A
serial killer is a person who
murderMurder, as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent , and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
s three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a "cooling off" period between each murder, and whose motivation for killing is largely based on
psychologicalAbnormal psychology is an academic and applied subfield of psychology involving the scientific study of abnormal experience and behavior or with certain incompletely understood states in order to understand and change abnormal patterns of functioning.The definition of what constitutes 'abnormal'...
gratification. Often, a sexual element is involved with the killings. The murders may have been attempted or completed in a similar fashion and the victims may have had something in common, for example occupation, race, appearance, gender, or age group.
Coinage of the English term
serial killer is commonly attributed to former
FBIThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency. The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
Special AgentSpecial agent is usually the title for a detective or investigator for a state, county, municipal, federal or tribal government.A special agent is not a 'spy' , but an investigator. An agent is a worker for any other federal agency, and a secret agent is one who works for an intelligence...
Robert ResslerRobert K. Ressler is a former FBI agent and author. He coined the term "serial killer" and played a significant role in the psychological profiling of violent offenders in the 1970s....
in the 1970s. The concept had been described earlier, e.g. by German police inspector
Ernst GennatErnst August Ferdinand Gennat was director of the Berlin criminal police. He worked under three political systems in his 30 years career as one of the most gifted and successful criminologists in Germany...
coining the same term in 1930.
Characteristics
PsychosisPsychosis literally means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
is rarely noted among serial killers. The predominant psychiatric diagnosis noted in the group tends toward the
psychopathicPsychopathy is a psychological construct that describes chronic disregard for ethical principles and antisocial behavior.The term is often used interchangeably with sociopathy. This is a commonly made mistake. Sociopathy is no longer a correct term to use, and when it is used it actually refers to...
, meaning they suffer from traits within a specific cluster of dysfunctional personality characteristics, those most commonly associated with
Antisocial Personality DisorderAntisocial personality disorder is defined by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual as "...a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood." The individual...
or
Dissocial personality disorderDissocial personality disorder is one of several psychopathic personality disorders, each of which has different operational definitions and terminologies depending on the system of classification of mental disorders used....
. Psychopaths lack empathy and guilt, are egocentric and impulsive, and do not conform to social, moral and legal norms. Psychopaths often follow a distinct set of rules which they have created for themselves rather than following social norms set in place by society. They may appear to be quite normal and often even charming, a state of adaptation that
psychiatristA psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry and is certified in treating mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
Hervey CleckleyDr. Hervey Milton Cleckley was an American psychiatrist and pioneer in the field of psychopathy. His book, The Mask of Sanity, originally published in 1941, provided the most influential clinical description of psychopathy in the 20th Century...
named the "
mask of sanityThe Mask of Sanity is a book written by Hervey Cleckley, M.D., first published in 1941, describing the clinical interviews of Cleckley with incarcerated psychopaths. It is considered a seminal work and the most influential clinical description of psychopathy in the 20th century...
".
The
Macdonald triadThe Macdonald triad is a set of three behavioral characteristics that are associated with sociopathic behavior. The triad was first identified by J.M...
—animal cruelty,
obsession with fire settingA type of mania, pyromania is an impulse to deliberately start fires to relieve tension and typically includes feelings of gratification or relief afterward. Pyromania is distinct from arson, and pyromaniacs are also distinct from those who start fires because of psychosis, for personal, monetary...
, and persistent
bedwettingBedwetting is involuntary urination while asleep after the age at which bladder control would normally be anticipated. The medical term for this condition is "nocturnal enuresis." Primary nocturnal enuresis is when a child has not yet stayed dry on a regular basis...
past the age of five—is often exhibited by serial killers during their childhood.
Types of serial killers
The FBI's
Crime Classification ManualCrime Classification Manual: A Standard System for Investigating and Classifying Violent Crimes is the result of a ten-year project conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. It is often described as a criminologist's answer to the...
places serial killers into three categories: "organized", "disorganized" and "mixed"—offenders who exhibit organized and disorganized characteristics. Some killers descend from being organized into disorganized behavior as their killings continue. They will carry out careful and methodical murders at the start, but become careless and impulsive as their compulsion takes over their lives.
