Serial Killers

Abstract

We explore the phenomenon of multicide. Specifically, we look at two kinds of multicide, namely serial murder. In doing so, we present an overview of the extant historical and contemporary information pertaining to these two topics, while also reporting recently established insights into areas that hold both a fascination of the events as well as abhorrence of those who would engage in such behavior. Based on the existing literature, we attempt to demonstrate that serial murder are characteristically an enigma of the human character. That this enigma poses severe restrictions on the social ecology of human interaction is, we believe, aptly demonstrated throughout this discussion.

Table of Contents

Serial KillersError! Bookmark not defined.

Abstract2

Introduction4

Serial Murderers4

Serial Killers, Historical Perspective4

Serial Murder: An Emerging Concept4

Defining Serial Killer4

Types and Motives4

Conclusion4

References4

Serial Killers

Introduction

With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, there arose an increased incidence of urban violence, especially in the home and work place. Capturing the attention of analysts for more than 130 years, among these violent events are serial killing. As more instances of both events were officially recorded and analyzed throughout the first half of the twentieth century, our understanding of the complex dynamics involved have become somewhat crystallized. By the 1960s and 1970s, more informed explanations of serial killing were under development by government analysts and others interested in understanding the nature of multicide. By the 1980s, the scholarly literature that stands as a benchmark for comparison had been developed. Some of this information is derived from scholarly research efforts conducted, for example, in Australia, Great Britain, Germany, and the United States. In addition, the FBI Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) provide an incidence-based compilation of homicide victim and offender age, race, sex, weapon, victimoffender relationship, and circumstance that is useful to create profiles and typologies of serial. These data establish new, important insights into the modus operandi of each type.

It has also been reported that during this same 100-year period, 1900-99, there were 1246 serial killers officially documented worldwide, of whom 236 were in the United States. Of the estimated 18 361 victims worldwide, a total of 3313 were thought to have been murdered in the United States. In Australia, 5% of all homicide events involve multiple victims but, on average, only one multiple homicide is recorded annually. During the period 1920-40, Germany reported a dozen cases of serial killing in which over 20 victims were claimed for each case. Given that this kind of high serial murderer activity was not documented prior to or since that extended time period leads to some speculation as to whether the cause of this high number of deaths may be attributed to political reactionaries in that country. From 1970 to the mid-1980s, 39 such cases were documented.

Historically, in England and Wales few such cases of homicide are documented; even fewer cases of serial killing occur. For the period 1940-85, only 12 cases were recorded in England, with a victim count that ranges from four to 26. For the 46-year period, these 12 cases accounted for a known total of 107 murders ...