...Explore, in depth, one well-known criminal case. You may select your own case, or select from one of the following: Jeffery McDonald, Andrea Yates, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Aileen Wournos, John Wayne Gacy, Philip Markoff (the Craigslist killer), Scott Peterson, Anthony Sowell, or Dennis Rader (BTK strangler). Your case study should focus on the following 1. Must be eight to ten double-spaced pages in length, and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. 2. Must include a title page with the following: a. Title of paper b. Student’s name c. Course name and number d. Instructor’s name e. Date submitted 3. Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement. 4. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought. 5. Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis. 6. Must use five to eight scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library. 7. Must document all sources in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. 8. Must include a separate reference page, formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. a.Summarize the case, including a description of the offense(s), the investigation, and the outcome (such as the trial and sentencing). b.Analyze the psychological history or path that took the criminal to commit his or her crime(s). Describe the psychological, behavioral, environmental, and cognitive factors that you believe led to the offender’s...
Words: 463 - Pages: 2
...------------------------------------------------- Jeffrey Dahmer ------------------------------------------------- AJ 63-Criminal Investigations ------------------------------------------------- Shane Brashear 25 OCT 13 The killing of three or more people, by the same individual, is considered serial killings. The murders are often committed with in days, weeks, months, or years apart. Most serial killers are afraid of being caught, and they take precautions in order to continue killing . Serial killers tend to murder strangers rather than people they know. Their victims normally have something in common such as age, race, educational background, gender, occupation, or facial features. Serial killers normally have an image of the perfect victim, but will sometimes settle for anyone, if he cannot find his preference. Victims who are from broken homes, runaways, prostitutes, and they who suffer from drug and alcohol abuse normally fall prey to serial killers. Serial murders sometimes share common characteristic; however, their approach to killing might differ. According to Fahui Wang, some serial killers are organized and others are disorganized. Some serial killers are very organized, and they plan their attacks with care; they tend to be very selective in choosing their victims, and oftentimes, follow the same patterns when committing a crime. Their crimes are planned in detail, and they involve various ways in which the murders will occur. Some...
Words: 2303 - Pages: 10
...standards or higher. We as humans find that when we affiliate ourselves with people of this caliper, we will be seen as they are seen by society. It is in human nature to want intimacy; I believe that when a person is motivated by this they have true and very deep feelings for the other person. Most people believe that intimacy is the act of sex. This is not true; intimacy is much more than sex. It is when you can trust another person with all your secrets; you know you have someone to always be there for you, holding hands, and so on. I would have to disagree with Sigmund Freud; I do not believe people are solely motivated by sexuality and aggression. I believe that when humans are motivated by these to concepts, they end up like Jeffery Dahmer, Ted Bundy, and many...
Words: 311 - Pages: 2
...In the sick minds of those who murder again and again, rape, pain and 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...
Words: 1565 - Pages: 7
...Dennis Lynn Radar is classified as a serial killer, he committed murders between 1974 to 1991. He was arrested on February 25, 2005 for the murder of 10 people in Sedgwick County, Kansas, located around Wichita area. He seemed like your average person, he was married and the father of two. He lived a normal life. Dennis were the oldest of his four siblings, also college educated. He married his wife Paula in 1971, worked for ADT Security Services. He also served in the U.S. Air Force. When Dennis were a child it was signs that he had a problem because he used to hang stray cats as a child (biography 2015). Dennis committed his first crime on January 15, 1974. Radar killer four members of the Otero family in their home. The victims were Joseph and Julie Otero and two of their children Josephine and Joseph Jr. They died by strangulation, he also took a watch and radio from their home after killing them. He took things from his victims for souvenirs, it was part of his modus operandi, or pattern behavior. He also left semen at the scene and later said that he derived sexual pleasure from killing. The Otero were found by their 15 year old son that came home later that day and discovered the bodies. Dennis strikes again months later killing Kathryn Bright, he waited in her apartment until she got home. He stabbed and strangled her. He attempted to kill her brother Kevin, he shot him twice, but he survived. By October 1974, Radar sought fame and attention for his crimes. He placed...
Words: 970 - Pages: 4
...SOC 414: Written Assignment 5 The question of whether or not man is predetermined at birth to lead a life of crime is a 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...
