Forensic Psychology
Serial Killers
The odds
• The odds of meeting your end at the
hands of a serial killer in the UK are…..
1 in 1 million (Hicky 1991)
• The odds of winning the lottery are
1 in 13 million
• So you are more likely to fall victim to a
serial killer than you are to win the lottery!
Serial Killer or Mass Murderer?
• Mass murderers kill a large number of people on one occasion, for
example Thomas Hamilton who murdered 16 children and their
teacher at Dunblane in 1996.
• Serial killers murder large number of people (minimum of three) over
a prolonged period of time (usually).
• Mass murderers have little interest in concealing their crime and
may kill themselves as well as victims.
• Serial killers outwardly may appear quite normal and live a
respectable life concealing their criminal activities.
• Mass murderers often have a history of mental illness that may be
associated with childhood trauma or abuse.
• Serial killers often show no history of mental disturbance and may
even be seen as pillars of society, e.g. Harold Shipman.
Mass Murderers
Michael Ryan, killed himself after shooting 30
people, 16 of whom died, in Hungerford
in1987
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 13
at Columbine High school in April 1999
Cho Seung-Hui injures seventeen and kills
thirty-two people at the Blacksburg, Virginia
campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
Serial Killers: How Many?
The number of serial murderers in existence at any given time is obviously
difficult to estimate. In the USA, Jenkins (1988) has suggested that there has
been a rapid increase in their numbers since the 1950's.
Defining a serial killer as someone who has killed 10 or more people, there
were only two cases between 1950 and 1970. Since then there have been
over 40 such cases.
In the UK the picture is less clear. It has been estimated that any one time
there are probably about four serial killers active in the UK (Gresswell and
Hollin, 1994).
In the period between 1982 and 1991 there were 196 victims of serial killers in
England and Wales (estimated).
In the UK there has been a gradual increase in the
proportion of murders attributed to serial killers (why?).
In the forty five years between 1940 and 1985 only 1.7% of
all murders in England were the work of serial killers.
However in the later years of this period, 1973-83, 3.2% of
all murders were committed by serial killers.
It should also be noted that in 1997 the Serious Crime
Bureau was set up to investigate some 200 unsolved
murders of women.
Early results suggest that some of these murders are likely
to be the work of serial killers.
Who are the serial killers?
• Andre Chikatilo The Russian Cannibal
• John Wayne Gacy The Killer Clown
• Ted Bundy Intelligent and handsome but obsessed with
killing young women
• Pedro Lopez The monster of the Andes
• Ian Brady and Myra Hindley The moors murderers
• Dennis Nielsen Killed 15 gay young men.
• Peter Sutcliffe The Yorkshire Ripper
• Dr Harold Shipman The UK’s most prolific serial killer
• Steve Wright The Ipswich prostitute killer
Andrei Chikatilo
Andrei Chikatilo was a Russian cannibal who
was convicted of killing 52 people, both males
and females. Chikatilo became a killing machine
who was found guilty of 52 murders on Oct. 15,
1992. He had mutilated and eaten parts of most
of his victims. The females were missing their
uteruses and nipples and the males were
missing their genitals and had their tongues
bitten or sliced off. He was sentenced to death
and was executed by one bullet to the back of
the head on Feb. 14, 1994.
John Wayne Gacy Jr
The killer clown……During a three-year-period
in the late 1970’s, Gacy went on to viciously
torture, rape and murder more than thirty
young men, who would later be discovered
under the floorboards of his home and in the
local river.
Ted Bundy
Between 1974 and 1978 is was estimated
that Ted Bundy had mutilated and killed up
to 40 young women. The exact number will
never be known
Pedro Lopez The monster of the Andes
During the late 1970’s and early 1980’s Pedro
Alonzo Lopez, was responsible for the
murders of over 350 children. He confessed
to killing at least 110 children in Ecuador, over
100 more in Colombia, and another 100 in
Peru.
He was released from prison in 1998…his
whereabouts are currently unkown.
