While research suggests that psychological factors may provide the necessary prerequisites for psychopathic tendencies, social factors, such as family life and upbringing, are also essential contributors to shaping the minds of disturbed individuals. According to Hestie Barnard Gerber, psychological abuse from parents, such as excessive humiliation and discipline, works to desensitize children, causing them to “grow up devoid of empathy for others” (Gerber, 2013). This is interesting as it connects to the stereotypical characteristic of killers being remorseless and cold,...
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Introduction to Serial Killers and Mental Illness Throughout the years, mental illness and the crimes, more specifically the methodology, of serial killers have often gone hand in hand with one another. There are various speculations that the people who do have a mental illness, such as schizophrenia and antisocial personality disorder, are more prone to committing moral atrocities. While this could be true in some cases, like with the Son of Sam, who was a serial killer in the late...
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In addition to the early traumatization in a serial killer’s childhood, the secluded social conditions of a serial killer acts as an accomplice to their violent and sadistic fantasies that inevitably direct them to kill. Many serial killers face isolation in their youth which oftentimes they turn to fantasies involving violence and sex. As many serial killers are isolated or abused as children, a study by Ressler, Burgess, Prentky, et al in 1988 suggest that serial killers used fantasies of...
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The 20th century was a time of major events and a wide variety of progression. Specifically, in the 1980s, there was a wide increase in violent crimes, and mass murders. The number of active serial killers in America hit an all-time high during this period. As these murders were becoming very common, many people in America developed a strange admiration for them and their lifestyles. Some of that admiration stemmed from the variety in appearance that these people had. Previously,...
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Have you ever stopped to think about what makes serial killers who they are? Do you ever wonder why they behave the way they do? Are they born or made that way? All of these questions frequently go unanswered due to the fact that there’s no logical scientific reasoning behind them. Numerous people around the world have their theories on serial killers but not all of those theories are true. A serial killer is a person who murders three or...
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Identity What is a serial killer? A serial killer by definition is a person who has consecutively murdered 3 or more people within the time period of 30 days or more. Serial killing is one of the most bewildering crimes that occur in the United States and all over the world. Many serial murderers take a major cooling-off session. The cooling off session could either be weeks, months or sometimes even years long. In this essay, I will be researching...
6 Pages
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A serial killing, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is a series of two or more murders, committed as separate events, usually, but not always, by one offender acting alone. While there may be variations in the definition of serial killing, one must not forget how serial killers have been referenced in popular culture. Since the 1970s, with the help of law enforcement, media and entertainment agencies, these serial killers have been transformed into so-called ‘celebrity-monsters’. Instead of...
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The term serial killer refers to a sole offender, male or female, responsible for a succession of murders over a matter of months or years, and frequently in different settings. In modern society there is a growing fascination with the ‘serial killer’. Public libraries, the media and book sales are filled with ‘true crime’, this category particularly committed to the focus of serial murders, However, serial killers are not exclusively a produce of our century as history proposes that they...
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Drilling a hole into the top of a man’s skull which he would pour sulphuric acid in (How Serial Killers are born). This process was acted out to make his victim brain dead: almost zombie-like. The victim would typically be dead within the day. Once the victim died, the murderer would dismember the body, disposing of the victim’s parts into vats of acid, except for the skull. (How Serial Killers are born) This was the mind of notorious serial killer...
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To many people he is a serial killer, whereas others would term him as a charming and good-looking young man. Some people also applaud his intellect, the judge who announced his death sentence mentioned that he was a very intellectual and a witty law student. Although the estimated number of young girls and women he killed is 30, the exact number remains unknown. The actual number is debatable since in many occasions, he claimed that he might have killed more...
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In most American cities the late 60ś to early 70ś was a time of peace and tranquility, but for the residents of the San Francisco Bay area, that time is forever stained red by the blood of the Zodiacś victims. From the late 1960’s to the early 1970’s a serial killer by the name of Zodiac terrorized California, with a total of 5 confirmed killings but at least 37 supposed or claimed killings. While these numbers are astonishing and terrifying...
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The understanding of human behavior has been a subject of great importance for different natural and social disciplines such as, psychology, anthropology, sociology among others; this has allowed to the discovery of psychological and social factors that lead to the evaluation of different human behaviors, which has been of great help when it comes to labeling personality traits and conduct disorders, especially in serial killers. A serial killer, is consider a person who murders three or more people in a...
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This research paper is an analysis of the internal and external human geography of serial killers. A serial killer is someone who is referred to as a person who commits murder several times with no real motive. Serial killers are rare but when they do strike the public and the criminal justice system are both affected. Serial murder can produce fear, heavy pressures for investigating agencies and demands significant resources. Most murderers are found because of a connection to the...
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There were many reasons as to why there were many serial killers in the U.S during the 70’s and 80’s. Although their mental health and childhood development plays a big part as to why, for example, when their parents would be abusive for a long period of time or being isolated from scholar or home activities. Another major role that came into play was their daily environment that included the use and abuse of drugs. There were a lot of...
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The Decade of Fear There are many characteristics that define a decade. The 50’s were known for poodle skirts and Elvis Presley, the 60’s helped spread the message of peace and love and then there was the 70’s. While the 70’s was a decade of social change and free will, it also was the decade that introduced the world to some of the most notorious killers we have seen in U.S. history. The world was introduced to Ted Bundy, The...
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The thought of an individual doing something horrific once always weighs on one’s mind, but the thought of an individual doing something horrific multiple times and not being stopped creates terror and fear in the minds of the public. This is exemplified by serial killers, committing grotesque acts of murder repeatedly and not being caught or stopped. Why are there serial killers? How do they get away with murder for so long, or not even get caught? A serial killer...
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Throughout history, there has been a big discussion on what the definition of a serial killer is. The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines serial killing as “a series of two or more murders, committed as separate events, usually, but not always, by one offender acting alone” (United States, Congress, et., al). The FBI has also stated that the motives can include, but are not specifically subject to, anger, thrill-seeking, financial gain, attention seeking, and sexual contact, which is most often...
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The United States was the leading country in producing serial killers during the 1970s. One serial killer who evaded law enforcement for 40 years is Joseph James DeAngelo; by understanding his background and the impact he had on communities throughout, it is clear to see why he stands out among the many other famous serial killers. Studies show that the majority of serial offenders suffered from some kind of trauma. Even though DeAngelo was an exceptional serial killer, his background...
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I have read the book called, “The Stranger Beside Me” by Ann Rule. This book was her first published biographical true crime book about a person she knew by the name Ted Bundy. She knew him personally before and after the murders, he committed in the 1970s. This book was both difficult and heart-wrenching for her to write about. In the next few paragraphs, I will tell you about Ted and what he did throughout this time of his life....
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Introducing a new factor that is not really known, biological reasoning could be the main reason behind someone becoming a serial killer. Even though it is reiterated throughout life and things like religion and punishment, why would someone still kill multiple times? This is because this is how they were born and wired into life. Using the use of genetic disorders, family history, neurology and other elements, it will be evaluated if the lesser-known biological reasoning is the most prominent...
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