Serial Killers

Serial Killer/murderer (The terms serial killer and serial murderer are used Interchangeably) is usually defined as, "a person who murders three or more people over a period of more than 30 days with a "cooling off" period between each murder, whose motivation for killing is largely based on fantasy, gratification, and planning murders in advance" (FBI.org, 1998). Often a sexual element is involved with the killings. The murders may have been attempted or completed in a similar fashion and the victims may have had something in common, for example occupation, race, appearance, gender, or age group.

Coinage of the English term serial killer is commonly attributed to former FBI Special Agent Robert Ressler in the 1970s.

Characteristics:

Psychosis is rarely noted among serial killers. The predominant psychiatric diagnosis noted in the group tends toward the psychopathic, meaning they suffer from traits within a specific cluster of dysfunctional personality characteristics, those most commonly associated with Antisocial Personality Disorder or Dissocial personality disorder. Psychopaths lack empathy and guilt, are egocentric and impulsive, and do not conform to social, moral and legal norms. They may appear to be quite normal and often even charming, a state of adaptation that psychiatrist Hervey Cleckley named the "mask of sanity".

Serial killers tend to share the following general characteristics (However there are numerrous exceptions and these are by no means a requirement):

1. The majority are single, white males.
2. They are often intelligent, with IQs in the "bright normal" range.
3. Despite their high IQs, they do poorly in school, have trouble holding down jobs, and often work menial jobs.
4. They tend to come from unstable families.
5. As children, they are typically abandoned by their fathers and raised by domineering mothers.
6. Their families often have criminal, psychiatric and alcoholic histories.
7. They often are mistrustful of their parents.
8. It is common to find that as children, they were abused—psychologically, physically and/or sexually—by a family member.
9. Many spend time in institutions as children and have records of early psychiatric problems.
10. They have high rates of suicide attempts.
11. From an early age, many are intensely interested in voyeurism, fetishism, and sadomasochistic pornography.
12. More than 60 percent wet their beds beyond the age of 12.
13. Many are fascinated with fire starting.
14. They are involved in sadistic activity or torturing small animals.

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