In history over the years, human civilization has brutally overturned each other, bringing murder and harm into existence. Various cases sprung into the public eye as killings blossomed nationwide. Every day people were tricking society, hiding, and waiting for their next innocent victims to cross their path.
Once killings became more common, different types of killers began to be named and detected. There are four types of killers, each has its own way of proceeding with their victims. Killers who are compelled by visions or voices are considered psychotic. The voices are accused to be telling the killer to kill certain people due to their experiences, making this type of killer a Visionary killer. The most basic, well-known killer, is a Hedonistic killer. This type of serial killer makes a strong connection between personal violence and sexual gratification. This type of killer can also be described as a “lust” or “thrill” killer. This killer receives pleasure from the act and has eroticized the experience. They generally take the time to torture or mutilate their victims. A killer who feels an absolute “need” or “duty” to kill certain types of people is called a Mission killer. They tend to be extremely religious and some kill more toward people who have done badly in the past such as being in jail or even prostitutes. Although these killers view their murders as a good deed in the eyes of God, they are not psychotic. Lastly, there is Power and Control killers. This type of serial killer experiences complete sexual gratification from the domination and humiliation of the victim. This killer is a true sociopath and lives by his own personal set of rules and guidelines. Many of the famous serial killers we have seen in history and in the media would fall under this type of a serial killer. Some killers have a mixture out of these identified groups, but there isn’t an exact recipe for a serial killer.
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We all are either organized or disorganized. Messy killers tend to lack covering up the tracks of their murders which often leads to them getting caught. These types of killers don't usually plan out murders which is why they’re so careless with their victims. More than likely, the killers take action at the wrong place and time, with most of them not being aware of what is the correct time to do so. After the killer is finished, they move to different states or cities to avoid jail time along with being exposed to their violent doings. Usually, these people have low IQs and are extremely antisocial. They don't have very much family which leads to them gathering voices in their heads telling them to proceed in a killing. Some killers collect “trophies” after they kill to remember their time with a victim but not disorganized killers. Since they have little sense of what and why they are killing, their attitudes are frantic after the murder which causes them to be difficult when it comes to confessing to their crime.
Organized people who act out and killers are the most difficult to capture. They have high IQs and are extremely manipulative. Due to their high intelligence, they can easily read people and use them to their advantage. Before they kill they take precautions to each step of their plans. This type of killer picks a victim and analyzes them for several days before pouncing. Once they are ready to kidnap their victim, they do it by making the person feel sympathy with the killer then proceed to another location before committing murder. These people make sure the body cannot be found that is unless they wish for it to be found. A killer like this calls their murders their “work” as if it is an art piece, meaning they have a great amount of pride in when they kill. Oddly enough, they stay in touch with the news, keeping up with the media's details on the case. Organized kills also, find pleasure in causing the police confusion or frustration when searching for the killer or bodies.
People who view the news and observe the horrific incidents that occur always come to the question, how can somebody do that to another human being, this only being answered by retracing back to the mind of a killer.
Some people always say maybe these killers were born evil and that is simply why they are this way. Yet studies expose other reasonings as to why people become cold-blooded killers. Many killers have disorders that feed them unhealthy motives to kill. Serial killers are much more likely to exhibit antisocial personality disorders such as sociopath or more likely psychopathy, which are not considered to be mental illnesses by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). These disorders share many common behavioral traits which lead to the confusion between them. Key traits that sociopaths and psychopaths share include a failure to feel remorse or guilt, a disregard for the rights of others, a disregard for laws, and a tendency to display violent behavior.
Very few serial killers suffer from any mental illness to such a debilitating extent that they are considered to be insane. To be classified as legally insane, an individual must be unable to comprehend that 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 Ted Bundy, 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 Bundy, Gacy, and Rader have an overwhelming desire and compulsion to kill that causes them to ignore the criminal law with impunity. 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. According to sources from mythology, it is not high intelligence that makes serial killers successful. Instead, it is an obsession, meticulous planning and a cold-blooded, often psychopathic personality that enables serial killers to operate over long periods of time without detection.
The study is to examine the neuropsychological and intellectual differences of murderers who kill impulsively and those who kill as the result of a premeditated strategic plan.
Criminals who tend to kill often have a stressor to cause them to act out in a dangerous way. A stressor is a traumatic event that is elicited upon someone. Stressors are typically known to be “breaking points” that drive the ill person to act out on the feeling they’re experiencing due to the random stressor. The stressor can be linked to a traumatic past in their childhood or even early adulthood.
