Serial killer

A serial killer is a person who murders three or more people over a period of more than thirty days, with a "cooling off" period between each murder, and whose motivation for killing is largely based on psychological gratification. Often, a sexual element is involved with the killings. The murders may have been attempted or completed in a similar fashion and the victims may have had something in common; for example, occupation, race, appearance, sex, or age group.

Serial killers are often confused with being mass murderers, who commit multiple murders at one time or spree killers, who commit murders in two or more locations with virtually no break in between. Coinage of the English term serial killer is commonly attributed to former FBI Special Agent Robert Ressler in the 1970s. The concept had been described earlier, e.g. by German police inspector Ernst Gennat coining the same term in 1930. Author Ann Rule postulates in her 2004 book Kiss Me, Kill Me that the English-language credit for coining the term "serial killer" goes to LAPD detective Pierce Brooks, mastermind of the ViCAP system.

Characteristics

Serial killers in the United States tend to share the following general characteristics:

1. The majority are single, white males. However, there are several recorded cases of non-Caucasian serial killers, such as Wayne Williams, Timothy Spencer, Charles Ng, Angel Maturino Reséndiz, Richard Ramirez, George Russell, and serial snipers John Muhammad and Lee Malvo.
2. They are often intelligent, with IQs in the "above normal" range.
3. Despite their high IQs, they have trouble holding down jobs, and often work menial jobs.
4. They tend to come from unstable families.
5. As children, they are typically abandoned by their fathers and raised by domineering mothers.
6. Their families often have criminal, psychiatric and alcoholic histories.
7. They were often abused — emotionally, physically and/or sexually — by a family member.
8. They have high rates of suicide attempts.
9. From an early age, many are intensely interested in voyeurism, fetishism, and sadomasochistic pornography.
10. More than 60 percent wet their beds beyond the age of 12.
11. Many are fascinated with fire starting.
12. They are involved in sadistic activity or torturing small animals.

Psychosis is rarely noted among serial killers. The predominant psychiatric diagnosis noted in the group tends toward the psychopathic, meaning they suffer from traits within a specific cluster of dysfunctional personality characteristics, those most commonly associated with Antisocial Personality Disorder or Dissocial personality disorder. Psychopaths lack empathy and guilt, are egocentric and impulsive, and do not conform to social, moral and legal norms. Instead, psychopaths often follow a distinct set of rules which they have created for themselves. They may appear to be normal and often quite charming, a state of adaptation that psychiatrist Hervey Cleckley named the "mask of sanity".

The Macdonald triad — animal cruelty, pyromania, and persistent bedwetting past the age of five — is often exhibited by serial killers during their childhood. Subsequent research, however, found that bedwetting is not related to psychopathy.

Development of serial killers

What distinguishes serial killers form the “normal” population, is the similar problems they face in their childhood development. Hickey's Trauma Control Model explains how early childhood trauma can set the child up for deviant behavior in adulthood . The child’s environment (either their parents or society) is the dominant factor in whether or not the child’s behavior escalates into homicidal activity.

The mother normally plays the largest role in the development of a child. Maternal overprotection—combined with the lack of paternal influence—has resulted in the development of many sexually violent men . Jeffrey Dahmer experienced this kind of childhood, which could have lead to his inability to develop social relationship in his adult life.

Family, or lack there of, is the most prominent part of a child’s development because it is what the child can identify with on a regular basis . If a child does not have a fit mother or positive family interactions he tends to be more exposed to and more susceptible to the negative influences now pervasive in our society. Society still plays a part in the child’s life, but the family is continuously influencing the development of that individual for the rest of their lives. If a child develops socially in a dysfunctional family with no positive reinforcements from society, they often move toward delinquency. On the other hand, there are the rare serial murderers such as Westley Dodd who come from loving homes and still commit murder.

“The serial killer is no different than any other individual who is instigated to seek approval from parents, sexual partners, or others” (Hale, 1993, p. 41). This need for approval is what influences children to attempt to develop social relationships with their family and peers, but if they are rejected or neglected, they are unable to do so. This results in the lowering of their self-esteem and helps develop their fantasy world in which they are in control. Hickey’s Trauma Control Model (2010, p. 107) clearly shows that the development of a serial killer is based on an early trauma followed by facilitators (porn, drugs, and alcohol) and disposition (the inability to attach). This leads to homicidal behavior unless the child finds a way to develop substantial relationships and fight the label they receive. If a child receives no support from those around him or her, then he or she is unlikely to recover from the traumatic event in a positive way.

