crimes profiling

Running head: Analysis: SERIAL KILLERS AND THEIR VICTIMS 1

SERIAL KILLERS AND THEIR VICTIMS 5

Analysis: Serial Killers and their Victims

Aaliyah Mendes

Umass Lowell

Criminal Profiling

11/18/2020

Analysis: Serial Killers and their Victims

It is absurd that we still live with serial killers . For instance, the U.S. claims to be having more than 5,000 serial killers on the loose. These individuals kill more than three persons at a time and hide their bodies. Often, it is said that these individuals suffer from strange psychological gratifications. This paper presents one of the most highly-profiled serial killers, Anthony Sowell, who raped his victims and then murdered them. At first, it seemed a challenge for the law enforcers to corner him (Giannangelo, 2016). Creating a concise profile of the cases made the police catch up with him after a long battle for his arrest.

Enabling the police to catch up with Anthony involved creating a high profile, which connected the numerous cases towards his evil deeds. He did not have a specific signature, unlike the rest. “Signature behaviors are those acts committed by an offender that are not necessary to commit the crime, but rather suggest psychological or emotional needs.” (Turvey, 2011) Still, reports state that he used alike modus operandi of killing the victims through strangulation according to reports by the F.B.I. Sowell seems to fit under two typologies. First bases on psychosis. He must have had mental illness due to the wicked childhood upbringing he passed through (Sberna, 2018). He must have been paranoid. Secondly, Sowell also fits under the typology of sexually-based. Most of his victims happened to be ladies, and autopsy results indicate rape close to all the cases. For fear of being reported by the victims, he instead takes away their lives.

Sowell's victims were mainly the females, a fact driven by his sexual desires. Close to all his undertakings, and the recovery of bodies was found within his apartment. It is a type of indoor crime scene. Sowell being a thrill-seeker, makes his kind of offenses classify him as being both a serial rapist and a serial killer (Giannangelo, 2016). He performed his acts secretly, and not any single time did the police stage his offenses. His first arrest was in 1989 after reports were made regarding a wave of killings through strangulation after the victim was raped. The F.B.I. spent 20 years to arrest him on October 31st, 2009, after a series of killings that involved a similar modus operandi. It means that Anthony Sowell must have been continuing with his evil acts from 1989 up to 2009.20 years of raping and killing and walking scot-free minus being caught by the police. Perhaps it owes to the intellectual skills he gained while still serving under the US Marine Corps.

From the above mentioned, it is apparent that according to the crime reconstruction by the F.B.I., not only one, but a manifold of his serial raping's and serial killings must have been going on at a time when the law enforcement personnel were still working hard to build a profile and link up with the perpetrator (Sberna, 2018). Only that he must have been swift and cautious during his acts, no wonder it took the police a considerable amount of time to catch up with him.

Anthony Sowell, as mentioned earlier, received sufficient military training while serving under the US Marine Corps. As usual, many marines and law enforcement personnel often find it easy to commit a crime and walk away minus being caught scot-free, as they have "their ways of covering up minus a trace." Unlike a few of them, Anthony always committed his crimes and never left any trace behind.

For any serial crime, the utmost trace that always remains behind and helps the police with investigations is the victim's body. But Anthony seemed to have been a smart one. It is because he always never left any trace behind. Anthony never left the body out for the public or disposed of it in the forest, or a river, or dig up a shallow grave deep. Instead, he was a kind of serial killer who, on most occasions, lured his victims through an online dating platform. He then invited them to his house for a drink and sometimes as "affectionate lovers." But little did the victims realize that whenever they stepped into that house, there was never coming back as what followed next was rape and strangulation later on. As most offenders prefer to dispose of the body outdoor, Anthony instead disposed of the victim's bodies within his house and compound. It includes the discovery of shallow graves in his bedroom and basement. He never left a trail behind (Giannangelo, 2016).

Like any other serial killings, Anthony proves to be an example of those serial killers who are either on the loose or on the run from the law enforcement personnel. In Conclusion, the police and the general public must work together and help in the apprehension of these murders.

References

Giannangelo, S. J. (2016). Real-life monsters: A psychological examination of the serial murderer.

Sberna, R., & ProQuest (Firm). (2018). House of horrors: The shocking true story of Anthony Sowell, the Cleveland Strangler.

Criminal Profiling 2011: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis by Brent E. Turvey https://a.co/fEwNpDa