Mafia “hit man”, Richard Kuklinski is an interesting case of a different type of serial killer, which is certainly not the same thing as a mass murderer, although the two are synonymous with one another in the majority of people’s minds (Holmes 1999). Who Richard Kuklinski is, how he became a serial killer, why he did what he did, his background as a child and early adulthood, as well as this writer’s opinion on his diagnosis, if any regarding mental illness will be explored. Richard Kuklinski, aka “The Iceman” was born in the projects of Jersey City on April 11, 1935 to Stanley and Anna Kuklinski, of Polish and Irish descent. He picked up his nickname because he sometimes froze his victim’s bodies (Martin 2006). It is said that Kuklinski did this so the coroner would not be able to identify the time of death. Kuklinski died on March 5, 2006 at Trenton State Prison in New Jersey of an undisclosed nature (Martin 2006). He was arrested before Christmas on December 17, 1986 and subsequently confessed to killing between 200 and 250 men spanning a forty-three career, most of which he spent working with various east coast Mafia crime families (Carlo 2003). He was sentenced to two life terms in 1988 plus an additional 30 years in 2003 for the killing of New York City police detective Peter Calabro (Carlo 2003). Kuklinski’s childhood was dysfunctional. His father was an alcoholic who abused his wife and children (Carlo 2003). Richard dropped out of junior high school and was notorious for killing cats in his Polish neighborhood as a youth. Even Richard’s brother was Joseph was convicted for raping and murdering a 12-year-old girl (Carlo 2003). Amid the alcohol abuse of his father as well as physical and verbal abuse from both his mothe... ... middle of paper ... ...through brutal torture and murder, Richard had no life, no love, and no fear of the world about him. His words were, “I grew up with hate and have now come full circle. It is time for me to die”. Die he did indeed do. There was never an official report released by the hospital, although he did have a blood disorder. Nevertheless, he was to testify against a fellow mobster but died before he could do so. In fact, a hit had been placed on Richard Kuklinski. From childhood to the very end, Richard Kuklinski lived a life of rage and unrepentant hate. There is no doubt that a dysfunctional childhood and early life of misery surely mitigated the reasons why Richard did what he did for 43 years. In his 25 years behind bars, perhaps Kuklinski rationalized his reasons, but he never really knew why nor does anyone else when it all comes down to it. Perhaps we will never know.
What would cause an individual to behave in this rather heinous and macabre manner? Using Robert Pickton as a case study, this paper will explore the phenomenon of serial murder and apply research literature to help explain his behaviour and examine issues such as psychopathy, mental disorder, and substance abuse relevant to the Pickton case. In addition, the paper will explore the sexually sadistic nature of Pickton’s murders. Finally, the paper will explore the reasoning behind Pickton’s selection of drug addicted prostitutes as victims that enabled him to conduct his murders in relative anonymity. ...
The crime committed by Bernhard Goetz in 1984, is one that can be interpreted as an inhumane act of violence. On December 22, 1984, the thirty-seven year old Bernhard Goetz boarded a New York City subway. Sitting alone in his seat with his Smith & Wesson revolver, he was approached by four black teenage males (Linder). The four teenagers asked Bernhard Goetz for five dollars. When this happened, Bernhard Goetz felt endangered, and decided to pull out his Smith & Wesson revolver, and begin to shoot the young men. After firing four bullets in the New York City subway, he had injured three of the four young men. When Bernhard Goetz saw Darrell Cabey, the last of the four teenagers cowering on the floor, he said, “you don’t look too ba...
