Characteristics Of A Serial Killer
One of the things that terrifies us the most about serial killers is randomness. Serial killers choose victims at random, and they seem themselves to be somewhat random — many people who have known serial killers have described them as the 'average Joe,' one of millions of average Joes, most of whom don't turn out to vicious killers. But you may be comforted to learn that most serial killers do have characteristics that can help separate them from all those other, non-serial killing average Joes. Unless, of course, you happen to know someone who has all these characteristics … then you're probably not comforted at all.
Serial killers often have personality disorders
Serial killers are rarely remembered by classmates, as they rarely had any close friends. As they are frequently bullied by other kids, anti-social tendencies will also develop at an early age. A careful observer will see that this child starts dabbling in arson and theft, the use of dangerous weapons, hostility and aggression, and a complete disregard for others’ rights.
Most serial killers suffer from some kind of personality disorder. According to the FBI, that's often psychopathy or antisocial personality. The difference between the two is nature vs. nurture: A psychopath is born that way — the impulse control and emotional centers of his or her brain are underdeveloped. By contrast, antisocial personalities are learned, and usually develop during an abusive or neglected childhood. Now, this does not mean serial killers are insane, which is why the 'not-guilty by reason of insanity' defense rarely works for a serial killer. In order to be deemed criminally insane, people must demonstrate that when they committed their crimes, they could not tell the difference between right and wrong. Serial killers know very well the difference between right and wrong, they just don't care.
Also called 'sociopaths,' people with antisocial personality disorder 'show no regard for right and wrong' and often possess other qualities that are common to serial murderers, such as a lack of remorse, callous or manipulative behavior, and impulsivity. But it's also important to note that sociopaths are not all killers — in fact the vast majority of them are not. So while you may not necessarily be in danger from the sociopath who lives in your neighborhood, you should probably at minimum not allow yourself to be taken in by his or her charms.
Serial killers exhibit predatory behavior
In his book Real-Life Monsters, criminal investigator Stephen J. Giannangelo calls the 'calm, purposeful behavior' of a serial killer 'predatory aggression,' comparing it to the aggressive behavior of carnivores. Predatory animals kill to satisfy a need, so there isn't any rage behind the action. In other words, a serial killer kills because he thinks he needs to, while other killers may kill because they are provoked.
- These serial killers are found to be intelligent and have above average intelligence. Most of the serial killers are found to have families and steady jobs. These killers are often from divorced families where the father has left the mother. They often come from families with a criminal.
- Jul 21, 2015 Henry Lee Lucas, a serial killer convicted of 11 murders, was found to have extreme brain damage in these regions, for example.
- According to Psychology Today, the most common type of serial killer is the 'power/control' process-focused killer. John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, and Dennis Rader all fall into this category. John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, and Dennis Rader all fall into this category.
A person who has a 'predatory aggressive personality' believes other people are inferior, which makes it easy for him to justify hurting or preying on others. Serial killers don't have normal human empathy, but they're very good at pretending like they do, so it's incumbent upon the rest of us to learn how to recognize fake empathy when we see it. Chances are, if your instinct tells you someone is just going through the motions when it comes to exhibiting empathy, love, or concern, then your instincts are probably correct.
Serial killers are manipulative
Serial killers are manipulative, but they're also very good at making sure you don't know you're being manipulated. We all operate under the premise of believing that evil is something distant — that the person we just met or the person who lives next door to us couldn't possibly be evil, mostly because we like to believe that horror is something that happens in movies and to other people. According to Psychology Today, Jeffrey Dahmer's father simply accepted his son's lies at face value because it was easier for him to believe the lies than to admit to himself that his son was a monster.
But even those of us who aren't already emotionally invested in a relationship with a dangerous person can be manipulated. Superficial charm can lull just about anyone into a false sense of security, so it's important to be on the lookout for it.
Generally speaking, if you're being flattered and distracted with gifts, and if those actions appear designed to cover something up, like flaws in a story, the whereabouts of a missing item, or a bizarre favor or demand, you need to keep your guard up. Psychopaths look for your vulnerabilities and try to use them against you, so you need to know what your vulnerabilities are.