Ian Brady and Myra Hindley The
moors murderers
The couple were tried for the killing
of Edward Evans, 17, Lesley Ann
Downey, aged 10, and 12-year-old
John Kilbride in 1966 and sentenced
to life imprisonment.
Dennis Nielsen
Dennis Nielsen was known to have
killed at least 15 men and boys
between 1978 and 1983 in and around
the Muswell Hill area of London.
He was discovered after a drain
cleaning company found a flesh like
substance blocking the drains.
He had been cutting up the bodies
and flushing the pieces down the
drain.
Peter Sutcliffe The Yorkshire Ripper
On Friday, 2 January 1981 the Yorkshire Ripper's
five-year reign of terror came to an end. In the
previous five years, beginning in July 1975 with
his first attack, he had killed thirteen women and
left seven others for dead.
He is presently serving life imprisonment for these
crimes.
Dr Harold Shipman
In January 2000 he was found guilty of 15
murders, mainly his elderly patients. It is known
that he was responsible for at least 215 other
murders and this therefore makes him the most
prolific serial killer ever found in the UK.
He hanged himself in January 2004 at
Wakefield prison.
Steve Wright The Ipswich prostitute killer
In February 2008, Steve Wright was convicted
of murdering five Ipswich prostitutes. The case
was unusual in that all the killings took place
during a 10 day period in December 2006.
This made it the most intensive murder spree
in British criminal history.
Profiling Serial Murders
Probably one of the most disturbing aspects of the serial murderer is that they
are often so ordinary; indeed it is this ordinariness that allows them to continue
with their killing without being detected.
e.g.Peter Sutcliffe, the "Yorkshire Ripper" was married to Sonia and had friends
and family none of whom initially suspected.
In the USA, John Wayne Gacy was a respected member of the community with
his own building company, he also tortured, raped, and killed more than 30 men
before and burying their bodies under his house.
Statistically, we know who serial killers are likely to be, they will be white males
in their late twenties or early thirties, if they are employed it will probably be a
blue-collar job, i.e. semiskilled or skilled.
Unfortunately this stereotypical description also accounts for a major part of the
male population and therefore is of little practical use.
A more thoughtful insight into their motivations and behaviours is required
before any useful profile can be constructed.
Typologies of Serial Killers
It is possible to categorise serial murderers into different type or typologies
based on various criteria (Harrower, 1998). These typologies are often based
on motivation or modus operendi, i.e. the specific methods used by the killers.
Holmes and DeBurger (1988) suggest four types of serial killer:
Visionary .......... these people kill for some
"higher" reason, perhaps a religious belief, of
because voices tell them they should. These
types of killers are often considered to be
mentally ill, suffering from a psychotic
delusion.
David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam, shot 13 people
and killed 6 because he was told to by Satan
in the form of a black Labrador dog.
Typologies of Serial Killers
Mission-Orientated .......these people see
themselves as having a mission in life, usually to rid
the world of some particular group of people, e.g.
prostitutes or children; Peter Sutcliffe the Yorkshire
Ripper is an example.
Typologies of Serial Killers
Power/Control.... types are people whose
murderous behaviour may have a sexual basis but
who also have a strong need to exert control over
others often to the point of death. Fred and
Rosemary West appear to be of this type, often
binding their victims to make them totally helpless
before torturing and killing them.
Typologies of Serial Killers
Hedonists .... are killers who derive some form of
pleasure or satisfaction from the murders. The pleasure
may be direct as in the case of those who have sexual or
sadistic motives,or it may be indirect, e,g, they may gain
financial benefits from those they kill, e.g. John George
Haigh, the acid bath murderer who killed six people and
dissolved their bodies in a bath of acid, believing that
without a body murder could never be proved.
Typologies Based on Mobility
Obviously the criteria used to form typologies will vary with different
researchers and there may well be overlaps between the typologies
developed.
Hickey (1986) focused on the mobility of the serial killer and identified three
types on this basis:
1. Those killers who have very little mobility and therefore choose their victims
from their immediate locations, i.e. their own homes, places of work or
surrounding streets. The victims of the Moors Murderers all lived within a
few streets of the killers.
