Though most of us really never think about the mind of a serial killer, it is sometimes necessary to catch them. Because serial killers are often different in their motive, categories have been assigned to group like killers. In doing this it is easier to understand them and eventually bring them to their demise.
Stereotypical, lone serial killers fall in to three categories: visionaries, missionaries, and hedonists. Group killers, however, have their own set of rules. The stereotypical, lone serial killer is one that is usually male, in his thirties, and has killed more than three people with an intermission between each victim. Most lone serial killers fit into more than one category, but they all have a dominant trait that classifies them as one.
Visionaries are killers that believe they are being forced to kill by Satan or some other being that controls their mind. One such case is David Berkowitz, also known as the “Son of Sam,” and the “.44 Caliber Killer.” Berkowitz shot thirteen and killed six while claiming that the devil in the form of a black Labrador told him to do it. He also claimed that the devil had been with him since birth. Another visionary is Herbert Mullin. Mullin believed that he could prevent California’s earthquakes by killing. He claimed eight lives. He told the newspapers that Satan gets into people and makes them do things that they do not want to do. Mullin heard voices telling him to shave his head and burn his genitals, despite better judgment he obeyed these voices to the letter.
Missionaries are killers that think they are responsible for improving the quality of life, and ridding society of what they see as bad people. Joseph Paul Franklin is a perfect example of this category. As a member of the Ku Klux Klan and the National States Rights Party, he was responsible for eighteen racial murders and five non-fatal shootings in eleven states, as well as two bombing and sixteen bank robberies. Franklin killed African Americans and Jews because he believed that white was the dominant race and any other was contributing to the social decay of society.
Hedonists are broken into four subgroups to include lust killers, thrill killers, gain killers, and power seekers. Gain killers being the least likely to kill more than once are the least found. They kill for personal gain, may it be monetary or material. These killers are referred to as Black Widows, if female, and Bluebeards, if male if they “pull off” more than one “job.” Some examples of this type of killer are Nanny Doss, a black widow who killed five spouses for insurance money, H.H. Holmes, and Charles Brown.
Power seekers tend to be aware of their behavior and have been able to describe their symptoms while under investigation. One of the most famous fictional examples would be Hannibal Lector, who killed like a God. Real examples of power seekers include John Wayne Gacy, Andrew Cunanan, and the notorious Jack the Ripper. Andrew Cunanan murdered the famous Gianni Versace hoping for fame. This was the end of his cross country odyssey from Minneapolis to Miami claiming five victims along the way. The Versace murder brought Cunanan attention from Americans and Europeans. After his death, two books were compiled in his “honor.” One such book entitled The Cunanan Enigma (1997) stated that “this young man who craved attention for life, it seems, will get even more in death.” Jack the Ripper was the unidentified killer of prostitutes who wrote letters to the police bragging of his “work.” In one letter he asked that the letters not be released to the press until he had done a little more killing. The Ripper sent “presents” consisting of a half a victim’s kidney and a victim’s ear to the police station to gloat.
Thrill killers find pleasure in the act of killing. Sexual gratification is not the main motive even though sexual abuse may take place. Thrill killers gain a natural high from their victim’s torture and death. One of the most well-known thrill killers is Theodore Bundy. Ted Bundy killed well over 100 victims for the sensation that he received after he was finished. All of his victims looked similar leading to the thought that they symbolized someone in his past for which he had animosity. The gratification he got from killing his like victims was closure from the pain the person that his victims symbolized has brought him. He was finally sentenced to death for killing two female students at Florida State University. The non-typical Erzebet Bathory is another great example of a thrill killer. Bathory was of noble blood from the 1500’s. She and her spouse, the Prince of Poland, delighted in torturing the middle class. Erzebet killed an estimated 600 people, torturing each one of them for her natural high. Her torture methods included, but were not limited to, burning the female genitals and pouring hot wax onto her victim’s bare skin. She once cut a piece of skin from her victim’s face, cooked it, and forced the victim to eat it.
Lust killers, the most prominent of all categories, receive sexual gratification from their victims. These killers are typically very organized and go through four phases. These phases include the fantasy, the hunt, the kill, and the post kill. They use all four to successfully complete their “work.” The fantasy is the phase in which they pick their victim. The hunt typically consists of figuring out patterns in their chosen victim’s life. Then comes the kill, the victim is tortured, raped, and murdered. The post kill is typically what gets the lust killer caught. This phase is the “remorse” phase. The killer realizes what he has done and feels guilt sometimes resulting in confession. One of the most grotesque lust killers is Albert Fish. Fish was known for the sexual torture of children, mostly boys. He raped 100 victims and murdered over fifteen in twenty three states. Pain sexually excited Albert Fish. Other perversions that excited him were the eating of human flesh and feces, the drinking of blood and urine, and the stuffing of twenty-seven needles in his scrotum for sexual pleasure.
These three categories help members of the government to “catch” their killer. These categories not only help us to understand the serial killer, but they also help us to see repetition in killers so that we are better equipped to find them and incarcerate or execute them.
Sources:
Andrew, W. (1999). Can personality disorders be used as predictors of serial killers? Futurics. (pg. 34). Retrieved March 7, 2005, from Proquest database.
Fido, Martin. (2004). The chronicles of crime. Carlton Books Limited.
Newton, Michael. (2000). The encyclopedia of serial killers. Checkmark Books: An Imprint of Facts on File, Inc.
Phillips, A. (1997). The cunanan enigma. Maclean’s. (pg. 32). Retrieved March 7, 2005, from Proquest database.
Shecter, Harold. (2003). Serial killer files. Random House Publishing Group.