Serial killers exhibit 'sensation-seeking' behavior
People who commit serial crimes, especially serial rape and murder, often do it because they're trying to feel something. This is called 'sensation seeking' behavior, and according to The University of Melbourne, there may be a genetic component to it. A 1997 study that looked at the behavior patterns of twins raised in separate households found that both sensation-seeking behavior and impulsivity were not matters or nurture, but of nature. In other words, it's a quality that many serial killers are born with.
Interestingly, a 1965 experiment conducted by pioneering criminal psychologist Robert Hare found that psychopaths (which make up a large percentage of the serial killing population) tolerate electric shock far more than people who are not psychopaths, which suggests not only that they don't fear punishment but that they may be numb to sensations that affect other people in profound ways. In Hare's experiment, psychopaths and normal volunteers were hooked up to an electric shock-inducing machine and told to watch a countdown timer. When the countdown timer reached zero, they were given an electric shock. The normal subjects showed signs of extreme anxiety and agitation as the timer approached zero, but the psychopaths were all, 'Bring it on.' These troubling results show that psychopaths don't really fear the consequences of their actions, and that they may seek increasingly extreme stimulus, since they're numb to many of the experiences that create emotion in the rest of us.
Serial killers often suffered some kind of childhood abuse
Abuse during childhood is not a direct path to serial killerdom, but many serial killers were abused as children. A Radford University study looked at the childhood experiences of 50 serial killers and discovered that 68 percent of them had experienced 'some type of maltreatment,' either physical, sexual, psychological, or neglect. Earlier research found similar numbers, and one study even reported that 100 percent of serial killers studied had suffered some kind of abuse in childhood.
David Hosier of Childhood Trauma Recovery says psychological abuse in particular has a strong correlation with future behavior — children who are shamed or humiliated or are punished disproportionately can develop a propensity for cruelty as a direct result of that abuse. Neglect, too, is a big factor because when children don't experience empathy from a parent or caregiver, they sometimes don't develop the ability to empathize with others.
Serial killers have a need for control
Psychological disorders or childhood abuse can leave people with feelings of helplessness, and for a disturbed person with the potential to commit violence, that's a terrible personality flaw. People who feel like they're helpless to control their own lives and situations will sometimes look for smaller, more manageable areas of their lives that they can have complete control over. If the person lacks empathy, that area may consist of other human beings.
According to Steven Reddy of Duquesne University School of Law, childhood abuse isn't the only factor in a person's past that can lead him to develop that oversized need for control. Kids who come from unstable homes — moving frequently, being shuttled between foster homes, etc. — may feel like they have no control over their lives, and as a double whammy also don't have time to develop real relationships with their peers. So not only do they have control issues, they also have deficiencies in empathy simply because they have so few friendships with which to learn and develop the sense of empathy that all normal human beings possess. Lack of empathy combined with a pathological need to control others is a deadly combination.
Serial killers often don't show remorse
Serial killers almost always lack remorse. That's not really surprising, since the ability to repeat a brutal crime sort of depends on not feeling too bad about the first time you committed a brutal crime. In his book Serial Murder and the Psychology of Violent Crime, Richard N. Kocsis says lack of remorse isn't necessarily specific to psychopaths and sociopaths, which is terrifying, so thanks for that, Richard. People who have fairly ordinary psychological makeups can also kill without remorse, provided they can successfully 'compartmentalize and dehumanize' the people they kill. You know, 'It puts the lotion in the basket.'
Most of the time, though, lack of remorse is directly related to a killer's lack of empathy. If you're unable to empathize with someone who is afraid or in pain, you aren't going to feel much (if any) remorse about ending that person's life.
Serial killers are trying to fill an emotional void
People who are engaged in selfish pursuits are almost always trying to fill an emotional void. Psychologist Marcia Sirota says such people may not have received much love and affection as children, or that they observed others engaged in selfish pursuits and are trying to emulate that behavior as adults. Serial killers in particular are often described as emotionally vacant and incapable of forming meaningful personal relationships.
Serial killers have this quality in common with drug addicts — people who abuse drugs are looking for some sort of emotional experience that can replace the emotional experiences they don't have access to, usually relationships with other human beings. Having healthy relationships with others is a crucial component of psychological health — it's what makes us human.
