THE PHYSIOLOGICAL PROFILE OF SERIAL KILLERS
THE PHYSIOLOGICAL PROFILE OF SERIAL KILLERS
Serial killer's mind's are complex and it is impossible to understand their limits. The Pennsylvania State University criminologist Philip Jenkins said:
"The phenomenon of serial murder can be found through- out history and around the world, the most famous case being Jack The Ripper in England of the 1800's. But the 1980's brought a new and intensified spotlight on serial murder."
A serial killer by definition is a person who has killed three or more people with a "cooling off" period between any of them. The killer usually doesn't know the victim and the victim reflects the murders need to dominate. The killer usually does not kill for profit or any type of financial gain. A killer may have killed for the first time for gain of some type then became "addicted" to killing.
Most authority figures or physiologists misinterpret what a serial killer actually is. They have placed labels on them and called them mass killers or just homicides. Homicides are usually done for only personal gain or in the heat of passion.
To try to see farther into the minds of a serial killer one must look at the killers background. Fifty percent of the serial killers have come from broken homes, and the other fifty percent come from stable homes. That just confuses physiologists and criminologists even more. The killers that came from broken homes may have suffered from abuse and rejection issues their whole life. Some may have suffered from inadequacies of some type. The killers that have come from stable homes may have suffered from something called the "Terrible Triad." This is when the child may wet the bed for an extended period of time, sadistically abused and killed animals and set fires. Other symptoms of the "Terrible Triad" is rebellion and theft. Also a young child might have been taught that sex is bad or dirty, so the child would grow up liking what is thought to be wrong and the shame and guilt of it would consume them.
When the soon-to-be killer is young the cycle that fuels him or her may start. The cycle goes in phases, first the soon-to-be killer starts having fantasies of killing things, they may take this out on animals and sometimes themselves through self-mutilation. Next, the person may graduate from animals to humans, and when they see that this is a release valve for this pent up emotion they get hooked on it. They get lost in the rush of what they are doing and don't stop until they are satisfied. When they are done with one murder they feel empty and alone. The emotions are gone for a while but they soon return and most of the time they are worse. The killer then again has to go out and kill another, then the cycle starts again.
Many people try to find a motive as to why serial killers kill so many times and in the same manner. In reality there is no motive. There is only ways to satisfy the anger, shame and frustration that they feel. There are few serial killers who have gotten a lighter sentence by claiming they do have a motive, like Berkowitz. He said that he heard voices which may have been true, but no one can know for sure. Serial killer intentions are "generally internal, which is the mystery which must be solved to figure out why one particular serial killer is killing." (killer info Site) The serial killer sometimes can't even understand the force that drives them to kill. They need it or they only get delight in torturing a victim.
There are different kinds of serial killers. They are grouped into categories according to their form of killing. There are missionaries, which are serial killers who want to clean-up or improve the quality of life. These are the killers who may go after only prostitutes and drug dealers. For example, Jack the Ripper, who killed only prostitutes in the streets of London.
Another kind is the visionaries, they kill in response to alter egos and voices they hear. David Berkowitz was a visionary, he told the courts that the neighbor dog told him to kill.
The largest category is the hedonist group, they kill for the pleasures of murder. These pleasures are sexual, thrills and power. Lust killers are often very organized. Thrill seekers just want to kill for the adrenalin rush. They usually taunt the police with clues as to who he is. Jack The Ripper taunted the police with letters saying why he was killing and how stupid the police force is in England. Power seekers only kill to see the fear in the victim, they want to feel superior. These are the killers who may have been abused and mistreated as a child.
Many people may think that there are no serial killers around anymore or that serial killers are maniacs that they can be picked out in a crowd. The truth is that they can not be picked out in a crowd. Ted Bundy maintained a relationship with Liz Kendall and her daughter when he was killing, and she never knew about his secret. Even Richard Rappaport a psychiatrist says that serial murders is a dangerous form of a personality disorder. "He (John Wayne Gacy) functions, he is personable even charming, yet there is a subtle pathology, a violence below the surface." Serial killers may have even gone as far as to participate in their own man-hunt and even directed them. These kind of serial killers may have been a police officer or a security guard. They want to have people trust them and admire them.
So, if serial killers kill the same why every time, why is it so hard to catch them? There are lots of reasons. Serial killers have had the advantage over the years with the invention of the automobile. They have been able to cover their tracks and widen there killing field. The evidence on the body may be destroyed by rain or animals if they are dumped outside. Copy-cat killers may kill the same way and mislead police for a few months even years. Other explanations are just because people, including police do not want to believe that someone can be so horrid and sadistic. Pete Edlund, a Kansas City homicide squad supervisor said, "If a guy came in here and confessed to all sixty murders tomorrow, I wouldn't believe him." Also Henry Lee Lucas' concessions were so horrid that police didn't believe him and let him go to kill two more victims.
Many psychologists have tested to see if they can determine if someone can be a canidate for a serial murderer, but there are no tests that they can preform to determine that. They have tried to see if any disfunctions in the brain can trigger it but even the slightest imperfection can cause loss of control and violent tendencies or those minor disfunctions are not even noticed in life. Henery Lee Lucas had neurology tests done and x-ray's for court that found that he had damage to some area's of the brain that control the manage violent behavoirs. The down side to all the testing is is that it is different for everyone, if they have epilepsy or any other kind of disfunction they can still function some what normally in society or they can become someone like Lucas.
In conclusion, there is no set trait to determine if someone is going to be a serial killer. Even with all we know and with all the evidence that is there, you can't pick one out in a crowd and you probably talk to a candidate for murder every day.