Typologies Based on Mobility
A moderate degree of mobility allows the killer to venture
further afield, although in the case of this research this was
restricted to the home state of the killer. In the UK, John
Duffy the "Railway Rapist" would be an example of this. He
murdered three women and raped 18 more. His victims
were all found close to a railway station. John Duffy worked
for the railways. He was caught following the intervention of
David Canter, a Forensic Psychologist who produced an
offender profile that predicted the murderer would live or
work close to a railway line.
Typologies Based on Mobility
The highly mobile killers are those who will travel
across states (in the USA) as they kill, and who for this
reason are often difficult to catch.
Hicky (1986) suggests that the highly mobile killer is
probably in the minority with only 32-35% of all victims
being killed by this sort of murderer.
In the UK Robert Black, a convicted child killer, was a
van driver who spent a lot of his time driving from
London to Scotland. The bodies of his victims were
found close to the route he used to take.
Profiling Techniques
Profiling, according to Jackson and Beckerian (1997) can take several forms:
Offender profiling is the collection of empirical data in order to collate a picture
of the characteristics of people involved in certain types of crime, e.g. is there a
typical rapist or serial killer?
Crime scene profiling uses information from the crime scene, this may include
forensic evidence or statements by the victim or witnesses, to build a picture of
the offender.
Psychological profiling uses standardised personality measures sometimes
coupled with interviews to examine the extent to which a suspect might fit the
personality type of a particular type of offender, e.g. rapist.
FBI Profiling
Another method of developing typologies was devised by Ressler, Burgess and
Douglas (1988) who were working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
After extensive research using FBI files on serial killers they came to the
conclusion that two types of serial killer could be identified:
The Organised Killer
The Disorganised Killer
Organised Killers
The Organised killers were described as being socially competent and
intelligent, they were often married and had skilled occupations.
They would plan their murders, usually targeting strangers, who after
restraining they would often have sex with before killing them.
After the killing the body is usually hidden and any weapons or evidence
removed.
Their crimes often involve the use of a vehicle to transport the victim or move
the body.
They may return to the scene of the crime and are likely to anticipate the sorts
of questioning they may have to deal with.
Disorganised Killers
The Disorganised murderer was described as socially immature, they have a
poor work history, are sexually inhibited and may level alone.
They may live or work near the crime scene and the victims are often known to
them.
The murder is often spontaneous with a great deal of violence.
Use of restraints is minimal and any sexual acts are likely to occur after the
death of the victim.
The crime scene will show clear evidence of the murder with the body and
other evidence simply left with no attempt to hide it.
They show no interest in the crime after the event, e.g. won't follow progress
of the investigation in the media.
FBI Profile Generation
The FBI suggest a four stage approach to profile generation:
Data Assimilation:
This is the collection of all data relevant to the crime.
It will include forensic evidence, photographs, witness statements, police
reports, modus operandi, and the psychological signature of the offender,
i.e. data that might indicate something about the offender psychological
state, motivations, fantasies, etc.
Crime Scene Classification:
Examination of the crime scene according to the criteria described above in
order to determine if it should be classified as organised or disorganised.
FBI Profile Generation
Crime Scene Reconstruction:
There is a need to understand the dynamics of a crime scene, e.g. how was
the victim killed, did they know the killer, what happened prior to the attack,
did the victim know they were to be attacked, did the victim admit the killer
into their home or was there a forced entry, was there an attempt to conceal
the body, any evidence of mutilation or necrophilia (sex with the corpse). By
attempting to reconstruct the crime scene a fuller picture of exactly what
occurred can be obtained.
Profile Generation:
Initially the profile will be a series of hypotheses that can be tested against the
available evidence. These hypotheses may be demographic, e.g. was the
killer male, what social class, occupation; lifestyle questions may be asked,
e.g. does he live alone or with someone, does he have many friends; what
personality dynamics may be involved, e.g. any evidence of neurosis or
psychopathology.