Family interaction also plays an important role in a child’s growth and development. “The quality of their attachments to parents and other members of the family is critical to how these children relate to and value other members of society” . Wilson and Seaman (1990) conducted a study on incarcerated serial killers and what they felt was the most influential factor that contributed to their homicidal activity . Almost all of the serial killers in the study had experienced some sort of environmental problems during their childhood, such as a broken home, or a lack of discipline in the home. It was common for the serial killers to come from a family that had experienced divorce, separation, or the lack of a parent. Furthermore, nearly half of the serial killers had experienced some type of physical and sexual abuse and even more had experienced emotional neglect. When a parent has a drug or alcohol problem, the attention in the household is on the parents rather than the child. This neglect of the child leads to the lowering of their self-esteem and helps develop a fantasy world in which they are in control. Hickey's Trauma Control Model supports how the neglect from parents can facilitate deviant behavior especially if the child sees substance abuse in action . This then leads to disposition (the inability to attach), which can further lead to homicidal behavior unless the child finds a way to develop substantial relationships and fight the label they receive. If a child receives no support from those around him or her, then he or she is unlikely to recover from the traumatic event in a positive way. As stated by E. E. Maccoby, “the family has continued to be seen as a major--perhaps the major--arena for socialization . This reflects the pervasive assumption that even though socialization and resocialization can occur at any point in the life cycle, childhood is a particularly malleable period, and it is the period of life when enduring social skills, personality attributes, and social orientations and values are laid down” (Maccoby, 1992, p. 1006). This supports the idea that the family is the largest influence on a child’s development into a normally socialized individual, and a dysfunctional family allows the descent into anti-social and even homicidal behavior.

Society has become a huge influence on the youth of America over the last century. The media and technological advances have created a culture surrounded and influenced by violence. Criminologist Jose Sanchez reports, “the young criminal you see today is more detached from his victim, more ready to hurt or kill . . . The lack of empathy for their victims among young criminals is just one symptom of a problem that afflicts the whole society” . Society today immunizes children from horrific reactions to violence. The modern killer has grown up in a culture that embraces violence though the media: movies, pornography, music, literature, and actions. America has developed a mass industry for violent media, which in turn has caused the youth of our nation to see and accept violence on a day-to-day basis. New television shows such as Criminal Minds describe “the pressure exerted by a society that expects those from violent homes to become violent adults, those who were abused as children to become adult abusers” (Tithecott, 1997, p. 43). That pressure also leads to labeling children who are exposed to such crime and violence as criminals. Lorenzo Carcaterra, author of Gangster (2001), explains how potential criminals are labeled by society, which can then lead to their offspring also developing in the same way through the ‘cycle of violence’ . Before he was executed, Ted Bundy stated media violence and pornography had stimulated and increased his need to commit homicide . This acceptance of media violence and pornography as a part of our culture is a major problem in today’s society.

Types of serial killers

The FBI's Crime Classification Manual places serial killers into three categories: "organized", "disorganized" and "mixed"—offenders who exhibit organized and disorganized characteristics. Some killers descend from being organized into disorganized behavior as their killings continue.

Organized/nonsocial offenders

Organized nonsocial offenders usually have above average intelligence, with a mean IQ of 123. They often plan their crimes quite methodically, usually abducting victims, killing them in one place and disposing of them in another. They will often lure the victims with ploys appealing to their sense of sympathy. For example, Ted Bundy would put his arm in a fake plaster cast and ask women to help him carry something to his car, where he would beat them unconscious with a metal bar (e.g. a crowbar), and carry them away. Others specifically target prostitutes, who are likely to go voluntarily with a stranger. They maintain a high degree of control over the crime scene, and usually have a solid knowledge of forensic science that enables them to cover their tracks, such as burying the body or weighing it down and sinking it in a river. They follow their crimes in the media carefully and often take pride in their actions, as if it were all a grand project. The organized killer is usually socially adequate, has friends and lovers, and sometimes even a spouse and children. They are the type who, when/if captured, are most likely to be described by acquaintances as kind and unlikely to hurt anyone. Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy are examples of organized serial killers.

Disorganized/asocial offenders

Disorganized asocial offenders are often of low intelligence, have a below average IQ (<90), and commit their crimes impulsively. Whereas the organized killer will specifically set out to hunt a victim, the disorganized will murder someone when the opportunity arises, rarely bothering to dispose of the body but instead just leaving it at the same place where they found the victim. They usually carry out blitz-style attacks, leaping out and attacking their victims without warning, and will typically perform whatever rituals they feel compelled to carry out (e.g., necrophilia, mutilation, cannibalism, etc.) once the victim is dead. They rarely bother to cover their tracks but may still evade capture for extended periods of time due to the anonymous nature of the crime. They are often introverted, socially inadequate with few friends, and they may have a history of mental problems. Richard Chase is an example of a disorganized serial killer.

