1
CCJ1191 – HUMAN BEHAVIOR
DR. E. BUCHHOLZ
HICKEY: SERIAL MURDERERS & THEIR VICTIMS
CHAPTER 7:
The Male Serial Murderer
Learning Objectives
 To understand the impact of male serial killers in American society
 To explore the “invisible” rise of African American serial killers, their behavioral
characteristics, victims, and myths and facts surrounding these offenders
 To examine the role and types of stalking in predatory crimes that can lead to homicide
and serial murder
 To evaluate the dark side of long-haul trucking and its contribution to the emergence of
highway serial murderers
 To review several cases of male serial killers, their profiles, mobility, and techniques
used to lure their victims
 To examine the latest research on male serial killers in the United States
Male Solo Serial Killers
Update, 2004–2011
➤Male solo killers (N = 111) account for 76% of all serial killers 2004–2011 (N = 146)
➤Race of offender:
 Caucasian: 38%
 African American: 57%
 Hispanic: 3%
 Middle Eastern and East Indian: 2%
➤Offender year of birth range:
1937–1992
➤Average age of offender at first killing: 30
➤Average age at apprehension: 38
➤Average span of offender killing:
7 years
➤Total number of victims: 482–618
➤Average number of victims per offender: 4.3–5.5
➤Span of offender killing:
1965–2011
➤Offenders who killed all their victims in same year: 31%
➤Offenders who killed in more than one year: 69%
 1–2 years: 12%
 2–3 years: 9%
 4–5 years: 9%
 6–9 years: 15%
 10+ years: 24%
➤Method of killing:
 Shoot only: 30%
 Strangle only: 29%
 Stab only: 8%
 Beat/blunt force only: 7%
2
 Combination of strangling, beating, stabbing, and/or shooting: 26%
 Contd.
➤In male solo cases:
 38% involved shooting
 43% involved strangling
 21% involved stabbing
 19% involved blunt force/beating
 4% involved other forms of violence
➤Victims of male solo killers:
 Adults only: 82%
 Elderly only: 7%
 Children only: 2%
 Adults and children: 7%
 Adults and elderly: 3%
 Offenders who targeted specific type of victim: 91%
 Average number of victims per offender: 4.3–5.5
 Strangers only: 93%
 Prostitutes: 23%
 Males only: 19%
 Females only: 53%
 Male and female victims: 29%.
 Involving more than one state: 22%

Following WWII, there was an increase in serial murders that sharply accelerated during
the 1960s and 1970s.

More offenders were identified in the 25-year time frame between 1975 and 2000 than
during any previous 25-year span.

Between 2000 & 2009 over 650 movies with serial murder themes were produced by
Hollywood and independent filmmakers!
Suggested reasons for sharp increase:
1. Belief in the emergence of a new breed of predatory criminal
2. Previous underreporting of such homicides
3. Self-fulfilling prophecy
 You find what you expect to find
4. Inconsistency in defining the phenomenon
5. The media’s proliferation of “splatter” and “snuff”
6. A belief that changes in the economy are connected to surges of violent behavior
7. A feminist belief that serial killing is an extreme form of male domination of women
Linkage Blindness
 Prevents related cases of serial murder from being connected to each other.
California
 Highest number of identified serial cases.
 Why?
RACE
3
•
•
•
Between 2004 and 2011 approximately 51% of all serial killers (N = 146) in the United
States are African American.
Since 2004, controlling for race and gender, 55% of all male serial killers in the United
States (N = 132) are African American.
Indeed, where solo male offenders are involved in serial murder (N = 112) African
American males account for 56% of all the killers between 2004 and 2011.
Contd.
 Wayne Williams
 Samuel Dixon (pseudo-necrophilia)
 Chester Turner
 Henry Louis Wallace (knew his victims)
 Carlton Gary (elderly victims)
Read the profiles of these 5 Black serial killers. Are there any salient factors in these cases that
might differentiate Black and White serial killers?
[pp. 228, 231, 232, 235, 236]
Mobility of Serial Killers
 Male offenders who roam the streets of U.S. cities and towns and remain relatively close
to their killing sites appear to be the most common type of serial murderer in recent years.
 The FBI between 2009 and 2011 developed the Highway Serial Killing Initiative to
identify victims of traveling serial killers in the United States.
 Over the past 30 years over 500 bodies of victims have been found alongside or near
freeways and highways (see Chart 7.3.)
Contd.
 The FBI has amassed a database of over 275 suspects in the highway murders, and almost
all of them are long-haul truck drivers.
 Known by the truck drivers as lot lizards, these prostitutes are easy targets for traveling
serial killers.
 Other victims in highway murders are stranded motorists, hitchhikers, and persons who
inadvertently come into contact with these killers. (See the Bruce Mendenhall profile, p.
237).

