Over the years I have studied many crimes that serial killers, mass murderers and spree killers have committed. I have researched all the different aspects of the people and the crimes committed. Many people who are interested in crimes do not understand that the classifications of the criminal are just as important as profiling the criminal. Below I have written the distinctions between three major crime classifications, serial killers, mass killers and spree killers.
A serial killer is usually a white male in his early twenties through late thirties, and is located 80% of the time in the United States. Motives for serial killers are usually sex, power, control, domination and manipulation. If the serial killer is an organized killer the motive for sex is usually rape, if disorganized the motive for sex is sadism. To be classified as a serial killer the criminal must kill three or more people within a period of time. Their victims are usually of the same classification such as hookers, young females, hitch-hikers, etc. Serial killers rarely change their MO (modus operandi – a distinct pattern or method of operation that indicates or suggests the work of a single criminal in more than one crime). They will however advance the severity of the crime if their not satisfied with it’s results. Which means they will become more violent, or add something new to their crime, but will always keep the same pattern. John Wayne Gacy searched for young men to rape and strangle, Ted Bundy sought out young girls with specific color hair and demeanor, and Jeffrey Dahmer sought out gay men to have sexual relations with and kill afterwards, all three acting out the same rage with everyone of their victims, changing the crime it slightly but not enough to change the pattern.
Mass killers on the other hand are very angry men who are usually between the ages of 24-40 who usually have serious mental issues. They show some signs of a serial killer, but are extremely messy and disorganized. They are usually pushed aside by society and made to feel as if they have no reason to be there. Mass killers also have a tendency to have an enormous arsenal of guns, usually machine and automatic weapons, they also tend to use explosives and dress in camouflage. Post offices, restaurants, schools, or any public place that carries a lot of people are usually where mass murderers take their frustrations out. Most victims to mass killers do not even know their killer, they are just basically in the wrong place at the wrong time kind of situation. When ready to kill, mass killers kill all at one time, there is no time frame in-between killings at all and once finished they are usually killed by police officers or they commit suicide. One well known mass murderer case is the Columbine Massacre where Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold decided to take their rage out on students that they disliked by ambushing their school and killing 12 students and a teacher as well as injuring 24 others, then turning the gun on themselves. This is your typical mass murder mo, two young men who claimed to be picked on by the more popular students, planning out their fate with an arsenal of weapons and violence, killing themselves when all feelings of satisfaction are fulfilled.
Last but not least we have the spree killers. They are not as common as serial or mass killers but are just as dangerous. Basically a spree killer is someone who does not stop and wait for recognition of the crimes committed. They go in, kill and move on to the next victim or victims. Their time frame between killings is very sporadic, spree killers can kill 20 people in one day and 20 the next, putting fear into communities all across the state or country. They do not have any specific mo and can kill one day with a gun and the next day with a knife. One example of a dangerous spree killer is Charles Starkweather and Caril Fugate his girlfriend. The two together murdered 11 victims while driving through Nebraska to Wyoming, their murders inspired the film Natural Born Killers written by Quentin Tarantino.
Serial killers are not as popular as they were in the early 70’s and late 80’s, things have seemed to slow down at the moment for this kind of criminal, don’t get me wrong, there are active serial killers that are being investigated throughout the country, there just not as popular as they once were. Mass killers and spree killers on the other hand can pop up out of no where and make a name for themselves whenever they feel like shocking and invading our safety. With all the information we have researched on specific criminals, we are still not even close to understanding them. Hopefully sooner than later we will understand exactly what makes them tick.
