ARTICLE #1- The Serial Killer Phenomenon
Source citation: Whittington-Egan, Richard. “The Serial Killer Phenomenon.”
Contemporary Review290.1690 (2008): 323-330. Print.
What is a serial killer?
Pg. 323 (4thparagraph), “the serial killer kills primarily for a compulsive sexual reason, often a repulsive one.” This passage goes into more detail comparing mass murderers to serial killers, you might find it helpful to differentiate between the two in your paper.
Pg 323 (5thparagraph), “The term serial killer was coined, so the story goes*, in the 1970’s by FBI agent Robert K. Ressler, for the engagingly homely reason that such multiple murderers, killing in series, brought back to him childhood memories of...the Saturday kiddie matinee movies at the cinema in his home-town.” *This phrase makes me doubt the authenticity of the statement, you probably should look this word origin up to confirm, if you chose to include this information.
Pg 326 (1stparagraph), “The most general definition is that of one who has murdered a minimum of three to four people over a period of time, with a cooling off period of varying length- weeks, months, or even years- between killings.”
What types of serial killers are there?
Pg 326 (5thparagraph), “The psychotics. They are a minority. The genuinely insane.They hear voices, see visions, fail to perceive reality correctly. Murder is a symptom of their madness.”
Pg 326 (5thparagraph), “The psychopaths (also designated sociopaths). They know right from wrong- but don't care. They lack conscience and the capacity for empathy. They feel neither guilt nor remorse; they kill because they want to: they like it. Two traits invariably present: lust for power and paraphilia*, or sexual abnormality, such as voyeurism, undinism, coprophagia an piquerism.”
*paraphilia noun, Psychiatry. 1.a type of mental disorder characterized by a preference for or obsession with unusual sexual practices, as pedophilia, sadomasochism, or exhibitionism.(dictionary.com)
Pg. 326 (5thparagraph), “The FBI’s BSU further classifies the serial killer into: (A)Asocial…(B)Non-social” So, in general, there are two main kinds of serial killers as defined above: psychotics and psychopaths...they can also be grouped by their ability to socialize with other people, therefore the FBI also looks at a crime scene patterns to determine how the individual might behave. The two following descriptions show the differences between asocial and non-social serial killers. Which description fits your serial killer?
Pg. 326-327 (7thparagraph), “Asocial. Disorganized. A loner. Withdrawn. His job will be menial. More cowardly and will knock the victim unconscious first. Picks victims from near where he lives or works. Leaves a disorganized crime scene with evidence of little or no preparation for murder. Despatches victim swiftly.”
Asocial (dictionary.com) 1.not sociable or gregarious (fond of the company of others); withdrawn from society. 2. indifferent to or averse to conforming to conventional standards of behavior. 3. inconsiderate of others; selfish; egocentric.
Pg. 327 (1stparagraph), “Non-social. Organized. Positively antisocial, although more gregarious.Superficially quite normal.Maintains conventional relationships. More organized. Mobile. More imaginative and creative.More adaptive.Plans ahead, tends to have preferred type of victim, stalks, taunts police, intend to shock the community, and leave victim's corpse on show.
Pg. 327 (2ndparagraph), “Rape murders are committed purely as a matter of utility. Lust murders, on the other hand, are the consequence of pure pleasure in the act of killing, and can be further divided into (a) sadistic and (b) non-sadistic procedures.” This passage is acknowledging that sometimes rapists murder the victims just because it is easier but they don’t necessarily enjoy killing. So, that is different from the serial killers who are killing because they like to kill. Of those who enjoy killing, they can be either sadistic or non-sadistic. You could find a second source to learn more about the difference between the two.
Pg. 328 (3rdparagraph), “Psychologist Dr. Joel Morris, a founding member of the International Committee of Neuroscientists to Study Episodic Aggression, distinguishes seven phases of serial killer activity. (1) Aura- day dreams and fantasies. (2) Trolling- cruising and contact. (3) Wooing- Luring into clutches. (4) Capture. (5) Murder. (6) Totem- Collection of trophies, souvenirs. (7) Depression- post-homicidal deflation.”
What are common typical traits of serial killers?
