...LAT1 - Serial Killers Abstract This paper that was written explores how a person is born innocent, and evolves into a monstrous and calculated serial killer. It will mention several different specific serial killers and their histories to support the facts. Another area that is explored is the difference between mass murderers and serial killers. Many times theses terms are used simultaneously; however the fact is that they are different. Reviewing the classifications, behaviors, motives, childhood neglect, sanity, and how profiling and other methods will assist in catching a serial killer. Understanding and studying serial killers can help in preventing them to start killing, or in catching them before they continue killing. Research shows that the problem of serial killing can be addressed by understanding its causes, identifying common behaviors and motivations of serial killers, and using this information to develop tools for law enforcement to prevent initial or repeated killings If a person commits a murder, it doesn’t constitute to be tagged a serial killing. I will be including material in order to define what serial killer is, and why we are so obsessed with understanding them. To fully discuss and understand serial killers, we must first distinguish the differences between them and mass murderers. The term mass murderer is often used interchangeably; however, the two terms are technically different. Mass murder occurs when a large number of people...
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...Amy Hankins LE300 capstone: serial killers as heroes in popular culture Final Project The Evolution of serial killers and societies fascination A serial killer is someone who is known as a friend, father, co-worker, politician, in fact a serial killer can be anybody. For centuries stories about serial killers have graced the covers of newspapers and magazines. Many famous stories have influenced a lot of films that have been produced and continue to be produced. There is an endless amount of questions as to how serial killers become serial killers, which falls under nature vs. nurture. “The causes of psychopaths remain a mystery. We don’t even have a satisfactory answer to the question of whether psychopath is a product of Mother Nature or a feature of upbringing (Brogaard & Marlow, 2012).” Nevertheless, due to the many serial killers that plague this country, they have come from a very unstable background mostly during the childhood years. Within this essay I would like to discuss not only what has been learned throughout the semester but also bring to light the possible reasons as to why serial killers kill and why society has such an enormous fascination with them. According to the dictionary a serial killers is a person who commits two or more murders at different times. Serial killers are extremely intelligent and some have most likely obtained a degree of some sort. This sort of intelligence is evident in Mr. Brooks, Dexter, silence of the lamb and perfume. All...
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...Reading Serial Killers, The Method and Madness of Monsters by Peter Vronsky, was much more interesting than the last book we read. Through the end, it was very compelling and I was very interested throughout it. The last five chapters were much more pleasant because they went into detail and allowed me to understand the concept of serial killers and how they come to be one. What we learned this week with Dr. McCoy coincided with what we were reading about in the book. Lecture this week was great as always. Dr. McCoy really involves you and makes it as easy to understand as possible. Chapter six, “Serial Killers as Children,” was about some factors to influence children to become serial killers. One piece I found interesting was the part about...
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...crime stats released, 2013, table 1). With most serial killers, their instinct to kill or murder several people starts early in life. Most serial killers started out torturing and maiming animals. We all have experience with anger or rage, but those with a conscious knows the consequences of killing. We would be remorseful. However, those who have monsters or demons within tend to listen to their demons and act upon it. “It was an urge…a strong urge, and the longer I let it go the stronger it got, to where I was taking risks to go out and kill people—Edmund Kemper” (Scott, 2014, para. 1). We may never know or fully understand the mind of a serial killer, but this author is going to try. A brief statement of purpose The purpose for this proposal is to find out what really makes people so upset with other people, sometimes to people they do not even know, to want to kill them others, thus, that person becoming a known serial killer. The rationale for conducting the study This author has always been interested in serial killers since she was small. Her mother only has true crime books and this author became infatuated as well. This author has always wondered why they do what they do and what brings them to doing it. This author believes that if we get into the minds of a serial killer, we are one-step closer to finally figuring out the two ultimate questions: Why and what caused them to go bezerk. By having a study conducted, we would get more of an idea what goes through their...
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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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...VOLUME EDITOR S. WALLER is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Montana State University Bozeman. Her areas of research are philosophy of neurology, philosophy of cognitive ethology (especially dolphins, wolves, and coyotes), and philosophy of mind, specifically the parts of the mind we disavow. SERIES EDITOR FRITZ ALLHOFF is an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Department at Western Michigan University, as well as a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian National University’s Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics. In addition to editing the Philosophy for Everyone series, Allhoff is the volume editor or co-editor for several titles, including Wine & Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2007), Whiskey & Philosophy (with Marcus P. Adams, Wiley, 2009), and Food & Philosophy (with Dave Monroe,Wiley-Blackwell, 2007). P H I L O S O P H Y F O R E V E RYO N E Series editor: Fritz Allhoff Not so much a subject matter, philosophy is a way of thinking.Thinking not just about the Big Questions, but about little ones too.This series invites everyone to ponder things they care about, big or small, significant, serious … or just curious. Running & Philosophy: A Marathon for the Mind Edited by Michael W. Austin Wine & Philosophy: A Symposium on Thinking and Drinking Edited by Fritz Allhoff Food & Philosophy: Eat,Think and Be Merry Edited by Fritz Allhoff and Dave Monroe Beer & Philosophy: The Unexamined Beer Isn’t Worth Drinking Edited by Steven D. Hales Whiskey & Philosophy:...
