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Psychology of serial killers
Psychology of serial killers
The psychology behind serial killers
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Ted Bundy grew up in a working-class family in Tacoma, Washington. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1972 with a degree in psychology and was accepted to law school. The Republican governor of Washington even wrote Bundy a letter of recommendation after he worked with him on a campaign. And yet, Ted Bundy was one of the most infamous serial killers of the twentieth century, responsible for the deaths of at least thirty-six women. Bundy was charismatic and astute, making him a sort of a celebrity in the seventies. His case inspired a wave of serial killer-based movies and novels (Ted Bundy Biography). People became strangely fascinated with the macabre stories of serial killers and have been trying to understand them ever since. …show more content…
Most homicides are committed due to “disputes that range from family affairs, gang violence, financial difficulties, and disputes between lovers and between friends.” A regular murderer has a “vendetta” or a “specific personal thing against his victim,” while serial killers are driven by a passion for killing. The FBI defines a serial killer using several characteristics: a minimum of three to four victims with “cooling off” periods in between kills, the victim is usually a vulnerable stranger and may have symbolic meaning to the killer, murders exhibit a need to sadistically control the victim, and the kill is motivated by a psychological, not material, desire (Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture). The term psychopath is often used as a synonym for the term serial killer. However, to clarify, psychopathy is a personality disorder in which a person uses charisma, manipulation, intimidation, and sometimes violence to control others and get what they want. In reality, all psychopaths do not become serial killers. Instead, serial killers often have characteristics consistent with psychopathy (United …show more content…
The answer is highly disputed. Many sociologists and psychologists believe looking at a killer’s childhood can explain their behavior. Childhood abuse, though not the only explanation for serial murderers, is a frequent issue in many of their backgrounds (Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture). Albert DeSalvo, the Boston Strangler, was sold as a slave by his alcoholic dad. Henry Lee Lucas’ prostitute mothers made him go to school dressed like a little girl. He later confessed to killing hundreds of women, but was only held accountable for three, one of which was his mother
With hundreds of unsolved murders, many of them could be put to rest with the death of Ted Bundy. He will always be regarded as one of the most gruesome murders in history. Some of these murders including the Chi Omega and Leech murders could have been prevented had Ted not been such a witty criminal.
A serial killer is a person who murders three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a "cooling off" period between each murder, and whose motivation for killing is largely based on psychological gratification. Most people do not understand what can make a person want to kill multiple people for no reason other than their own satisfaction gain. In actuality, serial killers have been studied for over hundreds of years, and the information that has been documented continues to grow. The research that I have gathered about serial killers focuses on their childhood development, the differences and similarities between male and female serial killers, and finally general information on how their brains operate and their motives for committing such harmful acts. There have been many theories over the years about how a person becomes a serial killer, and how having an unstable childhood affects a person.
Shortly after, his mother moved back in with her parents, pretending that Teddy was her brother and that his grandparents were his parents. Theodore lived believing this was true for quite a bit of his childhood. No one knows for sure when exactly he discovered the truth about his biological mother because he gave contradicting stories about it later on. His mother, Eleanor Cowell, moved with Teddy to Tacoma WA. And married a man with the name of Johnnie Bundy. Bundy would be the name that Ted would go by for the rest of his life. Ted’s classmates throughout middle school and junior high school spoke highly of him. They claimed he was smart and fairly popular. He also didn’t ever display any anger or violence, but sometime in high school that all changed. He became less interested in getting good grades and became more introverted. In college Theodore dated a girl for some time and became very attached to her. A while after she graduated, she lost interest and ended the relationship. Ted then dropped out of Stanford and enrolled in the University of Washington. He graduated there as an honor roll student, and during his time at UW he became interested in politics. After that he went to the University Of Utah Law School, and that is when all of his murdering
On January 24, 1989, a handsome and charming man by the name of Theodore (Ted) Robert Bundy was put to death at 7:16 am by a Florida state prison electric chair due to a conviction of murdering Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman. Before being electrocuted he confessed to 28 other murders (Bundy, 1999).