Motives

The motives of serial killers are generally placed into four categories: "visionary", "mission-oriented", "hedonistic" and "power or control"; however, the motives of any given killer may display considerable overlap among these categories.

Visionary

Visionary serial killers suffer from psychotic breaks with reality, sometimes believing they are another person or are compelled to murder by entities such as the devil or God. The two most common subgroups are "demon mandated" and "God mandated."

Herbert Mullin believed the American casualties in the Vietnam War were preventing California from experiencing an earthquake. As the war wound down, Mullin claimed his father instructed him via telepathy to raise the amount of "human sacrifices to nature" in order to delay a catastrophic earthquake that would plunge California into the ocean.

David Berkowitz ("Son of Sam") is an example of a demon-mandated visionary killer. He claimed a demon transmitted orders through his neighbor's dog, instructing him to murder.

Mission-oriented

Mission-oriented killers typically justify their acts as "ridding the world" of a certain type of person, they perceive as undesirable, such as homosexuals, prostitutes, people of different ethnicity or religion; however, they are generally not psychotic. Some see themselves as attempting to change the nature of human society, often to cure a societal ill.

Ted Kaczynski, the "Unabomber", targeted universities and the airline industry. He wrote a manifesto that he distributed to the media, in which he claimed he wanted society to return to a time when technology was not a threat to its future, asserting that "the Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race."

Hedonistic

This type of serial killer seeks thrills and derives pleasure from killing, seeing people as expendable means to this goal. Forensic psychologists have identified three subtypes of the hedonistic killer: "lust", "thrill" and "comfort".

Lust

Sex is the primary motive of lust killers, whether or not the victims are dead, and fantasy plays a large role in their killings. Their sexual gratification depends on the amount of torture and mutilation they perform on their victims. They usually use weapons that require close contact with the victims, such as knives or hands. As lust killers continue with their murders, the time between killings decreases or the required level of stimulation increases, sometimes both.

Kenneth Bianchi, one of the "Hillside Stranglers", murdered women and girls of different ages, races and appearance because his sexual urges required different types of stimulation and increasing intensity.

Jeffrey Dahmer searched for his perfect fantasy lover — beautiful, submissive and eternal. As his desire increased, he experimented with drugs, alcohol and exotic sex. His increasing need for stimulation was demonstrated by the dismemberment of victims, whose heads and genitals he preserved. He experimented with cannibalism to "ensure his victims would always be a part of him".

Thrill

The primary motive of a thrill killer is to induce pain or create terror in their victims, which provides stimulation and excitement for the killer. They seek the adrenaline rush provided by hunting and killing victims. Thrill killers murder only for the kill; usually the attack is not prolonged, and there is no sexual aspect. Usually the victims are strangers, although the killer may have followed them for a period of time. Thrill killers can abstain from killing for long periods of time and become more successful at killing as they refine their murder methods. Many attempt to commit the perfect crime and believe they will not be caught.

Robert Hansen took his victims to a secluded area, where he would let them loose and then hunt and kill them. Lee Boyd Malvo and John Allen Muhammad, the DC Snipers, killed random victims, often at gas stations, shooting them and leaving the scenes unnoticed. In one of his letters to San Francisco Bay Area newspapers, the Zodiac Killer wrote "[killing] gives me the most thrilling experience it is even better than getting your rocks off with a girl". Coral Watts was described by a surviving victim as "excited and hyper and clappin’ and just making noises like he was excited, that this was gonna be fun" during the 1982 attack. Slashing, stabbing, hanging, drowning, asphyxiating, and strangling were among the ways Watts killed.

Comfort (profit)

Material gain and a comfortable lifestyle are the primary motives of comfort killers. Usually, the victims are family members and close acquaintances. After a murder, a comfort killer will usually wait for a period of time before killing again to allow any suspicions by family or authorities to subside. They often use poison, most notably arsenic, to kill their victims. Female serial killers are often comfort killers, although not all comfort killers are female. Dorothea Puente killed her tenants for their Social Security checks and buried them in the backyard of her home. H. H. Holmes killed for insurance and business profits. Professional killers ("hit men") may also be considered serial killers.

