Serial killers are individuals who have committed multiple murders over a period of time. They often have a specific method or motive for their killings, but no one will ever know the true reason behind why they choose to commit the horrendous acts that they do. One of the most heinous serial killers caught throughout history is Randy Steven Kraft, also known as the “Scorecard Killer” or the “Freeway Killer”. Kraft was a notorious serial killer who terrorized Southern California during the 1970s and 1980s. Kraft's childhood included various factors that may have played a role in his later crimes and upbringing. In Long Beach, California, Randy Kraft was born on March 19, 1945 (Howes). He was born into a middle-class family and was the youngest …show more content…
They ended up performing a sobriety test on Kraft because he was showing signs of being under the influence and wasn’t speaking or acting clearly. Kraft ended up failing the test and was put into handcuffs and restrained (“Forensic History.”). Little did the police know that they had a violent serial killer just under their noses. After being put in handcuffs, Kraft, in a disorientated manner, asked the police to check up on his friend. The officers went to the passenger side seat and tried to wake up the man, thinking that he was just asleep but really he was dead (“Forensic History.”). The man who was found dead in Kraft's car was identified as a Marine named Terry Lee Gambrel (Mendoza). Police interviewed Gambrel's friends and they said the last time they saw Gambrel, he was planning on hitchhiking to a party. It was then that Kraft admitted to picking up Gambrel and giving him a bottle of beer that was spiked with sedatives (Mendoza). This killing style was Kraft’s main way of attracting his victims. He would typically go along the freeways picking up hitchhikers only to drug, torture, and kill them. Initially, Kraft was only arrested for Gambrel's murder, but as time passed, the evidence kept piling up and investigators were able to tie Kraft to other murders (Mendoza). To connect everything, the most valuable piece of evidence that the police had gathered, and the key way in which Randy Kraft was stopped was through the discovery of his gut-wrenching "scorecards," which detailed the brutal killings he had committed. These scorecards included cryptic symbols and numerals that were later tied back to the locations, dates, and names of his victims (Newton). The scorecards consisted of two neatly printed columns, thirty cryptic items on the left side of a sheet, and thirty-one
The serial killer that I have chosen to research is Mark goudeau, also known as the “Baseline Killer”. Mark was born on September 6th 1964, he was an american serial killer and rapist. He was involved in one of the two simultaneously occurring serial killer cases going on in South Phoenix, Arizona at that time. Mark’s was born in Phoenix, and was the second youngest of 13 siblings in which six were felons, and four have done prison time. Mark’s mother was a maid working at all different hours of the day, while his father Willie was a lot attendant for different car dealers. They were lower working class which didn’t help with thirteen children to take care of. His father had a drug and alcohol problem, which ran in the family. He later cheated
One well-known serial killer is Gary Ridgway. Ridgway was born in February of 1949 in Salt Lake City, Utah. His early life can be viewed as an indicator to his la...
An analysis of the most famous murderers and serial killers in the Chicago area shows varying degrees of psychopathy or mental illnesses, which ultimately contribute to homicidal conduct. Analysis also shows that the paths of serial killers have a tendency to converge.... ... middle of paper ... ...
In order to identify serial killers before they kill repeatedly, a person needs to study the characteristics that make up this type of criminal. Most serial killers have been abandoned, by one or both parents, they are emotionally, physically, and even sexually abused by a family member, or relatives from unstable families who have criminal, psychiatric and alcoholic histories, or tend to have hate for their parents and people in general which makes them have antisocial personality disorder. They have conflicted, pained, or tortured animals at a young age and most are highly interested in gaining control over things. Even though not every serial killer posses these characteristics, most share these characteristics the same way they share the psychological need to have complete control and power over people. Dennis Rader was one normal average citizen until he shocked the public when he was caught as a serial killer who caused tragedy in their town.
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.
Ted Bundy Ted Bundy's Trail of Terror From the Beginning of Taking Life Until The End of His Life. Serial killers tend to be white heterosexual males in their twenties and thirties. While it is impossible to predict who will become a serial killer, there are traits that appear to be similar in all killers. These behaviors include cruelty to animals, bedwetting, lying, drug and alcohol abuse, and a history of violence. According to Robert Ressler et al., "serial homicide involves the murder of separate victims with time breaks between victims, as minimal as two days to weeks or months.
