SERIAL KILLERS



SERIAL KILLERS

"Manson was nothing compared to me. People built me into something. I became a monument. I got fan mail, friends...people that would die for me." (Serial killer Henry Lee Lucas)

INTRODUCTION

For most of us, the term "serial killer" brings to mind the movie Silence of the Lambs about a serial killer called Hannibal the Cannibal. It won an academy award for best picture, and it was entertaining. But the real life serial killer is anything but entertaining for his real life victims and their families. Serial killers represent a unknown fear and fascination in society. They are the embodiment of evil, yet it seems that we cannot get enough of them. There are few news items that generate the hype and hysteria that the serial killer does. Everyone knows who Jeffrey Dahmer is, but how many know the names of his victims? The obsession that the public has with serial killers in itself is terrifying.

Serial killers do not have obvious motives for their crimes, nor is there any pattern to who their next victim will be. It may be the woman who has the misfortune to walk past them on the street, or the boy riding his bike down the wrong road. They strike without warning, and they are almost impossible for the police to catch. Where do they come from, and what makes them into such monsters? These are the questions that beg answers.

DEFINITION

Defining a serial killer is not as obvious as it may appear to be. First of all, a distinction between a serial killer and a mass murderer must be made. A mass murderer is someone who kills several people all at once or within a relatively short span of time. For example, a person who walks into an office and shoots 5 people is a mass murderer. A serial killer is someone who murders several people over a longer period of time, sometimes over a number of years.

The victims have nothing in common except that their general type or appearance (i.e. little boys, elderly women, college girls, etc.). The victims do not usually know each other, and they do not know the killer. They are connected by the desires of a man they do not even know. The serial killer usually has at least 3 victims. The murders are often very brutal, involving some kind of ritual that has specific meaning only for the offender. Sexual violence is usually a factor, whether it be before or after death. Some killers can only get sexual satisfaction through the pain of their victim.

Other problems arise in developing a definition for serial killers. For example, would a hit man be a serial killer - they often have numerous victims, but they kill for money. Would Bonnie and Clyde be considered serial killers?

SERIAL KILLER PROFILES

In 1978, the FBI set up a Behavioural Science Service Unit in Quantico, Virginia. At this centre, serial killers are studied, and profiles are compiled on suspects. This information in turn allows the FBI to do profiles of cases that are brought to their attention. Through studying the case, including the manner in which the killer murders his victim, who the victims are, how the body was left, etc., the FBI comes up with a "description" or a profile of what the killer is probably like. Profiles include things like what the killer's age is, his race, his social ties, some of his personal characteristics, etc.

The first time a profile was ever used was in 1957 in the New York case of the Mad Bomber. The profile said that the offender would be: heavy set, middle aged, foreign, Roman Catholic, single, living with a brother or sister and would like double breasted suits. The profile was right except for the fact that the offender lived with 2 sisters. This does not mean that profiles are always right on. Some can be vague. The profile for Arthur Shawcross, who killed several women in Rochester, said he was 15 years younger than he actually was. Critics of these profiles worry that the police will become to literal in their interpretation of the profile, and therefore search only for people who match the profile, whether or not they are the killer.

The following list of traits is the factors most commonly found in serial killers. While not every serial killer will have all of these qualities, there is a good chance they will have some if not most.

- 25-35 years of age

- white males (85%) (there have been very few documented cases of female serial killers)

- kill same type of victim in same way

- charming/likable

- possibility of physical deformities (i.e. webbed feet)

- average or above intelligence

- abuse as child/dysfunctional childhood

- psychopaths

- few social attachments

- interest in violent pornography, bondage equipment, detective magazines (83%)

- keep records of offences (53%)

- no arrest histories (57%)

- history of some kind of head/brain injury

- alcohol/drug abuse

- mobile; travel frequently

- follow crime story in media

- like the publicity/notoriety

- kill within their own race

- may return to scene of the crime or burial

- compulsive/obsessive (i.e. multiple showers a day)

- keep souvenirs or body parts of victims

- likely to have been interviewed by the police in the serial killings investigation

- sadistic treatment towards animals as a child

- play with/start fires as a child

- work alone (about 25% of serial killers have a partner or group)

It is amazing what the FBI can tell about a person just from examining how the victim was killed, and what was done to her/him before death. For example, if the killer strangles his victim, it may indicate a need to be intimate with the victim. If the killer shoots the victim, it indicates a desire to remain remote or distant from the victim. If the killer "overkills" the victim (i.e. stabs the victim multiple times), that may indicate that he felt powerless and was trying to show his dominance. If the victim is mutilated after death, the killer was likely afraid or ashamed to face the victim alive. If he killed the victim after mutilation, he was likely trying to gain control over the victim. If he spent a long time at the scene, then he was confident, and likely older. If he was in a rush, he was likely younger. If the murder was very brutal, it may indicate that the killer has feminine characteristics. If he sexually assaulted the victim after death, he was shy.

