...the fact that childhood experiences can be very influential to a serial killer, signs of psychotic behaviour have occurred in serial killers from very young ages as forensic psychologists have investigated. This proves that people are born as killers due to human evolution and their genetics....
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...question that has been debated for decades. Are serial killers born with the lust for murder, or are their desires developed through years of abuse and torment? Many believe it is impossible for an innocent child to be born with the capability to commit a horrible act such as murder. But at the same time, how could we have corrupted society so much as to turn an innocent child into a homicidal maniac? Forensic psychologists have picked apart the minds of serial killers to find an answer as to what forces them to commit such perverse acts. Their ultimate goal is to learn how to catch a serial killer before he commits his first crime. In many cases, serial killers began their lives as remotely normal human beings. Most, however, have detectable characteristics of murderers before they hit puberty. Otis O’toole, for example, started a neighborhood fire when he was six. George Adorno was even younger when he first displayed his pyromaniac tendencies by setting fire to his own sister when he was four. Along with pyromaniac behavior, other often-cited warning signs are enuresis (bed-wetting) and cruelty toward animals. Often, serial murderers are abused physically, psychologically, and sexually as children, sometimes from a stranger, but in most cases from a trusted family member or friend. Serial killers tend to be white heterosexual males in their twenties and thirties, who are sexually dysfunctional and have low self-esteem. Serial killers generally murder strangers with cooling off...
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...Serial Killers, The Media and America’s Fascination Turn on the television in any given evening and you can catch an episode or 20 of any number of crime shows (and all of their spin-offs) that showcases an intricate plot and horrific crimes. It is not uncommon for the viewer to get “sucked” into the storyline and then become personally invested in the outcome of the story. I often wonder what it is about theses crime shows and psychological thriller series that keep the viewer’s tuning in. What’s s the draw? Not only do we become drawn in, but at some point we even become infatuated with the subject matter and long to see more. Have was as a society completely lost all sense of right and wrong or has the media desensitized us to the realities of serial murderers? Defining the Serial Killer. In order to pinpoint the progression of fascination with serial killers, it is important to first establish a working definition of the term. The FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit defines serial killings as “the unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate (Morton). Generally the classification of serial murder is accompanied by the length of time between kills, or the “cooling off period.” In addition, the killer is usually a stranger to the victim and the murders appear to be unconnected or random. The FBI is credited with establishing this term, and by doing so, achieved a position of unquestioned authority in defining serial murders. Serial Killers...
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...society many people try to find ways to justify people's wrongdoings, some say “I was born this way” or that it is in their genes to be or think a certain way. Although most people in society believe that violent people are born with an aggressive nature, most violent people become aggressive due to recurring violent events in their life because they are exposed to violence repeatedly and become conditioned to committing violent behavior. Society today tries to make excuses for the things they have messed up in their life, people try to blame their genetics on how they do things, but they do not understand that the experience in their lives contorts their opinions and how they react to things, “In many cases serial killings, the behavior is influenced by past experiences and backgrounds…” (Pandey). People's minds are shifted whenever abuse and past experiences sway them. Flashback is a psychology term used to describe someone experiencing a traumatic event and an object or emotion felt during the event will trigger the feelings and events of that time. For an example, if you were in a traumatizing car crash, the loud of of something being crushed or metal being dropped will trigger and bring back all the emotions from the original event. Children who have been through...
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...What are serial killers? Serial killers are people that commit a series of three killings. Some People believe that serial killers are born to be how they are; they think that these people don’t need a motive to commit crimes. In this essay I will give my ideas on what motivates men to commit serial sexual homicide, As well as whether or not these killers are born evil. I will use information provided by Larry J Siegel from the textbook “Criminology fourth edition”. I will also use information from the video “Inside the mind of a serial killer” by Michael Stone. According to Michael Stone, men are motivated to commit sexual homicide after they experience some sort of serious head injury. Dr. Stone states, “About 30% of the serial killers had experienced some form of rather serious head injury.” This means that one out of every three serial killers has had a serious head injury. Yes there is still two out of the three serial killers that didn’t have a head injury, but the fact that many of these killers has had a head injury remains. Examples of these cases are “Phil Garrido, who was a normal kid in a normal home, but who fell off his older brother’s motorcycle when he was 14 and within days—he was unconscious, had to have a brain operation—within days, he began to develop rape fantasies. And then carried out a number of rapes and finally kidnapped that young Jaycee Dugard girl that he kept for 18 years and had two children by her”(Stone). Or “Richard Starett in Georgia. He...
