Aimsun Serial Killers
10 All Serial Killers Are Men This is a common misconception perpetuated not only by the general public but also by law enforcement professionals. In 1998, profiling pioneer and sex crimes expert Roy Hazelwood said that “there are no female serial killers.” It’s true that the numbers heavily favor the men; around 85–90 percent of serial killers are male, but there are also plenty of examples of.
One possible reason for the misconception is the disinterest in female serial killers showed by the media. Most women murderers kill for profit or power. They don’t torture their victims, they don’t taunt the police, and they don’t do all kinds of gory things with the bodies. In other words, they don’t typically make the kind of terrifying villains who capture the public’s attention. It was only in 2003 that this idea was challenged by the movie Monster, which detailed the killings of, arguably the most famous female serial killer in the world.
Even though there are fewer women who kill, it seems that they are better at it. One study suggested that murderous women have a longer “career” than their male counterparts. This is because they generally tend to avoid attention, prefer cleaner killing methods such as poisoning or smothering, and target vulnerable victims with whom they share an emotional or physical connection. 9 The United States Has A Serial Killer Epidemic The common perception is that the US is a breeding ground for serial murderers. It’s impossible to say with certainty how many serial killers are active in the United States. The lack of connection between them and their victims can make law enforcement oblivious to their existence for decades.
Former FBI Serial Crime Unit chief John Douglas gave a conservative estimate of 25 to 50 serial killers active at any given time. They are responsible for up to 150 murders annually, or approximately one percent of in the US. In case you were wondering which state has the biggest problem with serial killers, it’s not what you would expect. States like California and Florida have high total numbers of serial murders, but with an adjusted number of serial killings per one million people of 15.65, Alaska tops the list. Again, this misconception was shared by officials who should have known better. During the serial killer of 1983, the US Department of Justice blamed serial murderers for the large increases in homicides during the 1970s and 1980s compared to the early 1960s.
The world has known many serial killers. The list of such people who have committed inhumane crimes is endless. But then there are some who have actually stolen the.
They estimated that serial killers were responsible for up to 5,000 homicides per year. This number was nowhere close to reality, not even in the 1980s, which was the worst decade for serial murder. This statistic was perpetuated for a while before being rectified. 8 All Serial Killers Have the Homicidal Triad In 1963, psychiatrist John Macdonald published a highly influential paper titled The Threat to Kill. Among other things, he listed three factors which, when present in childhood, could be. Those factors were obsession with fire, persistent bed-wetting, and cruelty to animals. As the years went on, that pattern, known as the Macdonald or homicidal triad, became more and more associated with serial killers.
It is definitely featured prominently in productions, but the Macdonald triad has fallen out of favor over the past decade. For starters, even Macdonald himself acknowledged that his initial study of just 100 people was too small to offer any solid conclusions or predictive value. Moreover, the study actually focused on mental patients who threatened to commit acts of violence but never did so. Lastly, the psychiatrist mentioned his eponymous triad alongside other factors, such as extreme maternal seduction and paternal brutality.
Two other psychiatrists named Hellman and Blackman picked up the baton, so to speak, and popularized the triad. However, even in their study, which contained fewer people, less than half of violent offenders displayed all three behavior traits. Subsequent studies performed on a larger scale yielded inconclusive results.
7 Serial Killers Have An Obsession With Their Mothers. Photo credit: Whenever a killer is charged with the most heinous acts, it’s typically their mothers who are the first to defend them. After Ted Bundy was accused of several murders in Florida, his mother Louise said in an interview that he was the “best son in the world” and that he didn’t “go around killing women and little children!” Louise Bundy is one of the main reasons why most people believe serial killers have a twisted relationship with their mothers.
Since mothers play such an important role during one’s formative years, it stands to reason that mothers of serial killers could have had significant impacts on their emotional development. In Ted Bundy’s case, he grew up thinking that his mother was his sister and that his grandparents were actually his parents.
Of course, only one murderer is the true poster child for “killer with mommy issues,” and that’s. He inspired not one but three of cinema’s most disturbing villains: Norman Bates, Leatherface, and Buffalo Bill.