Organized/nonsocial offenders
Organized nonsocial offenders usually have above average intelligence, with a mean IQ of 123. They often plan their crimes quite methodically, usually abducting victims, killing them in one place and disposing of them in another. They will often lure the victims with ploys appealing to their sense of sympathy. For example,
Ted BundyTheodore Robert "Ted" Bundy, born Theodore Robert Cowell , was an American serial killer active between 1973 and 1978. He twice escaped from county jails before his final apprehension in February 1978. After more than a decade of vigorous denials, he eventually confessed to over 30 murders,...
would put his arm in a fake plaster cast and ask women to help him carry something to his car, where he would beat them unconscious with a metal bar (e.g. a
crowbarA crowbar, pry bar, or prybar, or sometimes a prise bar or prisebar more informally a jimmy, jimmy bar, jemmy or gooseneck is a tool consisting of a metal bar with a single curved end and flattened points, often with a small fissure on one or both ends for removing nails...
), and carry them away. Others specifically target
prostitutesProstitution is the act or practice of engaging in sex acts for hire. In most cultures, prostitution is viewed by many as a deviant profession, either illegal or socially discouraged...
, who are likely to voluntarily go with a stranger. They maintain a high degree of control over the
crime sceneA crime scene is a location where an illegal act took place, and comprises the area from which most of the physical evidence is retrieved by trained law enforcement personnel, crime scene investigators or in rare circumstances, forensic scientists....
, and usually have a solid knowledge of forensic science that enables them to cover their tracks, such as burying the body or weighing it down and sinking it in a
riverA river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, a sea or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water...
. They follow their crimes in the
mediaThe news media refers to the section of the mass media that focuses on presenting current news to the public.These include print media ; broadcast media , and increasingly Internet-based media .The term news trade refers to the concept of the news media as a business...
carefully and often take pride in their actions, as if it were all a grand project. The organized killer is usually socially adequate, has friends and lovers, and sometimes even a spouse and children. They are the type who, when/if captured, are most likely to be described by acquaintances as kind and unlikely to hurt anyone. Some serial killers go to lengths to make their crimes difficult to discover, such as falsifying
suicideSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
notes, setting up others to take the blame for their crimes, faking gang warfare, or disguising the murder to look like a natural death.
Ted BundyTheodore Robert "Ted" Bundy, born Theodore Robert Cowell , was an American serial killer active between 1973 and 1978. He twice escaped from county jails before his final apprehension in February 1978. After more than a decade of vigorous denials, he eventually confessed to over 30 murders,...
and
John Wayne GacyJohn Wayne Gacy, Jr. was an American serial killer.Between the years 1972 and 1978, when he was arrested, convicted, and later executed, Gacy raped and murdered thirty-three young boys. Although some of his victims' bodies were found in the Des Plaines River, he buried 29 of them in the small...
are examples of organized serial killers.
Disorganized/asocial offenders
Disorganized asocial offenders are often of low intelligence, have a below average IQ (<90), and commit their crimes impulsively. Whereas the organized killer will specifically set out to hunt a victim, the disorganized will murder someone when the opportunity arises, rarely bothering to dispose of the body but instead just leaving it at the same place where they found the victim. They usually carry out blitz-style attacks, leaping out and attacking their victims without warning, and will typically perform whatever
ritualA ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers, or dictated purely by logic, chance, necessity, etc..A ritual may be...
s they feel compelled to carry out (e.g.,
necrophiliaNecrophilia, also called thanatophilia and necrolagnia, is the sexual attraction to corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. The word is artificially derived from Ancient Greek: νεκρός and φιλία...
,
mutilationMutilation or maiming is an act or physical injury that degrades the appearance or function of any living body, usually without causing death.- Usage of term :...
,
cannibalismCannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other humans.The word can be extended into zoology to mean any species consuming members of its own kind, and used outside of biological fields in a metaphorical sense: "Cannibalization" refers to the reuse of parts or ideas, such as...
, etc.) once the victim is dead. They rarely bother to cover their tracks but may still evade capture for extended periods of time due to the anonymous nature of the crime. They are often introverted, socially inadequate with few friends, and they may have a history of mental problems.