Some, like Puente and Holmes, may be involved in and/or have previous convictions for theft, fraud, dishonesty, non payment of debts, embezzlement and other crimes of a similar nature. Dorothea Puente was finally arrested on a parole violation, having been on parole for a previous fraud conviction.

Power/control

Their main objective for killing is to gain and exert power over their victim. Such killers are sometimes abused as children, leaving them with feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy as adults. Many power or control-motivated killers sexually abuse their victims, but they differ from hedonistic killers in that rape is not motivated by lust but as simply another form of dominating the victim. Ted Bundy traveled around the United States seeking women to control.

Medical professionals

Some people with a pathological interest in the power of life and death tend to be attracted to medical professions. These kinds of killers are sometimes referred to as "angels of death" or angels of mercy. Medical professionals will kill their patients for different motivations that are similar to other serial killers. Medical professionals will kill their patients for money, for a sense of sadistic pleasure, for a belief that they are “easing” the patient’s pain, or simply “because they can." One example is Harold Shipman, an English family doctor, who made it appear that his victims died of natural causes (disease). Between 1975 and 1998, he murdered at least 215 patients; he is suspected of having murdered 250 people. Dr John Bodkin Adams, meanwhile, though acquitted in 1957 of the murder of one patient, is believed to have killed around 163 patients in Eastbourne, England.

An example of a sadistic medical serial killer was Richard Angelo, who was called the “angel of death,” or angel of mercy. Angelo devised a plan where he would inject the patient with drugs, then rush into the room and attempt to “save” the patient so that he could be a hero to the patient’s family. This motive of excitement from inducing a health crisis for the patient has recently been labeled as a professional version of Munchhausen Syndrome by Proxy, which is a Factitious Disorder. Richard Angelo confessed to killing 25 of his patients.

A number of medical murderers were involved in fraud. For example, H. H. Holmes was often involved in insurance scams and confidence tricks. Harold Shipman had a previous conviction for prescription fraud and forgery, for which he was fined £600.

Victims

Criminologists have long recognized that there are links between most serial killers and their chosen victims. Demographically, serial murderers tend to target more women than men, and kill strangers more often than family or acquaintances, as opposed to single-homicide offenders, who tend to kill men and women equally, while killing friends and family more often.

Serial murderers’ killings are often sexually motivated, although there are exceptions. The sexual motivation supports the theory that serial murderers tend to have specific criteria and specific sexual interests that motivate their selection of certain victims. This victim selection process sets serial murderers apart from other types of killers. Gay serial killers, such as Jeffrey Dahmer or Dennis Nilsen, often killed other gay men.

In the United States, serial killers prefer to target victims ages 18–50. The majority of victims are white, supporting researchers' claims that serial murder is intra-racial.

Female serial killers tend to kill those with whom they are already intimately familiar, as opposed to men who usually target strangers. "For female serial killers, historically husbands and their children are first choice as victims. When comparing males who kill children versus women, women kill children at a much higher percentage. The percentage of offenders killing at least one type of victim who is a child, males are at 21% whereas women are at 39%."

Female serial killers

Female serial killers are rare. They tend to murder men for material gain, are usually emotionally close to their victims, and generally need to have a relationship with a person before killing them. "An analysis of 86 female serial killers from the U.S. found that the victims tended to be spouses, children or the elderly." The methods they use for murder are covert or low-profile, such as murder by poison (the preferred choice for killing). They commit killings in specific places, such as their home or a health-care facility (where they then become known as "Angels of Mercy" by the media), or at different locations within the same city or state. Other methods used by female serial killers include shootings (used by 20%), suffocation (exercised by 16%), stabbing (acted on by 11%), and drowning (chosen by 5%). Though most female serial killers murder for money or other such material gain, 74% of them, others do it for attention. While many female serial killers have been diagnosed with Münchausen syndrome, little research has been conducted focusing on the societal influences—particularly gender roles and expectations of women—which contribute to these women committing multiple murders. Each killer will have her own proclivities, needs and triggers, as specific reasons can only be obtained from the killer herself. "In a review of published literature on female serial murder, sexual or sadistic motives are believed to be extremely rare in female serial murderers, and psychopathic traits and histories of childhood abuse have been consistently reported in these women." On rare occasions, women may be involved with a male serial killer as a part of a serial killing "team".