Do you believe Bruce Mendenhall started killing in his 50s?

What are some of the ways we can protect persons from truck-stop serial killers?
Stalking
Stalking
 Became a crime in 1990
 California antistalking statutes
 In the aftermath of the stalking and murder of actress Rebecca Schaffer.
 Section 646.9 of the California Penal Code, states that a person is guilty of
stalking when they, "willfully and maliciously and repeatedly follow or harass
another person and make credible threats with the intent to place that person in
reasonable fear for his or her safety or that of an immediate family member".
"I have an obsession with the unattainable. I have to eliminate what I cannot attain."
4
--a note from Bardo to his sister


Bardo tracked down Schaeffer lived through a detective agency, which got her address
easily from the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
He also used computer databases to find out what kind of car she drove, whom she called,
and where she shopped.
Elements of Stalking
1. A pattern of harassment over a period of time
2. Implied or explicit threats
3. Intent to harm, intimidate or create great emotional stress
The Threat Management Unit of the Los Angeles Police Department Classification
 Simple Obsessional
 The offender knows his victim and stalks as a result of perceived mistreatment or
separation
 Love Obsessional
 Stranger-to-stranger, in which the offender harasses the victim to draw attention
to himself
 Erotomania
 Involves a celebrity who the offender believes is in love with her
 False Victimization
 The offender falsely accuses another person, real or imaginary, of stalking him or
her in order to assume the role of victim
 Hickey Stalker Typologies
Domestic
 Power/Anger
 Obsessional
 Nuisance
Stranger
 Power/Anger
 Obsessional
 Nuisance
 Sexual Predator
 Erotomania
Factitious
 False Victimization
 Hero Fantasy
Domestic
Power/Anger Stalker
 Most likely to do physical harm to the victim
 Dysfunctional relationships
 Consumed with anger
 Exhibit antisocial characteristics
 Low self-esteem
 Lack of self-confidence
 Insecurity
5

Perpetual frustration
 Due to inability to manage their personal or public life
Heather Melton
 Stalking was more likely to occur where the victims were no longer in relationships with
the abuser
 The abusers had drug or alcohol problems
 Offenders were controlling in their behavior
 Victims were stalked before by the abuser.
Domestic
Obsessional Stalker
 Victims are former friends or lovers, coworkers, acquaintances, and relatives
 Plagued by psychological disorders
 Offender becomes fixated on his or her victim and relentlessly pursues that person
 Frequent telephone calls
 House calls
 Letters
 Gifts
 Followings
 harassments
Domestic
Obsessional Stalker
 Their irrational and illogical behavior is caused by psychological dysfunctioning.
 Stranger
Power/Anger Stalkers
 Internet popular tool
 Antisocial characteristics
 Lack of self-confidence and self-esteem
 Hunt for “proxy” victims upon which to vent their anger
 Neo-Nazis
 Skinheads
 Extremists
 Men marginalized by society
 Sexists
Stranger
Power/Anger Stalkers
 Internet
 Some prefer anonymity
 Others prefer to affiliate to band together
 Tends to be cathartic (cleansing) and often goes no further in stalking escalation
 Offenders are not passive and are known for their boldness in striking out at
random victims
 Those who pursue sending threatening emails should be considered extremely
dangerous!
Stranger
Obsessional Stalkers
6