Gein’s gruesome crimes turned him into one of pop culture’s most glorified serial killers and helped perpetuate the misconception. Apart from a few high-profile cases, there isn’t a lot of solid evidence supporting the idea of serial killers being obsessed with their mothers. Plenty of notorious murders such as the or Jeffrey Dahmer grew up in regular households and had normal relationships with their mothers. 6 Serial Murder Is An American Phenomenon Historically, the concept of serial murder has been around under different names since ancient times. Americans were simply the first to use the term “serial killer.” Afterward, Hollywood picked up the ball and ran with it, giving us all the scary silver screen killers who were, mostly, American. That’s how the idea that serial killing only takes place in the United States’ decadent society appeared. This misconception was gleefully promoted by many detractors of the US.
Nowhere was this more evident than during killing spree in the Soviet Union. Officials considered serial killers a product of Western capitalism and shot down the idea that they had one in their midst again and again. They seemed content with obtaining forced confessions for individual homicides while the bodies kept piling up. In the end, the Rostov Ripper killed at least 52 people between 1978 and 1990, even though forensic specialist Viktor Burakov (lead character in Citizen X) suggested a serial killer as early as 1983. There’s no denying that the US tops the list when it comes to serial killers, but the phenomenon is present all over the world. Radford University maintains the Serial Killer Information Center, which contains all known captured serial killers since 1900.
Two-thirds of them are American, and given the country’s share of the world population, this gives the US a ratio of 15.53. Australia comes in at a distant second with a ratio of 5.23. However, other factors are at play here. The list contains only known and captured killers. Statistically, developing nations are worse at identifying and catching serial murderers.
Other countries such as simply hide their true numbers, which is why China boasted a ratio of 0.06. 5 All Serial Killers Are Sexual Sadists As previously mentioned, killers who do unspeakable things to their victims often receive the most attention from the media and from the public. But not all serial killers torture, and not all murders are motivated. Since motive is an integral part of profiling, many criminologists and other experts have tried to assemble a typology to classify serial killers based on their actions. James DeBurger and Ronald Holmes were among the first to come up with such a typology, and they placed serial murderers into four broad categories: mission-oriented, hedonistic, visionary, and power/control.
This classification was not without its faults, though., for example, who believed he received a divine message to kill people in order to prevent deadly earthquakes, could be considered both visionary and mission-oriented. According to the Radford University database, the top three motives, which account for a whopping 80 percent of serial homicides, are enjoyment (thrill, lust, power), financial gain, and anger.
Although enjoyment is the most common motive, it accounts only for a third of all serial murders. Sexual sadists are a subcategory of thrill killers, themselves a subcategory of those who kill for pleasure. 4 Serial Killers Travel A Lot And Kill Across State Lines In 2009, the FBI announced the launch of the Highway Serial Killings Initiative. The new program aimed to keep a record of all homicides committed along US highways and look for details that might link them together.
This has also become a TV trope for smart, organized serial killers. They kill victims across state lines, and because local law enforcement agencies don’t communicate with each other, the murders are never connected. Ted Bundy famously killed across many states. So did Angel Resendiz. Back in the 1970s, the “Freeway Killer” moniker was unknowingly used to describe not one but three active serial killers who were dumping bodies along Southern California’s highways:, Patrick Kearney, and Randy Kraft. However, the FBI specifies that this practice is more of an exception rather than the rule. In fact, most serial killers have well-established geographic areas of operation.
This is their comfort zone, which is defined by an anchor point, typically their place of residence or employment. As they progress, it is possible for them to leave their comfort zone, but interstate travel is rare. Even in the cases of killers who murder across state lines, this is seldom done to confuse authorities. According to the FBI, they usually fall into three categories: itinerant killers who move frequently from one place to another, homeless people who are transient by nature, and murderers who. 3 Serial Killers Want To Get Caught Another classic TV trope involves the murder leaving messages behind at the crime scene, begging the police to stop him.
In some cases, it can be more subtle than that, but the end result is the same: Subconsciously, the killer knows that what he is doing is wrong and wants to get caught. In real life, this is almost unheard-of. If anything, the murderer is more likely to taunt the police as each subsequent kill makes them bolder and more assertive.
