The stereotypical male serial murderer has been researched and talked about for years on end. The large number of movies, television shows, and other popular forms of media that highlight the research done on the male killer population further prove the overall well-known understanding of them. However, within the numbers of murdered individuals is the presence of those who were killed by a female serial killer. This does not include the matter regarding women who kill involved in killing teams. That is a different phenomenon that will also be discussed. Solo female murderers have been around for centuries, however, and have just started getting research attention within the past 40 years. Evil runs through both criminal veins, but they put …show more content…
While it is reported that two of her children died of unfortunate circumstances, the string of misfortune seemed to follow her a little too closely. However, no one suspected that a grieving mother who wanted to have so many children could do such a heinous thing. It was later revealed that Tinning finally admitted to killing at least three of her children, though it is still suspected that she killed more. This is just one of many examples of women who were able to kill longer than the average male killer due to their unsuspecting nature. However, it's not only about avoiding suspicion. Female killers tend to commit murder for financial reasons, with sexual motives being an extremely rare occurrence. In contrast, male murderers often display a craving for sexual violence and gore, leaving behind more evidence at crime scenes and making it easier for them to be apprehended (Hickey, 2017). There is a possible biological theory to support why this is so common. For a woman to perform sexual acts on a man, the man has to physically be aroused; obviously, when committing a crime, the man will not have this …show more content…
For example, in the Manson Family murders, several of the female perpetrators were the ones slaughtering the victims, and it was nothing less than horrific. However, that is still a rare occurrence when discussing female murderers. Rather, even when with an accomplice, women will still usually take a more subdued, approach to killing. The man in the situation would commonly be performing the murder and sexual assault while the woman would be taking care of more vulnerable victims like the children in the house, encouraging their partner, taking photographs, or collecting memorabilia for their male partner. A great example of this is Douglas Clark and Carol Bundy. When it came to these two particularly egregious killers, they would fall into this routine. Douglas would usually be the one violating and killing their female victims, all the while Carol would be the one watching and taking photos of him. It should be noted that this does not suggest that women in team killings are any less wicked than a solo female murderer; they just simply have more opportunity to express this monstrous nature typically only displayed by men when they are paired with another
Aileen Wuornos is one of the most famous psychopathic serial killers in the world. Not only is she one of the only female serial killers, her killings are unlike any other there has been. She exhibited psychopathic traits since birth and her abuse as a child didn't help matters. She killed six men in the span of a year and told police she was the victim in all the cases, not admitting to intentionally killing them many months later. After getting caught by the police and going through a long, tedious trial she was found guilty of all her charges and was charged with the death penalty.
Often considered America’s first female serial killer, Aileen Wuornos was neither first nor the worst. She had been suspected of committing at least seven murders and was sentenced to four of cases she had confessed to police. All the while, she maintained her innocence claiming that some or all of the killings were in self-defense.
Mainly we have talked about male, but now let’s talk about female serial killers. When people think of a psychopathic killer, typically a male comes to mind and we have no sense of what a females capabilities are. After studies in this article, they categorized female serial killers into 7 different categories. Those categories would be black widow, angel of death, revenge killer, murder for profit or crime, killer whose sanity is in question, team killer, and sexual predator. So you see, female serial killers may not be common but often are in low profile and quite dangerous when put into play. When looking for a psychopath, there is a unique check list that they have talked about using in this article. First and for most they tend to be quiet and unsociable, but at the same time come off charming. They are very manipulative in getting what they want, this goes back to the “Sadomasochistic Serial Killer Protagonist in the Killer Inside of me” article. This article is a great representation of my topic because it focuses on how to know when someone is a psychopath aka “Serial Killer”. It directly answers my question on what makes a serial killer by identifying the personality traits of
A serial killer is someone who does three or more killings in a short period of time. However, not all serial killers are the same. There are many differences between a male and female serial killer. For example, a female serial killer tends to commit more premeditated murders because they either know their victims or they know their routines. Many women serial killers have a history of being sexually abused as they were growing up, while the men have been physically abused. Most female serial killers choose poison and strangling, a less messy approach.