Interestingly, many billionaires also fall into the 'emotional void' category. The relentless pursuit of money, like the relentless pursuit of drugs or murder, is just another way to try and fill the need for love and human affection.
Serial killers enjoy having power over others
Psychologists divide serial killers up into categories. There are killers who are 'act-focused' — these people typically kill because they feel like they're on some kind of crusade, for example, 'to rid the world of prostitutes.' Killers who are 'process-focused' are the more sadistic variety. To put it bluntly, they enjoy watching people suffer, so they usually torture their victims before killing them. According to Psychology Today, the most common type of serial killer is the 'power/control' process-focused killer. John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, and Dennis Rader all fall into this category.
Power killers can be said to have a sort of god complex. They kill slowly because the ability to decide how and when their victims will die makes them feel empowered. Most killers who sexually assault their victims aren't motivated by lust, they're motivated by the feeling of power they get from the act.
Serial killers are vain and narcissistic
One of the FBI's favorite techniques for interviewing serial killers is flattery. Psychopathic killers in particular tend to have a grandiose sense of their own self-worth, so investigators can use praise to get them talking. In an FBI document about serial murder, behavioral analysts said psychopathic serial killers don't respond to 'altruistic interview themes,' in other words, trying to make them experience feelings of guilt or sympathy for their victims is a waste of time. Instead, interviewers might praise them for their intelligence or for their skill at outwitting investigators.
Forensic psychologist Stephen A. Diamond calls this quality 'psychopathic narcissism,' and likens it to an 'immature, selfish, self-centered, resentful, and raging child inside a powerful adult body.' Children are inherently narcissistic and must be taught the rules of social behavior, but when children grow up physically but remain in a state of immaturity, they can become extremely dangerous people.
Serial killers may have addictive personalities
Most people who have 'addictive personalities' today are addicted to cell phones, or maybe Chapstick. More dangerous addictions might include drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes. But when normal humans have addictive personalities, they generally find vices that don't physically harm other people. (Psychologically, maybe, but not physically.) Serial killers, on the other hand, might also have addictive personalities, but when those addictive personalities are combined with qualities like narcissism, emotional emptiness, and an inability to feel remorse, well, it's not hard to guess what that might lead to.
Psychologist and criminologist Craig Traube believes there's considerable overlap between personality disorders that are common to serial killers and addiction. Addiction, which can be defined as 'the repetition of a behavior despite the harmful consequences,' often follows a pattern of experimentation followed by a settling on a particular substance or activity. In particular, Ted Bundy displayed these characteristics when stalking and killing his victims, and was known to have turned to drugs and alcohol in prison once he no longer had the ability to engage in murder. Other killers, like Israel Keyes, have also been described as 'addicted to murder.' Of all the traits listed above, this one is probably the most controversial, but when seeking to explain the behavior of this most terrifying of criminals, it's an idea that probably shouldn't be ignored.
The first recorded serial killers date back to the Roman Empire when a group of matrons were said to have poisoned men using a deadly ring.
Today, thanks to modern technology, psychologists and criminologists have defined and identified what makes a person commit such cold-blooded murders again and again .
Working with Dr Elizabeth Yardley, Director of the Centre for Applied Criminology at Birmingham City University, Real Crime magazine has highlighted five key characteristics of serial killers..
1: A POWER JUNKIE
‘Serial killers typically have a real affinity with power, even when they’ve been caught and know the game is up,’ explained the experts.
Killers: Ian Brady (left), the Moors Murderer who was convicted of killing five children with accomplice Myra Hindley (right) between 1963 and 1965 withheld the location of victim Keith Bennett’s body from police
‘Intent on exerting some kind of control over the people around them, they often hold back bits of crucial information in a bid to maintain power over the situation, gain attention and assert a warped sense of authority.’
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Ian Brady, the Moors Murderer who was convicted of killing five children with accomplice Myra Hindley between 1963 and 1965, withheld the location of victim Keith Bennett’s body from police which many believe was to assert power and control.
Doctor Harold Shipman (pictured) used his position as a medical expert to manipulate his patients
2: A MANIPULATOR
‘Apparent vulnerability and the need to please have been used effectively time and time again by serial killers as a way of hiding a sinister personality,’ continued the experts.