It is, however, possible for serial killers to become overconfident and get caught through stupid mistakes, which could be misconstrued as subconscious pleas for help. One example would be New York serial killer Joel Rifkin.
He strangled prostitutes at home and then dumped them in the. He got caught with his 17th victim during a routine stop because he was driving a pickup with no rear license plate. Another scenario could involve the killer deliberately making it more difficult to increase the challenge.
An example would be double murder. Another factor would be the self-selection involved in serial murder. Even prolific killers such as Rifkin or Jeffrey Dahmer said that their first murder was the most difficult one.
Those who are bad at it are caught early on before they can acquire large body counts. Since these make up the vast majority of serial killers, it could be perceived that they want to get caught. 2 Serial Killers Are Either Geniuses Or Insane. Photo credit: Hollywood seems to only like two types of serial killers: the Hannibal Lecter–style sophisticated genius and the Norman Bates–style deranged murderer.
However, the contends that neither one is common in the real world. If anything, most serial killers are likely to suffer from personality disorders such as psychopathy, which American Psychiatric Association doesn’t classify as a mental illness. According to the Radford University database, only 0.66 percent of serial murderers killed because of hallucinations. The same database debunks the idea of serial killers being. Even though it only has 271 IQ results, they give an average of 94.5, which is consistent with the general population.
It is more likely that other characteristics, such as being meticulous and obsessive, lead to a successful killing “career” rather than exceptional intelligence. This is backed up by a few other data points. On average, organized killers have IQs eight points higher than disorganized killers. As the number of victims goes up, so does the average.
People who prefer a clean, efficient killing method such as strangulation or poison have a much higher average than those who bludgeon or stab. 1 Serial Killers Are White Men In Their Late Twenties If you were ever asked to come up with a profile for a serial killer, there’s a good chance that you would start out by saying that he is a white male in his late twenties or early thirties. Criminal Minds alone has probably used this description over 100 times. It is the stereotypical view we have of serial killers, at least in the United States and Europe. There is some sense to this reasoning. After all, the vast majority of serial killers are men, and these continents have large white populations.
Most don’t start killing until they are older, so just going by statistics, this should be a fairly accurate description. The serial killer database compiled by Radford University paints a different picture. Looking solely at serial killers from the United States between 1900 and 2010, only 12.5 percent fit the full criteria of being a white male in his mid- to late twenties. Ethnicity is the main factor that breaks down the stereotype.
The database does show that 90 percent of killers are male and that they commit their first murder, on average, when they’re 27.5 years old. However, only 52 percent of those were white. And if we look at it by decades, we see that number continue to drop. Between 1990 and 2016, only 37 percent were white.
One possible explanation is the increase in gang violence, as gang members with two or more victims are included in the study.
Excerpted with permission from, by Scott Bonn. Skyhorse Publishing. Copyright © 2014. Much of the general public’s knowledge concerning serial homicide is a product of sensationalized and stereotypical depictions of it in the news and entertainment media.
Colorful story lines are written to pique the interest of audiences, not to paint an accurate picture of serial murder. By focusing on the larger-than-life media images of socially constructed “celebrity monsters,” the public becomes captivated by the stylized presentation of the criminals rather than the reality of their crimes. Media stereotypes and hyperbole create myths and great distortions in the public consciousness regarding the true dynamics and patterns of serial murder in the U.S. The Reality of Serial Homicide in the U.S. Serial killings account for no more than 1 percent of all murders committed in the U.S.
Based on recent FBI crime statistics, there are approximately 15,000 murders annually, so that means there are no more than 150 victims of serial murder in the U.S. In any given year. 1 The FBI estimates that there are between twenty-five and fifty serial killers operating throughout the U.S. At any given time.
If there are fifty, then each one is responsible for an average of three murders per year. Serial killers are always present in society. However, the statistics reveal that serial homicide is quite rare and it represents a small portion of all murders committed in the U.S. Persistent misinformation, stereotypes and hyperbole presented in the media have combined with the relative rarity of serial murder cases to foster a number of popular myths about serial murder. The most common myths about serial killers encompass such factors as their race, gender, intelligence, living conditions and victim characteristics. Myth #1: All Serial Killers Are Men. Reality: This is simply not true but it is understandable why the public would hold this erroneous belief.