Kuklinski was rational in the way that he conducted his business, as well as his killings but the motivation for it was based on the psychodynamic theory. Kuklinski was a very rational actor in the sense that he thought about the safest ways to kill people without getting caught or doing a good job dismembering the body or freezing it so it prevents identification. Kuklinski’s favorite “weapon” was cyanide poisoning, which back then, was undetectable in an autopsy. He would poison his victims and the cause of death ended up being unknown. Richard Kuklinski also earned his name “The Iceman” by freezing the bodies after death, to throw off the forensic pathologists when they look for a time of death. This is beneficial because it wouldn't put Kuklinski at the scene of the murder. To prevent detection he would also sometimes bury the individual bodies. This was a very rational choice that reaped individual benefits which is consistent with the rational choice theory. Kuklinski had gotten into that work because this was the only way he knew how to provide for his family. Richard had wanted his family to be taken care of, he didn't want to feel weak and out of control of his home life. He had such a problem with control, that according to his ex-wife, he, just like his father abused her and the children. Although the motivation
Richard was born to an alcoholic, authoritarian father and a mentally-ill mother. His parents fought quite often and lost their home to financial issues. He was torturing animals, setting fires, and wetting the bed. He developed hypochondria at an unknown age. In adolescence, he had reportedly been exhibiting unusual behavior among his peers. For example, he believed he had blood poisoning and the solution was to drink the blood
When Karl was 12 years old interrupted what he believed to be the raping of his mother. He took charge and killed the man with a “sling blade”. He than found out his mother had wanted it so he killed her too. When he killed his mother and her lover he thought he was doing the right thing. Karl believed that if you have to sacrifice to do the right thing than you should do it. Karl was locked away in a “nut house” for the next 25 years for rehabilitation and correction.
The lives of everyone in the town of Springfield Oregon changed on May 21st of 1998. A quiet boy named Kip Kinkel became known as “The Killer at Thurston High” after killing both of his parents, murdering two classmates, and severely injuring 24 others. There are many factors in the 15 year old boy’s life that led up to the horrific events that occurred on that day. The same factors that influenced the tragedy in occurring could have very easily insured that it never happened to begin with.
David Berkowitz, otherwise known as the “Son of Sam”, was notorious for his crimes committed between 1976 and 1977 that ended the lives of six innocent victims and wounded several others in New York (“David Berkowitz Biography”, n.d.). At first, police did not make a connection between the murders because there was nothing unusual about them; all the victims were shot with a 40 caliber gun, not fairly unusual during this time or place especially since the killings were over an extended period of time. Police finally made the connection when Berkowitz began to live behind notes that were meant to tantalize authorities since they had yet to catch him (“David Berkowitz| Son of Sam Killer,” 2015). Often times, the psychological structure of a human
...ssed as police officers, cornered and shot seven members of a top rival gang in the back. Such levels of violence were horrific however it appeared that no-one might touch him till 1931, wherever where was finally convicted for tax evasion instead of the four hundred murders he was presumed have committed.
An analysis of the most famous murderers and serial killers in the Chicago area shows varying degrees of psychopathy or mental illnesses, which ultimately contribute to homicidal conduct. Analysis also shows that the paths of serial killers have a tendency to converge.... ... middle of paper ... ...
However, in the months following the day that he shot and killed his wife, two children, mother-in-law and himself, investigators unravel a disturbing side of him that he apparently had been battling since childhood.
Hickey, Eric W. Serial Murderers and Their Victims. Belmont, California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, 1991. Print.
This paper is talking about “The Serial Killer,” but focus on Gary Ridgway- “The Green River Serial Killer.” He earned his nickname because the first five victims that he killed were found in the Green River. He was one of the most famous serial killers in the United States. Ridgway raped, chocked, killer and discarded 48 women, including many teenagers as young as 15 years old (Silja J, 2003). In Ridgway’s mind, he even believed that he was helping the police out, as he admitted in one interview with investigators (Silja J, 2003).
Upon his arrest he had confessed to 5 burglaries and several violent sexual assaults, including the two unsolved murders and sexual assaults of Barbara Krlik, 15 and Annie Mae Johnson, 24. He had also admitted to have attempted sexual assaults on more than 4 women, all of which failed because he preferred to be a necrophilia stating that “He got no thrill with the living women he raped” (Gado, 2004).
“ ‘The fantasies become elaborated over time and new bits and pieces are added depending on the intellectual capacity of the person,’ said Park Dietz, a forensic psychiatrist who recently completed a study of sadistic killers,’’ (Violent Fantasies Common Among Serial Killers, by Dana Priest).
Josef K. awakes one morning to find himself accused by a mysterious legal authority "Someone must have been spreading lies about Josef K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning."ii His crime is unnamed, one of which he knows nothing. The novel follows his many attempts to obtain justice from authorities with which he cannot communicate well. Josef K.'s attempt to find justice end in his utter frustration, his complete loss of human dignity, and his cruel death by stabbing.