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Serial Killer Research Papers

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In the world of psychology, there are numerous controversies on the debate of whether serial killers are nature or nurture. Nature refers to all genes and hereditary factors, meaning they are natural-born serial killers (Cherry 1). Nurture refers to all environmental variables, meaning they are impacted by their surrounding culture ...

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From the year 1980, all the way through to 2001 many women were disappearing from the downtown eastside of Vancouver. Not just anyone in particular, but female prostitutes and female drug users were disappearing. The families of these women thought nothing about it, not even the cops, their behavior of disappearing and coming back was normal. But these girls weren't coming back, they were disappearing for good. Everyone who thought this was normal was woken up years later by a...
2 Pages 823 Words
The Toy Box Killer (David Parker Ray) is one of the most notorious serial killers of the last 100 years. He crimes included the rape, torture and killing of young women from the 1950s to 1999. While the direct reasons for his killings are unknown, it is a well known speculation that Ray killed and abused his victims to feel a sense of control he lost in his childhood. The events he experienced as a child were traumatizing enough to...
2 Pages 969 Words
Some hear the term serial killer and it immediately sends chills down their spine, thinking of the worst people who have committed several murders over a span of time. “The serial murderer kills a number of people over a period of time, many times months and years” [Holmes, 1988, pg. 1]. In just the last two generations, with the rise of serial killers, comes the rise of the fascination towards them, curious as to what causes one to become a...
2 Pages 693 Words
What makes a serial killer? What drives them towards sadistic murder? What are the roots of their cold-blooded brutality? Is it a result of an abusive childhood or were they born with it? This has been a question for hundreds of years. Is a Killer Born or made? Serial killers may appear to be just your average joe, maybe even your next-door neighbor, but they are actually far from it. What all serial killers have in common is a ravenous...
3 Pages 1250 Words
When it comes to Serial Killers almost all of them admit that they started out by acting out their fantasies on small animals. They then moved to humans and later admitted that animal torture brought them a great source of pleasure. Because of this, both elementary and high school teachers are required to report the abuse of animals either in the classroom or when it is directly talked about. The American Psychiatric Association lists animal cruelty as one of the...
3 Pages 1259 Words
Theodore Robert Bundy most commonly referred to as Ted Bundy was one of the most infamous American serial killers in history. His known active killing spree was between 1973 and 1978. Before his execution Ted confessed to over 30 murders, although police suspect the actual number is estimated to be 35 or more. His technique was to entice young women into being alone with him then kidnap, thrash and strangle them to death. He confessed to acts of rape, mutilation...
2 Pages 811 Words
Introduction to Gary Ridgway: The Serial Killer Profile A serial killer is often thought of as someone “who commits a series of murders, often with no apparent motive and typically following a characteristic, predictable behavior pattern.” “Serial killers tend to be white, heterosexual males in their twenties or thirties who are sexually dysfunctional and have low self-esteem.” The requirement to be considered a serial killer is to have killed more than one person. Taking one’s life is a huge crime...
4 Pages 1775 Words
The term serial killer was first developed in the 1970s and was attributed to a former FBI agent, Rober Ressler, who moved to England following his retirement from the bureau in 1990. Over the years there have been numerous infamous killers who have all been classified as serial killers and the term slowly lost its meaning in the sense that anyone who killed more than three people was automatically distinguished as one. However, there are in fact many diverse types...
5 Pages 2061 Words
What Makes A Serial Killer? A serial killer is a person that commits murders in succession from one another. Serial killers have been around for many years, and to this day many still ravage the world. The FBI defines a serial killer as a person that commits three or more murders within a short period of time, within months. Serial killers usually exhibit psychopathic traits, which can be indicative of brain abnormalities. In a Wisconsin study, it shows a direct...
2 Pages 1010 Words
Psychopathology is a personality disease, that can incorporate various attributes. This may include antisocial or disruptive behavior (PowerPoint). They are individuals who have the potential to harm or manipulate others to get through life guaranteeing their demands are fitted (Hare) Psychopaths lack conscience in compassion and tend to possess selfish tendencies and take their desires (Hare). They won’t alter their actions based on community expectations. They disrupt civilization's expectations without guilt (Hare). In regards to Arthur, his case raised attention...
