On May 25, 1988, Richard Kuklinski was convicted of multiple murders and sentenced to life imprisonment, ending 30 years of killing. He was nicknamed “The Iceman.” He murdered by guns, strangulation, and poisoning food; however, he’d a normal family existence. He’d a wife and three children who weren't involved in his criminal life. Authorities said they’ve evidence of “numerous” murders. When asked, he gave an approximation of over 100 murders. He states he’s no emotion when murdering, and it doesn’t bother him. If he’d a choice, he wouldn’t do it. He carried three weapons when he went out: two guns, one in each pocket and one strapped to his ankle, and a knife. He killed a man at a stoplight with a shotgun. He was surprised because he blew
the man’s head off. One official states he was not a serial killer, drug addict, pervert, alcoholic, nor gambler, but he was a human predator who was motivated by greed. Kuklinski was varied and extreme in his methods. He killed with cyanide; he’d put it in liquid form and somehow manage to spill it on someone, and it would kill them eventually. He also killed a man by putting cyanide in his food. The man died in the hospital, and he was buried. Kuklinski says he doesn’t know exactly what they attributed his death to, but he knows they didn’t say it was homicide. Kuklinski had to pick up somewhere cyanide was a good, quick way to kill people. Cyanide is the same chemical they used in gas chambers. It works faster than other poisons, and it’s hard to detect in an autopsy if it isn’t specifically looked for.
On February 23, 1993, James Swann began his attacks on Washington, D.C area. His first attack occurred on Holmead Place NW. He stuck his 20 gauge shotgun out of the driver side window and started to shoot at a woman walking home. She escaped without being shot. The same night about 15 minutes later on 1400 block of Oak Street NW, a 22 year old man was shot in the face and was partially blinded. His shooting was dismissed because of objectivity. On February 26, 1993, three days following the first shooting a man burst in a barbershop and murdered a customer with his shotgun. This was James Swann’s first slaying. Once again, police brushed the case off assuming it was drug related. James too a very brief rest from his crimes, however, on March 4, 1993, he returned to Washington and his victim was a 43 year old man walking down the street. He was shot in the head, but to be consistent the police assumed it was drug related. Police did not take the previous shootings serious until the drive by shootings continued in an upscale neighborhood in Mount Pleas...
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
In the essay, “Global Warming is Eroding Glacial Ice,” Andrew C. Revkin argues that global warming is the primary cause for many of the world’s natural disasters; including flash floods, climate change, and the melting of the polar ice caps. He includes multiple accounts of expert testimony as well as a multitude amount of facts and statistics to support his theory that global warming is a threat to the world. However, in the essay “Cold Comfort for ‘Global Warming’,” Phillip Stott makes the complete opposite argument. He argues that global warming is nothing to be worried about and the melting of the polar icecaps is caused by the interglacial period we are currently in. After reading both of these essays and doing extensive research on both viewpoints, I completely agree with Revkin that global warming is an enormous threat to our world today. My research not only helped me to take a stand but it also showed me the invalidity in Stott’s essay.
It’s not that uncommon for people to kill each other, and it happens every day. What is not common, is for someone to kill for no apparent reason. Typically there has to be some sort of benefit behind the murder. Whether that may be to get that out of their way for some reason, or to get something that they want. This article was meant to show resemblance between serial killers and your average everyday murderers. He brings up serial killer Lou Ford as an example of someone who acts as if they are normal, yet deep inside are very dangerous minded. Instead of using his physical attributes to murder people, he satisfies his needs by psychologically tormenting people. He does this as long as he possibly can, but there is only so much they can take of
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
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 comportment. Analysis also shows that...
Hickey, Eric W. Serial Murderers and Their Victims. Belmont, California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, 1991. Print.
Taking the life of another person is one of the worst infractions of the law to commit. The Bureau of Justice defines serial killing as “[involving] the killing of several victims in three or more separate events” (“Michigan” 1). Serial killers often commit extremely violent crimes; they usually become infamous for these crimes. The first recorded serial killers are probably Jack the Ripper in 1888 and Fritz Haarmann in 1924 (“Michigan” 1). Jack the Ripper is also one of the most well-known criminals, almost everyone knows who he is or has at least heard of him. Most people know what he is famous for and associate him with being a bad person. Serial killers are typically sadistic and sociopathic, meaning that they are unable to feel empathy for people who are suffering (“Michigan” 1). Whimsical sociopaths who have sadistic tendencies are very dangerous. They inflict pain because they do not care that someone else is suffering, they only care that it makes t...
Introduction: On the spectrum of criminal activity, serial killers are rather rare. Rarer still is a serial killer like Ted Bundy. Bundy confessed to killing 28 women in the 1970s in ghastly fashion and some believe he may have killed far more. It is hard to imagine what could cause any person to cross the mental boundary into such macabre behavior as Bundy perpetrated. Nevertheless, it is important to try to understand that behavior because only though such an understanding would society be able to identify and deter mass murderers in order to save lives.
Robert Frost is often known as one of the greatest American poets of all time. Although he is sometimes remembered as hateful and mean spirited, his life was filled with highs and lows. These differentiating periods are represented throughout his poetry. Frost once said that “A poem begins in delight, and ends in wisdom.” As can be seen, this quote not only reflected his poetry, but his life. Though many years of his life were troubled by misfortune, Frost always seemed to persevere. Robert Frost was a talented, thoughtful poet whose life was filled with complexity and tragedy (brainyquote.com).
gouged out the eyes of one of his victims - was she alive or dead at the time? -
As years go on so will the research on serial killers and hopefully we as a society will fully understand them and one day be able to cure whatever inside that makes them have the urge to kill. Works Cited The Electronic Journal of Sociology, published by the University of Guelph, Ontario. http://www.scribd.com/doc/167086215/How-Serial-Killers-Work. According to the article “10 Most Common Traits of Potential Serial Killers By Hestie Barnard Gerber. According to Comrade Chikatilo: The Psychopathology of Russia's Notorious Serial Killer.
The school's undercover narcotics officer, Randy, was killed in the faculty parking lot. A car pulled up, and a black tinted window rolled down. The passenger in the back seat shot him once in the head with a handgun, then the car sped away. Randy was killed instantly, and the people in the car were never caught.
Mass Murderers and Serial Killers are nothing new to today’s society. These vicious killers are all violent, brutal monsters and have an abnormal urge to kill. What gives people these urges to kill? What motivates them to keep killing? Do these killers get satisfaction from killing? Is there a difference between mass murderers and serial killers or are they the same. How do they choose their victims and what are some of their characteristics? These questions and many more are reasons why I was eager to write my paper on mass murderers and serial killers. However, the most interesting and sought after questions are the ones that have always been controversial. One example is; what goes on inside the mind of a killer? In this paper I will try to develop a better understanding of these driven killers and their motives.
Brogaard, Berit, DMSci, PhD, and Kristian Marlow. "The Making of a Serial Killer." N.p., 7 Dec. 2012. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.