UK Profiling: The Statistical or
Actuarial Approach
One of the objections to the FBI approach raised by Canter(1995) is that after
acquiring all this information there doesn't appear to be a great deal of
systematic analysis of the data in order to arrive at the profile, it appears to be
an art as much as a science and there appears to be heavy reliance on the
experience and intuition of the profilers.
Canter suggests that when a criminal interacts with his environment and
people within that environment, they leave subtle clues. These are not the
clues that forensic scientists typically have to deal with, e.g. a strand of hair,
traces of bodily fluids, or perhaps even a finger print. The clues a forensic
psychologist has to work with are far more subtle than this. They are
concerned with the behaviour of the criminal, what do they do to their
victims, do the say anything, are they controlled in their behaviour. How
does the crime fit in with everyday patterns of behaviour?
UK Profiling
By looking at the patterns of rape and murder in the John Duffy case, Canter was
able to conclude that he must have the type of job that allowed him to be
"missing" for periods of time without arousing suspicions or indeed attracting a
rebuke from his employers.
The pattern of attacks also revealed that the person responsible would have to
have a good knowledge of the railways system around North London.
The crimes were carefully planned so the criminal was probably reasonably well
educated, perhaps had a skilled or semi-skilled occupation.
The various sexual acts committed revealed that this man was sexually
experienced, perhaps even married or with a partner.
John Duffy was not unknown to the police at the time of these crimes, indeed he
was 1500 on a list of possible suspects. What Canter was able to do was move
Duffy up the list, to make him a much more likely suspect for the police to
investigate. And this is all offender profiling can really do...........it will not provide
names or addresses of suspects, but by using the methods of psychological
science it will allow practitioners to tease out the details hidden in what Canter
calls the "criminal shadows".
UK Profiling
The UK approach to profiling uses systematic methodologies, derived mainly
from psychological research, to examine a crime scene.
The UK system places heavy emphasis on the use of statistical techniques in
the analysis of a crime scene.
What information is available at a particular crime scene? can this
information be classified or clustered with data from other crime scenes?
Does this data reveal anything about the psychological or other features of
the offender?
Do individual offenders leave evidence of consistency in their behaviour at a
crime scene?
Is this consistency stable across different crime scenes or over time?
It is the existence and coexistence of particular features of the crime scene
that the statistical approach seeks to identify.
UK Profiling
In describing this process Howitt (2002) cites the example of rape in which
many features are common, e.g. vaginal penetration, removal of clothing, and
an element of surprise.
Other features are less common, e.g. oral sex, apologising, torture.
Yet other features may be associated with other types of criminality, e.g. theft
of money or belongings of rape victim, or extreme violence.
Through the statistical analysis it is possible to identify these types of features
and thereby produce a profile of the rapist.
Of particular interest might the co-occurance of features that would not
normally be expected to occur together. For example sodomy and theft from
the victim rarely go together, so when they do this suggests that a particular
type of rapist is being sought.
Or in a series of rapes if theft was a common feature, then statistically, this
would suggest that the rapist has probably committed acts of petty theft before
and almost certainly has a police record. This sort of information can help to
narrow down the list of potential suspects.
Geographical Profiling
Geographical profiling is another statistical technique that uses algorithms
based on the movements of serial offenders to attempt identify the likely
location from which they operate, i.e. from home or perhaps their place of
employment.
Canter's description of his techniques used to help in the capture of John Duffy
explains how, by looking at when and where the victims were found he was
able to determine that Duffy probably had some connection with the railways
or lived near a railway.
In fact, Duffy was a carpenter working for British Rail, and who had an intimate
knowledge of the railway system around North London where he lived and
where he found his victims.
Geographical Profiling
Marauders and Commuters
Marauder Crimes:
Static, localised or geographically stable serial offender;
Commits crime within a confined area;
Bounded by psychological barriers and landscape features;
Operates within his/her awareness space;
Likely to have an anchor point (the haven) from which to operate;
Offender's haven lies within the distribution of crime sites.