Theodore Robert Cowell was born on November 24, 1926. “Bundy was born at the Elizabeth Lund Home For Unwed Mothers in Burlington, Vermont, to Eleanor Louise Cowell” (Blanco). Bundy and his mother lived in Philadelphia for the first few years of his life. Louise was a twenty-two-year-old unwedded mother. While in Philadelphia his maternal grandparents, Samuel and Eleanor Cowell, raised him as their own son to avoid humiliation since Louise was not married. Samuel and Eleanor were very religious. Ted stated “ ‘I think that you could say that the influence of the person's family history was positive. But not positive enough -- not enduring, perhaps not strong enough to overcome the urges or compulsions that resulted ... in this instance, the influence of the family and the environment in which this person grew up were positive, but not so positive as to prepare this individual ... ‘ “ Ted also stated that “ ‘You take the individual we are talking about ... and then you subject him to stress. Stress happens to come randomly, but its effect on the personality is not random; it's specific. That results in a certain amount of chaos, confusion, and frustration. That person begins to seek out a target for his frustrations. The
Many serial killers suffer from anti-social personality disorder or dissocial personality disorder. They are also psychopathic, meaning they have no empathy or guilt. They kill impulsively and they make up rules for themselves which are they only rules they follow. They have a “Mask of Sanity” meaning they never let anyone but their victims see their true selves. They also have resentment towards society for their own failings and can never take responsibility for their own actions.
The causes of psychopathy remains a mystery for the general public and the scientists who study it. Looking into the brains of many well known serial killers, there are similar qualities within each serial killer that could have influenced this way of life. Whether it be from physical abuse, verbal abuse, mental abuse, neglect, or abandonment, they can contribute to the making of a serial killer. Under some circumstances there can be no abuse at all. Neurologists have been studying brain scans of serial killers for many years, but are still unable come up with a definitive reason for the abnormality that possesses individuals to commit these gruesome acts. More information can be explored through various notorious serial killers’ timeline,
The FBI has released that there are certain traits and characteristics that are common between serial killers. This includes “sensation seeking, a lack of remorse or guilt, impulsivity, the need for control, and predatory behavior,” all of which are also traits of an individual with a psychopathic disorder. The FBI has also released different categories that helps investigators group individuals and determine what ‘type’ of killer their perpetrator may be based off the probable motives. These categories include motives such as anger or mission, criminal enterprise, financial gain, ideology, power or thrill, psychosis, or sexually based. Anger or mission is when the individual seeks out and targets a specific group as a way of revenge. Criminal
Ted first name was Theodore Robert Cowell. Ted Bundy was born November 24, 1946 in Burlington, Vermont. He was a shame on his mother as a baby. Eleanor Cowell was a single 22 year old when she had Ted. So she had him in a home for unwed mothers. Eleanor’s parent were very religious and did not approve of her being a single mother. His grandparents would tell people that Ted was their adopted son. Ted grew up for years not knowing that Eleanor was his real mother. Few years later Eleanor move out of her parents in philly and moved to Tacoma, Washington. After they moved his mother married John Bundy. They had four kids of their own. Ted was never close with his stepfather. He would call him John instead of dad. Toward the age of three Ted became fascinated with knives. One day he put the kitchen knives around his aunt when she was sleeping. She woke to see knive and Ted bundy standing at the foot of her bed.
“I'm the most cold-hearted son of a bitch you'll ever meet.” This is what Ted Bundy said to his interrogator in Pensacola, Florida after he was arrested in 1978 (Brogaard). This statement sums up most of what we assume about serial killers – they are emotionless and callous. Ted Bundy, one of the most infamous serial killers in recent history, was often described as charismatic and mild-mannered. This perception of him wasn’t without merit. He worked at a crisis hotline and shared dreams of becoming a lawyer (Silkes). How could someone so seemingly normal – perfect even – behave in such horrifying and inhumane manners? What truly makes a serial killer? Most theories involve a social aspect, genetic aspect, or both.
