SERIAL KILLERS An Introduction

SERIAL KILLERS
An Introduction
Definition
• Murderers who methodically slay a
succession of people (three or more)
over a period of time (at least 30 days)
Types
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Under controlled murderers have little control over their aggressive impulses
Over controlled murderers have learned to inhabit any expression of their
anger
Homicide: any killing of one person by another
Excusable homicide: killing is unintentional and no blame attaches to the killer
Justifiable homicide: killing is justified by law
First-degree murders: willful, deliberate and premeditated.
Second-degree murders: killing is malicious but not necessarily intentional
Voluntary manslaughter: killing takes place in the heat of anger on the part of
the killer
Involuntary manslaughter: killing that results from negligence on the part of
the killer.
Characteristics
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male
white
eldest sons
pleasant in appearance
average or above average in
intelligence
began life in two parent home
dysfunctional families
geographic relocation
one half had their biological
father leave home before they
were 12
foster care or institutional visit
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early psychiatric care
dominant mother during childhood
cold or uncaring relationship with
mother
shown cruelty to animals and
neighborhood children
poor work histories
unskilled positions
low self-esteem
saw world as unjust- lack personal
responsibility
desired to be strong, powerful and in
control
favored autoerotic sexual activity
middle class economically
Virtually Impossible to Construct a Solid
Profile of Serial Killers
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Very few use firearms to kill their victims, opting
instead for stabbing, strangulation, etc.
Serial murder does not show any sort of regional
pattern
Several modern serial murderers have been
homosexual
Victims are usually women and children
Motives have changed over the years: pre industrial
times: depraved aristocrats preying on peasants.
Historically…
• Industrial era: seemingly respectable middleclass
men killed prostitutes, homeless boys, and
housemaids
• Today: serial murderers are often people who exist
on the margins of society, those who have failed to
achieve their personal expectation, who are mainly
of working and lower-middle class origins
SEVEN PHASES OF A SERIAL MURDER
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Aura phase: in this phase the murderer
withdraws from everyday reality and begins
to fantasize about his intended act
TWO
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Trolling phase: murderer begins to search
for the victim
THREE
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Wooing phase: involves getting to know the
victim and winning her/his confidence.
FOUR
• Capture: placing the victim in a position from
which he/she cannot escape
FIVE
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The murder: the moment of emotional high
for most serial killers
SIX
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The totem phase: an attempt to prolong the
intensity of the murder itself by various
means, including dismembering the body,
carrying parts of the dead body away or
burying them in symbolic places,
photographing or videotaping the murder or
scene, or KEEPING VICTIM’S POSSESIONS.
SEVEN
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The depression phase: ends the sequence
for the murderer for now he must go back to
the state of psychological pain and torment
in which he lives