Serial Killers Vs. Mass Murderer

Some would say nineteenth century Jack the Ripper is nearly the same as James Holmes, the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooter. Both are considered murderers, right? However, these two killers fall into two completely different categories of murderers, serial and mass. Serial killers and mass murderers often display the same characteristics of manipulation and lack of empathy. The few things that differentiate serial killers to mass murderers are; serial killers commit murder over a long period of time, and often in different places, while mass murderers kill within a single location and time-frame. Most times, a serial killer will know their victim personally or will have stalked them for a period of time before killing them, while a mass …show more content…
For a serial killer, the murders must be separate events, which are most often driven by a psychological thrill or pleasure. Serial killers often do not feel empathy or guilt, causing them to feel absolutely no pain after committing the crime. Most times they become egocentric individuals; these characteristics classify certain serial killers as psychopaths. Serial killers often have a very unexciting life which hides their true psychopathic tendencies and appear normal, even charming. The most notable example of a “charmer” serial killer is Ted Bundy, who would fake an injury to appear harmless to his victims. Ted Bundy is classified as an organized serial killer, as he methodically planned out his murder and generally stalked his victim for several weeks before committing the actual crime. He committed an estimated thirty murders from 1974-1978 before his eventual capture. Serial killers such as Ted Bundy are known to be organized and psychologically motivated to commit murder, which separates them from mass murderers who appear to kill randomly in one given