Richard ChaseRichard Trenton Chase was an American serial killer who killed six people in the span of a month in Sacramento, California. He was nicknamed "The Vampire of Sacramento" because he drank his victims' blood and cannibalized their remains...
is an example of a disorganized serial killer.
Motives
The
motivesIn law, especially criminal law, a motive is the cause that moves people to induce a certain action. Motive in itself is seldom an element of any given crime; however, the legal system typically allows motive to be proven in order to make plausible the accused's reasons for committing a crime, at...
of serial killers are generally placed into four categories: "visionary", "mission-oriented", "hedonistic" and "power or control"; however, the motives of any given killer may display considerable overlap among these categories.
Visionary
Visionary serial killers suffer from
psychoticPsychosis literally means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
breaks with reality, sometimes believing they are another person or are compelled to murder by entities such as
the devilIn religion, folklore, and mythology a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as a malevolent spirit. In Christian terms demons are generally understood as fallen angels, formerly of God. A demon is frequently depicted as a force that may be conjured and insecurely controlled...
or
GodGod is a deity in theistic and deistic religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
. The two most common subgroups are "demon mandated" and "God mandated."
Herbert MullinHerbert Williams Mullin is a serial killer who committed 13 murders in California in the early 1970s.- Childhood and youth :...
believed the American casualties in the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
were preventing
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
from experiencing an earthquake. As the war wound down, Mullin claimed his father instructed him via
telepathyTelepathy is supposed to be the transfer of information on thoughts or feelings between individuals by means other than the five senses . The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H...
to raise the amount of "human sacrifices to nature" in order to delay a catastrophic earthquake that would plunge California into the ocean.
David BerkowitzDavid Richard Berkowitz , also known as Son of Sam and the .44 Caliber Killer, is an American serial killer and arsonist whose crimes terrorized New York City from July 1976 until his arrest in August 1977.Shortly after his arrest in August 1977, Berkowitz confessed to killing six people and...
("Son of Sam") is an example of a demon-mandated visionary killer. He claimed a demon transmitted orders through his neighbor's dog, instructing him to murder.
Mission-oriented
Mission-oriented killers typically justify their acts as "ridding the world" of a certain type of "undesirable" person, such as homosexuals, prostitutes,
blacksThe term black people usually refers to a racial group of humans with skin colors that range from light brown to nearly black. It also has been used to categorize a number of diverse populations into a common group. Some definitions of the term include only people of relatively recent Sub Saharan...
or
CatholicThe word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...
s; however, they are generally not psychotic. Some see themselves as attempting to change the nature of human society, often to cure a societal ill.
Ted Kaczynski, the "Unabomber", targeted universities and the airline industry. He wrote a manifesto that he distributed to the media, in which he claimed he wanted society to return to a time when technology was not a threat to its future, asserting that "the Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race."
Hedonistic
This type of serial killer seeks thrills and derives pleasure from killing, seeing people as objects for their enjoyment.
Forensic psychologistsForensic psychology is the intersection between psychology and the criminal justice system. It involves understanding criminal law in the relevant jurisdictions in order to be able to interact appropriately with judges, attorneys and other legal professionals...
have identified three subtypes of the hedonistic killer: "lust", "thrill" and "comfort".
Lust
Sex is the primary motive of
lust killersA lust murder is a homicide in which the offender searches for erotic satisfaction by killing someone. Commonly this type of crime is manifested either by murder during sexual intercourse and/or by mutilating the sexual organs or areas of the victim's body...
, whether or not the victims are dead, and fantasy plays a large role in their killings. Their sexual gratification depends on the amount of
tortureTorture, according to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, is:In addition to state-sponsored torture, individuals or groups may be motivated to inflict torture on others for similar reasons to those of a state; however, the motive for torture can also be for the sadistic gratification of...
and
mutilationMutilation or maiming is an act or physical injury that degrades the appearance or function of any living body, usually without causing death.- Usage of term :...
they perform on their victims. They usually use weapons that require close contact with the victims, such as knives or hands. As lust killers continue with their murders, the time between killings decreases or the required level of stimulation increases, sometimes both.
