...Serial Killing 1 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...
Words: 1634 - Pages: 7
...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....
Words: 485 - Pages: 2
...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...
Words: 2045 - Pages: 9
...Eddy English 1213-308 24 Mar 2010 Sane or Insane Albert Fish was so demented that he stuck alcohol soaked cotton balls into his anus after setting them on fire. He was also found with twenty nine needles stuck in his body between his anus and his scrotum. Fish was also found guilty of the killings of fifteen little boys and mutilating one hundred others. He said that God told him to do it. The doctors said that he suffered from a religious psychosis (Rawlins). Some people seem to get away with these kinds of heinous crimes because of insanity and others, who really have mental problems, get locked away in prison and forgotten about. The definition of insanity is “the mental illness of such a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, cannot conduct his/her affairs due to psychosis, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior” (Insanity). In other words, a person may live in a fantasy world and believe that things are going on around them that really are not. Also, a person may not be able to control their urges. For instance, a person may get the urge to flip someone the middle finger that cuts them off in traffic. This would be an uncontrollable impulsive behavior. Many serial killers use this line of defense as a strategy to get put into a mental hospital rather than prison. Mental hospitals give prisoners less rules and more freedoms than do Pierce 2 prisons. Some killers though, are truly insane. There is a fine line, as well as a good...
Words: 837 - Pages: 4
...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...
Words: 1984 - Pages: 8
...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...
Words: 741 - Pages: 3
...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...
Words: 2816 - Pages: 12
...Forensic Chemistry Jeffrey Dahmer: The Milwaukee Monster It was May 21st, 1960 when Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Lionel Dahmer and Joyce Flint. Dahmer was raised there as an only child. He was a child that was full of life, interested in everything you would assume your average boy to be interested in. He loved to wrestle with his father and help him around the house all the time. Outgoing and curious, Dahmer was everything any set of new parents could ask for and more. One thing interesting was his early fascination for animals. He loved to help his dad clear the animal bones from under the house where animals had died. As the bones were dropped in to a bucket, Dahmer was overwhelmed with joy at the sounds they made. As he grew older, the fascination of the sound of bones became a fascination with turning animals in to just bone - he began to kill them. In 1968, Dahmer’s family moved to Akron, Ohio to a small town call Bath in the Bath Township. That same year, he became a brother to David Dahmer. It seems as though from that point on things started going downhill for Dahmer. As he neared junior high, Dahmer became much more introverted. Although he was always the class clown throughout both junior high and high school, students still knew something seemed to be off with Jeffrey Dahmer. As Dahmer grew from the boy he was in to the teenager he was becoming, he was going through a hard time in his life. His parents marriage had been seriously...
Words: 1930 - Pages: 8
...Devoid of Empathy The Sociopath, often referred to as a Psychopath or as one having an anti-social personality sickness is a callous, remorseless, self-established man or woman. However these with this sickness aren't insane-they are completely conscious of what they're doing and what the consequences of their movements might be. They make their choices rationally, no longer out of delusion. Sociopaths lack what's referred to as the affective part of empathy meaning that they are mindful of how the other person is feeling or what they are thinking but they easily do not care. As they see it, folks are just objects to use for their possess gratification. They're manipulative and ruthless predators who most likely pick those people who are...
Words: 1150 - Pages: 5
...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:...
Words: 90119 - Pages: 361
...Jeffrey Dahmer Jeffrey Dahmer was a notorious serial killer who killed about seventeen young males and boys. Most of the victims were African-American or other minorities, but they were also homosexuals. Dahmer, a 31-year-old good-looking man from Milwaukee, would cruise gay bars and choose his victims by their skin color (mostly dark), attractiveness, and their physique. Jeffrey Dahmer would lure them into his apartment and that’s where he would begin his infatuation with his supposedly new lover. Dahmer would perform some of the most horrifying acts a human being could ever commit. In some cases Dahmer would drill holes in the victims head and then pour acid through the skull, he would keep the heads as a “souvenir”. He would also tear the bodies’ limb from limb and keep a certain body part from the victim to remind him of their endless beauty. Jeffrey Dahmer was a sick and twisted man. In his eyes he believed he did no such thing wrong. He blamed his outrageous behavior on alcohol. But one thing Jeff Dahmer had was wits because he did know how to out smart a judge. Dahmer at one time spoke on his own defense and the things he would say would make you think twice maybe he is truly sorry for his actions and deserves a second chance or maybe it’s just an extraordinary act which he plays well. The judge fell right into his trap in which lead Dahmer to be on probation for five years, serve a sentence for a year in the House of Correction and Dahmer would still be able to...
