Serial killers are individuals who have committed multiple murders over a period of time. They often have a specific method or motive for their killings, but no one will ever know the true reason behind why they choose to commit the horrendous acts that they do. One of the most heinous serial killers caught throughout history is Randy Steven Kraft, also known as the “Scorecard Killer” or the “Freeway Killer”. Kraft was a notorious serial killer who terrorized Southern California during the 1970s and 1980s. Kraft's childhood included various factors that may have played a role in his later crimes and upbringing. In Long Beach, California, Randy Kraft was born on March 19, 1945 (Howes). He was born into a middle-class family and was the youngest …show more content…
They ended up performing a sobriety test on Kraft because he was showing signs of being under the influence and wasn’t speaking or acting clearly. Kraft ended up failing the test and was put into handcuffs and restrained (“Forensic History.”). Little did the police know that they had a violent serial killer just under their noses. After being put in handcuffs, Kraft, in a disorientated manner, asked the police to check up on his friend. The officers went to the passenger side seat and tried to wake up the man, thinking that he was just asleep but really he was dead (“Forensic History.”). The man who was found dead in Kraft's car was identified as a Marine named Terry Lee Gambrel (Mendoza). Police interviewed Gambrel's friends and they said the last time they saw Gambrel, he was planning on hitchhiking to a party. It was then that Kraft admitted to picking up Gambrel and giving him a bottle of beer that was spiked with sedatives (Mendoza). This killing style was Kraft’s main way of attracting his victims. He would typically go along the freeways picking up hitchhikers only to drug, torture, and kill them. Initially, Kraft was only arrested for Gambrel's murder, but as time passed, the evidence kept piling up and investigators were able to tie Kraft to other murders (Mendoza). To connect everything, the most valuable piece of evidence that the police had gathered, and the key way in which Randy Kraft was stopped was through the discovery of his gut-wrenching "scorecards," which detailed the brutal killings he had committed. These scorecards included cryptic symbols and numerals that were later tied back to the locations, dates, and names of his victims (Newton). The scorecards consisted of two neatly printed columns, thirty cryptic items on the left side of a sheet, and thirty-one
their own worth (Choi). Psychologists, scientists, and criminologists search to answer the question of why serial killers commit mass killings and how they become such violent humans. With this in mind two school of thoughts emerge on the topic: nature (genetic makeup) and nurture (environmental and social factors). Genes, many argue, is the answer to understanding the mind of a serial killer while others focus on the origins and surroundings of the psychopaths’ childhood. However, I have found that
Kent Kiehl from the University of New Mexico, says, “one in one hundred people is a serial killer” A deep experiment and deep understanding definition of a serial killer varies from brain functions, and how the different compartments work with each other to make the person who they are. From a start the separation from a serial killer to an average person begins with the Amygdala, two nuggets of tissue one at each half of the brain, this is the Brains Central Command Center, yet they are no bigger