Who Speaks For The Dead?
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Definition of a serial killer
A serial killer is a person who murders usually three or more people with a "cooling off" period between each murder and whose motivation for killing is largely based on psychological gratification. One hypothesis is that all serial killers suffer from some form of Antisocial Personality Disorder. They do not usually display obvious psychotic behaviour, and thus may appear to be quite normal and often even charming, a state of adaptation which Hervey Cleckley calls the "mask of sanity." There is sometimes a sexual element to the murders. The murders may have been completed/attempted in a similar fashion and the victims may have had something in common, for example occupation, race, or sex.
It is extremely important to know that although these killers do not always seem obviously psychotic, they are always sociopathic.
A sociopathic person does not understand, care about or respect social boundaries and frequently engage in anti-social behaviour in secret or even openly against weak individuals.
A psychotic person, or psychopath, is a person who is insane in terms of having a fundamental view of the world at extreme variance to what is typical for a human being and who also has a powerful fantasy that dominates their thinking. Despite this, they still understand the different between right and wrong on some basic level- serial killers are called "crazy" but they are never "crazy" enough not to try and conceal their crimes and they are never "crazy" enough to commit any of their disgusting acts somewhere where a uniformed police officer will see them.
It is often said that serial killers are a type of psychopath who has no empathy, in other words has no feeling for others or for the suffering they cause. They are definitely extremely selfish people, and they derive extreme sick pleasure from inflicting pain in whatever kind they can. Physical torture, mental cruelty, games with victims and their families- these are individuals who are usually fetishists, extremely violent, and totally oriented in a predatory way to give themselves pleasure.
The term serial killer is said to have been coined by Michigan State University alumnus and FBI agent Robert Ressler in the 1970s. Serial killer entered the popular vernacular in large part due to the widely publicized crimes of Ted Bundy and David Berkowitz in the middle years of that decade.
Meet the psychopaths!
Aileen Wuornos
Alfred Gaynor
Amerithrax
Arthur Shawcross
Bad Blood
Black Zebra Killers
Blind Fury
BTK
Charles Milles Manson
Child of Hell
Coral Watts
Dennis Rader
Der Wochenendmörder
Die Blutfrau
Ed Gein
Four Pi Movement
Freeway Killer
Fritz Haarman
Gary Ridgway
Georg Karl Grossmann
Gerard John Schaefer
Green River Killer
Harold Shipman
Harvey Carignan
Henry Louis Wallace
Herbert Mullin
Iceman
In Cold Blood
Jack the Ripper
Jack the Stripper
Jeffrey Dahmer
Jim Jones
Joachim Kroll
John Bodkin Adams
John Wayne Gacy
Killing For Company
L’Eventreur du Sud-Est
Louis Peoples
Manson Family
Peter Moore
Process Church
Randall Woodfield
Raymond Fernandez
Ripper Crew
Smiley Face Killers
Son of Sam
Stanley Baker
Sunday Morning Slasher
Sunset Strip Killers
The Aviation Hunter
The Beauty Queen Killer
The Boston Strangler
The Candyman
The Cannibal
The Düsseldorfer Monster
The Gorilla Murderer
The Hand of Death
The Hillside Stranglers
The I-5 Killer
The Killer Clown
The Leather-Boy Killer
The Lonely Hearts Killers
The Lust Killer
The Michigan Coed Killer
The Midtown Torso Killer
The Milwaukee Cannibal
The Monster of the Rivers
The Only Living Witness
The Phantom Sniper
The Phoenix Strangler
The Pin-Up Killer
The Rostow Ripper
The Sadistic Romeo
The Shoemaker
The Sorcerer
The Tag Team From Hell
The Teenage Monster
The Terminator
The Trailside Killer
The Triangular Chamber of Death Murderer
The Triangle of Death Killer
The Vampire
The Vampire Klan
The Want-Ad Killer
The Werewolf of Amiens
The Yorkshire Ripper
Unabomber
Wayne Williams
Yang Xinhai
Zodiac Killer
More information
A significant number of serial killers will show certain aspects of both organized and disorganized types, although usually the characteristics of one type will dominate. Some killers descend from being organized into disorganized behavior as their killings continue. They will carry out careful and methodical murders at the start, but become careless and impulsive as their compulsion takes over their lives. Regardless, the FBI generally categorizes serial killers into the two different types.