IMPACT/PREVALENCE OF SERIAL KILLERS

Contrary to popular belief, most victims of violence are victimized by someone they know. For example, a woman is more likely to be killed by her partner than a stranger. A child is more likely to be molested by an uncle than abducted and raped by a stranger.

Only about 1% of the populations are serial killers. Yet the number of identified serial killers has risen dramatically in the last 20 years or so. Whether this is an increase in the actual number of offenders or whether it is due to better police work is unknown. Whatever the reason, the serial homicide rate has risen tenfold.

The FBI estimates that there are currently 500 serial killers at large. Other estimates are much lower, around 35 - 100 serial killers currently committing crimes. In 1983, they estimated that 5000 Americans or 15 people a day were killed by strangers. Every year, between 3500 - 5000 people in America are the victims of serial killers. In the past 20 years, 160 serial killers have been identified or captured, and 120 of them were in the United States.

PUBLIC FASCINATION WITH SERIAL KILLERS

Serial killers cause a panic in the community that they are operating in. They often hold towns and cities in a state of terror. Yet, for some reason, the public cannot seem to get enough of these monsters. While some interest in serial killers and their motives are normal, some people take that interest to another level which does not seem normal. Sometimes, it is scary.

For example, John Wayne Gacy, the man who raped and murdered 33 young men, had his own 1-900 telephone number. Before he was executed, people could call this number and listen to Gacy ramble on about how he was framed, and how he was the "34th victim." During his 14 years on death row, Gacy had over 3500 interview requests.

The day after Jeffrey Dahmer was convicted of murdering 17 young men; he had over 200 interview requests. Richard Ramirez, the "Nightstalker," who murdered 13 women, gets numerous visits from young women in their 20's. Kenneth Bianci, one of the Hillside Stranglers, gets marriage proposals.

Merchandise with depictions of serial killers are everywhere and on everything. T-shirts, baseball cards, board games, comic books, etc. are all being sold with pictures of some of the most horrifying human beings ever to walk the Earth. The rock group Guns 'N' Roses recorded a song about Charles Manson, and the lead singer Axl Rose wears a Manson t-shirt on stage. T-shirts of Karla Homolka are being sold. Clifford Olson trading cards are available, and when sent to him he autographs them for $10. Two questions come to mind: what are these people thinking when they make this stuff or buy it? And do they not realize that their actions are an insult to all of the victims of these monsters, and the victim's families?

MOTIVATION

Perhaps one of the reasons for the fascination with serial killers is the mystery surrounding them. How many times have we heard a neighbour of a killer after they were caught say that he was such a normal guy? And most serial killers do appear to be very normal, at least on the outside. Ted Bundy was a law student, a volunteer on a suicide hotline, and an author of a rape prevention manual. The whole time he was raping and murdering young university women. John Gacy made over $200 000 a year at his contracting business, was involved in politics, and even dressed up as a clown to visit sick children in the local hospitals. No one suspected that he had over 30 young men buried in his basement.

No one really knows what turns an individual into a serial killer. It is probably a combination of things. Many experts claim that it is a disease; that serial killers are not even responsible for their actions as they have an inner psychological need to kill. It is difficult to accept that serial killers have no free will. They do not kill every time they see a woman or a child, only when a safe opportunity presents itself, or a safe situation which they have created. Their ability to remain at large indicates that they do have control over their actions. The fact that the majority of them pick vulnerable victims is also another indicator that they are in control. Women and children are the most common victims of serial killers. As one expert says, "they do what works for them."

However, to say that serial killers are completely normal would also be inaccurate. In the majority of offenders, abuse and/or neglect was a factor in their childhood. Charles Manson was made to go to school in a girl's dress, as was Henry Lee Lucas. Many experts feel that each killing is a reenactment of a traumatic childhood experience. Each time Lucas killed, he was killing his mother.

Many serial killers have had some kind of head injury in their past. This may somehow affect them, and is likely a factor in the killings. Others maintain that it is a genetic predisposition to kill. Some have had physical deformities. For example, Bobby Joe Long, who raped over 50 women and murdered 9, grew breasts during adolescence.

CONCLUSION

The serial killer phenomenon seems to be mostly situated in the United States. Canada has relatively few true serial killers, Clifford Olson being the most infamous. One wonders where the next few years will take us as our society becomes even more violent than it used to be. How many serial killers are in the making?

One thing that does seem clear is that the chance of rehabilitation for a serial killer is slim. Therefore, they must never be let out of secure custody. Some freely admit that they will kill again if given the chance (i.e. Manson).

While the whole issue of serial killers can be very upsetting, we must keep in mind that they are relatively rare. While American television would have us believe otherwise, serial killers are not lurking in every shadow. But their threat cannot be taken lightly.

One of the few things that is very clear is that serial killers do not deserve our adoration. Being pen pals and sending photos to these men is truly beyond comprehension. If we really want to pay homage to anyone in the serial killer phenomena, let it be to the police officers who work so hard to catch these monster and the hundreds of victims who lost their lives to satisfy the sadistic urges of one man.

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