The Crime Web: The Characteristics of a Serial Killer

Son of Sam, The Co-ed Killer, The Night Stalker, The Milwaukee Cannibal, The Gainesville Slasher, The Killer Clown, The Trailside Killer; to name just a few, these are the monikers given to some of the most notorious multiple murderers in modern history. They are not mass murderers, because a mass murderer kills 3 or more people in a single location at one time. They are not spree murderers, because a key element of a spree murder is the killing of 3 or more individuals in a very short period of time in 2 or more locations. They are of a terrifying breed of two legged beasts known as serial killers. What warped part of the human psyche dictates a human being to become not just a murderer, but a serial killer?

The term "serial killer" was coined in 1976 by Robert K Ressler to describe the actions of one in particular murderer, David Berkowitz, otherwise known as The Son of Sam. The term was adopted to describe any murderer that kills 3 or more people in a series over a relatively long time. The time interval, referred to as a cooling off period, may be days, weeks, months or years. The cooling off period is the main difference between serial murderers and other multiple murderers. Serial killers can go on for months or even years before they are caught. We still don't know the identity of the Zodiac Killer or the Green River Killer, and they have been killing for over a decade. In the last 30 years the serial killer rate has risen 940% in the United States. It is estimated that there are at least 35 serial killers active in the United States today, right now. Who are they? What makes them tick, and why is it so difficult to catch them?

Despite what recent movies and the latest best sellers make it appear, the profile for a serial killer is not clear cut. They range in profiles from a good looking, intelligent, politically active, law student, like Ted Bundy, and the well respected business man and part-time clown like John Gacey. They can appear to be the average American like Dean Corll or they can be a mental case like, Jeffery Dahmer or a big, clumsy, highly intelligent, but socially inept individual like Edmund Kemper.

What creates a serial killer? Are they born missing a crucial part of humanness, or are they made? Could it be a combination? A general profile would be a white male 20-30 years old. There main motives are sex (even though the sex act may or may not take place), power, manipulation, domination, and control. The victim is usually the same for every killer. The victims would be the same type for each killing; gender, age, race, prostitutes, children, homeless people, hitch-hikers etc. It would be unusual for a killer who had concentrated on female prostitutes to suddenly switch to little boys. Most murders are "hands on," strangulation, stabbing, suffixation, though as in the case of Son of Sam a 44 caliber handgun was used. They generally don't know their victims and there is no, or very little previous connection between the killer and the victim. There is also a high degree of overkill or an extreme amount of violence.

Serial Killers are also divided into mobility. A stable killer, like Gacy or Dahmer, had a base of operation. They live in work in one location, they hunt and kill within the local area, they dispose of the bodies in similar area, and they seldom travel. The transient killer, like Ted Bundy, moves around a lot, the kills are spread out over a large area, bodies are disposed of in random locations, they seldom return to the scene of the crime.

They can be further divided into Organized and Disorganized. Most serial killers are organized, about 3/4 of them. They are cognizant of what they are doing and they are not mentally deranged in the legal sense. They plan the murder, they are well prepared and bring a "rape kit" along with them, they have some personal contact with their chosen victim beforehand, they are aware of the importance of evidence that may be left behind, and rape an torture may occur before the murder for personal gratification, and they hide the bodies. In there younger years, it's been found that the killer's father had a steady job, but there was a lack of discipline. The organized killer would be disruptive in school and would externalized his hurt, anger and pain. He would be very intelligent, but would be a bully and probably just squeaked by in school. They have good verbal skills and may be good con artists. Many have been in the military or have had jobs that allow them to see themselves in positions of power. There outward appearance is pleasing. A disorganized serial killer, on the other hand, kills quickly and without planning, they don't bring a rape kit, there is no personal contact until the moment of the murder, he doesn't think about the evidence, and usually there will be no rape or torture, and usually does not hide the body well. As for his younger life, the disorganized killer would have a father that couldn't hold a job. The discipline would be very harsh and he would internalize his pain. His family would have a history of drug or alcohol abuse. The killer would be below average in intelligence and would do terrible in school. They are usually loners, they will appear disheveled, they feel inferior to other people and are incapable of relationships. There living arrangements will be very dirty and poor. The majority of both organized and disorganized killers were subjected to either physical, mental, emotional, or sexual abuse as a child.

As you can see, there is no such thing as a true serial killer profile. It's a mix and match deal. There are just markers that can point in a direction; organized, disorganized, stable, unstable, highly intelligent, borderline moron, clean and neat, dirty and disheveled, etc. One thing though, that a huge majority of serial killers have in common as children is one or all of the Serial Killer Triad.

Nothing can really explain why some one becomes a serial killer. Nothing so far has explained why there has been such a huge increase in cases, but the FBI estimates that in the year 2000 serial murders could be claiming an average of 11 lives a day in the US alone. Some theorize that it's something about modern life-mobility, alienation, permissiveness, a decline in emphasis on individual responsibility, a glorification of violence-triggers the latent evil in human misfits who kill for pleasure. It's a disease that's spreading, Europe, South Africa, South America, and Asia have all had increases in serial murders. The question remains, "Why", what drives a person to become a serial killer, but the answers haven't been forthcoming.