Serial Killer Classification Essay

What do Jack The Ripper, Ed Gein, The zodiac killer, Charles Manson, Robert Pickton and, H.H Holmes have in common? They’re all Serial killers. According to the Multiple sources definition's a serial killer is a person who commits a series of three or more killings with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant break. It is impossible to full categorize and understand a serial killer but it is possible to review their methods to define what type of criminal they are. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has defined three distinct types of serial killers based on the way they carry out their murders. Understanding which category a serial killer falls into can make it easier to investigate their crimes and how to bring them to justice.

The The Federal Bureau of Investigation has broken down the serial killers into two main categories. First is the organized killer. They are usually harder to identify and capture being that they tend to be very smart and organized. Every part of the crime is planned and they make sure they leave no evidence or track that can incriminate them later on. These

criminals don't choose their victim at random. They might watch the streets for several days trying to find the perfect victim. Once their victim is dead they will take precautions to hide the body so that it won't be found, until they want it to be. They make sure to follow their crime on whatever media available. One example of an organized killer is Ted Bundy his methods of obtaining victims varied. He sometimes would break into his victims homes and bludgeon them while they slept, other times he would come up with a clever scheme to reel his victims in and other times his looks and charms would do the trick.
On the other hand there is the Unorganized Killer these killers are the complete opposite.

Their victims are just random bystanders that happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. These types of killers take no precautions whatsoever to hide the bodies or evidence. Instead they move to a different town or state. They aren't the brightest and they tend to be very antisocial with no close friends or family members. They tend to have no memory of committing the crimes and others say that the voices in their head influenced them to do so. Richard Trenton Chase is a perfect example of these kinds of killers. He managed to kill six people in one month in Sacramento, California. All his victims were chosen at random. Chase was given the nickname “The Vampire of Sacramento” as a result for drinking his victims blood and cannibalizing

them.
Additionally there is also a third killer category but it's exceptionally rare. They are known as medical killers. They have the perfect cover story since a lot of patients die in the hospital. They tend to be highly intelligent and know how to make their murders undetectable and make it seem like a natural death. One example of these types of killers is Charles Cullen who was nicknamed The Angel of Death. He is the most prolific serial killer in American History He claims to have killed 40 but it is believed that he could of killed around 400 with lethal injection.