Kenneth BianchiKenneth Alessio Bianchi is an American serial killer. Bianchi and his cousin Angelo Buono, Jr., together are known as the Hillside Stranglers. He is serving a term of life imprisonment in Washington...
, one of the "
Hillside StranglerThe Hillside Strangler is the media epithet for two men, Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono, cousins, who were convicted of kidnapping, raping, torturing, and killing girls and women ranging in age from 12 to 28 years old during a four-month period from late 1977 to early 1978...
s", murdered women and girls of different ages, races and appearance because his sexual urges required different types of stimulation and increasing intensity.
Jeffrey DahmerJeffrey Lionel Dahmer was an American serial killer and sex offender. Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys – most of whom were of African or Asian descent – between 1978 and 1991, with the majority of the murders occurring between 1987 and 1991. His murders were particularly gruesome, involving rape,...
searched for his perfect fantasy lover—beautiful and eternal. As his desire to find the perfect lover increased, he experimented with drugs, alcohol and exotic sex. His increasing need for stimulation was demonstrated by the dismemberment of victims, whose heads and genitals he preserved. He experimented with
cannibalismCannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other humans.The word can be extended into zoology to mean any species consuming members of its own kind, and used outside of biological fields in a metaphorical sense: "Cannibalization" refers to the reuse of parts or ideas, such as...
to 'ensure his victims would always be a part of him'.
Thrill
The primary motive of a thrill killer is to induce pain or create terror in their victims, which provides stimulation and excitement for the killer. They seek the adrenaline rush provided by hunting and killing victims. Thrill killers murder only for the kill; usually the attack is not prolonged, and there is no sexual aspect. Usually the victims are strangers, although the killer may have followed them for a period of time. Thrill killers can abstain from killing for long periods of time and become more successful at killing as they refine their
murder methodsModus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "method of operating". The plural is modi operandi...
. Many attempt to commit the
perfect crimePerfect crime is a colloquial term used in law and fiction to characterize crimes that are undetected, unattributed to a perpetrator, or else unsolved as a kind of technical achievement —one which makes the crime an ostensibly inconsequential act for the perpetrator.In certain contexts, the...
and believe they will not be caught.
Robert HansenRobert Christian Hansen is an American serial killer. Between 1980 and 1983, Hansen murdered between 17 and 21 persons near Anchorage, Alaska.- Early life :...
took his victims to a secluded area, where he would let them loose and then hunt and kill them.
Lee Boyd MalvoLee Boyd Malvo , is a Jamaican convicted of mass murder. He, along with John Allen Muhammad, was arrested on October 24, 2002 in connection with the Beltway sniper attacks throughout the Washington Metropolitan Area...
and
John Allen MuhammadJohn Allen Muhammad is a spree killer from the United States. With his younger partner, Lee Boyd Malvo, he carried out the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks, killing 10 people. Muhammad and Malvo were arrested in connection with the attacks on October 24, 2002, following tips from alert citizens...
, the
DC SnipersThe Beltway sniper attacks took place during three weeks in October 2002 in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Ten people were killed and three others critically injured in various locations throughout the Washington Metropolitan Area and along Interstate 95 in Virginia...
, killed random victims, often at gas stations, shooting them and leaving the scenes unnoticed. In one of his letters to
San Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, or the Yay Area, is a metropolitan region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses large cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and...
newspapers, the
Zodiac KillerThe Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s. His identity remains unknown. The Zodiac killer coined his name in a series of taunting letters he sent to the press...
wrote "[killing] gives me the most thrilling experience it is even better than getting your rocks off with a girl". Coral Watts was described by a surviving victim as "excited and hyper and clappin’ and just making noises like he was excited, that this was gonna be fun" during the 1982 attack. Slashing, stabbing, hanging, drowning, asphyxiating, and strangling were among the ways Watts killed.
Comfort
Material gain and a comfortable lifestyle are the primary motives of comfort killers. Usually, the victims are family members and close acquaintances. After a murder, a comfort killer will usually wait for a period of time before killing again to allow any suspicions by family or authorities to subside. Poison, most notably
arsenicArsenic is the chemical element that has the symbol As, atomic number 33 and atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250. Arsenic is a notoriously poisonous metalloid with many allotropic forms, including a yellow and several black and grey forms...
