The Deitz Typology Of Serial Killers

The beginning of mass murder can date back to 753 BC to ancient Rome emperors who would use their power to kill hundreds of people. The relevance of the serial killers we know now, however, did not appear until a widely-known killer, Jack the Ripper, appeared in Europe in the late 1800’s. After this, more and more incidents with serial killers popped up. The term ‘serial murderer’ or ‘serial killer’, was not coined until the 1970’s by an FBI agent, though. The question asked is, “Why do serial killers kill?” Although the reason behind this question can never be known for sure, research has been done in order to get the closest answer possible.

Serial killers are often grouped together into the gory and horrifying people that violate and eat

their victims. Even though these certain types of killers do exist, the category of ‘serial killer’ is very wide.

Since the definition of a serial killer is the killing of two or more people within a stretch of time, gang murders, hit men, and many others are held in the category of serial killers. The categories of serial killers can be seen through the Deitz typology which is the earliest, main typology used in the research world. In the article Serial killers: I. Subtypes, patterns, and motives and Serial killers: II. Development, dynamics, and forensics by Laurence Miller explains this typology. The Deitz typology is split into five categories, and uses the organized/disorganized killing type to differentiate between the categories. Psychopathic sexual sadists kill for the pleasure of torturing or inflicting pain on their victims through a sexual way. Crime spree killers kill in association with another crime such as theft. Organized crime functionaries are

described as “hit men”, meaning they are paid to kill certain people. Custodial killers murder victims that they are responsible for taking care of. Usually the victim is ill or elderly, and the killer takes advantage of their disability. The last category of the typology is psychotic killers, who are driven by delusions of reality to kill. The most common type of serial killer is the psychopathic sexual sadist, which totals up to 31.8 percent according to author Zachary Crockett of the article What data on 3,000 murderers and 10,000 victims tells us about serial killers? Organized crime killers make up about 30.1 percent of total serial killers.
The most commonly studied serial killer is the psychopathic sexual sadist.

This killer, as said before, harms their victim through sexual ways and receives pleasure from killing. According to Laurence Miller, author of Serial killers: II. Development, dynamics, and forensics, the development of serial killers can be related back to early childhood. Serial killers experience abuse in their childhood homes in most cases. In the book, “The Stranger Beside Me” author Ann Rule discusses the childhood life of famous serial killer, Ted Bundy. She notes that Ted received punishment through abuse from his stepfather and was bullied in his early high school years. Serial killers tend to follow a pattern of aggression and violence growing up and get in trouble with school officials or law officers. Bundy had been arrested twice before he reached the age of 18 for auto-theft and burglary suspicion. The majority of killers have abused or killed animals at a young age. Their childhoods are predictable, and Miller says they lead to an “antisocial behavior in later years.” As serial killers progress into early adulthood, their crimes become increasingly worse, eventually leading up to the ultimate crime; murder. They learn through experience and become better at the act, soon developing into a serial killer who kills multiple victims in separate events. Most kill to satiate their sexual fantasies. They either start out as sociopaths or gradually turn into them after the developments of

their crimes. Miller describes a sociopath as someone who has a “lack of empathy, hostile emotional state, emotional instability, egocentricity, lack of responsibility, low frustration tolerance, poor impulse control, and low self-confidence.” Serial killers’ desire for committing the crimes they do can be blamed on their sociopathic behavior. The reason behind nonsexual murder can be explained by the dysfunction of the frontal lobe, which controls behavior and personality. The reason behind sexual, nonviolent murder is due to the dysfunction of the temporal lobe, which controls sensory information. When the dysfunction of both the frontal and temporal lobe comes together, it can produce a behavior that promotes sexual, violent murder, which is seen by a majority of serial killers, especially psychopathic sexual sadists. This research, however, cannot explain the reason behind their sociopathic behavior.
The reason behind the way a serial killer kills is more explainable than the reason why they kill. According to Crockett, there is a correlation between the method of the killer and their IQ score. With higher IQ scores, in the 140’s, the killer preferred to use a bomb, poison, or strangle their victim. With lower IQ scores, in the 90’s or lower, the killer preferred to shoot or strike their victims.
The world may never known what exactly causes the development or motives of serial killers. The media will always glorify the killer and their crimes, making the killer’s ego inflate. The media attention could also be a cause for an unstable person to want to commit a crime in order to be considered ‘famous’. As Miller says, serial killers are like sharks. They stalk their prey and plan their attack until they are ready to strike. People are fascinated, but terrified, of the shark. The world may be fascinated with serial killers, but no one would ever want to be in the same pool with them.