others. To them, objects are seen to have more power than
people (Vronsky, RJ, & Michael, 2014).
Categories of serial killers
There are three categories of serial killers. They include organized, disorganized and
mixed serial killers. For organized serial killers, their killing activities have immensely been
planned. They usually kidnap their victims. After killing them, they dispose them in a different
place. They are very knowledgeable in forensic science and this enables them to dispose of
available evidence and carefully control the places where the crime was committed. They are
proud of their work especially when they watch the crime on media and they see it as an
important accomplishment. Organized serial killers have healthy life styles like having a family,
friends and even children (Harmening, 2014). Their IQ is comparatively higher than
disorganized serial killers.
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According to (Harmening, 2014), disorganized serial killers on the other hand act
impulsively and their crimes are committed using any weapon at hand. They do not dispose their
victims’ bodies or have no intension of hiding any evidence. They have unhealthy lifestyles
whereby they live alone, have no friends and close relatives. They mostly suffer from mental
illness.
Conclusion
Serial killers have made the current society to be unsafe and devastating. These people
are in every corner of the world and it is totally impossible to know any if anyone does not know
their personality or understand them. Having to understand the above information is pertinent to
be safe from these people since they are around us.
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References
Berry-dee, C. (2003). Talking with serial killers. Chicago: John Blake.
Harmening, W. M. (2014). serial Killers. New York: Charles C. Thomas.
Kelleher, M. D., & David, V. N. (2001). this is the zodiac speaking. califonia.
Perrini, S. (2013). She devils of the USA. Women Serial Killers. New York: CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform.
Vronsky, P., RJ, P., & Michael, N. (2014). serial killers true criminal Anthology. Newyork: RJ
Parker Publishing; First Annual edition .