To most people, it can see incomprehensible that a human can take the life of another human for no logical reason, let alone the lives of multiple victims.
We tend to measure the world based on our own perceptions and experiences, a large part of which is driven by our emotional responses, such as empathy, compassion, sorrow, shame/guilt, love, hate, and happiness.
To think of ourselves or other people we encounter in our daily lives as being devoid of any of these emotions challenges our core perception of what it is to be human. We may encounter some people who we perceive as being capable of these emotions to varying degrees, but we are likely never to encounter other humans who we think are totally unable to feel as other humans and we do.
Try to imagine that you have no emotional responses whatsoever – none at all – and everything you do is driven by the impulse for self-satisfaction whatever the cost to others.
The fact is that if you are a reasonable, normally functioning human being you won’t be able to do it. Somewhere in the process you will become aware of your emotional self and the feelings invoked by trying to know what it would be like to supress it. In other words, you know what an emotion feels like to you, and in order to not feel it, you have to have a reference point, which is your own experience of the emotion. Therefore, it becomes impossible not to feel the emotion, although you may read a point where you understand what it would be like – which is a different thing.
To many people a serial killer is some deranged psychotic lunatic that goes on a rampage killing whoever may be unlucky enough to cross their path. This is very far from the facts of how most serial killers operate.
Although there are cases where someone has committed serial killings because of some mental illness and psychosis, these are extremely rare when compared to known serial killers as a whole.
The majority of serial killers are able to function very well living in society and may show no outward signs of who they really are to people they come into contact with every day. Your neighbour, colleague, peer, and even a relative could be a serial killer and you are unlikely to know it – even if you think you have known them for years. This is one of the things that makes serial killers so dangerous and so difficult to catch quickly.
There is also a myth that serial killers have to kill one victim after another, and then another, and so on, leaving a trail of crime behind them. There are some serial killers who may commit a crime soon after another, but there have been cases where a serial killer has gone a decade or more in between crimes. It depends on the individual, and most serial killers commit offences within a year or two of each other.
Then there are serial killers who appear have no specific pattern. They may commit a series of crimes and then stop for a period. This could be because of a fluctuation in their impulses, or their circumstances change that would make committing crime too risky, or (if they are more of an opportunist offender) may simply not have an opportunity that triggers their urge to commit crime. As with other things in other groups of people, it depends on the individual.
Serial killers are what we now call ‘sociopaths’ (formerly called ‘psychopaths’, and now clinically classified as having ‘antisocial personality disorder’).
There is no difference between the functioning of a ‘sociopath’ or ‘psychopath’, they are the same thing. The term ‘sociopath’ was coined to try and soften the stigma associated with ‘psychopath’, and try to differentiate between higher (higher social functioning and/or education) and lower functioning psychopaths. But really it makes no difference because the core drive is based in psychopathy. ‘Antisocial personality disorder’ is a fairly recent addition to clinical diagnosis to enable clinicians to better identify and diagnose those who display behaviour that demonstrates psychopathy. The term ‘psychopath’ has never been a clinical diagnosis, even though the term is and has been used by clinicians.
It is important to remember that not all psychopaths (yes – I will use that term) are not serial killers, or killers at all. Although many psychopaths may get close to criminality, most of them know not to cross that line – not because of any moral duty or conscience, but because it would not be of benefit to them or whatever purpose or driving force they have.
Psychopathy is a set of behavioural criteria that defines a type of personality disorder – it is not a mental illness.
It should be noted there are many other types of personality disorder with different clinical criteria that are not directly related to antisocial personality disorder.
There is no treatment or ‘cure’ because it is not an illness. Some clinicians have claimed to have had some success with some individuals. That success has involved the modification of some aspect of the person’s behaviour. However, behaviour modification can only be successful if the person perceives it is advantageous for them to change, and even then the change may not last very long as the person returns to their naturally impulsive behaviour.
At the current time there is no known effective approach to changing the behaviour of psychopaths.
As with most other types of people, psychopaths live across most sectors of our society. Their prevalence in the general population can range from 0.2% to 3.3%. The highest prevalence is (unsurprisingly) is in forensic settings such as prisons and secure hospitals. In these settings the prevalence can be as high as 70%, but these statistics are misleading because some forensic environments, such as secure hospitals, will hold or assess many more people who have either been diagnosed, or who are being assessed, as psychopaths than other facilities.
In general, the prevalence is around 1.5% to 2.5% in the average population.
As I mentioned previously relating to serial killers, the majority of psychopaths are able to function and exist in general society.
Research and the collection of data over many decades reveals some important information about what makes a serial killer.
Although these criteria exist in most cases there have been, and always will be, exceptions.
The majority of serial killers have:
- Been raised in a psychological or physically/sexually abusive environment (which can include domineering parents /carers or inappropriately attentive parents/carers).
- Demonstrated cruelty to animals or/and other humans from a young age. Although this is usually physical, it can also include psychological cruelty.
Even though a child may exhibit cruel behaviour and been subjected to dysfunctional personal relationships, they can not be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder until over 18 years of age, although they will have demonstrated behavioural traits and may meet many of the criteria from at least the age of 15.
A child does not have a developed conscience until around the age of 10 or 11, so although the behaviour may be exhibited before this age, it does not necessarily mean that they are a psychopath or will go on to be a serial killer, it means the likelihood is higher.
Equally, because someone has exhibited cruel behaviour and may have had dysfunctional experiences it does not mean they will go on to be a serial killer. A change in their environment or other things as they get older may counteract or lesson the likelihood they will go on to be a criminal.
