chapter 7

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Chapter 7

The Male Serial Murderer

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Learning Objectives

To understand the impact of male serial killers in American society

To explore the “invisible” rise of African American serial killers, their behavioral characteristics, victims, and myths and facts surrounding these offenders

To examine the role and types of stalking in predatory crimes that can lead to homicide and serial murder

To evaluate the dark side of long-haul trucking and its contribution to the emergence of highway serial murderers

To review several cases of male serial killers, their profiles, mobility, and techniques used to lure their victims

To examine the latest research on male serial killers in the United States

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Reasons for the Decline in Cases of Serial Murder in the United States

Law enforcement investigations into multiple homicides are much more advanced today with new technologies such as D N A analysis.

Technologies make detection far more challenging for potential killers who wish to stay undetected.

Homicide investigators have improved collaboration between agencies and greater understanding of criminal behavior. Offender and victim profiling today have more scientific basis and credibility.

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Reasons: (1 of 2)

Cold cases are being resolved and offenders imprisoned.

Potential offenders now use the internet as a vent for their sexual fantasies, not simply to find new victims to kill.

There exists much more public awareness of sexual preferences and paraphilia.

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Reasons: (2 of 2)

The public is more aware of dangers of violent predators due to the C S I effect and there is much more open discussion about such offenders.

Baby-boomers are aging out and homicide rates, in general, are at an all-time low in the United States. (Rates tend to change slowly and what goes down will eventually rise again.)

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What has also changed is the actual profile of the modern day serial killer.

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Changing of the Serial Murder Case Profile (1 of 2)

Between 2004-2011, male solo offenders used guns as the sole, or as one of their methods of killing, in 38% of their cases (N=111). Between 2011 and 2014 guns were used in 71% of the cases of serial murder and 46% in cases as the sole means of killing (n=117). What appears clear at this point is that in cases of serial murder methods and motives are changing. Where there were many victims (10-13 per offender since 19 75) now there are far fewer per offender (3-4 victims).

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Changing of the Serial Murder Case Profile (2 of 2)

The barrage of Bundy, Kemper and Gacy cases have certainly dissipated dramatically as evidenced by the Radford data. We also see that strict application of the F B I definition of serial murder has identified many more “less newsworthy” cases of multiple murder. From this perspective cases of serial murder have leveled out but without any dramatic decline.

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Male Solo Serial Killers Update, 2004–2014 (1 of 4)

Male solo killers (N = 205) account for 76% of all serial killers 2004–2014 (N = 270)

Race of offender:

Caucasian: 40%

African American: 52%

Hispanic: 5%

Middle Eastern and East Indian: 2%

Average age of offender at first killing: 29.5

Average age at apprehension: 38

Average span of offender killing: 8 years

Total number of victims: 766–955

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Male Solo Serial Killers Update, 2004–2014 (2 of 4)

Average number of victims per offender: 3.7–4.7

Span of offender killing: 19 65–2014

Offenders who killed all their victims in same year: 39%

Offenders who killed in more than one year: 61%

1–2 years: 8%

2–3 years: 6%

4–5 years: 7%

6–9 years: 11%

10+ years: 29%

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Male Solo Serial Killers Update, 2004–2014 (3 of 4)

Method of killing:

Shoot only: 37%

Strangle only: 21%

Stab only: 8%

Beat/blunt force only: 6%

Combination of strangling, beating, stabbing, and/or shooting: 28%

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Male Solo Serial Killers Update, 2004–2014 (4 of 4)

Victims of male solo killers:

Adults only: 94%

Elderly only: 4%

Children only: 1%

Adults and children: 9%

Adults and elderly: 2%

Offenders who targeted specific type of victim: 91%

Average number of victims per offender: 3.7–4.7

Strangers only: 61%

Prostitutes: 15%

Males only: 23%

Females only: 42%

Male and female victims: 36%.

Involving more than one state: 18%

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Serial Versus Mass Murder (1 of 2)

Many serial killers have emerged in recent years who receive little media attention. Part of the reason is that most of the new cases do not carry the social drama, social class, or high body counts to be of serious public interest.

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Serial Versus Mass Murder (2 of 2)

Although the incidence of serial-killing cases is not as high as cases of mass murders (one attempted or actualized every 7 days, including both public and domestic cases) in the United States, serial murders have become part of our culturally violent landscape—even though the United States homicide rate, as of 2013, is at a near century all-time low. The bad news is that 2011-2014 saw a significant number of mass murders and attempted mass murders, including Sandy Hook which took the lives of 27 people and a case near Fort Worth, Texas, where a relative dressed up as Santa Claus shot and killed six relatives before killing himself on Christmas morning.

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Race (1 of 2)

Between 2004 and 2014 approximately 52% of all male solo serial killers (N = 205) in the United States were African American.

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Race (2 of 2)

Wayne Williams

Samuel Dixon

Chester Turner

Henry Louis Wallace

Carlton Gary

Read the profiles of these 5 Black serial killers. Are there any salient factors in these cases that might differentiate Black and White serial killers?

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Mobility of Serial Killers (1 of 2)

Male offenders who roam the streets of U.S. cities and towns and remain relatively close to their killing sites appear to be the most common type of serial murderer in recent years.

The F B I between 2009 and 2011 developed the Highway Serial Killing Initiative to identify victims of traveling serial killers in the United States.