In a study conducted by Hickey, he discovered that out of thirty-four female serial killers, almost one in two had a male accomplice committing murders with them (Holmes et al., 1991). He also revealed that 97% were white and the average age the women started committing murders was thirty-three (Holmes et al., 1991). Women serial killers differ from men in that most women kill for material gain, such as money or insurance benefits, and they usually commit murder with pills or poison. Stephen Holmes, Ronald Holmes, and Eric Hickey developed a typology for female serial killers similar to the one developed by Holmes and Holmes, discussed earlier. They begin with visionary serial killers, who are compelled by some force, such as God, or spirits, to commit murders. The second type is the comfort killer, who usually kills acquaintances and does so for a material gain, money or real estate (Holmes et al., 1991). The third category is hedonistic female serial killers, which is similar to the earlier typology in that the offender connects murder with sexual gratification. This is the least represented category for female offenders, but evidence for this type of killer can be seen in the case of Carol Bundy (Holmes et al., 1991). Bundy allegedly helped her husband kidnap, murder, and decapitate the
The women fought back and stabbed him because he was choking them and causing serious harm. Dwayne Buckle beats women and is homophobic. The film reveals that Dwayne Buckle posted on a website his views on same-sex relationships. He states, “We are not saying all gay causes are wrong. But we don’t feel it’s the same as civil rights, seems more like devil rights to us…80% of serial killers are homosexual”(00:29:28-00:31:02). The jurors disregarded this information even though it’s a clear motive for his behavior that night. The jurors in the case did not get the full picture of what occurred that night but they along with the media and prosecution went on racialized fears of gang violence. The media and prosecutors described the women as violent gang members. Attack of the Killer Lesbians, Lesbian Wolf Pack Guilty, and Girls Gone Wilding, were all articles from the New York Post and New York Daily News that portrayed the women as vicious thugs. What we view to be true in the media is in many ways a social construct. The media usually paints a one sided picture that we should claim to be
A serial killer is traditional defined as the separate killings of three or more people by an individual over a certain period of time, usually with breaks between the murders. (Angela Pilson, p. 2, 2011) This definition has been accepted by both the police and academics and therefore provides a useful frame of reference (Kevin Haggerty, p.1, 2009). The paper will seek to provide the readers with an explanation of how serial killers came to be and how they are portrayed in the media.
In order to understand the common traits of female serial killers, one has to know the meaning of what a serial killer is. According to a federal law passed in 1998 by the United States Congress, titled: Protection of Children from Sexual Predator Act of 1998, the definition of serial killings is “a series of three or more killings...having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors” (Seria...
They have no sense of remorse or guilt. Most of the time they are not in serious relationship or have any emotional obsession with any one person, besides their victims. Most of the well-known serial killers are: Robert Pickton, Charles Manson, Anthony Sowell, Ted Bundy, The Zodiac Killer, The Green River Killer, and The BTK murderer. (Sanmartn, 2001). Often, women were never seen as even a suspect in a serial murder, but little did they know, women were just as bad as men.
Carl Panzram, also known as Jeff Rhodes and John O’Leary, had an obsessive hatred for the human race that bordered on the maniacal. This loathing for himself and his fellow-man was taken out in a lifetime of murder and mayhem. What would make someone prey upon other humans? A serial killer is a unique person that becomes one through many factors such as genetic impairments, environmental issues, and childhood events; through many examples these are common in almost all.
The FBI has defined serial killing as “the unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s) in separate events” (Farrell, Keppal, & Titterington, 2011, p. 231). While individuals who partake in such activity do receive a large amount of attention, the female parts of this population are vastly under recognized. Female serial killers receive little academic attention, even though they are a complex and dynamic group to study (p. 229). Women make up 15% of American serial killers, with 36 known to be active in the last century (p. 230). It is speculated that at any given time there are 50-70 serial killers in the United States, and approximately 7-8 of them are female (Schurman, 2000, p. 12). Moreover, females acting alone manage
Due to a strong cultural bias, society often disinvolves or denies the very existence of a female serial killer. Whereas the male serial killer has been regularly lionized by his outrageous exploits, the female serial killer is typically ignored, viewed as an anomaly (Kelleher p.xi)
Mass Murderers and Serial Killers are nothing new to today’s society. These vicious killers are all violent, brutal monsters and have an abnormal urge to kill. What gives people these urges to kill? What motivates them to keep killing? Do these killers get satisfaction from killing? Is there a difference between mass murderers and serial killers or are they the same. How do they choose their victims and what are some of their characteristics? These questions and many more are reasons why I was eager to write my paper on mass murderers and serial killers. However, the most interesting and sought after questions are the ones that have always been controversial. One example is; what goes on inside the mind of a killer? In this paper I will try to develop a better understanding of these driven killers and their motives.
Out of most horror films, especially those of the slasher sub-genre, the killer is usually male. As said by Clover, “Female killers are few and their reasons for killing significantly different from men’s” (29). In Friday the 13th (2009), the killer, Jason, is male. He follows the typical slasher killer that Clover describes in her book. Though most Friday the 13th movies have Jason as the killer, in Friday the 13th I, the killer is Jason’s mother. In actuality, most slasher horror films have a male tormentor as the killer. Also, as stated by Clover, the killer is usually one who psychotic, previously been sexually abused, or one th...
Anterograde and Retrograde amnesia, are the two main types of amnesia. Although they are opposite of each other, they are as equally devastating the individuals affected by them. The first of the two I’ll be talking about is anterograde amnesia, anterograde meaning after, is the form of amnesia where you can't form new memories or in proper terms you are unable to use or have lost use of your hippocampus the organ in your brain that is responsible for converting short-term memory to long-term memory. There are many causes for this type of amnesia, generally it is caused by some sort of injury to the brain like, head trauma, illnesses, alcohol intoxication, or even can be due to surgery complications. However, people with anterograde are able to maintain their memories from before the trauma causing the