Organized/Nonsocial Offenders
These killers are usually of high intelligence, have an above average IQ (>110 range), and plan their crimes quite methodically, usually abducting victims, killing them in one place and disposing of them in another. They will often lure the victims with ploys appealing to their sense of sympathy. For example, Ted Bundy would put his arm in a fake plaster cast and ask women to help him carry something to his car, where he would beat them unconscious with a metal bar (e.g. a crowbar), and carry them away. Others specifically target prostitutes, who are likely to voluntarily go with a serial killer posing as a customer. They maintain a high degree of control over the crime scene, and usually have a solid knowledge of forensic science that enables them to cover their tracks, such as by burying the body or weighing it down and sinking it in a river. They follow their crimes in the media carefully and often take pride in their actions, as if it were a grand project. The organized killer is usually socially adequate, has friends and lovers, and sometimes even a spouse and children. They are the type who, when captured, are most likely to be described by acquaintances as kind and unlikely to hurt anyone. Some serial killers go to lengths to make their crimes difficult to discover, such as falsifying suicide notes, setting up others to take the blame for their crimes, and faking gang warfare or natural deaths. Coral Watts, Ted Bundy, and John Wayne Gacy are well-known examples of this type of serial killer.
Disorganized/Asocial Offenders
These killers are often of low intelligence, have a below average IQ (<90), and commit their crimes impulsively. Whereas the organized killer will specifically set out to hunt a victim, the disorganized will murder someone when the opportunity arises, rarely bothering to dispose of the body but instead just leaving it at the same place in which they found the victim. They usually carry out "blitz" attacks, leaping out and attacking their victims without warning, and will typically perform whatever rituals they feel compelled to carry out (e.g., necrophilia, mutilation, cannibalism, etc.) once the victim is dead. They rarely bother to cover their tracks but may still evade capture for some time because of a level of cunning that compels them to keep on the move. They are often socially inadequate with few friends, and they may have a history of mental problems and be regarded by acquaintances as eccentric or even "a bit creepy." Usually they are very introverted people, too. They have little insight into their crimes and may even block out memories of committing the murders. Ed Gein is a prime example of this type of serial killer.
The medical profession seems to attract some people with a pathological interest in the power of life and death. One example is Harold Shipman, an English family doctor, who portrayed victims as having died of natural causes; between 1971 and 1998 he killed at least 215, and possibly up to 459 people, of his own mostly elderly patients – and until very near the end of his killings it was not even suspected that any crimes had been committed.
The motives of serial killers can be placed into five different categories, although a few serial killers have had featured characteristics of more than one type.
Contrary to popular opinion, serial killers are rarely insane or motivated by hallucinations and/or voices in their heads. Many claim to be, usually as a way of trying to get acquitted by reason of insanity. There are, however, a few genuine cases of serial killers who were compelled by such delusions. It should be noted however that although not "insane" (which is a meaningless term in any event) no serial killer has anything remotely approaching a common mental makeup: they are "crazy" but they are also aware of the difference between right and wrong and have a depraved indifference to what is right and to the terror and pain they cause their victims.
Visionary
Herbert Mullin killed 13 people after voices told him that murder was necessary to prevent California from suffering an earthquake. Mullin went to great pains to "point out" that California did indeed avoid an earthquake during his murder spree.
Ed Gein killed two women (or more, exact number is unknown) who bore passing resemblances to his mother. He also used the flesh of exhumed female corpses to fashion a "woman suit" (as well as various other household adornments, such as curtains and lamp shades) for himself so that he could "become" his mother. After his arrest he was placed in a mental institution for the rest of his life.
