Inside the minds of Serial Killers

There are many cultural myths about serial killers, often propagated even by mental health
professionals. Many assume there is a profile of a serial killer, that serial killers always go for the
same victim type or always use the same MO, that they are more clever than ordinary people, and
that they are inevitably charming and attractive. The truth is not as simple as that. There are
different types of serial killers and while there are many books that discuss the serial killer
phenomenon especially in relationship to victim types or context, researchers have not yet been
able to come up with a definition, or type, that covers the broad spectrum of serial killers and their
complex psychological dynamics. Since the days of London's "Jack the Ripper," the gruesome acts
of serial killers have instilled fear and a morbid curiosity in the general public. The victims,
murdered in horrendous fashion, are often society's most innocent and vulnerable. But these
seemingly random acts of violence often follow some deliberate paths into which the innocent
have unwittingly wandered.

Serial killers are often defined as people that kill two or more people over a period of more
than 30 days with “cooling off” periods between each kill (Ressler, 1970). This definition was first
coined by Robert Ressler, a former FBI agent who developed psychological profiling at the FBI
Behavioral Science Unit in Quantico, Virginia. He was the first to provide a specific definition on
serial killers. One of the biggest challenges in this field is to explain what a serial killer is. Even
with a proper definition from a professional, serial killers differ from each others, their motives
might not be the same and their psychological and biological features as well as their background
make each of them unique. Based on recent FBI crime statistics, there are approximately 15,000
murders annually (Uniform Crime Report, 2011). Serial murders appear to have increased over the
past 30 years. 80% of the 400 serial killers of the past century have emerged since 1950 (Vronksy,
2005). Why is the population fascinated by but yet scared of serial killers? Nobody would want to
be associated with any kind of horrendous atrocities murderers commit. But yet, these murders
have become a phenomena and a fascination across the world, essentially fueled by movies, TV
shows and media. There is a part of mystery in the result of a crime and inquisitiveness felt by the
population, attempting to understand an action to which they cannot relate. This essay essentially
focuses on the psychological aspect of serial killers, along with their biological aspects, then on
the role that gender differences play in serial murder, and finally, how experts respond to and
analyze serial crime, and how controversial but useful methods can be.
Psychology of serial killers; what are they made of?
Serial murder cases present numerous challenges and obstacles to law enforcement
personnel who have the responsibility of investigating these complex cases » (Morton & Hilts,
2008). Serial killers are really complex to understand and catch. The population tends to think they
are not normal if they are capable of doing such horrific crimes, that they are less intelligent than
the average. There are many myths about serial killers that will be discussed later in this essay, but
the focus of this chapter is to get inside their minds by trying to classify them, and take into account
biological factors.