As late as 1998, a highly regarded former FBI profiler said “there are no female serial killers.” The news and entertainment media also perpetuate the stereotypes that all serial offenders are male and that women do not engage in horrible acts of violence. When the lethality of a femme fatale is presented in book or film, she is most often portrayed as the manipulated victim of a dominant male.
This popular but stereotypical media image is consistent with traditional gender myths in society which claim that boys are aggressive by nature while girls are passive. In fact, both aggressiveness and passivity can be learned through socialization and they are not gender specific. The reality concerning the gender of serial killers is quite different than the mythology of it.
Although there have been many more male serial killers than females throughout history, the presence of female serial killers is well documented in the crime data. In fact, approximately 17 percent of all serial homicides in the U.S. Are committed by women. 2 Interestingly, only 10 percent of total murders in the U.S.
Are committed by women. Therefore, relative to men, women represent a larger percentage of serial murders than all other homicide cases in the U.S. This is an important and revealing fact that defies the popular understanding of serial murder. Myth #2: All Serial Killers Are Caucasian. Reality: Contrary to popular mythology, not all serial killers are white. Serial killers span all racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. The racial diversity of serial killers generally mirrors that of the overall U.S.
There are well documented cases of African-American, Latino and Asian-American serial killers. African-Americans comprise the largest racial minority group among serial killers, representing approximately 20 percent of the total. Significantly, however, only white, and normally male, serial killers such as Ted Bundy become popular culture icons. Although they are not household names like their infamous white counterparts, examples of prolific racial minority serial killers are Coral Eugene Watts, a black man from Michigan, known as the “Sunday Morning Slasher,” who murdered at least seventeen women in Michigan and Texas; Anthony Edward Sowell, a black man known as the “Cleveland Strangler” who kidnapped, raped and murdered eleven women in Ohio; and Rafael Resendez-Ramirez, a Mexican national known as the “Railroad Killer,” who killed as many as fifteen men and women in Kentucky, Texas, and Illinois.
Myth #3: All Serial Killers Are Isolated and Dysfunctional Loners. Reality: The majority of serial killers are not reclusive social misfits who live alone, despite pervasive depictions of them as such in the news and entertainment media, including the socially challenged “Tooth Fairy” serial killer in the film Red Dragon. Real-life serial killers are not the isolated monsters of fiction and, frequently, they do not appear to be strange or stand out from the public in any meaningful way. Many serial killers are able to successfully hide out in plain sight for extended periods of time. Those who successfully blend in are typically also employed, have families and homes and outwardly appear to be non-threatening, normal members of society.
Because serial killers can appear to be so innocuous, they are often overlooked by law enforcement officials, as well as their own families and peers. In some rare cases, an unidentified serial killer will even socialize and become friendly with the unsuspecting police detectives who are tracking him. The incredible tale of Ed Kemper (the “Co-ed Killer”) provides an example of this phenomenon. Serial killers who hide out in plain sight are able to do so precisely because they look just like everyone else.
It is their ability to blend in that makes them very dangerous, frightening and yet very compelling to the general public. Myth #4: All Serial Murderers Travel Widely and Kill Interstate. Reality: The roaming, homicidal maniac such as Freddy Krueger in the cult film A Nightmare on Elm Street is another entertainment media stereotype that is rarely found in real life.
Among the most infamous serial killers, Ted Bundy is the rare exception who traveled and killed interstate. Bundy twice escaped from police custody and committed at least thirty homicides in the states of Washington, Utah, Florida, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho and California. Articulate, educated, well-groomed and charming, Bundy was truly atypical among serial killers in his cross-country killing rampage. Unlike Bundy, most serial killers have very well defined geographic areas of operation. They typically have a comfort zone—that is, an area that they are intimately familiar with and where they like to stalk and kill their prey.
