Serial Killers Analysis

Serial killers have seen a rise in popularity as of late. With several television shows and novels based in these crimes, analyzing serial killers has been a popular pastime. With all of the recent attention given to serial murder, there is a growing interest in the psychology behind their behavior. When analyzing them, certain factors appear to be present. These factors are what lead them to become a serial killer and these seem to be shared with multiple killers. Serial killers are both born and made with these factors and those in the criminal justice system use their knowledge of these factors to analyze and catch these killers. In Gladwell’s article “Dangerous Minds”, criminal profiling’s accuracy is analyzed. Gladwell claims that profiling …show more content…
These types are separated by the motives of the killer. The FBI, along with Leonard G. Johns et. Al, have created general categories for the motives of serial killers to fall into. These include anger, ideology, financial gain, power/thrill, sexually-based and psychosis, among others. A serial killer driven by anger seems to detest certain groups of people. It is this group that they target and kill. This category can easily be confused with the ideological serial killer who also targets a specific group, but targets them to benefit their perception of the world. These killers typically are part of cults or terrorist groups and seek to benefit their cause by exterminating those who are plaguing society. Another `Those that kill for financial gain are fairly straightforward. They generally get money through large life insurance policies that are placed on someone they know, typically a spouse. Fascinatingly, the few serial killers that are female, more often than not, are placed in this category, hence the term “Black Widow”. One of the other characteristic that serial killers can fall into is the power/thrill group. These murderers truly enjoy killing and do so for the excitement of having control over their victim. This absolute power over one person is so enticing for them that it keeps them killing. Another category that was touched upon earlier, the sexually-based group kills for a sexual thrill. These killers are generally going to have Sexual Sadism and, in some cases, Necrophilia. Their crimes are categorized by sexual assault either before or after the murder. Finally, psychosis killers often behave the way they do because of a severe mental illness. During their kills, they are typically hallucinating. These hallucinations, both auditory and visual, cause them to attack and kill people, despite whether or not they realize what they are doing. By organizing killers into certain categories, the