‘Some of the world’s best known serial killers have a frightening ability to manipulate those around them, pressing the right buttons in order to present themselves in a false light.’
‘Serial killers are also often able to manipulate a situation in order to pass the blame for their actions, using hot-button issues of the day or medical psychological research to try to explain their actions.’
Doctor Harold Shipman, for example, used his position as a medical expert to manipulate his patients into treatments that ultimately killed them while posing as a caring member of society.
3: AN EGOTISTICAL BRAGGER
Elsewhere, Real Crime and Dr Yardley said: ‘Egoistical serial killers often can’t help but brag about the atrocities they’ve committed, whether it’s aimed at their accomplices, the next victim, law enforcement, or just themselves.
‘Take Brady and Hindley for example. They revisited the burial sites on Saddleworth Moor often, taking ghoulish trophy shots of the desolate landscape as a memento of their horrendous crimes.
‘Of course, these helped incriminate the pair and lead the police to the three bodies eventually found on the Moor.’
Convicted British serial killer Trevor Hardy, dubbed Beast of Manchester for his murders of teenage girls in the 1970s, bragged about one murder to his younger brother which led to his arrest.
4: A SUPERFICIAL CHARMER
’Serial killers tend to have a very good grasp of other people’s emotions and are quick to pick up on any vulnerability or weakness in order to convince them into doing things they normally wouldn’t,’ added Dr Yardley.
Unfinished business: Shortly before his execution in 1989, serial killer Bundy (pictured) confessed to 30 murders in seven states between 1974 and 1978, although it is believed he may have killed many more
‘They’ll get others on side and take charge of a situation with a mix of compliments and common sense.’
One example of such a ‘superficial charmer’ is Ted Bundy.
Shortly before his execution in 1989, serial killer Bundy confessed to 30 murders in seven states between 1974 and 1978, although it is thought he killed many more.
Stata free trial version. He raped and kidnapped woman after winning their trust, either by feigning disability using fake slings or casts, or pretending to be a policeman or person of authority.
He was often described as charming, charismatic and handsome.
5: AN AVERAGE JOE
Meanwhile, Real Crime continued: ‘Possibly the scariest trait of all, many serial killers look like a pillar of the community on first sight.
Fred West (pictured above) appeared to be part an 'average Joe' but between 1967 and 1987 tortured and raped young women and girls
‘However it’s a way of gaining trust, only to abuse it in the most appalling ways. This tactic has enabled many to get away with a lot of deviant stuff behind closed doors.’
Transformers victory is sweet game. Transformers 3: Victory is Sweet:top Starscream and his army of treacherous Decepticons from destroying the city. Find and destroy the three beacons Starscream is using to organize the attack.
Fred and Rose West, for example, appeared to be part of an everyday family.
Between 1967 and 1987, the pair tortured and raped young women and girls, killing at least 12 including family members, and burying some in their garden.
They lived in a residential street in Gloucester, in the UK.
In the US, John Wayne Gacy, nicknamed ‘Killer Clown’ was politically active in his Chicago suburb and worked hard for the local community, even performing at parties and events as a ‘Pogo’ the clown.
In private, he raped and murdered teenage boys, burying their remains on the grounds of his house.
COULD CHILDHOOD ABUSE BE A FACTOR?
Previous studies have found a link between serial killers and childhood abuse, including physical, mental and sexual.
The killers typically come from unstable families, shown signs of voyeurism and sadomasochism from an early age and more than 90 percent of serial killers are male.
Interviews with friends of Charles Manson, who killed seven people over the course of two nights in August 1969, said he would encourage violence against other children even at school.
Nature or nurture? Charles Manson (pictured), who killed seven people over the course of two nights in August 1969, claimed he had come from an abusive family and was neglected
He was also reportedly abused and neglected as child.
WHAT IS A SERIAL KILLER?
The term ‘serial killer’ was coined in the 1970s by the former director of FBI’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program, Robert Ressler.
The crimes differ from mass murders which typically occur at the same location or incident without a so-called ‘cooling-off period.’
In 1998 a federal law passed by the United States Congress defined it as: ‘Three or more killings, not less than one of which was committed within the United States, having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors.’
However, Ted Bundy, the Milwaukee Cannibal Jeff Dahmer and Dennis Rader - the Bind, Torture Kill or BTK killer - grew up in healthy households with supportive family members.
