A serial killer is a person who commits two or more separate murders during a certain period with a pause between each murder. The Serial Killers may act alone or with an accomplice. Serial killers make every effort to escape discovery by the law enforcers. Every human being fits into certain groups based on their behavior. Serial killers also fit into particular groups based on their behavior and what motivates them to commit the murders. All serial killers are classified into two expansive groupings; the organized and the disorganized serial killers. The organized serial killers are scheming and intelligent. They cautiously scheme every detail of their crimes before committing them. They leave no evidence behind that would implicate them in the murder once discovered by the law enforcers. These psychopaths are known to watch their victims for days or weeks to study their victim’s behavior. Once they are satisfied that they have the right target, they capture their victims and commit all manner of animosity on their bodies before killing them. However, disorganized serial killers are known to have low intelligence quotient. They commit random murders which are in no way organized. They also tend to leave behind trails of their crimes hence they are easy to capture (Seltzer, 2013). The victims are usually of any gender, race, age group or profession. Unlike the organized serial killers, the disorganized serial killers tend to be extremely mobile. Once they murder one city, they move to another city or even state until things cool off. A recent FBI report estimates that more than 200 serial killers are roaming the streets across the United States; other statistics put that number at 3 to 4 times more than the FBI estimate. To understand more about the behavior of serial killers and what motivates them, the two categories are further divided into four classes based on the nature of their crimes. They are; power and control, visionary, mission, and hedonistic (thrill) serial killers. In this research paper, I will discuss each type of serial killer, discuss their traits and cite examples of each type giving statistical data of their kills.
Mission Oriented Serial Killers
These are the type of serial killers who perceive that they are on a mission to help the society in getting rid of a certain group of individuals (Miller, 2014). According to these serial killers, the society could do better without these individuals. The crimes are motivated by the fact that they feel that the society they live in and the world at large appreciates their actions. The victims may include, gay individuals, prostitutes, drug dealers or any other group of individuals that they believe the society can do without them. Their criminal activities are usually organized. Hence they are classified as organized serial killers. However, the fact that they target a particular group of people makes them easy to track by the law enforcers. They are not considered to be psychotic. They act on the perception that their efforts are for the good of the society. A good example of this type of serial killer is Joseph Paul Franklin. He was a serial killer in the American history who committed his crimes between the 1970s and 1980s. His target groups were the blacks and the Jews an act that experts described as intended to cause a race war in the United States. His acts were motivated by scenes from a fictional novel, ‘Hunter’ that was authored by William Luther Pierce. The extent of killing spree accounts changed so much such that the authorities could not fully describe the extent of his crimes. His mission was to rid the world of Jews and blacks. He was executed on 20th November 2013 by lethal injection after being convicted of the murder of Gerald Gordon in 1977.
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Visionary Serial Killers
These serial killers suffer from psychotic breaks from the society. They feel obliged by higher entities such as the devil or God to commit the crimes. They are usually categorized as demon-mandated or God-mandated depending on the entity that they claim has compelled them to commit the crimes. They have voices or visions in their heads that drive them to the murderous acts. Sometimes, these serial killers claim that the higher entities use animate and inanimate things to convey the message to them like in the case of David Berkowitz who claimed that the devil spoke to him through his neighbor’s dog. Most of these types of serial killers are known to suffer from a mental illness called schizophrenia. Visionary serial killers are disorganized, and their victims are random (Miller, 2014). They kill any time when the higher entities command them to kill hence they are easy to track and capture. A good example of visionary serial killers is Herbert William Mullin. He was an American based killer who committed his crimes on the 1970s in California. His kill count was thirteen people, and he believed by killing them, he was preventing earthquakes from striking California. Earthquakes are termed as an act God and therefore, according to Herbert, by killing these individuals he was doing the will of God, and therefore He would not let the earthquakes strike. In the August of 1973, Herbert was found guilty of first-degree murder of Henri Tomi and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was also found guilty of 10 out of the thirteen murders that he committed. However, he will be eligible for parole in the year 2021. In case he gets the parole, he will leave Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California at the age of 74.
