Inside the Mind of Murderers

Inside the Mind of Murderers

The psyche of serial killers has been something we've wanted to understand for a long time. Serial murder has become a societal concern as well as a social awareness addiction. To many Americans, serial murderers are seen as icons. Although most are judged “sick”, these sick minds are nevertheless more interesting and exciting than those that perform obligatory duties necessary for the survival of American society. The unknown become famous. We know their names but are seldom concerned with the names of their victims.(text 1,pg 29) Some may even call it a fascination. These public interests lead to the creation of fictional serial killers in many famous novels and films. Through the study of serial killers, authors such as Tom Harris have created surreal characters mimicking attributes of real life serial murderers. In the novel/film, The Silence of the Lambs, young FBI agent Clarice Starling is assigned to help find a missing woman abducted by psychopathic killer, “Buffalo Bill”. In order to track him down, agent Starling, with help from Dr. Hannibal “the Cannibal” Lecter, must first solve an intricate psychological puzzle laid before her. She must herself, try to enter the complex mind of a serial killer.

Serial murder is the killing of three or more people over a period of more than thirty days, with a significant “cooling-off” period between the killings.(text 1,pg 18) Some researchers believe that there are as many as thirty five serial killers who are active at any particular time in the United States.(text 1,pg 19) This eccentric form of crime is understood to criminologists as a type of disease. This disease of serial murder is rapidly becoming an epidemic in American society and a pattern of violence that the U.S. Surgeon General has called a top-priority issue of public health.(text 2,pg 12)

The killing of people who neither share a relationship nor yield a reason for their victimization proves most disturbing. This problem tears at the fundamental framework of trust that permits a community to function adequately. Moreover, it conveys a sense of vulnerability that is particularly disturbing and distressing to the public. The addiction of murder to a serial killer is comparable to that of a drug for a drug addict. In 1983 alone, according to the FBI, approximately five thousand Americans of both sexes and all ages were struck down by murderers who did not know them and killed them for the sheer “high” of the experience.(text 2, pg 15)

Serial killers compulsively and silently stroll for their victims amid shopping malls at twilight, darkened city streets, or country roads in isolated rural communities. Literally Hundreds of potential victims have crossed the path of a serial killer on pursuit for his next subject. Once captured they do not commit simple homicides, yet often torment their victims, taking delight in the victims’ agonies, expressions of terror, cries of despair, and reactions to pain.(text 2,pg 15) Because their killing is not a passion of the moment, but a compelling urge that has been growing within them for years, they are an entirely different criminal. The serial killer is practiced and accomplished at what he does, and can cloak himself with a layer of normal, acceptable behavior.(text 2,pg 17) The actual event itself has been rehearsed time and time again allowing him to completely integrate his practice into his lifestyle.

The central element among serial killers is repetitive homicide. The serial murderer kills again and again and will continue to kill if not prevented. The time span may involve months or years. Ted Bundy, for example, was suspected in the murder of Ann Marie Burr when he was 15; his last known victim was Kimberly Leach, when he was 32. Bundy had a seventeen year killing career.(text 1, pg 30) Most known serial killers are predominately white males between the ages of twenty five and thirty five, and victims are almost always white females of varying ages. The murders are typically one on one, involving no apparent or clear cut motives. Sex may be seen as a prime motive in many serialist crimes. However, in other cases the motive may be derived from personality development.

Holmes and DeBurger stated that they believe a serial killer becomes a human predator because of a unique combination of forces that lie within the psychogenic, sociogenic and biogenic realms of “inheritance.” It is not only what one has inherited from parents and the society/culture one grows up in, but the sequence of exposure to activities, experiences, and traits that shape and form the personality of the serial murderer.(text 1,pg 36) They explain that head traumas during the formative years or even at birth are one of the most common elements among serial killers. However, almost all serial killers suffer from some form of psychomotor epilepsy