Serial Killers: Is Pure Evil Born or Made?

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By 1978, roughly thirty women were dead and mutilated by the same man with little explanation as to why. Ted Bundy, one of the most infamous serial killers in history brutally took the lives of numerous women for seemingly no reason at all. His justification for these murders was simply that he felt like committing them. A serial killer is defined as someone who has killed more than three people over a period of a month or more for seemingly no reason at all. Most serial killers have no real motive for killing; for them it is an urge that they must satisfy. Was Ted Bundy and others like him always a violent psychopath or did certain events cause him to behave this way? One common belief is that abusive childhoods and other environmental factors are the main reason serial killers develop the way they do. The other belief is that serial killers are born with an innate desire to kill. The answer to this question lies within both arguments and there is no secret serial killer formula. Serial Killers are neither born nor made; instead many factors, both biological and psychological, contribute to the making of these destructive monsters. Many people with antisocial personality disorder are taught to have a lack of empathy in early childhood. There is a high number of serial killers with abusive pasts. Parents who abuse their children both mentally and physically at an early age are training their child to be cold and emotionless. Many killers suffered this fate at childhood and became heartless creatures with little to no remorse for their actions. In the article “What makes Serial Killers Tick?” it is said that Serial Killer Albert Desalvo was sold into slavery by his father and was sexually and physically abused for most of his you... ... middle of paper ... ...and Elias Abdalla-Filho. "Personality disorders, psychopathy, and serial killers Transtornos de personalidade, psicopatia e serial killers." Rev Bras Psiquiatr 28.Supl II (2006): S74-9. 3. Scott, Shirley L. "What Makes Serial Killers Tick? — Monsters or Victims? — Crime Library on TruTV.com." TruTV.com: Not Reality. Actuality. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. 4. Morton, Robert J. "View Printable Version (pdf)." FBI. FBI, 21 May 2010. Web. 08 Apr. 2014 5. American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Appendix I: Outline for cultural formulation and glossary of culturebound syndromes. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890423349.7060 6. Brogaard, Berit. "The Making of a Serial Killer." Psychology Today. Berit Brogaard, D.M.Sci., Ph.D in The Superhuman Mind, 07 Dec. 2012. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.

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