Introduction: On the spectrum of criminal activity, serial killers are rather rare. Rarer still is a serial killer like Ted Bundy. Bundy confessed to killing 28 women in the 1970s in ghastly fashion and some believe he may have killed far more. It is hard to imagine what could cause any person to cross the mental boundary into such macabre behavior as Bundy perpetrated. Nevertheless, it is important to try to understand that behavior because only though such an understanding would society be able to identify and deter mass murderers in order to save lives.
Serial killer is a person who kills three or more people with a cooling off period between murders and these murders may go on for a period of months or years. The murders that this person commits may have similar fashion or the victims may have something in common, for example, occupation, race, appearance, sex, or age group. Psychology is the science and study of human behavior and mental processes. Moreover, it is the study of human minds and its function.
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.
Serial killers have many frightening facets. The most frightening thing about them is that experts still do not know what makes a human become a serial killer. Many experts believe serial killers become what they are because they have a genetic disposition or brain abnormality while other experts believe that a serial killer is created by childhood abuse; and some other experts believe that it is a combination of both brain abnormalities and abusive childhood experiences that creates a serial killer. A murderer is considered a serial killer when they “murder three or more persons in at least three separate events with a “cooling off period” between kills” (Mitchell and Aamodt 40). When defining a serial killer, their background, genes, and brain are not mentioned; perhaps one day those aspects of the serial killer can be included.
By 1978, roughly thirty women were dead and mutilated by the same man with little explanation as to why. Ted Bundy, one of the most infamous serial killers in history brutally took the lives of numerous women for seemingly no reason at all. His justification for these murders was simply that he felt like committing them. A serial killer is defined as someone who has killed more than three people over a period of a month or more for seemingly no reason at all. Most serial killers have no real motive for killing; for them it is an urge that they must satisfy. Was Ted Bundy and others like him always a violent psychopath or did certain events cause him to behave this way? One common belief is that abusive childhoods and other environmental factors are the main reason serial killers develop the way they do. The other belief is that serial killers are born with an innate desire to kill. The answer to this question lies within both arguments and there is no secret serial killer formula. Serial Killers are neither born nor made; instead many factors, both biological and psychological, contribute to the making of these destructive monsters.
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.
Apple is a Company based out of the United States, and was impacted greatly by our economy here. Though it didn't suffer as much as other corporations during the recession, they still took a hit from it. Since then the economy has gotten much better overall. The unemployment rate as of December 2013 was 6.7% which is much lower than the 7.3% it was in July 2013 ("Economy at a Glance "). As a number it doesn't mean much but after analyzing it you can conclude more people will have jobs now, and with jobs be able to spend more money. This will come to benefit corporations like Apple who are in the business to sell their products, because this year they will be able to sell more than the previous year. Since the 2008 recession the Federal Reserve has bought $85 billion worth of securities to help boost the American economy. The economy is doing better as of now and the Federal Reserve is buying $65 billion worth of securities this year drastically less than the $85 billion in 2008 ("US Central Bank"). This will initially help Apple because the economy is doing better which will allow more consumers to purchase Apple products.
Ted Bundy is one of the most infamous, sadistic serial killers known to man. During his tenure as a killer, Bundy confessed to the murders of 30 women, though the official number of kills is unknown to this day. Bundy’s sadistic habits began at an early age due to his rough upbringing and abusive parents. His tactical methods of killing left miniscule amounts of evidence, which remained undetectable by the “still rudimentary forensics techniques of the 1970s” (Crime Museum). Bundy also managed to uphold an impressive “clean-cut appearance” and portrayed characteristics of an “upstanding character” (Crime Museum). Ted Bundy, through the course of a troubled childhood and keen wit, managed to successfully become known as one of the most infamous
A serial killer is a person whom everybody knows as a friend, a lover or even a father but no one knows about his killer instinct until it's to late. Serial killers have plagued this country and others for many years. They are hard to find and virtually undetectable until they start murdering the innocent.