, is often used to kill victims. Female serial killers are often comfort killers, although not all comfort killers are female.
Dorothea PuenteDorothea Helen Puente is a convicted American serial killer. In the 1980s, Puente ran a boarding house in Sacramento, California, and cashed the Social Security checks of her elderly and mentally disabled boarders...
killed her tenants for their Social Security checks and buried them in the backyard of her home.
H. H. HolmesHerman Webster Mudgett , better known under the alias of Dr. Henry Howard Holmes, was an American serial killer. Holmes opened a hotel in Chicago for the 1893 World's Fair, which he built himself and was the location of many of his murders...
killed for insurance and business profits.
Some, like Puente and Holmes, may be involved in and/or have previous convictions for
theftIn criminal law, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's freely-given consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting, fraud and sometimes...
,
fraudIn the broadest sense, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and is also a civil law violation....
,
dishonestyDishonesty is a word which in common usage may be defined as the act or to act without honesty; a lack of probity, to cheat, lying or being deliberately deceptive; lacking in integrity; to be knavish, perfidious, corrupt or treacherous; charlatanism or quackery.Dishonesty is the fundamental...
,
non payment of debtsDebt is that which is owed; usually referencing assets owed, but the term can also cover moral obligations and other interactions not requiring money. In the case of assets, debt is a means of using future purchasing power in the present before a summation has been earned...
,
embezzlementEmbezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets, usually financial in nature, by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted. It is a kind of financial fraud...
and other crimes of a similar nature. Dorothea Puente was finally arrested on a parole violation, having been on parole for a previous
fraudIn the broadest sense, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and is also a civil law violation....
conviction.
Power/control
Their main objective for killing is to gain and exert power over their victim. Such killers are sometimes abused as children, leaving them with feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy as adults. Many power or control-motivated killers sexually abuse their victims, but they differ from hedonistic killers in that rape is not motivated by lust but as simply another form of dominating the victim.
Ted BundyTheodore Robert "Ted" Bundy, born Theodore Robert Cowell , was an American serial killer active between 1973 and 1978. He twice escaped from county jails before his final apprehension in February 1978. After more than a decade of vigorous denials, he eventually confessed to over 30 murders,...
traveled around the United States seeking women to control.
Medical professionals
Some people with a pathological interest in the power of life and death tend to be attracted to medical professions. These kinds of killers are sometimes referred to as "angels of death" or
angels of mercyAn angel of mercy is a rare type of serial killer who is usually female, and employed as a caretaker. The angel of mercy is often in a position of power and decides the victim would be better off if they no longer suffered. This person then uses their knowledge to manufacture the death of her or...
. One example is
Harold ShipmanHarold Frederick "Fred" Shipman was a British convicted serial killer and former doctor. He is one of the most prolific known serial killers in history with 218 murders being positively ascribed to him, although the real number may be twice that.On 31 January 2000, a jury found Shipman guilty...
, an
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
family doctor, who made it appear that his victims died of natural causes. Between 1975 and 1998, he killed at least 215 patients. Dr
John Bodkin AdamsJohn Bodkin Adams was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946-1956, more than 160 of his patients died under suspicious circumstances. Of these 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for the...
, meanwhile, though acquitted in 1957 of the murder of one patient, is believed to have killed around 163 patients in
EastbourneEastbourne is a large town and borough of East Sussex, on the south coast of England, with an estimated population of 106,652 as of 2009. The area has seen human activity since the stone age and it remained one of small settlements until the 19th century when its four hamlets gradually merged to...
, England. Adams sued newspapers for libel after his acquittal.
A number of medical murderers were involved in fraud. For example, H.H. Holmes was often involved in insurance scams and confidence tricks.