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...death are twisted into a passion to kill. Otherwise a “typical” individual, serial killers turn to violence and death in search of power over others, and to explore their fatal addiction to their monstrous thrills. Most of society views serial killers as they are portrayed on television. There’s Dexter, the handsome serial killer who, while leading a normal life, takes it upon himself to rid all of the “bad guys” in the world in order to fulfill his need to kill. Then there’s Freddy Kruger, a disfigured dream stalker who uses a glove armed with razors to kill his victims in their dreams, causing their deaths in the waking world as well. Just to name a few others, there's also The Jigsaw Killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, Leatherface, Michael Meyers and the infamous Chucky. All of these characters are created to exaggerate something that is not only feared in movie theaters, but in real life as well. But what exactly makes a serial killer? While many of these movies and television programs try and make our minds believe that fiction is reality, there are no such things as ‘dream stalkers’ and talking dolls. A real-life serial killer can be distinguished (not by a scary masks) through the many distinctive patterns in their social and mental behavior, unusual childhood, murder periods, and Modus Operandi; all of which are fashioned in different ways to create a cold blooded murderer. Serial Killers are normally classified by their social and organizational skills. Their social...
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...People say many different things create serial killers, some believe society breaks them down, but others argue that mental illness is the only reason that these monsters turn to cruelty and insanity. Psychologists, criminologists, and scientists searched to answer the question of why serial killers commit these mass killings and how they became such violent humans. What is left are two ideas, are serial killers born with predetermined genes/mental illness that plays an integral part in creating their homicidal tendencies or do psycho killers become murderous through their surroundings and society as children? It is important to understand how killers become such vicious individuals in order to help stop the influences that cause these monster....
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...Abstract Many serial killers and mass murderers have been interviewed and tested to reveal why they killed and raped large groups of people. There are several factors as to why they perform such acts. My findings in this paper show that there is a logically explanation as to why they do what they do. In no way is killing or violence justified, but people have been through things we couldn’t imagine being put through. Many of these killers were put through harsh abuse physically, mentally, and emotionally which haunted them in their futures. This caused them to resolve their issues through inhumane ways. One who was put through sexual abuse became lust serial killers by wanting to rape the victims or sexually punish them. They want their victims to go through what they went through. Also, this paper shows that there are factors that deal with genes and the chromosomal make up that affects a person’s attitude causing them to be more aggressive than the average person. These killers have neurodevelopmental problems, troubled pasts, and mutations which lead to their motives to kill. “Young girls and mass murderers are tender hearted creatures”. This quote was stated by the author Pierre Lemaitre in his novel “Alex”. This line extracted from one of his crime based novels opens a lot of questions to an open mind with the focus on “tender hearted creatures”. One would assume any person can find a motive to kill. We watch television shows such as CSI or Criminal Minds thinking people...
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...1/15/2013 Karen Croley [pic] Life Span Development and Personality An individual’s psychological development and personality has several elements that can stem from environmental and biological factors. Biological factors include genetics and personal traits while environmental factors include an individual social support system and family life. The individual’s life span development and personality are a major impact on these factors. These factors can determine who or what an individual can achieve or become in life. A theory of personality helps us understand the different personality that can be seen in society. [pic] Dennis Rader (BTK) In the world there several unique and interesting individuals which may be dangerous or scary in some cases that can be found in society, like Dennis Rader a serial killer, who was responsible for killing ten individuals. This was a gruesome homicide that left everyone in despair. Dennis Rader called himself the BTK, which stands for bind, torture, and kill according to Kowalski & Western, 2011. He sent several clues and taunting letters to the media and law enforcement office alerting them. Dennis Rader was born on March 9, 1945 to William and Dorothea Rader in Wichita Kansas. They were middle class working citizens that led a normal life. Dennis was the oldest out of three, they had normal childhood where there parents were strict toward Dennis...
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...This program follows the career of Doctor Temperance ‘Bones’ Brennan as she works as Forensic Anthropologist alongside her team and the FBI. By using her knowledge of the human skeletal system, Temperance identifies the gender, race, and age of the victims. Bones holds the title of one of the most factual—yet fictional— television program on the T.V;however, not everything that appears remains factual. One of the most obvious mistakes appears in how fast Temperance deduces the majority of the characteristics of a victim. “As the show is written by a forensic anthropologist (Kathy Reichs) all of the procedures and methodologies Dr. Brennan uses are real, HOWEVER, she is usually able to assess a victim age and sex from a quick look at the bones at the crime scene, this is simply not true” (Calmon, “How Realistic is...
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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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...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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...Criminology, being the scientific study of crime, has persistently been examining the reason why criminals do what they do, and why they are the way they are. The two main differences between criminals is whether or not they choose to do these crimes, or if it is simply in their personality. These dissimilarities are called Choice theory and Trait theory. Choice, being that a criminal chooses to commit a crime, knowing the possible consequences. Trait, being that a criminal has personality traits that influences them to commit a crime. These differences are shown throughout the TV show Dexter. In this show, the main character is an ongoing killer who murders other serial killers. The beginning of the first season shows Dexter’s personality and how he cannot help himself with his murders. It shows how he murders these serial killers to try to fill a void inside of him. He does these things in attempts to make himself feel better. There are big differences between the two theories, but Dexter definitely shows a little of each theory in himself. In an episode, Dexter said, “I fake all human interactions, and I fake them very well.” By him saying this, we are to understand that all relationships in his life are empty- they mean nothing to him. He fakes relationships with his girlfriend, with strangers and acquaintances, and especially coworkers. His relationship with his girlfriend is a way to make himself not stand out so much in society. This is a pretty obvious example of the...
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...Criminal Minds What if the person that standing next to you deep down is a psychopath? What if the house across the street is home to a serial killer? Lastly, what would you do if you know your lifelong partner is “sick” and has problems for the longest time and you never know about it? These questions have come to my attention ever since I start catching the show. When I found out about the TV series, Criminal Minds - an American crime drama created by Jeff Davis, my affection had been captured by it. The first episode aired Wednesday, September 22th, 2005 through the CBS network. Each episode is a crime story of its own, but connects with the personal narratives of the main characters – BAU, the Behavior Analysis Unit. Because most the...
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