Suffer from a variety of psychological disorders including paranoid schizophrenia and
bipolar and dissociative disorders.
Should be considered dangerous because of their level of unpredictability
The object of their attachment is a stranger
Internet is attractive because it allows them unlimited access to their victims
Stranger
Sexual Stalkers
 Some of the most dangerous offenders
 Rapists
 Pedophiles
 Child molesters
 Paraphiliacs
 Some evolve into serial killers
 They are always dangerous because the outcome is frequently the actual sexual assault of
a victim or psychological sexual violence of a victim.
 Frequently have criminal histories
 Act alone
 Display psychopathic characteristics
 Adept at using tools such as the Internet to find victims
Site and Non-Site Stalking of Potential Predators
Non-Site
 Do not make personal, direct contact
 Telephone calls
 E-mails, e-cards
 Fax messages
 Letters
 Gifts
 Voice mail and texting
 Instant messaging
 Video messaging and other forms of recorded messages
Site
 Following
 Workplace visits
 Home visits
 Signatures
 Vandalism
 Sending or leaving “gifts”
 Displaying weapons
TOOLS OF A STALKER:
 Photographs, texting, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, GPS, spyware software and keystroke
logging hardware, chat rooms, Skype, caller ID, hidden video cameras, prepaid calling
cards, online databases, and information brokers are some of the technologies now
available that assist predators in connecting with their targets (Southworth et al., 2007)
Contd.
7


For most sex offenders such as rapists, pedophiles, voyeurs, and exhibitionists, stalking
fantasies are critical in the process of offending and relational paraphilic attachment (see
Chapter 5).
Many serial killers also engage in psychological stalking prior to physically stalking their
victims.
Cyberstalking
Cyberstalking
 A method of stalking used by either domestic or stranger stalkers.
 Greatest focus involves sexual predators
 Most common pedophiles and child molesters
Cyberstalking
 Pedophiles
 Prefer the company of children both socially and emotionally
▪ Usually not married and live along or with a relative
▪ Fantasize about being emotionally attached and, if possible, physically
involved with a child
▪ Continuum
▪ Reclusive and self-gratified
Uses movies, props, photos
▪ Aggressive
Seek out children fro sexual purposes and murder
Cyberstalking
 Child Molester
 Prefers children
 More likely to be married and have a family
Stalking Fantasy
 Antisocial, borderline, or narcissistic personalities
 Impulse-control, intermittent explosive, and substance abuse disorders
 Are critical in the process offending and relational paraphilic attachment
Stalking Fantasy
 Voyeurs
 Derive a sense of personal control when they secretly watch unsuspecting victims
 Provide offender with reinforced fantasies that will once again need to be
satisfied
 Causes the offender’s fantasies to escalate and increases the risk of victim contact
Stalking Fantasy
Psychological Foreplay
 An essential component for many serial murderers
 Serial killers engage in psychological stalking prior to physically stalking their victims
(Ed Kemper—who had the head of a victim in his
trunk while visiting with a psychiatrist—said he would visualize having a victim sitting beside
him in his car while he pulled out a gun.)
NAMBLA
8

