SERIAL KILLERS: CLASSIFICATION AND KILLING PATTERNS OF MONSTERS
Uploaded by misterstarry on Nov 13, 2004
SERIAL KILLERS: CLASSIFICATION AND KILLING PATTERNS OF MONSTERS
The term serial killer was first used on Ted Bundy. Although the term is relatively new, the phenomenon is not. It dated far back in history, and no one is really sure how it has begun, but there are records of serial killing crimes such as “Jack the Ripper” dated back in the 1800s. What defines serial killer is not exactly clear. Generally, it’s agreeable that when there’s three or more murders committed by the same offender, the offender will be defined as a serial killer. The murders are usually committed at different time and place with a “cooling-off” period. Serial killer is not the same as mass killer, those who killed all their victims at once, and often killed themselves afterward. Serial killers are more complex in their crimes, and often killed many victims before being caught. An average killing career for a male serial killer is four years, while a female serial killer is eight years. Although there are many subtopics of serial killers, this essay will focuses on two subtopics of serial killers: the classification of serial killers, and their patterns of killings.
Before recently, serial killers are viewed as an outcast, a monster, someone who does not belong in the society. However, when Ted Bundy was arrested, many citizens were alarmed with his “normal-looking.” Citizens are faced with unidentifiable killers who can happened to be their next door neighbors, or even their close friends. The searches for the convicts are much harder this way, and most cases often go unsolved. In order to prevent the crimes, one needs to understand these serial killers. Criminologists worked tirelessly to come up with any possible ways to identify the killers, and one way is to attempt to classify the killers into different categories. The classification of the killers will help the police constructs probable characteristics of the killer who committed the crime.
In order to investigate each serial murder, the FBI attempts to classify serial killers into different groups based on their crimes’ method. FBI classified serial killers as organized, disorganized, and mixed-category. The organized serial killers planned their murder ahead of time, with the plan for disposing the corpse, and covering his/her tracks. Weapons are brought to the crime scenes, and crime...