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...books illustrate the theme of freedom in different ways, but all follow a theme of personal freedom. Freedom is not easily achieved for any of the characters in these three books. * Michael Benette is the main character in "Worst Case". He is the lead detective on an on going serial killer case. Emily Parker is New York cities FBI abduction specialist, also Benettes partner. The case that they were given involves a serial killer who abducts innocent children of extremely wealthy families in New York city. It's their job to make sure that the children come back safe and hopefully alive. * Benette and Parker relate to Douglass because they all had been robbed of their freedom. Benette and Parker had becomes slaves to the serial killer. This killer would leave no clues or ransoms. It was up to them to jump start the case. They worked day and night to make sure that the kids were free from the killer. All their time is taken away by the investigation. This puts a hold on their personal time, work became life for them, and the serial killer didn't make it easier for anyone. *Work took over Douglass's life as well. He was never given a chance to have a personal life. It was taken away from him when he was born into slavery. He grew up on several plantations and worked in ship yards. He knew his mother was a slave and his father was a salve owner. Throughout this story about his life he informs the readers about all the hardships he had faced and all the horrible things he had seen...
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...the Boston area from 1962 to 1964. Serial killers are a widely discussed topic throughout many criminal justice fields. A serial killer is defined as a person who murders three or more persons in at least three separate events, with a “cooling off period” between kills (Egger, 2002; Hickey, 2002; Ressler & Shachtman, 1992). The question of what makes someone a serial killer or in other words a psychopath is still unknown. Many would argue that humans are evil by nature and there is no outside force needed to make someone a killer. Others believe...
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...Serial killers have captivated the minds of people for years. Everyone wants to know why Dahmer or Bundy claimed the lives of innocent people in the heinous crimes that they committed. Serial killers are complex creatures and a lot of things can contribute to why they come to kill people. Most people believe that all serial killers are dysfunctional, lonely people who keep to themselves and have little to no social interaction. However, a majority of killers appear to be your average citizen and are seemingly normal. Another common belief about serial killers is that they just travel everywhere, killing as many people as they can and that they cannot stop. In reality, not all, but most killers have a specific geographic location and a specific...
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...Serial killers are the most interesting and mysterious type of human being not only to the public but to professionals as well. They do things that are taboo or as others would call it, insane. Yet, the biggest question to all the madness is why? Why and how do serial killers do what they do? Then to narrow down these questions, a more transparent question is asked. Is a serial killer born or are they made? Some scientists and professionals claim that genetics is the sole reason for someone becoming a serial killer. Whether they were born with a different brain development or it is literally in their genetic makeup. Perhaps the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart is one of the best studies done to open our eyes to the truth. The study was led by Minnesota Professor of Psychology Thomas Joseph Bouchard, Jr. In total the study showed that psychopathy is 60 percent heritable. By just this study it is proven that psychopathic traits are due more to genetics than to someones childhood upbringing....
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...notorious serial killers of all time. His name has become synonymous with “murder.” For years, he went undetected while he kept his murder spree secret from all that were close to him and loved him. Serial killings are considered one of the most terrifying and violent crimes in the United States. The majority of serial killers commit their murders over a considerable period of time; Ted Bundy’s murder spree lasted for years. Sometimes these crimes are years apart. Serial killers are usually white males of at least average intelligence who target a certain type of victim, and the crimes are committed in similar places each time. In most cases they fall into one of two major classes of serial killers: psychotic and psychopathic. Most serial killers are considered psychopathic, meaning that they are in touch with reality and know the difference between right and wrong. The major difference they have from regular people is that they lack a conscience, or it is too weak to prevent them from doing something wrong, so they kill without feeling guilt or remorse. Some experts believe that a psychopathic killer can be born through genetics, being born with a predisposition to kill. Other experts believe this type of personality develops due to environmental factors, such as some type of abuse during their upbringing. Many experts also believe that this type of killer results from a combination of genetics and environment. Ted Bundy is considered a psychopathic serial killer. Serial killers...
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...John Wayne Gacy: The Killer Clown Serial Killers Abstract John Wayne Gacy was a serial killer and rapist. John Wayne Gacy murdered and sexually assaulted young boys. John Gacy killed and hid his victim’s bodies in the crawl space of his home. John seemed like a normal man, he was well-respected in his community. John was a psychopath who had no remorse. When john was captured he was able to give a detailed drawing of where all the bodies could be found. John was sentenced to the death penalty. The term serial killer was a term no one had heard of until about forty years ago. There are many definitions to the term serial killer. Each definition differs by the number of murders, the serial killers motivation, and the characteristics of the murders. The most known one is the FBI’s definition, which is “the unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender, in separate events.” Numerous people may confuse the term serial killer with mass murders and spree killers. There are six categories of motive types of serial killers. These categories are visionary, mission-oriented, thrill-orientated, lust, power and control, and gain motivated. The visionary type means they hear voices or have visions and they are psychotic. The mission-oriented serial killers will kill a certain type or person because they think that they are bettering the world. The thrill-oriented type will kill because they have fun doing it. The lust motivated killers will kill because it turns them...