Jack the Ripper provides the classic example of this geographic preference because he stalked and killed exclusively in the small Whitechapel district of London in the fall of 1888. The comfort zone of a serial killer is often defined by an anchor point such as a place of residence or employment.
Crime statistics reveal that serial killers are most likely to commit their first murder very close to their place of residence due to the comfort and familiarity it offers them. John Wayne Gacy “The Killer Clown” buried most of his thirty-three young, male victims in the crawl space beneath his house after sexually assaulting and murdering them. Serial killers sometimes return to commit murder in an area they know well from the past such as the community in which they were raised. Over time, serial murderers may extend their activities outside of their comfort zone but only after building their confidence by executing several successful murders while avoiding detection by law enforcement authorities.
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As noted by the FBI in its 2005 report on serial murder, the crime data reveal that very few serial predators actually travel interstate to kill. 3 The few serial killers who do travel interstate to kill typically fall into one of three categories: 1) Itinerant individuals who periodically move from place to place; 2) Chronically homeless individuals who live transiently; or 3) Individuals whose job function lends itself to interstate or transnational travel such as truck drivers or those in the military service. The major difference between these individuals who kill serially and other serial murderers is the nature of their traveling lifestyle which provides them with many zones of comfort in which to operate.
Serial Killers
Most serial killers do not have such opportunities to travel and keep their killings close to home. Myth #5: All Serial Killers Are Either Mentally Ill Or Evil Geniuses. Reality: The images presented in the news and entertainment media suggest that serial killers either have a debilitating mental illness such as psychosis or they are brilliant but demented geniuses like Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
Neither of these two stereotypes is quite accurate. Instead, serial killers are much more likely to exhibit antisocial personality disorders such as sociopathy or psychopathy, which are not considered to be mental illnesses by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). An examination of psychopathy and sociopathy, and a discussion of the powerful connection between antisocial personality disorders and serial homicide is presented in chapter 4. In fact, very few serial killers suffer from any mental illness to such a debilitating extent that they are considered to be insane by the criminal justice system. To be classified as legally insane, an individual must be unable to comprehend that an action is against the law at the exact moment the action is undertaken. In other words, a serial killer must be unaware that murder is legally wrong while committing the act of murder in order to be legally insane.
This legal categorization of insanity is so stringent and narrow that very few serial killers are actually included in it. Psychopathic serial killers such as John Wayne Gacy and Dennis Rader are entirely aware of the illegality of murder while they are in the process of killing their victims. Their understanding of right and wrong does nothing to impede their crimes, however, because psychopaths such as Gacy and Rader have an overwhelming desire and compulsion to kill that causes them to ignore the criminal law with impunity. When they are apprehended, serial killers rarely are determined to be mentally incompetent to stand trial and their lawyers rarely utilize an insanity defense on their behalf. Once again, this is due to the extremely narrow legal definition of insanity which simply does not apply to most psychopathic killers. Even David Berkowitz, the infamous Son of Sam, who told his captors tales of satanic rituals and demonic possession, was found to be competent to stand trial for his murders following his arrest in 1977.
Considerable mythology also surrounds the intelligence of serial killers. There is a popular culture stereotype that serial killers are cunning, criminal geniuses. This stereotype is heavily promoted by the entertainment media in television, books and films. In particular, Hollywood has established a number of brilliant homicidal maniacs like John Doe in the acclaimed 1995 film Se7en. John Doe personifies the stereotype of the evil genius serial killer who outsmarts law enforcement authorities, avoids justice and succeeds in his diabolical plan. The image of the evil genius serial killer is mostly a Hollywood invention. Real serial killers generally do not possess unique or exceptional intellectual skills.
The reality is that most serial killers who have had their IQ tested score between borderline and above average intelligence. This is very consistent with the general population.
Contrary to mythology, it is not high intelligence that makes serial killers successful. Instead, it is obsession, meticulous planning and a cold-blooded, often psychopathic personality that enable serial killers to operate over long periods of time without detection. 1 Uniform Crime Report. Retrieved 2 Hickey, E. Serial Murderers and Their Victims. Belmont, Calf.: Wadsworth. Serial Murder: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for Investigators.
National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S).