3 Pages 1408 Words
Serial killers are one of the most notorious criminals for the past several decades. They have proven their reputation to the world, killing in the most gruesome way they can think of. While some serial killers like Ted Bundy, Andrei Chikatilo, Jeffrey Dahmer, and many more are already behind bars, there are those who managed to get away with their crimes like the infamous 'Jack the Ripper.' The Federal Bureau of Investigation defined a serial killer as someone who has...
2 Pages 866 Words
Life Experience and the Female Serial Killer PURPOSE: The purpose of this is to justify the lack of research into the link between childhood trauma and abuse to violent tendencies as an adult, specifically women serial killing. More research needs to go into this as the current research is primarily based on the link between childhood trauma and violence as an adult male. Background To explain the issue, I will be relating the human experience of childhood trauma to the...
2 Pages 767 Words
Have you ever asked yourself, who was the most dangerous serial killer in America? The answer to that question would be Ted Bundy. Ted Bundy became a well-known serial killer during the 1970s because he used his charming personality and good looks to lure an endless number of women. Bundy had a persona where he acted like the typical gentleman and knew exactly what his intentions were which were not good. His killings began in Seattle, Washington in 1974, until...
6 Pages 2775 Words
Theodore Robert Bundy was born on November 24, 1946, to a single mother in Burlington, Vermont. At the age of three, his mother moved him to Philadelphia, where he was raised as the adoptive son of his maternal grandparents in a religious, working-class family (Kettler, 2020). As a child, Bundy struggled to fit in with his peers and was a frequent target of bullying due to his shy and introverted nature. He spent most of his time alone, looking at...
5 Pages 2182 Words
In the world of psychology, there are numerous controversies on the debate of whether serial killers are nature or nurture. Nature refers to all genes and hereditary factors, meaning they are natural-born serial killers (Cherry 1). Nurture refers to all environmental variables, meaning they are impacted by their surrounding culture (Cherry 1). Many think that serial killers are driven by instinct and desire to kill, while others think they are born to kill. Serial killers typically perform horrible crimes and...
3 Pages 1325 Words
Introduction John Wayne Gacy was the serial killer who killed 33 young men. He was born on March 17, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois and died on May 10, 1994, in Joliet, Illinois. During that time in history, no one was convicted of killing so many people. He was a pillar of the community before he was convicted. The paper will talk about his life, criminal offenses, investigation and finally his death. His life John Wayne Gacy was born into a...
3 Pages 1324 Words
Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, David Berkowitz, Rose West, and Andrei Chikatilo. These are all names of famous serial killers but what made them that way? Are serial killers genetically born will the urges to take away another human beings life or does the environment they grow up in mold them into the killers they soon become? The peak of a serial killers activity generally happens when they are in their early twenties to mid thirties, but what happened during their...
4 Pages 1637 Words
​There are many experiences that happen in a person’s life that shape them as a person. Some respond to these experiences differently than others do. Dennis Rader is a notorious serial killer who was arrested for 10 counts of murder. Also known as “BTK” which stands for “bind them, torture them, kill them.” Rader lived a double-life. On one side Rader was a husband to Paula Dietz and a father as well. On the other side, Rader was a serial...
3 Pages 1433 Words
Serial killers are a very interesting and (thankfully) infinitesimal percent of the population, and yet they take up a lot of space in the media, with mental health professionals and within other academic and social platforms. This year alone, Netflix released its docuseries on one of America’s most infamous serial killers, Ted Bundy, called Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes; Joe Berlinger directed a movie chronicle of Bundy’s crimes called Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile; detectives recently...
5 Pages 2323 Words
In July of 1969, the start of what would be one of the most nationally renowned unsolved cases began in the Northern areas of California. The San Francisco Examiner, a popular newspaper, received a coded letter that contained a shocking and eerie message. The sender of this letter was none other than the infamous Zodiac Killer, an unidentified serial murderer who struck terror within the minds of Californians far and wide with his public letters filled with mind-boggling ciphers and...