And contrary to popular belief, serial killers span all racial groups.
Charles Ng, a native of Hong Kong, China, killed numerous victims in Northern California, with Leonard Lake.
Derrick Todd Lee, an African-American, killed at least six women in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Coral Eugene Watts, an African-American, killed five victims in Michigan, fled the state to avoid detection, and murdered another 12 victims in Texas, before being arrested.
And there are female killers too, Aileen Wuornos was a female serial killer who murdered seven men in Florida betweenn 1989 and 1990.
COULD BRAIN SCANS REVEAL A SERIAL KILLER?
Other researchers theorise that damage to the frontal lobe, the hypothalamus and the limbic system can cause extreme aggression, loss of control, and poor judgment.
This feature taken in part from Real Crime magazine, out now
Henry Lee Lucas, a serial killer convicted of 11 murders, was found to have extreme brain damage in these regions, for example.
The brain study at the University of Wisconsin, Madison also noticed a drop in connectivity between the amygdala and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC).
These regions process negative stimuli into negative emotions and responses.
When connectivity is low, people have lower levels of empathy and aren’t easily ashamed by their actions.
PSYCHOPATHY VERSUS PSYCHOSIS
Some serial killers have been diagnosed by psychologists as psychopaths, suffering from an antisocial personality disorder (APD).
This makes them unlikely to conform to social norms, irritable and aggressive and lack of remorse.
Brain scans of rapist and serial killer Brian Dugan showed a lack of activity in the regions associated with empathy and remorse, and Bundy once described himself as ‘the most cold-hearted son of a b***h you'll ever meet.’
Others have been diagnosed as psychotic.
HOW TO CLASSIFY A SERIAL KILLER: MOTIVE AND SOCIAL PATTERNS
Serial killers are typically classified in two ways - one based on motive, the other on organisational and social patterns.
The motive method is called Holmes typology, for Ronald M. and Stephen T. Holmes, authors of textbooks on serial murder and violent crime.
The FBI explained that not every serial killer falls into a single type, and these classifications don’t explain what leads someone to become a serial killer.
However, according to Holmes typology, serial killers can be act-focused, and kill quickly, or process-focused, and kill slowly.
For act-focused killers, killing is about the act itself. Visionary murders in this group hear voices or has visions that direct him to do so, while Missionary murders believe they are meant to get rid of a particular group of people.
Alternatively, process-focused serial killers get enjoyment from torture and the death of their victims.
Lust killers derive sexual pleasure from killing, Thrill killers get a ‘thrill’ from it and Gain killers murder because they believe they will profit in some way.
Power killers wish to be in charge of life and death.
Source: How is Stuff Works Magazine
The FBI explained: ‘Psychopathy is a personality disorder manifested in people who use a mixture of charm, manipulation, intimidation, and occasionally violence to control others, in order to satisfy their own selfish needs.’
Psychotic: Bodysnatcher Ed Gein (pictured) believed he needed the parts of the woman he killed in order to become a woman himself
By comparison, psychosis is when a person loses sense of reality.
The conditions share certain traits, but typically psychopaths are manipulative and know right from wrong, while psychotics suffer from delusions.
Bodysnatcher Ed Gein believed he needed the parts of the woman he killed in order to become a woman himself.
And last month, Nicholas Salvador, 25, was put on trial for beheading a woman he believed was ‘Hitler back from the dead’. He was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time. Although not a serial killer, this highlights the differences in the types of killers.
However, all of these findings fail to reveal why other people with similar brain abnormalities or personality traits aren’t serial killers. Furthermore, the cause of this brain damage is also not known or confirmed.
As the FBI concluded: ‘The relationship between psychopathy and serial killers is particularly interesting.
‘All psychopaths do not become serial murderers. Rather, serial murderers may possess some or many of the traits consistent with psychopathy.
Characteristics Of A Serial Killer Fbi
‘Psychopaths who commit serial murder do not value human life and are extremely callous in their interactions with their victims.
Personality Of A Serial Killer
‘This is particularly evident in sexually motivated serial killers who repeatedly target, stalk, assault, and kill without a sense of remorse. However, psychopathy alone does not explain the motivations of a serial killer.’