The Study of Serial Killers

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Why do people kill one another? This is a question most people ask themselves when they hear someone has been killed. Sometimes a person kills another person because a part of his or her brain is wrong; other times it’s something far worse. (1: SV; SV.) Serial killers commit heinous crimes because of a couple things: the person either has a personality disorder, or because of decreased connectivity within that person’s brain. (3: SV: SV.) There really isn’t a set definition for the term “serial killer.” “The term ‘serial killings’ means a series of three or more killings, not less than one of which was committed within the Untied States, having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors.” (as quoted by Robert J. Morton and Mark A. Hilts 5) At first, some psychologists thought it was a series of two to ten murders, each with a cooling off period in between; this cooling off period is used to recover both the emotional and physical mindsets of the killer; his period of time is also used to determine between mass murder and serial murder. (1c: SV; SV; SV.) This has been the method for determining the definition of “serial killer.” The early signs of a serial killer can be caught at a young age. According to Shirley L. Scott, “Because serial killers don’t see other people as more than objects, the leap between setting fires and killing people is easy to make.” (Scott 5) This is describing one of the signs, which is setting fires just to destroy things. Another sign is bed-wetting; most psychologists believe this is a sign because of the disturbing dreams that some potential serial killers have. Another sign of a serial killer is harming animals. Th... ... middle of paper ... ...ryone around them; serial killers commit these terrible crimes because of the connectivity of their brains, or how they are brought up as a child. (1b: SV; SV, or SV.) The definition for the word “serial killer” is a series of three to ten murders, each with a period of rest. Serial killers stay in the minds of many people for years, if not the rest of their lives. Works Cited Brogaard, Berit, DMSci, PhD, and Kristian Marlow. "The Making of a Serial Killer." N.p., 7 Dec. 2012. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. “Early Signs of Serial Killers.” crimemuseum.org. National Museum of Crime and Punishment. 2008. Web. 29 Oct 2013. Ed. Robert J. Morton and Mark A. Hilts. "Serial Murder.". FBI, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. Pemment, Jack, M.A. "Blame the Amygdala." N.p., 5 Apr. 2013. Web. 29 Oct 2013. Scott, Shirley L. "What Makes Serial Killers Tick?" Crime Library, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

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