Words: 640 - Pages: 3
...Running Head: Serial Killing How to raise a Serial Killer Brenden Brewer Serial Killing 2 What makes a serial killer want to kill? What pushes them over the edge or drives them to keep killing? Many researchers including psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists and FBI Agents, all have theories of what makes them tick. They come across these accusations by talking to actual serial killers themselves. They have come up with these theories by talking with Albert DeSalvo (The Boston Strangler), Albert Fish, Andrei Chikatilo, Bobby Joe Long, Carl Panzram, Charles Manson, Christopher Wilder, David Berkowitz (Son of Sam), Dennis Nilsen (the British Jeffrey Dahmer), Eddie Gein, Edmund Kemper(The Coed Butcher), Fritz Haarmann (The Butcher of Hannover), Henry Lee Lucas, Herbert Mullin (Santa Cruz Killer), Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, John Haigh (Acid Bath Murderer), Joseph Kallinger (the Enigmatic Cobbler), Kenneth Bianchi (Hillside Strangler), Leonard Lake, Patrick Mackay, Peter Kurten (The Vampire of Dusseldorf), Richard Ramirez (The Night Stalker), Richard Speck, and Ted Bundy, William Heirens (the Lipstick Killer). All of them were successful serial killers and caught by authorities. First off, what makes someone a serial killer? The FBI has guidelines on how to classify a serial killer from a murderer. To be classified as a serial killer, you have to have a minimum of three to four victims with a grace period or “cooling off” period in between, you’re a stranger...
Words: 1634 - Pages: 7
...Reflection: Jeffrey Dahmer seemed like an average man. Growing up he was a little shy but relatively normal. He had a difficult upbringing because his parents was very tough on him, causing him to be socially awkward. His escalation of deviance could be recognized at young young age when he began to develop a sexual fascination with dead animals. During his time in high school he began to have thoughts of killing another person. To deal with his problems he developed a drinking problem while still in high school. Just after his graduation in 1978 he murdered his first victim. When disposing of the bodies he was pulled over by the police and question however he was able to talk his way out of it. His killing spree would continue until his arrest...
Words: 381 - Pages: 2
...family structures as well as abuse and neglect (Nature versus Nurture).While researching this topic I came across an article published in the New York Times about Jeffrey L. Dahmer. He may be the perfect example of a serial murder who has had a mixture of both nature and nurture. Dahmer was raised in an unstable household in Milwaukee where he had a troubled childhood. Dahmer “shows signs of a particularly dangerous chemistry: an antisocial trait, so that he flouted the law with impunity; a "borderline" personality that makes him vulnerable to explosive rage when he feels he is being abandoned, and a bizarre sexual deviation that culminated in necrophilia”(Goleman). His parents always arguing until they divorced, he sought out his parents approval but they always favored his younger brother. And when he was eight years old he was sexually molested by a neighbor. Even his teacher say he was neglected in his youth. Dahmer’s worst fear, abandonment, was caused by his mother leaving him when she was ill and then again when he was as senior in high school when both of his parents moved and left him to live alone. But even with all of these terrible events that happens to Dahmer, there’s still the “vast majority of those who suffer through such pains of childhood [and] never go on to commit the grisly crimes that Mr. Dahmer says he has committed”(Goleman). Some people say that neither nurture or nature cause people to become serial killers. They believe that these serial killers...
Words: 1467 - Pages: 6
...Case Brief Sinthasomphone Estate of Sinthasomphone v. City of Milwaukee, 838 F.Supp 1320 (1993) Facts: Konerak Sinthasomphone, a 14-year-old boy, was lured to an apartment by Jeffery Dahmer to take nude photographs for money. Once in the apartment, Dahmer drugged Sinthasomphone so that he could keep him subdued for later torture and execution. Sinthasomphone escaped the apartment while Dahmer was out. He was seen wondering the streets naked and physically hurt. Law enforcement arrived after being summoned by a 911 call. Dahmer arrived soon after. Dahmer claimed to be a friend of Sinthasomphone stating that he had consumed too much alcohol. After evaluating the situation, the police officers determined that Dahmer was telling the truth and assisted...
Words: 365 - Pages: 2
...Name of the Case: The Estate of Konerak Sinthasomphone v. City of Milwaukee 2. Citation: 838 F. Supp. 1320 3. Date Decided: 1993 4. Facts: In 1991 a fourteen year old Laotian boy was drugged and sexually abused by now infamous Jeffrey Dahmer before escaping, drugged naked and bloody, from Dahmer’s apartment. Once outside a few civilians called police and kept Dahmer from being allowed to take custody of the boy. Police arrived and disregarded fire and ems personnel and stopped the citizens from intervening. Police then returned the boy to Dahmer in his apartment with little to no investigation where Dahmer killed and dismembered the boy a short time later. The family brought suit against the City of Milwaukee and the individual officers that...
