Lawrence Bittaker Research Paper

Introduction
Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris were serial killers who, together, successfully abducted, raped, tortured, and killed five female teenagers. The two men had divergent childhood experiences growing up. However, it was their rebellious nature that brought them together in a California jail, where they planned their crimes. Norris and Bittaker committed extremely brutal and sadistic crimes, where both their fantasies, originally unconnected, seem to converge with one another. In other words, both men reinforced each other’s fantasies, as both had different motives for committing the same crimes. From their first victim to their last, it was clear that with each killing they had committed, their confidence grew, which resulted in

Lawrence’s biological parents considered him a mistake and promptly put him up for adoption. His adoptive parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bittaker, gave him their last name, and raised him. Bittaker was an only child and had no siblings. It is important to note that Bittaker, as a child, was not abused sexually, psychologically, or physically, did not torture animals, did not wet the bed as a teenager, did not have a speech impairment or physical disability, and was not bullied in school (Chojnacki and Danz, n.d.). Overall, the developmental factors expressed above suggests that Bittaker lived stable early childhood. However, somewhere along his teenage years, it became evident that despite a stable early-life upbringing, Bittaker had no regard for consequences and did not feel remorse for any criminal violations he would commit. The onset of this attitude coincides with his lack of societal upbringing during his teen years, as he was forced to move from state to state, making him incapable of establishing meaningful relationships with people and becoming a

Nevertheless, according to Markman and Bosco, Norris was born on February 2, 1948, in Greeley, Colorado. Norris’ biological parents were forced to marry to save themselves the embarrassment of conceiving a child out of wedlock, something that was shunned upon during the time he was born (Furio, 2001). Furio stated that Norris’ mother was a drug addict and her marriage to Norris’ biological father failed rapidly. Single and drug-addicted, Norris’ mother gave him up to state authorities (foster care). As a child, Norris never had a stable upbringing, childhood, or a caring family. Furio stated that despite Norris’ foster families all residing within the state of Colorado, Norris was constantly given foster parents who neglected and abused him, only to give him up to a different foster family and starting the cycle of neglect and abuse again. Furio, who established contact with Norris in Pelican Bay Prison, wrote a letter detailing his abuse, neglect, and the resulting racism he felt towards Hispanics, who he claims sexually abused