North American Man/Boy Love Association
 NAMBLA's website states that it is a political, civil rights, and educational
organization whose goal is to end "the extreme oppression of men and boys in
mutually consensual relationships.”
 According to the NAMBLA, some of the organization's primary positions are:
▪ Supporting and promoting man/boy relationships: they hold that when
consensual, these relationships are not harmful or child sexual abuse.
▪
Age-of-consent reform: what NAMBLA describes as "empowerment of
youth in all areas, not just the sexual.”
Ralph Nau
 Followed Olivia Newton-John to concerts around the world
 Obtained a California DL in 1978 under the name of Shawn Newton-John
 Killed a dog and sent teeth to another celebrity
 Sent 600 disturbing letters
 Bludgeoned his 8-year-old stepbrother to death with an ax
Victims of Male Serial Killers
 Overall, about 91% of all male offenders since 1975 killed at least one stranger (see
Table 7.7).
 Young females, especially if they were alone, ranked the highest in general preference of
male offenders. (See the Robert J. Long profile).
 Male serial offenders wanting to kill their mothers or fathers usually find themselves
killing someone else.
Victims & Offenders
 Serial murder involves primarily stranger-to-stranger violence
 Young females, especially if they were alone, ranked the highest in general preference of
offenders
 Prostitutes were the most readily accessible victims who could also be easily disposed of
 Hitchhikers
 Students walking alone
 Women living alone
 Women whose lifestyles or jobs increased their risk factor by associating with
total strangers

“They [the victims] judged me not to be the one.”
 --Edmund Kemper
Victims & Offenders
 The majority of victims were the powerless being exploited by the more powerful.
 Many were victims who were easily isolated and taken by surprise.
 Since 1975 approximately one in five offenders attacked and killed victims who had
facilitated their own deaths by placing themselves at risk.
Victims & Offenders
 More likely to direct their aggression outside the family
 Mothers are rarely victims
 Proxy Killers
▪ Greater likelihood will kill someone other than their mother
▪ Kill their mother’s image
 More likely to kill females than males
9

However, person’s gender does not preclude victimization
Victims & Offenders
 More likely to kill adults than children
 However, children were frequently victimized
 Element of surprise is particularly operative in serial murder
Victims & Offenders
 Offenders generally held blue-collar jobs, but a few managed to secure professional work
as teachers, doctors, musicians, and ministers.
 Extremely intelligent or holders of prestigious occupations were the exception, not the
rule
(See the Albert DeSalvo and Dennis Rader profiles, p. 250).
Victims & Offenders
 Offenders’ ability to kill without detection appears to be more a function of cunning and
deceit than intellectual abilities or academic attainments
Contd.
 In contrast to typical homicides, domestic or otherwise, male serial offenders do not
commonly use guns as their sole means of killing.
 For some offenders “the response of the victim is everything” meaning that without
torture, killing a victim is merely going through the motions.
(See the Robert Hansen profile, p. 256).
Contd.
 Sexual motivations were found to be the most common explanations of serial murder, but
not the sole reason fro killing.
 Sex served more as a vehicle to degrade and destroy
 Depriving a victim of things she or he hold sacred, such as dignity and selfrespect
 Offender achieves goal of complete control over victim
Contd.
 Most offenders were found to have some form of criminal history:
 Nearly 2/3s of offenders had prior incarcerations in prison or mental institutions
 1/3rd were found to have histories of sex-related crimes
 Half had been convicted of thefts, burglaries, and robbers
 1/8th had prior homicide records
Etiology of Male Serial Offending
 Rejection was by far the most common theme surrounding the lives of these killers as
children, which very likely originated from the experience of a dysfunctional family,
sexual abuse, an alcoholism. (See the Robert Hansen and Paul J. Knowles profiles).
Related Movies
10




The Riverman (True story of the Green River killer).
Killer: A Journal of Murder - (James Woods. Based on the true story of Carl Panzram).
Frailty (Bill Paxton. Story of a man who is on a mission to remove demons from the
world).
The Boston Strangler (Tony Curtis. True story of a serial killer who targets older women).
RELATED WEBSITES:
 Forbes: Ten Best Serial Killer Movies You Haven't Seen,
www.forbes.com/sites/markhughes/2011/10/30/ten-best-serial-killer-movies-you-haventseen-aka-ten-unique-serial-killer-films-for-halloween.
 CNN: Atlanta Child Murders,
www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2010/atlanta.child.murders.
 The National Center for Victims of Crime: Cyberstalking,
www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32458.