His last victim was 12 year old Kimberly Leach. He kidnapped and mutilated her. He was caught because he was arrested for stealing a car. Identifiers at the jail recognized him right away as Ted Bundy. Witnesses said that they saw Bundy lurking around Kimberly’s elementary school, and all around the University of Florida’s campus. Bundy first trial was for the attacks on the sorority girls on campus at the University of Florida. During this trial, Bundy acted as his own attorney, and made it look to the people around watching that he was very mental and insane for doing this. Bundy played his part very well as attorney. People watching said that it was very interesting the way Bundy did this. He knew what he was talking about because he was going to school to become a lawyer. The judges weren't fouled, however. Bundy was found guilty and was given two death sentences. Bundys second trial was the trail for Kimberly Leach. During this trial, he had his own attorney. His posture and overall mood was different than that of the first trial. He just seemed very angry. One of the character witnesses for Bundy at this trial was Carol Boone. She was his girlfriend at the time, and because Bundy wanted to make a statement of his “sanity” he married her during the trial. This surprised almost everyone, but he was still found guilty, and was sentenced to another death
Ted Bundy was one of the most vicious serial killers in American history. He confessed to 28 grotesque murders in the 1970’s but the actual number of his victims remains
A well-known personality disorder is psychopathy. Psychopathy’s shortened term “psycho” is often used as a slang term to mean crazy. Psychopathy is a real issue caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Psychopathic people have traits “common to some serial murderers, including sensation seeking, a lack of remorse or guilt, impulsivity, the need for control, and predatory behavior. These traits and behaviors are consistent with the psychopathic personality disorder” (Morton). Psychopathic tendencies are most common among killers. Although, “serial killers suffer from a variety of personality disorders, including psychopathy, anti-social personality, and others” (Morton). With psychopathy in a serial killer they feel they have a valid and justifiable reason for killing three or more people. With psychopathic killers feel their motives make their killing okay. Serial killers have “many other motivations for serial murders including anger, thrill, financial gain, and attention seeking” (Morton). A common motive for serial killers is revenge. They feel that someone did them wrong, much like a person who was abused as a child. They feel they have a valid excuse for murdering the person that abused them or substitutes if they find that object of their rage unreachable. Another common motive is simply anger. With anger it is more often than not that they do not have a target. They are just angry and are willing to kill anybody to cope with it. Antisocial personality disorder is often in people who show “a lack of remorse and/or guilt, shallow affect, a lack of empathy, and failure to accept responsibility” (Morton). Antisocial personality disorder is similar to psychopathic personality disorder yet, it remains different. The Behavior Analysis Unit at the Federal Bureau of Investigation stated, “Psychopathy is a personality disorder
Psychiatrists say that this tends to happen when the child is being deprived of nurture, and parents have been absent in their lives or has neglected them. As well as wanting to control, and by an early stage have shown violence towards animals, and others. To become a serial killer, all traits must be present, not just one specific trait. To conclude, Ted Bundy, called this as an addiction. After killing, he wanted to do it all over, which cause the killings of many innocent women. He came from an unstable family, and proved to want control over others, which he demonstrated by only killing women. Psychiatrists or psychologists want to understand why people become serial killers, and although there are some traits that might already explain it. In the end, on those serial killers will know why and what really caused their actions. To understand why they do it, they must first do the crime, something that society has done over time. Serial killers committed their crimes, and right after people approach them to ask them questions to understand why did they
From a historical point of view the 20th century will be recalled for several things and the people who accomplished them. For instance, during this time period the first man landed walked on the moon, Neal Armstrong. One of those that will not be fast forgotten is Theodore “Ted” Bundy. Bundy, an infamous persona, who over his life span is an extreme example of an individual diagnosed with anti-social disorders. Example after example places hides the true person behind Ted Bundy appearance of having led a charming life. He was a decorated Boy Scott, who moved forward in his academic career to reach honor student status at the University of Washington. He was a bright young man with endless possibilities at his fingertips. To