Power and Control Serial Killers
These types of killers are described as sociopaths who live by his set guiding principles. They are the most common type of serial killers, and the pleasure and excitement motivate their crimes that they derive from causing pain, fear, suffering, and trauma to their victims. Most of these killers have a history of a difficult childhood that left them feeling abused and powerless. The abuse could be from close relatives that may have physically and mentally abused them. Some are victims of sexual abuse in their childhood. Later in their lives, they enjoy causing the same terror to their victims by causing physical pain. Often, they sexually abuse their victims and the not out of lust. They cause dismemberment to the victim’s body, and they are known to engage in sexual activity with their dead victim’s body. They cause pain by mutilating their victim’s bodies before killing them (Holmes, & DeBurger, 1985). A good example is Jeffery Dahmer commonly known as Milwaukee Cannibal. He killed a total of seventeen victims, all of them male by raping and dismembering them. Some of his murders involved necrophilia and cannibalism of body parts. Necrophilia is sexual activities with the decomposing body of the victims while cannibalism involves feeding on the body parts of the victims. Jeffrey was found guilty and was convicted to sixteen consecutive life sentences in the year 1992. He later met his death in prison where he was killed by a fellow inmate, Christopher Scarver, in Colombia. Power and Control serial killers are organized and therefore, hard to track their criminal activities.
Thrill Seekers Serial Killers
The last type of serial killers is the thrill seekers. They are also referred to as hedonistic. They commit the crimes, and as they kill, they are exhilarated by their acts. Often, these serial killers are motivated by the desire to outsmart the authorities by committing the crimes without being caught. They are also known to keep a detailed record of their murderous activities such that they can always revisit the events that transpired as they committed the crimes. They can be organized or disorganized serial killers. They possess a strong connection between violence and sexual fulfillment hence they often use crude weapons to maim their victims and later rape them to quench their lust (Lester, 1995). They tend to hide the bodies of their victims in the basement of their houses or in specific places where they can retrieve them if the need arises. Unlike the other type of serial killers, thrill seekers tend to send out messages to other people probably to boast of their achievements (Warren, Hazelwood, & Dietz, 1996). A good example of a thrill seeker serial killer is the Zodiac serial killer who operated between the 1960s and 1970s in a Northern part of California. He is known to have tormented his victims aggressively before brutally killing them. In a letter he wrote, he confessed that ‘Killing people is so much fun. It’s even better than killing the wild game in the forest because man is the most dangerous animal. To kill gives me the most thrilling experience. It’s even better than getting your rocks off with a girl’ an indication that he was thrilled by killing. He killed five people and injured two others before he stopped his killing spree for unknown reasons. However, his identity remains a mystery. Probably his quench and desire to kill had been satisfied.
In conclusion, apart from the four main types of serial killers, there are sub-categories of serial killers such as black widow serial killers who are female. They kill their husbands or boyfriends for money or inheritance. There are also mercy serial killers (angel of death) who are mostly in the medical profession. They kill their victims to rid them of the pain and anguish they experience due to their sickness. One such serial killer murdered more than 400 patients making him one of the worst serial killers with the highest death count in American history. As heinous as these individuals are, they live among us. It may be impossible to fully categorize and understand any serial killer, but it is possible to review their methods and practices to better define what type of criminal they are. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has defined three distinct types of serial killers based on the way they carry out their murders. Understanding which category a serial killer falls into can make it easier to investigate their crimes and how to bring them to justice.
Works Cited
Holmes, R. M., & DeBurger, J. E. (1985). Profiles in terror: The serial murderer. Fed. Probation, 49, 29.
Lester, D. (1995). Serial killers: The insatiable passion. Philadelphia, PA: Charles Press.
Miller, L. (2014). Serial killers: I. Subtypes, patterns, and motives. Aggression and violent behavior, 19(1), 1-11.
Seltzer, M. (2013). Serial killers: Death and life in America's wound culture. Routledge.
Warren, J. I., Hazelwood, R. R., & Dietz, P. E. (1996). The sexually sadistic serial killer. Journal of Forensic Science, 41(6), 970-974.