Gender roles; female vs. male serial killers

Female serial killers are less unknown from the public. It has to do with Roy Hazelwood
FBI profiler’s quote saying that « there are no female serial killers. Indeed, the female type is most
often portrayed as a victim and not as a killer. Even though female serial killers are extremely rare,
analyzing their characteristics is somewhat insightful for the purpose of this essay, in order to try
to understand both perspectives. The rationale for serial murder differ from each murderer.
Usually, gains and motive are psychological (sexual satisfaction, the search for power over
someone vulnerable or aberrant hedonism) (Holmes & DeBurger, 1985). From all the information
gathered and analyzed, a taxonomy was created in order to categorize serial killers, but it was only
based on the examination of male offenders (Holmes & DeBurger, 1985). The spatial mobility
plays a role in male and female serial murders, whether they are geographically stable (offenders
residing in one location and killing their victims in the same area or nearby) or geographically
transient. Generally, the male offender falls into both categories, unlike the female offender, who
falls into the geographically stable category. As a result, it narrows the victim selection process,
increasing the likelihood of being apprehended. Those factors might explain why it is less a thing
when it comes to female serial killers. Unlike men, women tend to know their victims and are
almost always male. Their motives are usually for material gain, profit and power, killing for
purpose of comfort, not sex and pleasure. This follows evolutionary theory, in the sense that men
are said to be motivated more by seeking multiple sexual opportunities, while women are
motivated to find a committed partner with sufficient resources. (Harrison, 2008). But it is not
always the case for all female offenders, as some of them might have intrinsic reasons to kill.
Similarities between male and female serial killers
Based on Hickey’s study (1991), focusing mostly on murder and post-murder behavior, he
found out that there may be more differences than similarities between female murderers and their
male counterparts; for example, both tended to commit organized and disorganized types of
murder (Ressler, 1985). Concerning social and psychological history, the study implied some
background commonalities between the killers; both came from broken homes, experienced
childhood abuse (including physical and sexual abuse), and some women were diagnosed with a
pathology such as antisocial personality and schizophrenia. More similarities were found in the
demographic category such as race, education background, and occupation. Most of them had a
relatively high level of education and a stable job. This study allowed to suggest new areas of
exploration concerning female serial murderers. Some similarities have been found in one of the
most infamous cases of female serial killing, Aileen Wuornos, a Florida prostitute who shot and
killed 7 men over the course of a few weeks (Russel, 2002). With a history of broken home, incest
(Vronsky, 2007), prostitution, drugs and alcohol, Aileen’s background might have played a huge
role in the execution of her murders. Her killing strategy was precise and carefully chosen; she
would choose middle-aged ‘Johns’ who would pick her up and drive her to a private locale and
she would shot and rob them, dump the bodies in remote areas and abandon the vehicle somewhere
else (Norris, 2011). This shows common characteristics with how men serial murderers proceed,
and makes Aileen’s case even more unique. The lack of geographical mobility for female
murderers was present in Hickey’s study, however, Aileen traveled a lot during the commission of
her murders. She also presents many items like men offenders such as need for stimulation, lack
of remorse, parasitic lifestyle, promiscuous sexual behavior, impulsivity and criminal versatility
(Holmes & Homes, 2010; Kelleher & Kelleher, 1998; Russell, 2002; Vronsky, 2007).
Most of this research I’ve got from Dorine Walter of the University of London, but thing
I’ve also notice from those documentaries, tv show and movies is that not all serial killers are
psychopath and not all psychopath are criminals, they differentiate in most cases such as their
modus operandi. Serial killers please themselves intimately with the victim before and after they
kill those victims and always have a cooling time of months to years, also they comeback a week
or month on the crime scene to relive the moment while psychopaths does it for bloodlust and
cannibalism, also psychopaths often share the story or show the sinister things they’ve done to the
one they admire while serial killers never tell a thing and deny the accusation even when the victim
is on their side. Serial killers are hard to distinguish from normal people, they communicate, have
jobs, some have wife/husband and kids, they blend in the community. Even in Robert Ressler’s
research about serial killers and in our technology now it is still hard to profile serial killers but
there are sign if a kid is becoming serial killers, the triad links cruelty to animals, obsession with
fire-setting, and persistent bedwetting past a certain age, to violent behaviors, particularly
homicidal behavior and sexually predatory behavior but this method is mostly disregarded and
when you base on this method one must use carefully. I for once also obsessed on serial killers and
psychopath on how their mind works, why they kill people, what do they make of this sinister
thing they’ve done. If you base it on the place and community, Philippines don’t have a case of
serial killing because of our kind of chismosa culture and being always active in family and
relative’s business, everyone always put themselves on everybody else’s business. Filipinos love
to always gossip in their neighbors that when you do something even how hard you keep it secret,
they will always know. It may be part of habit as Filipino because we tend to always love gossiping
but thanks to it, it also is the reason that there is no case of serial killing here. Research says that
serial incidents in 2018 is now declining that less than 0.01% of murders is serial killing. Serial
killers mostly created by their parents or relatives and sometimes the neighbors, their childhood
trauma makes them psychologically unstable because of the beating, parents dominant and sexual
abuse that they grow with the absence of remorse.