Marauders and Commuters
Commuter Crimes:
Mobile dispersed or geographically transient serial offender;
Commits crimes over large areas;
Cross cultural and psychological boundaries;
Most offences occur outside the offender's awareness space;
Involves complex hunting strategies;
Hunting area lack a definable anchor point.
Profiles v Typologies
The distinction between typologies and profiles is often blurred.
Offender profiles are often thought of as a means of identifying specific
individuals whereas typologies are more concerned with the general
characteristics of offenders.
There are elements of truth in both these statements but it is probably
more correct to say that at present, it is traditional police work that catches
individual offenders, profiling may offer pointers or help to reduce the
number of suspects.
The techniques of offender profiling are a long way from being able to
identify specific individuals.
Explaining Serial Murder
Developmental Problems:
Focusing on the early developmental years of serial killers has proved a
promising approach to explaining the behaviour of these people.
A common feature among sexually motivated multiple murderers is the
failure to bond or form an attachment with the parents or primary carer,
resulting in a child that appeared to be emotionally detached (Burgess et
al, 1985). Jeffrey Dahmer who by the age of 14 was already having
fantasies about killing men and having sex with their corpses, may be cited
as an example in this context.
Other examples of disturbed childhood behaviour found in the
backgrounds of sadistic serial killers include enuresis, starting fires, and
torturing animals.
Developmental Problems?
One difficulty with this theoretical approach is that there are many
examples serial killers who have apparently come from quite "normal"
respectable backgrounds.
Jenkins (1988) found that of the 12 English serial killers he studied, six of
them seemed to have quite ordinary childhoods.
Similarly, Stone (1994) who looked at 42 serial killers, found that while a
history of abuse and neglect in childhood was common, 30% of his sample
had no such history.
Thus it seems that while a disturbed upbringing may be a sufficient
condition to predispose certain people to multiple murder, it is rarely a
necessary condition.
Violent adults very often will have suffered abuse as children, but only a
small proportion of abused children go on to become violent offenders let
alone serial killers.
Mental Illness
Are serial killers mentally ill? Surely for a person to commit random acts of
multiple murder they must be suffering from some sort of mental illness.
Whilst this may seem a tempting theory, the evidence suggests otherwise. Henn
(1976) looked at the psychiatric assessments of 2000 people who had been
arrested for murder between 1964 and 1973. Of these, only 1% were found to
be psychotic. Mental illness is probably more likely in mass murderers rather
than the serial killer and as we have seen, these people are more likely to kill
themselves.
Mental Illness?
One way in which some people cope with severe childhood abuse is to adopt
alternative personalites, this is known as a dissociative disorder and often
results in the individual having multiple personalities.
In the case of Kenneth Bianchi, one of the hillside stranglers, he claimed in
his defence that he was suffering from this disorder.
Under hypnosis another personality, Steve Walker emerged who was
described as cold, and vicious and was responsible for the murder of 12
young women. Kenneth Bianchi himself, came across as a very pleasant
individual, a kind loving husband and father, but he did have a history of
abuse by his mother.
However, something about Bianchi's behaviour suggested to the examining
psychiatrist that he might be faking the disorder in order to get a lesser
sentence. This was later found to be the case.
Psychopathic Disorder
A psychopath is usually defined as someone who exhibits a variety of
antisocial behaviours, including violence, and who shows no hint of sorrow
or remorse for their behaviour.
To a casual observer, the psychopath may appear quite normal, indeed in
some cases even charming and this of course is why they can be so
dangerous.
Psychopaths seek total control over situations and individuals and if this
control is threatened in any way they may become violent and even
murderous.
The fictional character Hannibal Lector would be a good example of a
psychopath.
Psychopaths?
Explaining psychopathic behaviour is extremely difficult.
Attempts at finding a physiological or genetic component have produced
inconsistent findings (Raine, 1989).
There is some suggestion that psychopaths may be less receptive to facial
cues of distress, but whether this is a cause of the condition or simply a
symptom remains unclear (Blair et al, 1997).
Seto et al (1997) have also observed that psychopaths are far more likely to
use deception, regardless of the situation they find themselves in, and even
when it isn’t really necessary.
