Female Serial Killers Essay

Countless people, especially, criminologists have spent numerous hours researching serial killers since they are fascinating. Criminologists ' have high hopes of catching them before they kill, which is why they research them in such an in-depth way. Many people disagree as to what the definition of a serial murder. The FBI defines it as, “[t]he unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events" (9). There is certainly not any dispute that there have been both male and female serial killers. Overall, there are not large amounts of female serial killers, therefore, there has not been as much research done about them; yet there are numerous documented cases of these killers. Male and female serial killers are

Females frequently use less obvious means of murder than their male counterparts. The most common choice amongst the females happens to be poison, which is utilized in approximately 32% of their killings. These poisons include arsenic, potassium chloride, and succinylcholine (Holmes and Holmes 38-41). In the case of Velma Barfield, several people in close contact with her perished (Eddy). After her last victim 's autopsy indicated arsenic poisoning, she admitted to the other murders she had committed

Females tend to exploit their gender-specific roles to gather their victims by getting to know them. This puts them in a caregiver position, making the murders likely to go undetected. Several of them have been nurses, mothers, or wives (Kaplan). The case of Jane Toppan demonstrates just that. She was a nurse who administered morphine to her patients until they expired ("Jane Toppan"). "She killed at least thirty-one patients, although confessed to having killed more than one hundred" (Jane Toppan). She was finally exposed in 1901 after 16 years of killing (Staff