Chapter 12 Serial, Mass

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Chapter 12 Serial, Mass Spree Murder
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Chapter Summary

• Chapter 12 is an overview of serial killers, mass
  murderers, and spree killers.
• The Chapter begins with a discussion of mass
  murderers and serial killers. This is followed
  with an extensive discussion of serial killers,
  the prevalence of serial killers, and serial
  killers worldwide.
• The Chapter then provides an overview of the
  different theories regarding multiple murderers.

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Chapter Summary

• Chapter 12 concludes with a discussion of the
  role of law enforcement and how law enforcement
  responds to serial killing.
• After reading this chapter, students should be
  able to
• Explain the difference between mass murderers and
  spree killers
• Define the different types of serial killers
• Understand the extend of serial killing by
  minority groups

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Chapter Summary

• Explain the various theories of serial killing
• Discuss law enforcements response to serial
  killing
• Some murders are committed only for the
  offenders own enjoyment and psychological
  satisfaction.
• Many killers have high numbers of victims and
  their actions are sadistically brutal.

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What is Multiple Murder?

• Some murders are committed only for the
  offenders own enjoyment and psychological
  satisfaction
• Many killers have high numbers of victims and
  their actions are sadistically brutal

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Mass and Spree Murder

• Mass murder The killing of several people at one
  location.
• Spree murder The killing of several people at
  different locations over a period of several
  days.
• These killers typically commit suicide or are
  killed by the police.

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Mass and Spree Murder

• Two types of mass murderers
• Those who chose specific targets who the killers
  believe to have caused them stress.
• Those who attack targets having no connection
  with the killer but who belong to groups the
  killer dislikes.

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Mass and Spree Murder

• Most mass murderers are motivated by a hatred
  that simmers until some specific event provides
  the flame that brings it to a boil.
• Spree killers move from victim to victim in
  fairly rapid succession.
• Spree killing is rare, but spree-killing teams
  are even rarer and are typically composed of a
  dominant leader and submissive lover.
• Spree and mass murderers have increased steadily
  in the United States since the middle of the
  century.

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Serial Murder

• FBIs three criteria for defining a killer as a
  serial killer
• Kill in three or more separate events.
• At three or more separate locations.
• Engage in an emotional cooling off period between
  murders.
• Serial murder The killing of three or more
  victims over an extended period of time.

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The Extent of the Problem

• Some empirical evidence suggested that roughly
  20 of the murders in the United States yearly
  were committed by serial killers.
• However, other data sources contented that the
  share of serial killers accounted for no more
  than 300-400 murders each year.

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A Typology of Serial Killers

• Visionary serial killer Feels impelled to commit
  murder by visions or voices in my head.
• Mission oriented killer Feel it to be their
  mission in life to kill certain kinds of people.
• Hedonistic serial killer Kill for the pure
  thrill and joy of it the majority of serial
  killers are hedonistic serial killers.
• Power/Control killer Gains more satisfaction
  from exercising complete power over his victims,
  and sexual activity is almost always involved.

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Figure 12.1 Estimated Number and Rate per 10
Million of Serial Killers Operating in the United
States from 1795 to Mid-2004
Sources U.S Justice Department figures as
reported by Jenkins (1994) updated figures from
Hickey (2006) and Walsh (2005). Rates Per 10
million population computed by authors.
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Race and Multiple Murder

• African Americans are over-represented among
  serial killers relative to their proportion of
  the American population.
• Jenkins argues that black serial killers do not
  attain the notoriety of their white counterparts
  because the media tends to ignore them.
• There has been only one known Asian serial killer
  operating in the United States during the 20th
  century.

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Female Serial Killers

• The key distinction between make and female
  serial killers is that There are no female
  counterparts to a Bundy or a Gacy, to whom sex or
  sexual violence is a part of the murder pattern.
• Females kill for instrumental reasons or from
  twisted notions of mercy.

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Multiple Murder Overseas

• Mass or spree murder is relatively rare in
  developed countries outside of the United States.
• Strict gun controls may help to prevent some of
  the would-be mass or spree killers overseas, but
  they do not prevent serial killers.

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Theories about the Causes of Serial Killing

• Serial killing is not the result of any single
  cause but of several risk factors interacting in
  various ways.
• Anomie theory has been applied to explain serial
  killing across the centuries.
• Some authors invoke certain aspects of family and
  developmental theories to explain the phenomenon.
• The dramatic increase in the number of serial
  killers in the last half of the 20th century
  points to some very important social changes.

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Theories about the Causes of Serial Killing

• One factor that researchers appear to be
  unanimous about is that an extreme level of
  maternal deprivation almost uniformly
  characterizes the childhood experience of serial
  killers.
• The disinhibited counterculture ethos of
  personal satisfaction.
• The decarceration movement in the mental health
  system.

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Theories about the Causes of Serial Killing

• Two cognitive factors commonly imputed to serial
  killers are strong feelings of sexual inadequacy
  and a rich fantasy life.
• Extreme sexual dysfunction my result in deeply
  embedded feelings of worthlessness and
  powerlessness, the seeds which may have already
  been implanted by childhood abuse and neglect.
• A large percentage of serial killers who have
  been examined have significant damage to the
  frontal lobes of the brain.

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Theories about the Causes of Serial Killing

• One hypothesis is that a combination of genetic
  factors and abnormal fetal development of the
  brain and ANS may explain the biological
  component.
• The diathesis-stress model (Giannangelo-1996)
  All serial killers have a congenital
  susceptibility to behave and think in ways that
  lead to serial killing if combined with
  environmental stressors and traumas in terms of
  gene/environment correlation and gene/environment
  interaction.

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Figure 12.2 Stephen Giannangelo's
Diathesis/Stress Model of Serial Killing
Biological Predisposition (low arousal levels, possible prefrontal cortex damage, etc) Environmental Trauma/Stress ? Predisposition Self-esteem and self- control problems Sexual dysfunction ? Maladaptive coping skills Retreat into fantasy world ? Dissocia-tive process ? First Kill!
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Law Enforcements Response to Serial Killing

• The Investigative Support Unit (ISU) of the FBI
  has developed methods of profiling serial killers
  and other violent offenders through extensive
  interviewing and formal psychological testing of
  incarcerated killers in order to develop a
  typology based on personality and other offender
  characteristics.

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Law Enforcements Response to Serial Killing

• Offender profiling is augmented by crime scene
  analysis, which often tells experienced
  investigators a lot about the perpetrators
  personality.
• May serial murders may occur in diverse police
  jurisdictions without law enforcement being able
  to not the connections between them. This problem
  is known as linkage blindness.

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Law Enforcements Response to Serial Killing

• In 1985, the FBI created the Violent Criminal
  Apprehension Program (VICAP) which was a national
  clearinghouse that collates information on
  unsolved violent crimes from different
  jurisdictions.
• Law enforcement now has the ability to link a
  number of homicides committed in different
  jurisdictions to a single individual or
  individuals.