Serial Murder: A Forensic Psychiatric Perspective

Serial killers have many motives on why they kill the people they do. Many serial killers come from a dark childhood where they could have been molested by either a mother or a father and that could lead them on to molest and murder other small children. A serial killer known as Gary Ridgway killed and murdered over what is to believe seventy eight prostitutes. I was able to look through many articles and background information on many different credible websites. These sources gave me credible and honest information on how and why Gary Ridgway killed the people he did and why in general serial killers kill the people they do.

Woman on spree other than shopping Columbia Southern University Criminal Investigation   Woman on spree other than shopping One of the toughest things to do is sit back and get into the minds of a serial killer. In a profession dominated by men throw in the feminine factor and you have the case of a life time for some investigators and prosecutors. When most people hear of a killing spree the first question they ask is “who is he?”

The Milwaukee Cannibal was sentenced to 15 terms in prison for the murder of 17 men and boys in 1992, which adds up to approximately 957 years in jail. Dahmer was “...charged with four counts of first-degree intentional homicide…” after a victim escaped, and reported Dahmer to the police. The Milwaukee police found a tub full of acid, human remains, and gruesome photographs of Dahmer’s murders. After years of molesting, drugging, cannibalism, and performing necrophilia, Dahmer was killed in jail by another inmate in 1994 (Maranzani).

When you think of the typical serial killer, you imagine Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer. Remarkably people only think of male serial killers, yet female serial killers are on the rise and are just as dangerous. There may not be as prevalent female serial killers as there are male though their crimes are just as brutal. The female serial killer is an interesting type that many researchers do not know much about. There have only been recent studies done due to the limited pool of contestants but Aileen Wuornos allowed researchers to delve into the mind of the female serial killer and what makes them tick.

Real Life Monsters Between stories and real life, both worlds are the same, Evil seems to be a big factor on stories, but they usually have a happy ending. Well the only difference about our world itself, not everyone is so lucky. Grendel, a monster who is as cold as ice who terrorized the town by killing and destroying everything in his path . Gary Ridgway a serial killer would lure his victims in by getting there trust and making it seem like he cared in which he didn’t.

It becomes apparent that the standard for humane actions can be easily skewed with a majority of a social group being instilled with fear. Inhumane actions can easily seem humane if everyone believes it. In any case, murder is not accepted by the laws of society and is a cruel act of hate. In Malcom Gladwell’s work, he discusses the murderer Bernie Goetz, and how he was able to get away with murder, with his name in good standing, because he murdered what many people feared. Gladwell describes the way the people in the city perceive Goetz’ actions when he says “They seemed the embodiment of the kind of young thug feared by nearly all urban-dwellers, and the mysterious gunman who shot them down seemed like an avenging angle” (150).

Its astounding to believe that children are capable of killing, but that's just the case. Mary Bell was convicted of manslaughter. Also, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson were convicted for murder too. It was classified as: homicide. Well, what is homicide?

People commit crimes for various reasons and many different factors contribute to a person’s mental state and behavior. There are numerous theories that attempt to explain why individuals and particular groups of people become criminals. Psychologist and psychiatrist use science and research to attempt to determine a person’s deviant behavior. A person’s mental state usually contributes to the causation of the types of crimes that they commit. The main character in the movie “Bernie” demonstrates characteristics that fit into the frustration-aggression theory, modeling theory, and behavior theory.

Abstract Why do kids kill: The Personality Patterns, is an in-depth portrait of the lives of kids who kill and what effects their personality to make them take another human beings life. What can possibly motivate kids to commit such a heinous crime as murder? And why are more and more youth failing to develop secure attachments to loving parents, caregivers, or guardians. Without this vital foundation of a child’s life he or she are left without the foundation for healthy development. Because of the lack of a secure detachment youth are flooding the child warfare system and the juvenile justice system cannot keep up with the amount of cases they now find themselves working.

Evidently, there are many things wrong with someone if they are able to commit murder. A killer can range from a seemingly normal person, to an obviously deranged looking psychopath. Although, it does not matter what is on the outside, but more what is happening internally. Killers usually have a childhood trauma in their lives, are depressed, and are also psychotic. There has always been an argument about why killers decide to kill.