A notable exception to the typical characteristics of female serial killers is Aileen Wuornos, who killed outdoors instead of at home, used a gun instead of poison, killed strangers instead of friends or family, and killed for personal gratification. Another atypical female serial murderer was nurse Jane Toppan, who admitted during her murder trial that she was sexually aroused by death. She would administer a drug mixture to patients she chose as her victims, lie in bed with them and hold them close to her body as they died. The most prolific serial killer in all of history is Elizabeth Báthory. Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed (Báthory Erzsébet in Hungarian, 17 August 1560 – 21 August 1614) was a countess from the renowned Báthory family. After her husband's death, she and four collaborators were accused of torturing and killing hundreds of girls and young women, with one witness attributing to them over 600 victims, though the number for which they were convicted was 80. Elizabeth herself was neither tried nor convicted. In 1610, however, she was imprisoned in the Csejte Castle, where she remained bricked in a set of rooms until her death four years later.

Serial killers in history

Further information: [[:List of serial killers before 1900]]

Historical criminologists have suggested that there may have been serial murders throughout history, but specific cases were not adequately recorded. Some sources suggest that legends such as werewolves and vampires were inspired by medieval serial killers.

Liu Pengli of China, cousin of the Han Emperor Jing, was made king of Jidong in the sixth year of the middle period of Jing's reign (144 BC). According to the Chinese historian Sima Qian, he would "go out on marauding expeditions with 20 or 30 slaves or young men who were in hiding from the law, murdering people and seizing their belongings for sheer sport". Although many of his subjects knew about these murders, it was not until the 29th year of his reign that the son of one of his victims finally sent a report to the Emperor. Eventually, it was discovered that he had murdered at least 100 people. The officials of the court requested that Liu Pengli be executed; however, the emperor could not bear to have his own cousin killed, and Liu Pengli was made a commoner and banished.

In the 15th century, one of the wealthiest men in Europe, Gilles de Rais, sexually assaulted and killed peasant children, mainly boys, whom he had abducted from the surrounding villages and taken to his castle. It is estimated that his victims numbered between 140 and 800. The Hungarian aristocrat Elizabeth Báthory tortured and killed as many as 650 girls and young women before her arrest in 1610.

Thug Behram, a gang leader of the Indian Thuggee cult of assassins, has frequently been said to be the world's most prolific serial killer. According to numerous sources, he was believed to have murdered 931 victims by means of strangulation with a ceremonial cloth between 1790 and 1830. Recent scholarship has cast doubt on the Thuggee cult and suggested that the British in India were confused by the vernacular use of the term by Indians, and may also have used fear of such a cult to justify their colonial rule.

The first serial killers to get media attention were Burke and Hare. They killed 16 victims in Edinburgh, Scotland between 1827 and 1828 and sold their cadavers to an anatomy lecturer.

In his 1886 book Psychopathia Sexualis, psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing noted a case of a serial murderer in the 1870s, a Frenchman named Eusebius Pieydagnelle who had a sexual obsession with blood and confessed to murdering six people.

The unidentified killer Jack the Ripper killed prostitutes (the exact number of victims is not known) in London in 1888. Those crimes gained enormous press attention because London was the world's greatest center of power at the time, so having such dramatic murders of financially destitute women in the midst of such wealth focused the news media's attention on the plight of the urban poor and gained coverage worldwide. He has also been called the most famous serial killer of all time.

American serial killer H. H. Holmes was hanged in Philadelphia in 1896 after confessing to 27 murders. Joseph Vacher was executed in France in 1898 after confessing to killing and mutilating 11 women and children.

Serial killers in media and popular culture

Serial killers and music

Main article: List of songs about killers

Modern singers and bands, some more popular than others, have felt the fascination and horror toward certain celebrity serial killers, writing their own songs about them. Songs about serial killers have been made by the Rolling Stones (Midnight Rambler), Eminem (3 a.m.), Bruce Springsteen (Nebraska (song)), The Talking Heads (Psycho Killer), The Police (Murder by Numbers (song)), and many other more modern artists such as Sufjan Stevens (John Wayne Gacy Jr. (song)).

Serial killers and art

Collecting art created by convicted serial killers has become a special pastime for some. John Wayne Gacy drew and painted art from prison, much of which he gave away. Some people took the work just to trash or burn it, especially after discovering many of his images depicted his own victims. In 2005, serial killer Alfred Gaynor's art was offered on an online auction. One of his more popular works, titled "A Righteous Man's Reward", was a drawing depicting the figure of Jesus.