Missionary
So-called missionary killers believe that their acts are justified on the basis that they are getting rid of a certain type of person (often prostitutes, hobos, runaways, or members of a certain ethnicity), and thus doing society a favor. Dr John Bodkin Adams, for instance, grew up in an Irish family that worshipped with the British fundamentalist Christian, Plymouth Brethren, and the doctor chose to affiliate himself with this group throughout his adult life and while apparently committing heinous crimes on his patients. Yet, while more than 160 of Adams' patients died under mysterious circumstances, he was only tried for the murder of one of his patients and aquitted. It has been said, however, that Adams' rich, 'non-believing' victims were killed partly in order to redistribute their wealth to people Adams considered more "deserving," usually - but not always - himself. Missionary killers differ from other types of serial killer in that their motive is generally not directly or overtly sexual.
Hedonistic
This type kills for the sheer pleasure of it, although what aspect they enjoy varies. This is the most common type of serial killer depicted in slasher and horror movies, psychological thrillers, and so on. Yang Xinhai's post-capture statement is typical of such killers' attitudes: "When I killed people, I had a desire [to kill more]. This inspired me to kill more. I don't care whether they deserve to live or not. It is none of my concern." Some killers may enjoy the actual "chase" or "trolling" phase of hunting down and ensnaring a victim more than anything, while others may be primarily motivated by the act of torturing and abusing the victim while they are alive. Some, such as Dennis Rader, Wichita's notorious "BTK (Bind Torture Kill) Strangler," who killed 10 known victims, enjoyed both the hunt and torturing his victims after capturing and subduing them. Yet others, like Jeffrey Dahmer, may kill the victim quickly, and then indulge in necrophilia or cannibalism with the body. Usually there is a strong sexual aspect to the crimes, even if it may not be immediately obvious; some killers obtain a surge of excitement that is not necessarily sexual, such as David Berkowitz, who got a thrill out of shooting young couples in cars at random and then running away without ever physically touching the victims. It is hypothesized that these individuals have a high tolerance for endorphins. Normal individuals can get a natural high from activities ranging from taking a run to riding a roller coaster. Sociopaths, however, have a high tolerance, meaning they must do something that causes more of an endorphin rush. It is also worth noting that some killers of this type, such as Gary Ridgway, the infamous "Green River Killer," may attempt to justify their actions in missionary terms after being caught (Ridgway, for example, preyed primarily, though not exclusively, on prostitutes and runaways), but their choice of socially "undesirable" victims is often a matter of convenience more than anything else… i.e., they know these types of victims will accompany them alone to secluded locations willingly, will probably not be reported missing until a significant period of time after their deaths, and the deaths/disappearances will generally not lead to a large amount of public outcry.
Gain motivated
Most criminals who commit multiple murders for material ends (such as Mafia hit men) are not classed as serial killers, because they are motivated by economic gain rather than psychopathological compulsion. There is a fine line separating such killers, however. For example, Marcel Petiot, who operated in Nazi-occupied France, could be classified as a serial killer. He posed as a member of the French Resistance and lured wealthy Jewish people to his home, claiming he could smuggle them out of the country. Instead he murdered them and stole their belongings, killing 63 people before he was finally caught. Another example would be Aileen Wuornos, who killed 7 men in Daytona Beach between November 30, 1989 to November 19, 1990. Wuornos would pose as a prostitute, get picked up by her victims, shoot them and take their money. Wuornos was suspected of killing the men because of either her hatred of men or as a way to get the money to provide for her lover.
Power and control
Their main objective for killing is to gain and exert power over their victim. Such killers are sometimes abused as children, leaving them with feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy as adults. Many power/control-motivated killers sexually abuse their victims, but they differ from hedonistic killers in that rape is not motivated by lust but as simply another form of dominating the victim.
Criminologists have long recognized that there are links between most serial killers and their chosen victims.
Demographically, serial murderers tend to target more women than men, and kill strangers more often than family or acquaintances. This as opposed to single-homicide offenders, who tend to kill men and women equally, while killing friends and family more often. Serial murderers’ killings are often sexually motivated. The sexual motivation supports the idea that serial murderers tend to have specific criteria and specific sexual interests that motivate their selection of certain victims. This victim selection process sets serial murderers apart from other types of killers.