Harold ShipmanHarold Frederick "Fred" Shipman was a British convicted serial killer and former doctor. He is one of the most prolific known serial killers in history with 218 murders being positively ascribed to him, although the real number may be twice that.On 31 January 2000, a jury found Shipman guilty...
had a previous conviction for prescription fraud and forgery, for which he was fined £600. He was only caught after a forged will came to light, for which he was sentenced to four years imprisonment to be served concurrently with the fifteen life sentences for murder.
Victims
Criminologists have long recognized that there are links between most serial killers and their chosen victims. Demographically, serial murderers tend to target more women than men, and kill strangers more often than family or acquaintances, as opposed to single-homicide offenders, who tend to kill men and women equally, while killing friends and family more often.
Serial murderers’ killings are often sexually motivated. The sexual motivation supports the theory that serial murderers tend to have specific criteria and specific sexual interests that motivate their selection of certain victims. This victim selection process sets serial murderers apart from other types of killers.
In the United States, serial killers prefer to target victims ages 18–50. The majority of victims are white, supporting researchers' claims that serial murder is intra-racial.
Female serial killers tend to kill those with whom they are already intimately familiar, as opposed to men who usually target strangers. "For female serial killers, historically husbands and their children are first choice as victims. When comparing males who kill children versus women, women kill children at a much higher percentage. The percentage of offenders killing at least one type of victim who is a child, males are at 21% whereas women are at 39%."
Female serial killers
Female serial killers are rare. They tend to murder men for personal gain, are usually emotionally close to their victims, and generally need to have a relationship with a person before killing them. "An analysis of 86 female serial killers from the U.S. found that the victims tended to be spouses, children or the elderly." The methods they use for murder are covert or "low profile", such as murder by poison. They commit killings in specific places, such as their home or a health-care facility (where they then become known as "
Angels of MercyAn angel of mercy is a rare type of serial killer who is usually female, and employed as a caretaker. The angel of mercy is often in a position of power and decides the victim would be better off if they no longer suffered. This person then uses their knowledge to manufacture the death of her or...
" by the media), or at different locations within the same city or state. Each killer will have her own proclivities, needs and triggers, as specific reasons can only be obtained from the killer herself. On rare occasions, women may be involved with a male serial killer as a part of a serial killing "team".
"In a review of published literature on female serial murder, the most common motive identified was material gain." Sexual or sadistic motives are believed to be extremely rare in female serial murderers, and psychopathic traits and histories of childhood abuse have been consistently reported in these women. In a study of 105 female serial killers, the preferred method of killing was poisoning.
A notable exception to the typical characteristics of female serial killers is
Aileen WuornosAileen Carol Wuornos was an American serial killer who killed seven men in Florida between 1989 and 1990, later claiming they raped or attempted to rape her while she was working as a prostitute...
, who killed outdoors instead of at home, used a gun instead of poison, killed strangers instead of friends or family, and killed for personal gratification. Another atypical female serial murderer was nurse
Jane ToppanJane Toppan , born Honora Kelley, was an American serial killer and female lust murderer. She confessed to 31 murders in 1901...
, who admitted during her murder trial that she was
sexually aroused by deathA lust murder is a homicide in which the offender searches for erotic satisfaction by killing someone. Commonly this type of crime is manifested either by murder during sexual intercourse and/or by mutilating the sexual organs or areas of the victim's body...
. She would administer a drug mixture to patients she chose as her victims, lay in bed with them and
hold them close to her bodyFrotteurism refers to a paraphilic interest in rubbing, usually one's pelvis or erect penis, against a non-consenting person for sexual gratification. It may involve touching any part of the body including the genital area. A person who practices frotteurism is known as a frotteur...
as they died.
Serial killers in history
Historical
criminologistsCriminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in the behavioral sciences, drawing especially upon the research of sociologists and psychologists, as well as on...
have suggested that there may have been serial murders throughout history, but specific cases were not adequately recorded. Some sources suggest that legends such as werewolves and vampires were inspired by medieval serial killers.
Liu PengliLiu Pengli of China, third child of Prince Xiao of Liang or King of Liang , grandson of Emperor Wen of Han and cousin of Emperor Jing of Han...
of
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, cousin of the
HanThe Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the peasant rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
Emperor Jing, was made king of Jidong in the sixth year of the middle period of Jing's reign (144 BC). According to the Chinese historian
Sima QianSima Qian was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes of the chinese Dynasty. He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography because of his highly praised work, Records of the Grand Historian , a "Jizhuanti" style general history of China covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow...