Paraphilias
For many serial killers murder alone is not enough, they need to degrade,
torture, and humiliate their victims....an expression of their need for control.
For this reason there is often an element of sexual sadism in the way they kill
their victims. Sexual sadism is an example of a paraphilia and is defined in the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV as "acts in which psychological or physical
suffering of the victim is sexually exciting, including domination or torture".
Paraphilias are usually described as unnatural sexual acts or perversions and
include necrophilia (sex with corpses), zoophilia (sex with animals) and
paedophilia (sex with children.
It is not uncommon to find multiple paraphilias within the same individual.
Paraphilias
Brittain (1970) suggests that the sadistic murderer often feels inferior to
others, may find it difficult to form relationships with women and has an
almost uncontrollable desire for power over others.
This type of killer will use fantasy to help him cope with feelings of inadequacy
and ultimately may act out these fantasies.
They are likely to feel sexually aroused as a result of the fear expressed by
their victims.
Fred and Rosemary West are good examples of the sexual sadist.
Their victims were rendered helpless by tying them very elaborately with a
variety of ropes. Their heads were wrapped in cling film with a thin pipe
allowing them to breathe.
They were then systematically tortured before being murdered.
Psychoanalytic Explanations
It has been suggested that sexual sadism may result from a fixation at the
psychosexual stages of development (Kline, 1987).
Degradation of females is an example of reaction formation against the
incestuous desires for the opposite sex parent (Oedipus and Electra complex).
By subjecting females (mother substitutes) to violence and degrading acts the
sadist is refusing to acknowledge the sexual feelings that they have for their
mother.
Anal fixation which is a result of inadequate toilet training can result in buggery,
a common feature of sexual sadism.
Psychoanalytic Explanations
Gallagher (1987) suggests that a dysfunctional parent-child relationship will
lead to the child becoming fixated at an immature stage of development.
The case of Ed Kemper who had a difficult relationship with his domineering
mother is often cited as an example.
As a result of the feelings of frustration and ambivalence which stemmed from
this relationship, by the age of 15 Kemper had killed both his grandparents.
After his release into his mother's care, and despite the fact that his
psychiatrist though he was making good progress, he was in fact murdering
female hitchhikers, cutting them up, saving various body parts and cooking
and eating others.
Finally he decapitated his mother before having sex with her corpse. he later
claimed that this final act had a liberating effect on him so that he no longer felt
the need to kill other women.
Fantasy
Ressler et al (1988) have suggested that negative life experiences give rise to
aggressive and sexual fantasies which help the individual restore a sense of
control in their life.
When they interviewed 36 convicted sex murderers (USA) 25 of whom were
serial killers they found that 42% had been sexually abused as children and
32% as adolescents. 70% of them felt sexually incompetent and relied heavily
on pornography.
Prentky et al (1989) compared serial sex murderers with single sex murderers
and found that 86% of the serial killers fantasized prior to the killings compared
with only 23% of the single murderers.
The amount of fantasy was also found to be correlated with the planning and
organisation of the murders by the serial killers.
Fantasy
Gresswell and Hollin (1997) go so far as to suggest that fantasy is an addictive
process and that serial killers use it to try and regain the sense of euphoria
that accompanied the killing of their victims.
Fantasy alone however is never enough and so the serial killer has to seek out
further victims.
Fantasy may also be used to try out new features, i.e. ways of torturing or
killing the victims, before the actual event.
Based on interviews with 20 serial killers between 1982 and 1991 it was
concluded that multiple murder may well be an addictive pattern of behaviour
like any other addiction, i.e. serial killers are addicted to killing.
Conclusion
This has been a very brief random selection of some of the most
notorious serial murderers.
Unfortunately, a quick trawl through the Internet will reveal a much
greater number.
There is no simple way to explain serial killing, it is almost certainly
complex and multifactorial.
In the UK alone, there are currently 35 serial killers in prison.
We don’t know how many more there might be still at large, who have
not yet been caught……and who might still be going about their “work”.