Serial Murderers Case Study

Introduction: The Study of Serial Killers and Key Risk Factors The matter of serial murderers for many, many years have been dealt with by law enforcement officials. (Hickey, 2005, 6). However, the evolutionary concept of serial homicide is difficult to reconstruct with any degree of specification. The study of serial homicide, in particular of their victims is not fully elaborated in academic work. Although no one can agree with one single identifiable cause or factor that leads to the development of serial murderers, a partial answer can lie in the development of the individual from birth to adulthood, as there are a multitude of factors contributing to their development. As such, knowing the how, the why of serial murderers’ victim selection

For example, certain serial killings a sexual attack can be an integral part of the murder. This can be integral both psychologically and physiologically for the killer. Furthermore, for other serial killers the sexual attack may represent the best way to degrade, subjugate and ultimately destroy their victims though there is little connection to the actual motive(s) for the killings. (Hickey, 2005, 33). It can be noted the unusual frequency of serial sexual murder. McNamara and Morton conducted a 10-year study on the frequency of serial sexual homicides. Most victims found in their study were sex workers, prostitutes. McNamara and Morton (2004, 1) found that the frequency of serial sexual murder victimization consists of 0.5% of all homicides. Overall, there being a concentration on sexual homicide means that public’s discussion will being on such homicide while other forms of serial homicide is largely absent (Schmid, 2014,

However, with every myth there is a certain truth to it. The public’s notion of serial killers is that most killers are nearly all white, they are all male, they are insane, they are all lust killers, they kill dozens of victims, they kill alone, serial killers torture, beat, stab or strangle to death their victims. The offenders also are all very intelligent, they have high mobility in the United States (for example) or they are truly driven to kill because they were sexually abused as children. The truth? Hickey (2005, 139) brings facts to light, one in five serial killers is black, nearly 17% of serial murderers are female, very few offenders being 2%-4% are legally insane. Many of the murders do not involve sexual assaults, torture, or sexual mutilations, a very few number of the homicides have a high body count but most kill under 10 victims, one in four killers have one or more partners in murder. To continue from Hickey, some victims are poisoned or shot as opposed to tortured, beaten, stabbed, or strangled. Truthfully, most killers are of average intelligence, most offenders remain in a local area and many kill because of rejection and abandonment in childhood.

Location: Proximity and its Relation to Victim Selection The location of the crime scene and the proximity of the serial murderer’s home is one aspect that law enforcement officials try to establish early