, he would "go out on marauding expeditions with 20 or 30 slaves or young men who were in hiding from the law, murdering people and seizing their belongings for sheer sport". Although many of his subjects knew about these murders, it was not until the 29th year of his reign that the son of one of his victims finally sent a report to the Emperor. Eventually, it was discovered that he had murdered at least 100 people. The officials of the court requested that Liu Pengli be executed; however, the emperor could not bear to have his own cousin killed, and Liu Pengli was made a commoner and banished.
In the 15th century, one of the wealthiest men in Europe,
Gilles de RaisGilles de Rais , was a Breton knight, the companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc, and a Marshal of France, but is best known as a prolific serial killer of children. He was born in late 1404 to Guy de Laval and Marie de Craon, but grew up under the tutelage of his maternal grandfather Jean de Craon...
,
sexually assaultedSexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may be by a man on a man, woman on a man or woman on a woman. Approximately one in six American women will be a victim of a sexual assault in her lifetime...
and killed peasant children, mainly boys, whom he had abducted from the surrounding villages and taken to his castle. It is estimated that his victims numbered between 140 and 800. The
HungarianHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
aristocratAristocracy is a form of government, in which a few of the most prominent citizens rule. This may be a hereditary elite, or it may be by a system of cooption where a council of prominent citizens add leading soldiers, merchants, land owners, priests, and lawyers to their number...
Elizabeth BáthoryCountess Elizabeth Báthory , was a Hungarian countess from the renowned Báthory family...
tortureTorture, according to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, is:In addition to state-sponsored torture, individuals or groups may be motivated to inflict torture on others for similar reasons to those of a state; however, the motive for torture can also be for the sadistic gratification of...
d and killed as many as 650 girls and young women before her arrest in 1610.
Thug BehramThug Behram , of the Thuggee cult in India, was one of the world's most prolific killers. He may have murdered up to 931 victims by strangulation between 1790–1840 with the ceremonial cloth , used by his cult...
, a gang leader of the
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
n
ThuggeeThuggee is the term for a particular kind of murder and robbery of travellers in India....
cultCult may popularly refer to a religious group with relatively few adherents whose beliefs or practices are regarded by others as strange or sinister.The term "cult" was originally used to denote a system of ritual practices...
of assassins, has frequently been said to be the world's most prolific serial killer. According to numerous sources, he was believed to have murdered 931 victims by means of strangulation with a ceremonial cloth between 1790 and 1830. Recent scholarship has cast doubt on the Thuggee cult and suggested that the
BritishThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...
in India were confused by the vernacular use of the term by Indians, and may also have used fear of such a cult to justify their
colonialColonialism is the building and maintaining of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. Sovereignty over the colony is claimed by the metropole...
rule.
In his 1886 book
Psychopathia Sexualis, psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing noted a case of a serial murderer in the 1870s, a
FrenchmanFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
named Eusebius Pieydagnelle who had a sexual obsession with blood and confessed to murdering six people.
The unidentified killer
Jack the RipperJack the Ripper was a pseudonym given to an unidentified serial killer active in the largely impoverished districts in and around Whitechapel, London, in late 1888. The name originated in a letter by someone claiming to be the murderer that was sent to the London Central News Agency and...
killed prostitutes (the exact number of victims is not known) in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
in 1888. Those crimes gained enormous press attention because London was the world's greatest centre of power at the time, so having such dramatic murders of financially destitute women in the midst of such wealth focused the news media's attention on the plight of the urban poor and gained coverage worldwide. He has also been called the most famous serial killer of all time.
American serial killer
H. H. HolmesHerman Webster Mudgett , better known under the alias of Dr. Henry Howard Holmes, was an American serial killer. Holmes opened a hotel in Chicago for the 1893 World's Fair, which he built himself and was the location of many of his murders...
was
hangedHanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. It hurts a lot. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", although it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would...
in Philadelphia in 1896 after confessing to 27 murders.