Psychopathy is not something that can be developed or learned. The nature of the disorder means it either exits or does not. There is research to suggest that it is a genetic trait passed along a bloodline, although it may not be obvious in each generation. It is thought that it may miss generations or be affected by the environment at the time.
Psychopathy is not gender specific and both males and females are capable of being psychopaths or serial killers.
Most serial killers are very specific in the way they commit their crimes, and this can vary greatly from one to another.
The serial killer develops an interest/motivation/fetish based on their own experiences. Something will have happened that gave the serial killer a ‘rush’ of excitement from which they gained significant pleasure. It will involve some kind of feeling of power over others resulting in the power of life or death. But it is not as simple as just killing people.
For the serial killer, the build up to killing their victim is as important as the act itself. The majority of serial killers exhibit some form of ritualistic behaviour, often before, during, and after the act of killing.
It is not uncommon for serial killers to stalk their victims for days, weeks, or months in some cases. They build up anticipation through the act of planning, and stalking their victim without the victim knowing, and this gives the serial killer a feeling of power because they could take the victim’s life at any time and the victim wouldn’t expect it. It could be likened to the thrill of the chase often described by hunters, and in effect that is what the serial killer is doing – hunting.
Stalking a victim also gives the serial killer chance to identify any barriers to their intentions.
Serial killers don’t like disruptions to their ritualistic behaviour. If the serial killer perceives significant difficulty in completing their ritualistic behaviour with their chosen victim, they usually abandon their plans and look for an easier target.
When we hear of a serial killer being caught and how they committed their crimes, we can wonder how many people had lucky escapes because of one small detail that put the serial killer off pursuing them.
Other serial killers are more opportunistic. They may have a ritual that is fairly simple and short. To find victims they may take their chances by frequenting places where there are people who match the type of person the serial killer is looking for, or where there is a ready supply of potential victims.
There are have been many instances where serial killers have targeted street sex workers. Not necessarily because street sex workers are the intended target as such, but because there is a ready supply of potential victims who the serial killer can easily access, and who will willingly go to another location away from prying eyes or disturbances.
It is of paramount importance to the serial killer to complete their ritual when killing their victim. This is often the point at which the serial killer is looking for the excitement and rush they desire. A ritual can be anything from a preferred method of killing to much more elaborate rituals, which will involve exerting power over the victim, such as torturing the victim in a general or particular way.
Each time a serial killer kills another victim they are looking to get the same intense pleasure/feeling they experienced the first time they killed. For most this will never be achieved, and they will continue to seek out new victims as they chase their desired outcome. Others will be satisfied for a while, and how long that is depends on the killer. For some it may be days, for others months, and can be several years for others.
After they have killed their victim serial killers follow some kind of ritual. Necrophilia or some other deviant sexual act often occurs once the victim is dead.
Trophies are important for the serial killer. Taking something personal belonging to the victim allows the killer to remember the act and relive the feeling they got while performing it to some degree. Personal items could be jewellery, clothing (particularly underwear), hair, or even body parts.
Some serial killers (particularly inexperienced ones) will attempt to hide their crime by just dumping the victim’s body in a secluded place, or keeping the body in a freezer for example.
But most serial killers to want to display their power. To achieve this, they will pose the body of the victim in a particular way, and may create elaborate scenes using the victim and the surroundings where they leave the body. They are making the statement ‘look at my work – look at my power’. Others will dump the victim’s body in places where they know the victim will be found fairly quickly, such as the side of a road or drainage ditch. In all cases there is a desire for recognition. They want it known that they have the power over life and death, and it is they who are responsible for the killing. They often get a thrill from taunting police through sending cryptic messages, or leaving ‘clues’ at the scene. To them it is a game of cat and mouse, and they consider themselves to be the superior intellect – which has been the downfall of many serial killers.
Serial killers are generally highly intelligent, although not necessarily in an academic way. They are masters of manipulation and mimicry. They (as we have already learned) are able to live among normal society, even holding positions of ‘respectability’ within communities. But it is all an elaborate performance that allows them to live without undue attention or interference from authorities.
Serial killers are the most dangerous of all criminals. Their compelling desire for power over others drives everything they do – and they will do what they think they need to. They are sexually sadistic, and that means they will inflict the most despicable and horrific tortures on their victims that are far beyond the imagination of most people just to satisfy their own desires. There is no compassion, no empathy, no respect for other humans in the world of the psychopath, and this is amplified significantly in the serial killer.
Being caught and imprisoned is often not such a big deal for serial killers. The recognition by other humans that the serial killer is responsible for such horrific crimes boosts their ego – inflates their opinion of themselves. To a serial killer being known for their crimes is the ultimate adoration – even if they are unable to commit their crimes ever again.
When we see serial killers being interviewed on television they revel in telling the world about their crimes and the power they have – often mixed in with lies and/or self-pity. When they describe their crimes they will not show any regret, compassion, or consideration for their victims or the family/friends of their victims – even though they may speak very eloquently to such an extent that they may seem believable.
Serial killers can never be released.
There is no behaviour readjustment programme whatsoever.
This is one of a very few category of criminals for which there is nothing that can be done to make them conform to the basic expectations of humanity.
We don’t know how many serial killers are operating right now, or how many have operated over the years. There will be those who have never been caught, and never been identified as a serial killer.
There are many unsolved murders that could possibly be the work of serial killers, but unless there is a definite identifiable pattern and the crimes are recorded in sufficient detail, it is difficult to attribute them for sure.
In perspective, based on current statistics you are extremely unlikely to encounter a serial killer in normal everyday society during your lifetime. But they are out there right now, planning, scheming, and searching for someone who will become their victim.
We will hear of the atrocities of serial killers in the media in the future because they have always been among us and always will be.
Darlie Routier Unsolved 