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...Inside The Serial Killer’s Mind Red Dragon by Thomas Harris is a dark piece of psychological fiction that was published in 1981. The novel is the first in a trilogy featuring the infamous character Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist and psychopathic serial killer. However, Lecter is not a main character in this novel. Rather, the antagonist and killer is Francis Dolarhyde, whom the police jokingly refer to as the Tooth Fairy because of the bite marks he leaves on female victims. Harris does a masterful job of creating background on the killer that delves into the makings of a serial killer. Thomas Harris gives the reader an understanding of Dolarhyde’s mindset when committing his horrific crimes by detailing the abuses the killer suffered as a child (Sexton). Harris takes the reader from the infant born with a cleft palate so disfiguring he was left to die through the cruelty of a childhood that included abandonment, a mean and mentally unstable grandmother, and taunts from his stepsiblings. In doing so, the author provides significance to some of the killer’s actions (Cowley). This research paper will examine the underlying psychopathology of serial killers that often stems from abuse in childhood, turning the human into the monster. Red Dragon begins with the FBI and the police on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whom police have nicknamed the Tooth Fairy because of bite marks left on victims. The public is duly alarmed as the target of the killer is entire families...
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...WR-123 Research Paper NOT ALL MONSTERS ARE MAKE BELIEVE - A CASE STUDY ON THEODORE R. BUNDY What causes someone to become a serial killer? Is there something inherently evil about them that emerge as they age, or are they born that way? Do they become that way because of their upbringing? Most Psychologists feel that it is a combination of all these things that determine the psychosis exhibited by serial killers. (www.psychology.org/links) Psychologists have looked into the darkest recesses of human behavior, to try to figure out how and why people commit such gruesome and brutal atrocities against their fellow human beings. One of the best cases of documented psychopathic behavior is that of Theodore R. Bundy. On November 24, 1946 Theodore Robert Cowell (aka Ted Bundy) was born. His mother was a single young woman who decided the best course of action was to move back home to have her parents help her raise her son; as in the 40’s it was not acceptable for a young single woman to have a child out of wedlock. Until the age of four, Ted believed that his mother was his older sister, and grandparents were his mother and father. (Rule, A: The Stranger Beside Me) The signs that something was dreadfully wrong with Ted began to show themselves very early in his childhood. When Ted was barely three years old, one of his Aunt’s stayed the night with the family. The Aunt woke up in the early morning hours to find her young nephew Ted, lifting her blankets...
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...genetic background, or what is passed down from your parents. Nurture refers to what you learn throughout your life. Does nature or nurture form and create your personality? Nature, as defined by psychologists, is your genetic background. When you are born, you obtain certain genes and traits from both your mother and father. Some psychologists believe that this is what forms your personality. Science has discovered that these coding of genes forms your eye color, hair color, nose size, and other physical traits. In a recent experiment, scientists found fraternal twins that were separated at birth. The twins went on to...
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...cases people who commit crimes were fatalities of other types of crimes before. There are different types of crimes, but I am going to centre on one type of contemporary crime, which is serial murder, and I will also not forget to look at the incidence, nature, causes and lessening and prevention measures also of serial murder. Understanding Serial Murder/ conceptualisation “South African criminal law defines murder as the unlawful and intentional killing of another person”, Bezuidenhout (2011). In other words the killing must be unlawful in order to be defined as murder. The perpetrator may not be found guilty of murder if she/he claims it was self-defence. Bezuidenhout (2011) , also emphasis that the killing also has to be intentional in order to be labelled as murder. For example if sixteen people die in a car accident. The tax driver may be guilty for not driving like he is expected but he the killing may not be defined a murder. There are many different types of murder, but I will focus on Serial murder. “Serial Murder is defined as the killing of multiple victims over the period of time ranging from days or weeks to months” Adler et al (1996). Adler et al, also emphasis that Serial murders have a minimum of three to four victims. All serial murders turn to have many things in common.“Serial murders tend to be highly mobile in order to minimise the likelihood of establishing links between the murder they commit between various geographic”, Addler (1996). It has been argued...
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