Research Paper

What is Serial Murder? The American public is fascinated by hor-

ror and cruelty. Fictional characters like Hanni-

bal Lecter and Michael Myers amuse movie go-

ers; but while these interesting beings and their

crimes sometimes seem far-fetched, they can be

all too close to reality. What happens when the

characters of a movie come to life, or cinema

imitates reality? Just mentioning “Helter Skelter”

or “Zodiac” can send chills down the spine of the

biggest horror film fan. Anyone who has a com-

mon knowledge of Jeffery Dahmer or Ted Bundy

knows they are far from fictional. Bonnie and

Clyde, David Berkowitz and Jack the Ripper are

all real as well. They are all infamous serial killers.

According to Eric W. Hickey, author of

“Serial Murderers and Their Victims,” serial mur-

derers include “any offenders, male or female,

who kill over time” (Hickey 12). It is doubtful that

anyone would disagree with Hickey’s definition,

but some experts may choose to be a bit more

descriptive. Due to the qualifications of a serial

homicide, there tends to be a general consen-

sus among reactions to serial killings by the public

but not necessarily upon the reasons for which

one may commit such an atrocious act. The

crime should not be confused with a spree kill-

ing, which involves the murder of many victims

without a relationship or extended period of time

existing between the killings.

How often are Serial Murders Committed? While murdering multiple victims is a ter-

rible form of homicide, these instances only ac-

count for 4.4% of all homicides as of 2005. Despite

this small fraction, there has been an increase of

1.3% since 1975. Although these percentages

seem very low, they should still be taken seriously

due to the cruelty of the crime. Again as of 2005,

Inside the Mind of a

Serial Killer Nick Zeigler

Sociology 300: Criminology Dr. Kurtz

DATE NEEDED

4% of all homicides included two victims, .6% in-

volved three victims, .1% involved four victims,

and .05% involved five or more victims (Bureau

of Justice Statistics). While these numbers prove

that killings with many victims are rare, they are

still the stories that are embedded in our minds,

and often times in history.

Why do Serial Homicides Occur? It is difficult to prove why serial murders are

committed but some educated guesses have

been made as to the reasons for which some

of these terrible acts of violence occur; “Various

theses of the aetiology of serial murder exist, most

of which chooses to align with a psychiatric, so-

ciological or biological explanation” (Mitchell).

D. Jay Schaibly mentions in his article What Twists

a Man so far as Murder? three correlates to serial

murder called the McDonald Triad. According

to Schaibly,

The triad is the name given to the set of

characteristic (sic) that serials (sic) killers are evi-

dent of in their youth. The “typical” serial killer is a

sociopath or psychopath that during childhood

was subject to three diagnoses: fire starting (py-

romania), prolonged bed-wetting, and animal

torture. All of these things correlate to a phase in

life in which the young person is curious of certain

things new to them.

Shaibly’s article begs the question; do

we have the power to thwart serial killings be-

fore they occur? His correlates definitely show

a strong support for a biological explanation to

the crime, but the three characteristics are also

related to poor social treatment (Shaibly).

Who does the Crime Effect? Potential murderers often feel the crime

will benefit them psychologically, perhaps fullfill-

ing them internally. This depends upon the state

of mind of the killer, which of course is the most

troubling and confusing aspect of the murder

to begin with. The offender often discovers that

their fullfillment disappears and they soon get

the urge to kill again. The murderer also suffers

from the act due to incarceration and a possible

death sentence if they are caught. Obviously

victims suffer by losing their lives and of course

the families of victims go through a great deal of

grieving. Finally, society suffers from fear. People

may be afraid to leave their houses or allow their

children to play in the streets. Daily life is inter-

rupted when a serial murderer is on the prowl.

Reactive Measures to Capture Murderers Methods of catching serial killers that are

designed to be reactive have also been intro-

duced throughout history. Of those, the most

popular is criminal profiling. While the previous

policies attempt to disuade potential future se-

rial killers, profiling deals with catching the mur-

derer after he has committed the crime. It is a

process used to narrow the suspects in a case to

those who posess certain qualities or character-

istics. These specific traits are based on research

and have been known to exist in similar offenders

in the past. Although a very useful tool, profil-

ing does not seek to find a specific suspect, but

gives investigators an idea of what to look for in

a suspect. This policy has been developing over

many years largely in part to the Investigative

Support Unit created in the 1950’s by FBI employ-

ees Pat Mullany and Howard Teten. It is con-

troversial, however, as to who exactly created

criminal profiling (Meyer). Although profiling be-

came popular in the 1950’s due to its extensive

development, aspects of the process were used

long before then. One of Jack the Rippers vic-

tims, Mark Kelly, was examined by Thomas Bond.