Details about them:
Pg 324 (5thparagraph), “In common with many serial killers, Wright was a regular customer of prostitutes, whose easy availability and somewhat nomadic lifestyle make them prime targets for sociopathic sex slayers.” This quote is comparing a specific serial killer (Wright) to a typical serial killer, you probably do not want to keep that part of the quote in when you use this in our paper, instead paraphrase and use this as a source providing evidence that many serial killers target prostitutes and the rationale for that.
Pg 325 (3rdparagraph), “The typical serial killer is defined as caucasian, male, aged 18-32.”
Pg 325 (5thparagraph), “The bulk of serial killers are heterosexual.”
Pg 326 (4thparagraph), “Most are solitary males, although some hunt in pairs...and sometimes in teams.” In the middle of this quote is a list of pairs or teams used as examples of when the pattern of being solitary males is broken, but over all the behavior of working with a partner is rare.
Pg 327 (4th paragraph), “Serial killers are, generally speaking, of at least average intelligence, some…were well above average.”
Pg 327 (5th paragraph), “Almost a third of all known serial killers turn out to have been mental patients or ex-convicts.”
Pg 327 (5th paragraph), “They come from all walks of life and are frequently the products of broken, or severely brutal homes, where they have themselves been subjected to gross cruelty, sexual abuse, and in some prolonged and systematic torture, in deprived childhood: negative parenting”
Pg 327 (6th paragraph), “Quite often they have at some time in their lives sustained head injuries.” If your research indicated that your serial killer had a head injury read the rest of this paragraph it goes into more detail about a few serial killers with head injuries but also goes on to say that,“But the cerebral trauma theory of causation is far from universally well regarded. Head injuries are, after all, a childhood commonplace.”
Pg 328 (5th paragraph), the article quotes, FBI agent John Douglas. “He says, ‘almost all serial killers are police buffs. When we ask them what they would do if they could start again and select another occupation, they chose law enforcement. Many of these guys in fact have tried, but didn’t make the grade. A lot end up as security guards.”
Details about their behaviors:
Pg. 325 (1stparagraph), “All his* victims were, in classic serial killer mode, strangled, and their clothes were removed, either as a safeguard against the discovery of possible forensic evidence, or as trophies.” *be careful here, the “he” is a specific serial killer that is being compared to a typical serial killer.
Pg. 326 (1stparagraph), “Serial killers are intra-racial.” Be careful, “intra” means within the same race.
Pg 328 (2nd paragraph), “A large number of serial killers have such characteristics in common, as being essentially a loner, experiencing difficulty with relationships, and showing, psychopathically, neither empathy, conscience, nor remorse, only arrogance.”
Pg 328 (2nd paragraph), “They routinely graduate to thievery. Later, fear and mistrust of women may manifest.”
Pg 328 (3rd paragraph), “There is little doubt hat the serial killer derives a considerable amount of his satisfaction from the hunt itself for a victim – trolling. And each serial killer has his own favorite trolling ground.”
Pg 328 (4th paragraph), “There is very sound evidence to suggest that sexual murder is not about sex…it is about power, the power to dominate. And that is the driving force behind the practice of torture common to so many serial killers.”
Pg 328 (4th paragraph), “It is all about the need to make a victim scream for mercy, beg for life, wield the power of a god over life and death.”
Pg 328 (4th paragraph), “The act of pre-mortem mutilation also spells power.”
Pg 329 (2nd paragraph), “Returning to the scene of the crime is another not uncommon behavioural feature: sometimes for practical reasons, such as checking the progress made by police, sometimes to gloat, to relive the experience of the crime.”
Pg 329 (4th paragraph), The article quotes Dr. Nigel Raine, “‘Most murders happen close to the killer’s home, but not in the area directly surrounding a criminal’s house, where crimes are less likely to be committed because of the fear of getting caught by someone they know.’” If you read the beginning of this paragraph you will see that the context is that the behaviors of serial killers are being compared to that of bees in the sense that they create a buffer zone around their home/hive; that comparison is probably not helpful to you in you paper but the actual pattern described above that serial killersoften exhibit could be useful to you.