Serial killers have a connection to childhood abuse. Studies have revealed a number of murder cases where the murder has gone through a type of abuse as an adolescent. Approximately 42% of convicted serial killers suffered from physical abuse as a child and 74% suffered from psychological abuse. Sexual abuse also seemed to be a prominent characteristic among serial killers as 35% have witnessed the sexual abuse and 43% have been abused themselves. Another form of trauma linked to these killers is head trauma. Roughly 29% of serial killers were found to be ‘accident-prone children.’ The combination of these factors leads to various sociologists to view psychopathic behaviors as a defense mechanism for the brain.
Infancy is one of the most significant stages of a developing human being. Emotionally, infancy is extremely crucial to the future development of the adult personality. The first 12 months of life are especially important to the development of emotions like affection and remorse which are two traits serial killers lack. If a child doesn't receive attention or touch from their parents within the 12 month period, the child may suffer substantial personality disorders in the near future. The range from absence emotions such as sympathy, remorse, and affection can cause the child to develop a sense of one itself. Infant bonding is the key to personality growth and development. This explaining why a common characteristic among killers is them being passed around from families attempting to be adopted, while never truly knowing genuine emotions towards loved ones. The emphasis of infancy upon early childhood has undercovered neurological and physical abnormalities that may begin as the prenatal stage in some humans. Links have been discovered between the impairment of executive brain function and aggression through research leading to many serial killers being diagnosed with a type of neurological disorder. This meaning the killers are reacting to chemicals in their brain and possibly hereditary factors rather than evil intentions.
Interacting with peers is another portion of early development as well. Commonly, serial killers were isolated from their childhood peers. Many killers suffered from issues such as stuttering, dyslexia, social disadvantages, and even weight problems.
Due to these killers' disadvantages, bullying often occurs causing them to harbor secret aggressive fantasies, whether it's to the bully or to easier more vulnerable targets. This makes the killer feel a sense of power as if they are rebuilding their loss of pride and confidence. Similar to their own bullies, they feed off of their victim as if portraying it as themselves being bullied. Making a reflection of their own sorrow and fear considering the fact that the child has problems expressing personal emotions themselves.
Another similar characteristic that serial killers collectively contain is having their dominant figure as their mother. The mothers of these soon to be murders tend to enhance or grow murderous hate towards women. The only explanation for this hate to begin is if the caretakers are over-controlling, overprotective, physically or emotionally abusive to their child. Statics show around 66% of serial killers was raised with the dominant figure being their mother.
Researchers have closely examined the reasonings as to why killers kill. In many cases, most research has unearthed the notion of killers killing to fill a type of empty void in him or herself. It has also been discovered some contain dark fantasies that fuel their motives to cast harm upon others. This being typical for most serial killers. Other studies have supported these findings and conclusive evidence presented has offered distinct patterns in reinforcing the behavioral context that serial killers maintain.
90% of serial killers are males in their 20s to 30s. Most are Caucasian males with a lower-to middle-class upbringing. These indifinications are used by the authority to personalize a killer to their crime, but how can a soon be victim point out their future of danger?
People who aren't experienced in the works of profiling, can’t search out or know if they are speaking to a serial killer. Killers tend to hide due to them feeling different, or due to the scanning the people around them. No matter how people view this concept, killers are human just like everyone else. They go on with life as similar to the rest of society does. Some killers are arrogant, ignorant of their own crimes, while still exceeding in the attention of authority and the media. An all-time example of this type of killer would be Ted Bundy. His belief that he, in fact, did not commit these crimes were an annoyance to the courtroom. Ted even pushed to be his own voice in court, while angry, his lawyer then taking his placement. There are also killers who are tedious and shy away from the media. Shyness and arrogant killers determine whether or not the crime will be appointed directly to the right alleged murder.
Serial killers do kill numerous times but they do halt in their killings sometimes. The killer can experience “stress-free” areas where ever they travel to. The stressors backgrounds can be uprooted by any trigger, whether if it's with another person or with the environment. Some killers kill prior to gender or race, with Ted Bundy preferring to murder various women, most with similar characteristics.
Overall, the time's killings and vicious murders have marked the horrific history of the study behind these killings. Studies have proven that killers are created due to the killer's upbringing instead of the person being born a bad seed. Being born evil has been officially blown out of the water, due to research of these people being abused in many ways throughout their life. Whether it's verbally, physically, or emotional abuse is a key factor. Bullying and being shunned by society, while getting identified as a freak or an outcast is a lead to loss of self-awareness. People aren't born to kill or to take part in wicked actions, they were molded by people who showed them how to hurt people. Thus giving them all they ever knew how to do, which was inflict pain upon others. Behind a killer is a person who didn't receive help or the proper beginning of emotions for normal development.
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