Words: 340 - Pages: 2
...Jeffrey Dahmer was born May 21st, 1960, the first child for Lionel and Joyce Dahmer, after a difficult pregnancy that had Joyce on various prescription drugs. Jeff and his little brother David were raised in Bath Township, Ohio. Unlike many other killers, Jeffreys parents were not abusive. Joyce had some relatively mild psychological problems, but Lionel tried to be as loving a father as possible, struggling to reach his quiet and isolated son. As a small child, Jeff seemed happy enough, playing with his dog or riding his bike, but was fascinated with death. When Lionel removed some animal bones from under the porch, the remains of small creatures killed by small local predators, Jeff seemed quite pleased by the sound they made dropping back into the bucket. His father dismissed it as childhood curiosity. Jeff was the class clown, known for doing things as ridiculous as faking seizures for laughs. In fact, he was lonely and isolated in school, with few friends. By high school, he was a full-blown alcoholic, drinking before, after, and even during class. When his parents divorced, his father was the one to move out of the house. When Jeff was 18, Joyce took David and left. Jeffrey was alone in the house with little food and a broken refrigerator until his father and his new wife found out about the situation and moved into the house. Trying to help his son, Lionel assisted Jeffrey get into the University of Ohio. But it was already too lateJeff Dahmer made...
Words: 1160 - Pages: 5
...Amanda Diaz PSYCH 635 April 25, 2016 Paul Knoll Week Five team assignment Robert Ressler, FBI profiler shared his personal memories on the 2001 Criminal Profiling Research video. Ressler spoke about how he knew the criminals better than they knew themselves. He read each file and studied all there is to know of each person so that when he interviewed him or her, he knew the right questions to ask. Ressler knew each person’s back ground (childhood upbringing, relationships with family and people in his and her lives, employment history, social behaviors, motives for killings (Films Media Group, 2001). Robert Ressler interviewed a 6ft 9in 300 pound man in prison who killed 11 people including his grandparents, mother, and college female students by psychologically torturing each person then decapitating them (Films Media Group, 2001). The motivation for the killings were clearly unknown other than the fact that he clearly enjoyed torturing and ripping heads off his victims. Mr. Robert Ressler’s profiling skills was put to the test when conducting an interview with the serial killer. The time of the interview proved not to be at Ressler's favor because it happened to be at a time when the guards were serving other prisoners food, and were not available at his time of need. The serial killer realized that the guard was not there to let Ressler out after the interview and decides to psychologically torture him by telling him “how easy it would be for him to rip his head off...
Words: 499 - Pages: 2
...Body: ! ! I. What is a serial killer?! ! A. a serial killer is a person who commits multiple murders in a period of time and cannot seem to stop. ! B. On most scenarios serial killers come from a very disturbed childhood, being abused them selves by people who they believed “loved” them.! C. Some serial killers can be anti-social and avoid crowds or becoming friendly with people, because they feel no emotions nor remorse. ! D. In most cases I've seen or heard of, the typical serial killer will leave some type of “signature” on the victim or where the crime was committed to feel some kind of satisfaction of the crime. ! ! II. Famous serial killers of all times! ! A. Jeffrey Dahmer, one of the most famous serial killers of all time, most of Dahmer’s victims were male. Dahmer would engage with the victim, drive them to his apartment, have sexual intercourse, and kill them after.! B. Ted Bundy, was an American serial killer, kidnapper, rapist, and...
Words: 857 - Pages: 4
... Tina Huang CRJ 112 Professor Gutierrez July 6, 2016 Shakur Summary The book “Monster” by Sanyika Shakur also known as Kody Scott, is an autobiography of an L.A. Gang member. It is a story that narrates how he joined a gang, specifically the Eight Tray Gangster Crips and why it seemed appealing to him at the young age of eleven. Some notable themes found in the book include power and violence. In the long thirteen years as a notorious gang member, he lived life by killing friends and shooting enemies (ex. other Crips/Bloods), selling drugs, committing robberies, and frequently experiencing police brutality. As it became a known routine and comfortable cycle, as the years went by, he realized that gang life was not what he wanted in the end. He goes through a remarkable transformation and changes his name from Monster Kody Scott to Sanyika Shakur which is Kiswahili for “unifier, gatherer of his people.” (Shakur, 1993, p. 363). He soon is able to form his own personal identity by joining a Muslim group and becoming a Black Nationalist. After reading this book, I can see the parallelism and similarities found in the material of Chapters 1-5 in Gangs in America’s Communities by James C. Howell and Elizabeth Griffiths. At the beginning of the autobiography, it was clear to me that the prevalence of gang emergence in Los Angeles was there, especially among black youths. According to Howell and Griffiths (2015), “As early as 1940, low-income housing settlements also...
Words: 2303 - Pages: 10