Over the past 30 years over 500+ bodies of victims have been found alongside or near freeways and highways (see Chart 7.3.)

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F B I-VI C A P & N C A V C REPORT 2009-2011

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Mobility of Serial Killers (2 of 2)

The F B I has amassed a database of over 275 suspects in the highway murders, and almost all of them are long-haul truck drivers.

Known by the truck drivers as lot lizards, these prostitutes are easy targets for traveling serial killers.

Other victims in highway murders are stranded motorists, hitchhikers, and persons who inadvertently come into contact with these killers.

(See the Bruce Mendenhall profile).

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Victims of Male Offenders in the United States, 18 00–2014 One State vs. Multi-State Mobility

		18 00–2014		19 75–2014
Mobility Classification of Killers	Percentage of Victims (N = 3,687–5,522)	Percentage of Offenders (N = 629)	Percentage of Victims (N = 2,099–3,038)	Percentage of Offenders (N = 448)
Total	100	100	100	100
Multi-State	29–31	28	24-31	22
One State	69-71	72	69-76	78

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Stalkers (1 of 2)

The Threat Management Unit of the Los Angeles Police Department classified stalkers into four categories:

Simple Obsessional

Love Obsessional

Erotomania

False Victimization

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Hickey Stalker Typologies

Domestic

Power/Anger

Obsessional

Nuisance

Sexual Predator

Erotomania

Stranger

Power/Anger

Obsessional

Nuisance

Factitious

False Victimization

Hero Fantasy

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Site and Non-Site Stalking of Potential Predators

NON-SITE

Telephone calls

E-mails, e-cards

Fax messages

Letters

Gifts

Voice mail and texting

Instant messaging; Twitter

Video messaging; Facebook

SITE

Following

Workplace visits

Home visits

Signatures

Vandalism

Sending or leaving “gifts”

Displaying weapons

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Tools of a Stalker

Photographs, texting, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, G P S, spy ware software and keystroke logging hardware, chat rooms, Skype, caller I D, hidden video cameras, prepaid calling cards, online databases, and information brokers are some of the technologies now available that assist predators in connecting with their targets (Southworth et al., 2007)

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Stalkers (2 of 2)

For most sex offenders such as rapists, pedophiles, voyeurs, and exhibitionists, stalking fantasies are critical in the process of offending and relational paraphilic attachment (see Chapter 5).

Many serial killers also engage in psychological stalking prior to physically stalking their victims.

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Victims of Male Serial Killers

Overall, about 84% of all male offenders since 19 75 killed at least one stranger (see Table 7.7).

Young females, especially if they were alone, ranked the highest in general preference of male offenders. (See the Robert J. Long profile).

Male serial offenders wanting to kill their mothers or fathers usually find themselves killing someone else.

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Male Serial Killers

Table 7.7 Percentage of Male Offenders Murdering Family, Acquaintances, and Strangers in the United States, 18 00–2014*

	18 00–2014	19 75–2014
Relationship	Percentage of Offenders (N = 591)	Percentage of Offenders (N = 404)
Strangers	79	8
Acquaintances	15	16
Family/Friends	13	10

*Some killed a combination of family, friends, strangers and/or acquaintances.

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Victims & Offenders (1 of 2)

Since 19 75 approximately one in five offenders attacked and killed victims who had facilitated their own deaths by placing themselves at risk.

Offenders generally held blue-collar jobs, but a few managed to secure professional work as teachers, doctors, musicians, and ministers.

See the Albert DeSalvo and Dennis Rader profiles.

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Percentage of Male Serial Killers Murdering People in Specific Victim Age and Gender Categories, 18 00–2014 (1 of 2)

Age Only		Gender Only
Children	1	Females	41
Teens	4	Males	23
Adults	62	Both	37
Elderly	4	At Least One
At Least One		Female	76
Child or Teen	42	Male	59
Adult	89
Elderly	13

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Percentage of Male Serial Killers Murdering People in Specific Victim Age and Gender Categories, 1800–2014 (1 of 2)

By 2014 significant changes in choice of weapons occurred noting that approximately 71% of serial offenders used guns at least as one form of killing and 46% used them as their sole means of killing.

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Victims & Offenders (2 of 2)

In contrast to typical homicides, domestic or otherwise, male serial offenders do not commonly use guns as their sole means of killing.

For some offenders “the response of the victim is everything” meaning that without torture, killing a victim is merely going through the motions.

See the Robert Hansen profile.

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Etiology of Male Serial Offending

Rejection was by far the most common theme surrounding the lives of these killers as children, which very likely originated from the experience of a dysfunctional family, sexual abuse, an alcoholism.

See the Robert Hansen and Paul J. Knowles profiles.

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Related Movies

The Riverman

True story of the Green River killer.

Killer: A Journal of Murder

James Woods. Based on the true story of Carl Panzram.

Frailty

Bill Paxton. Story of a man who is on a mission to remove demons from the world.

The Boston Strangler

Tony Curtis. True story of a serial killer who targets older women.

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Related Websites

Forbes: Ten Best Serial Killer Movies You Haven't Seen, www.forbes.com/sites/markhughes/2011/10/30/ten-best-serial-killer-movies-you-havent-seen-aka-ten-unique-serial-killer-films-for-halloween.

C N N: Atlanta Child Murders, www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2010/atlanta.child.murders.

The National Center for Victims of Crime: Cyberstalking, http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32458

chapter 7

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