3 Pages 1286 Words
Serial killing is one of the most appalling crimes that has been occurring all over the world since the beginning of time. Serial killers have always raised interest and curiosity in the public and most people are disgusted by the nature of their terrible crimes. But why would someone commit such a terrible crime? What is his/her motive and what causes them to become a serial killer? An example of one of the world’s most notorious serial killers is Henry...
4 Pages 1813 Words
Abstract The study investigated the contributing factors of why people become serial killers. The study methodology involved twenty case studies of killings that took place in the United States. The casestudies were limited to 1960s up to date. The case studies were screened for credibility and authenticity. Drug abuse, alcohol use, sexual-abuse, and child-parent relationship was specifically examined to identify possible development of psychopathic behavior later in life. Statistical tools, namely SPSS and Chi-square, were used to analyze the results....
5 Pages 2460 Words
The Zodiac Killer is perhaps one of the most mind-boggling serial killers to have graced the United States. To this day we are unaware of his identity. He started killing in the 1960’s-1970’s. Jake Gyllenhaal starred in the movie “Zodiac” and played a man by the name of Robert Graysmith. We learn a lot about the Zodiac Killer and how he operates theoretically but never his true identity. The Zodiac killer committed multiple murders classifying him as one of the...
2 Pages 874 Words
The concept of serial murder dates back to over a century, however, became a recognized phenomena in the twentieth century due to the rise of notorious serial killers including Ed Gein, Ted Bundy and Paul Bernardo. A serial killer is defined as an individual who commits three or more murders in separate time periods and events (). For years there has been a contentious debate on whether serial killing is intrinsic and can be biologically explained through the development of...
3 Pages 1261 Words
Serial killers have gripped media and Hollywood for decades, becoming a subject of choice for many movies, tv shows, and documentaries. Infamous serial murderers and rapists such as Ted Bundy, Jeffery Dahmer, Charles Manson, Eileen Wuornos and many more have sparked the interest of many, and their crimes are so shocking evil that it defies society's core values, destroying the social contract. Their ruthless nature leaves many curious about their stories, their origins, and their motives. It is hard for...
1 Page 572 Words
Genetic Predisposition and Environmental Influence Many times one is not born with the intent to become a serial killer; it is often a result of the environment they grew up in. However, in some cases people have genetic makeup that the presence of trauma can crest psychopathic tendencies. Serial killers are a result of their genetic makeup as well as the environment they grew up in. There are many cases where people have the same genetic makeup as a serial...
4 Pages 1771 Words
Serial killing is possibly the most sensationalized criminal phenomenon of our time due to its horrific nature and its rarity. The worldwide view of a serial killer is a Caucasian male, a wicked monster with a strange look, has dysfunctional associations, engages in torturing animals, or has been abused physically or sexually in childhood, thus kills to derive the missed satisfaction (Hodgkinson, Prins, and Stuart-Bennett 2). However, these notions of a serial killer are not validated since every serial killer...
5 Pages 2450 Words
A serial killer is somebody who could be a best friend, a coworker, and often times a parent. How can somebody go out and kill people? Many serial killers can go out and know who they want to kill. In many instances nobody knows a person is a serial killer, until they start committing murderous crimes. The Zodiac killer is a criminal who is targeting people and it seems to always be with a gun and not another weapon. In...
6 Pages 2660 Words
Do you ever wonder what a serial killer thinks? As someone who watches shows like Mindhunter and Crime Scene Investigation, I love learning about the forensic science portion. When I started this paper I began to ask myself: How exactly does a serial killer’s mind affect the way they write? Talking to a professor who has a background in forensics and analyzing a variety of textual samples from infamous serial killers allowed me to understand that a serial killer’s writing...
4 Pages 1821 Words
Actions of serial killers have been documented in history for decades. Every story you hear sound more gruesome than the last. People have been trying to figure out for ages what makes someone want to kill another human being. It either comes down to how they where raised to just having their brains wired differently. Many people believe most serial killers are made that way because there is no humanly way possible a human can kill another human just cause....
2 Pages 905 Words
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