Words: 605 - Pages: 3
...know exactly how much time they are going to spend with them and how they are going to kill them; these are called premeditated murders. Then there are the types that act in the moment of anger or of fear and dont realize what they are doing until they have already done it. I dont think that this type of murderer deserves the death penalty but they do deserve some time in prison to pay for what he or she did if it wasnt in self-defense. Many people think that if a murderer is sent to prison for life that he is going to stop killing, but there is no guarentee that a murderer is going to stop killing once he is in prison. If he or she gets life in prison without parole then they have nothing to lose and will keep killing even in prison. If a killer does murder someone in prison then yes the guards can take privileges away and likely put him in solitary confinement but that is only for a certain amount of time and after that he will be put back with the...
Words: 1787 - Pages: 8
...Criminal Behavior Lorenzo Reid Virginia College Online Abstract The following paper will address the different areas of the Psychological and Psychiatric Foundations of Criminal Behavior. Within this paper, every aspect from theories to what the law states when it comes to this state will be addressed. Criminal Behavior Doctor Leon Eisenberg once stated, "...persons who are seriously mentally ill are far more likely to be the victims of violence than its initiators." (Campbell) Yet how true is that? When it comes to mental illness, there have been several violent crimes that have been committed, and been blamed on mental illness. There are several shows for entertainment such as the show “Criminal Minds”, that attempts to bring a reality and understanding to mental illness and criminal behavior. This show gives a reality to the fact that people can be simply mentally ill and not simply criminals. In early society times, people simply did not take mental illness into account. It was thought that people, regardless of their mental state, should be accountable for their actions. Yet, in today’s society, this is not the case. Due to research and a better developed country, citizens are given an opportunity to show that their mental state was not steady when they committed a crime. So, what is it then, which motivated a person to kill or maim another? How can a person kill someone else, or a numerous amount of people, with no remorse? These questions and several...
Words: 3479 - Pages: 14
...The Caped Crusader, the Worldʼs Greatest Detective, the Dark Knight, defender of the innocent, crusader for justice, and defender of Gotham City. Now that sounds like a real superhero and someone to look up to. Playboy, Spare Parts Man, alcoholic; does that sound like someone youʼd call a hero? Batman and Iron Man are very different kinds of heroes, but the men behind the masks seem to be very similar on the surface. While Batman has a very strict moral code and refrains from killing anyone when he can, Iron Man has no qualms about killing. Both Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark are billionaires, both seem to be good with the ladies, and both are extremely intelligent. Neither have any real “super-powers,” but both used their intellect to make themselves into heroes. Bruce Wayne outside of his suit could hold his own in a fight with his martial arts background. Tony Stark, on the other hand, seems to have no desire to better himself in hand-to-hand combat. As a child, Bruce witnessed his parents being murdered and swore to keep the city safe. While being held hostage by a group of terrorists, Tony makes the Iron Man suit purely to save himself. After these life changing experiences, both take to the vigilante life but for different reasons: Bruce to protect citizens so that no one else would have to feel the pain he felt, and Tony for the recognition and fame. Letʼs talk about motivation. Batman began because a little boy was left devastated and traumatized. Bruce Wayne was orphaned as...
Words: 3394 - Pages: 14
...Children Psychopaths In 1979, sixteen-year-old Brenda Spencer received a rifle for her birthday. She used it to shoot kids at an elementary school near her San Diego home, wounding nine and killing two. A reporter asked her later why she had done it. Her answer: "I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day." In 1993, two bodies were found on a country road in Ellis County, Texas. One was male, one female. The boy, 14, had been shot, but the 13-year-old girl had been stripped, raped, and dismembered. Her head and hands were missing. The killer turned out to be Jason Massey, who had decided he was going to become the worst serial killer that Texas had ever seen. He tortured animals, stalked another young woman, and revered killers like Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, and Henry Lee Lucas. He was nine years old when he killed his first cat. He added dozens more over the years, along with dogs and even six cows. He had a long list of potential victims and his diaries were filled with fantasies of rape, torture, and cannibalism of female victims. He was a loner who believed he served a "master" who gave him knowledge and power. He was obsessed with bringing girls under his control and having their dead bodies in his possession. Nine-year-old Jeffrey Bailey, Jr. pushed a three-year-old friend into the deep part of a motel pool in Florida in 1986. He wanted to see someone drown. As the boy sank to the bottom, Jeffrey pulled up a chair to watch. When it was finished, he went home....
Words: 7125 - Pages: 29