Joseph VacherJoseph Vacher was a French serial killer, sometimes known as "The French Ripper" or "L'éventreur du Sud-Est" due to comparisons to the more famous Jack the Ripper murderer of London, England in 1888...
was executed in
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
in 1898 after confessing to killing and mutilating 11 women and children.
Serial killers in popular culture
Serial killers are featured as
stock characterA stock character is a stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes, but they are often more narrowly defined...
s in many types of media, including books, films, television programs, songs and video games. Films featuring serial killers include
PsychoPsycho is an American suspense/horror movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock, from the screenplay by Joseph Stefano. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Robert Bloch, which was in turn inspired by the crimes of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein....
,
The Silence of the Lambs,
HannibalHannibal is a 2001 psychological thriller film directed by Ridley Scott, adapted from the Thomas Harris novel of the same name. Set ten years after The Silence of the Lambs, the premise is that one of Hannibal Lecter's surviving victims, the extremely wealthy Mason Verger, is determined to capture,...
,
Mr. BrooksMr. Brooks is a 2007 thriller film directed by Bruce A. Evans starring Kevin Costner, Demi Moore, Dane Cook, and William Hurt. It was released on June 1, 2007.-Plot:...
,
Seven,
CopycatCopycat is an American psychological thriller, starring Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter.-Synopsis:After giving a guest lecture on criminal psychology at a local university, Dr...
,
HalloweenHalloween is a 1978 American independent horror film set in the fictional suburban midwestern town of Haddonfield, Illinois, USA on Halloween. The original draft of the screenplay was titled The Babysitter Murders. John Carpenter directed the film, which stars Donald Pleasence as Dr...
and many others.
The television series
DexterDexter is an American television drama series that airs on the premium channel Showtime. Set in Miami, the series centers on Dexter Morgan , a covert serial killer governed by a strict moral code who works for the Miami Metro Police Department as a blood spatter analyst.The show is based on...
features a police
blood-spatter pattern analystBloodstain pattern analysis is one of several specialties in the field of forensic science. The use of bloodstains as evidence is not new; however, the application of modern science has brought it to a higher level...
who moonlights as a vigilante serial killer. It is based on the novel
Darkly Dreaming DexterDarkly Dreaming Dexter is a 2004 novel by Jeff Lindsay. It has formed the basis of the Showtime television series Dexter. It won the 2005 Dilys Award.-Plot summary:...
. Other notable literature with a serial killer theme includes
Norman MailerNorman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
's
The Executioner's SongThe Executioner's Song is a 1980 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Norman Mailer that depicts the events surrounding the execution of Gary Gilmore by the state of Utah for murder...
,
Bret Easton EllisBret Easton Ellis is an American novelist and short story writer. He was regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack, which also included Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney...
'
American PsychoAmerican Psycho is a psychological thriller and satirical novel by Bret Easton Ellis. The story is told in the first person by fictitious serial killer and Manhattan businessman Patrick Bateman. The graphic violence and sexual content generated much commentary at the novel's release...
,
Jim ThompsonJames Myers Thompson was a United States writer of novels, short stories and screenplays, largely in the hardboiled style of crime fiction....
's
The Killer Inside MeThe Killer Inside Me is a 1952 novel by American writer Jim Thompson. In the introduction to the anthology Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s, it is described as "one of the most blistering and uncompromising crime novels ever written."...
and
Thomas HarrisThomas Harris is an American author and screenwriter, best known for a series of suspense novels about his most famous character, Hannibal Lecter...
'
Red Dragon.
See also
- List of serial killers by country
- List of serial killers by number of victims
- Offender profiling
Offender profiling is a behavioral and investigative tool that helps investigators to profile unknown criminal subjects or offenders. Offender profiling is also known as criminal profiling, criminal personality profiling, criminological profiling, behavioral profiling or criminal...
- Serial crime
Serial crime is generally defined as crimes in a serial or repetitive nature. However, according to criminologists, a habitual offender or career criminal is not a serial criminal. Serial murder, serial rape and serial arson are the crimes regarded as serial crimes.-External links:***...
External links