Serial killers and books

There is a huge market for "True Crime" and mystery murder novels, some of the more successful authors being Patricia Cornwell, Ann Rule, Truman Capote, and Philip Carlo. The novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson can be seen as a metaphor for the complex personality of the organized serial killer type that later disintegrates into the disorganized version. One of the greatest themes of this book, however, is the possibility that the dualistic conflict seen in Jekyll/Hyde could happen to anyone.

Serial killers in television and film

Since its invention, portrayals of violence seem to have been an integral part of filmmaking. One of Thomas Edison's first phonograph recordings dealt with the confessions of serial killer H. H. Holmes.

Serial killers are featured as stock characters in many types of media, including books, films, television programs, songs and video games. Films featuring serial killers include Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Mr. Brooks, Seven, Copycat, Halloween, Scream, The Lovely Bones, Romasanta and many others.

The television series Dexter features a police blood-spatter pattern analyst, named Dexter Morgan, who moonlights as a vigilante serial killer who goes after criminals who have slipped through the law's fingers in an attempt to be "good". It is based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter. Other notable literature with a serial killer theme includes Davis Grubb's The Night of the Hunter, Norman Mailer's The Executioner's Song, Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho, Jim Thompson's The Killer Inside Me and Thomas Harris' books Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal and Hannibal Rising, all featuring Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a cannibalistic serial killer. The television show Criminal Minds frequently involves cases of serial killers.

Serial killer memorabilia

Notorious and infamous serial killers number in the hundreds, and a subculture revolves around their legacies. "Murderabilia", or memorabilia centered around famous serial killers, includes the paintings, writings, and poems of these killers. Recently, marketing has capitalized even more upon interest in serial killers with the rise of various merchandise such as trading cards, action figures, and encyclopedias like The Serial Killer Files by Harold Schecter. Some serial killers literally attain the status of "celebrity" in the way they acquire 'fans'. Some killers even have previous personal possessions auctioned off on websites like eBay. A few examples of this are Ed Gein's 150 pound stolen gravestone, and Bobby Joe Long's sunglasses.

Controversy

One of the most well-known opponents of collectors of serial killer remnants, Andrew Kahan, is said to have coined the term "murderabilia". He is the director of the Mayor's Crime Victims Office in Houston and is backed by the families of murder victims, and "Son of Sam" laws existing in some states that prevent murderers from profiting from the publicity generated by their crimes. The creator of America's Most Wanted and father of murder victim Adam Walsh, John Walsh has also been involved in speaking against this trend. He once brought a group of experts and other concerned individuals to his show to discuss killers offering items for sale online. From the increased number of hits on these websites afterward, it could be implied that he only drew more attention and publicity to this phenomenon.

See also

• List of serial killers by country
• List of serial killers by number of victims
• Offender profiling
• Serial crime
• Spree killer
• List of horror movie serial killers

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• Schechter, Harold (2006). The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781416521747. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Schlesinger, Louis B. (2000). Serial Offenders: Current Thought, Recent Findings. CRC Press. ISBN 9780849322365.
• Schmid, David (2005). Natural Born Celebrities: Serial Killers in American Culture. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226738673.
• Seltzer, Mark (1998). Serial Killers: Death and Life in America's Wound Culture. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-91481-9.
• Sitpond, M. (2000). Addicted to murder: The true story of Dr Harold Shipman. Virgin.
• Vronsky, Peter (2004). Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters. Penguin Group/Berkley. ISBN 0425196402.
• Vronsky, Peter (2007). Female Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters. Penguin/Berkley. ISBN 9780425213902.
• Whittle, Brian (2000). Prescription for Murder: The True Story of Mass Murderer Dr Harold Frederick Shipman. Warner. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Wilson, Colin (1995). A Plague Of Murder. Robinson. ISBN 1-85487-249-4.
• Yudofsky, Stuart C. (2005). Fatal Flaws: Navigating Destructive Relationships with People with Disorders of Personality and Character. American Psychiatric Publishing. ISBN 9781585622146.
• Ramsland, Katherine. "Serial Killer Culture". Tru.tv Crime Library. Retrieved April 2, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Schmid, David (2007). Natural Born Celebrities: Serial Killers in American Culture. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-73869-7.
• Ramsland, Katherine. "Serial Killer Culture". Tru.tv Crime Library. Retrieved April 2, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Sparknotes Editors. ""Sparknotes on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"". LLC. Retrieved April 1, 2010. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
• Robinson, Bryan. "Serial Killer Action Figures For Sale". ABC News. Retrieved April 1, 2010.

External links

• Crime Library's Serial Killer page
• Serial Murder: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for Investigators Official FBI publication
• Website focused on Serial Killers and other psychological motivated crimes