Bond suggested that due to the nature of the

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evidence, police should be looking for “a quiet,

innoffensive looking man, probably middle aged

and neatly dressed” (Petheric). Despite the cur-

rent excitement of new developments in criminal

profiling, the techniques have existed since the

1880’s (Petheric). Profiling techniques have aid-

ed in the capture of many criminals and as they

become more advanced, the process becomes

even more effective in identifying potential sus-

pects. While it is important to improve the accu-

racy of profiling to apprehend murdurers, it may

prove more important to the future of our society

to design proactive policies to intervene before

a homicide takes place.

Proactive Measures to Prevent Serial Homicide Even in the 21st century, little is known

about the mind of a serial killer; therefore, it is

extremely difficult to formulate a policy designed

to address the problem. Murder laws and harsh

punishments are supposed to deter crime but the

number of serial murders is still on the rise. As we

see in the McDonald Triad, the development of

the potential serial killer begins with early warn-

ing signs. While not all kids who torture animals,

set fires, and have prolonged bed-wetting turn

out to be serial killers, such problems should be

addressed during childhood since a correlation

exists. A psychological problem called Extreme

Conduct Disorder refers directly to two of Mc-

Donald’s characteristics.

Diagnosis signs for Conduct Disorder in-

clude aggression towards people as well as ani-

mals. In fact, Garret D. Evans, Doctor of psychol-

ogy directly lists torturing animals as one sign of

Conduct Disorder. Doctor Evans also states un-

der his category of property damage that, “fire

setting with intent to damage property” is anoth-

er characteristic. Unfortunately Conduct Disor-

der does not adress the problem of bed-wetting

(Evans). It is not known how it develops, but pop-

ular theories suggest it stems from “inconsistent

parenting” and “maternal deprivation,” both of

which will be shown to connect with the forma-

tion of a serial killer (American Psychological As-

sociation).

The first steps in creating policies dealing

with serial killers should target early warning signs

of criminal behavior. Legal policies dealing with

animal torture include animal treatment laws.

Animal rights activists fight for more “freedom” for

animals, and many activists have advertisements

which can be very informative. Many young

children who posess such a problem can receive

psychological treatment as well. There are also

laws involving each animal species describing

whether or not they may be killed by a liscensed

hunter in a specific manner. As for Pennsylvannia

State law, no child under the age of 12 is permit-

ted to get a hunting license. Other states have

similar laws setting age limits and requirements,

and any child who does not fall under these re-

quirements is contradicting policy whether they

are aware of it or not.

There are also legal policies against set-

ting fires. Arson is a very serious crime for which

programs have been designed to address the

behaviors of those who commit the act. In many

cases, judges require guilty arsonists to attend

classes on the topic. Kirkpatrick (2002) quotes an

investigator from the National Fire Protection As-

sociation as saying, “Arson is a way of lashing out

resentment for the environment in which people

find themselves.”

The third aspect of the McDonald Triad is

prolonged bed-wetting. While there are policies

to deal with animal torture and arson, prolonged

bed-wetting is viewed normally as a biological

problem that is usually delt with within the family.

Parental literature exists on the subject to advise

Sociology

parents and inform them on prevention tech-

niques.

Gottfredson and Hirschi’s Self-Control Theory In order to refine preventative measures

and establish new ones, it would be helpful for

law enforcement officials to understand why the

crime occurs. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to

tell because most criminals have different vari-

ables in their lives that may or may not have in-

fluenced their behavior. Thus it is very difficult to

derive a general theory of crime. On the other

hand, many criminals do have similarities which

provide criminologist with information that can

help them to theorize. Two very important crimi-

nologists, Travis Hirschi and Michael Gottfredson,

attempted to explain why crime is committed in

their theory of Self-Control.

Self-Control Theory suggests that crimes

are committed due to a lack of self-control,

which is a result of poor parenting during child-

hood. Gottfredson and Hirschi even go as far as

to say that self-control is fully formed by the fifth

grade. Those who develop poor self-control will

fail throughout life in adapting to social norms.

They also state that people with low self-control

are impulsive, insensitive, risk-taking, non-verbal,

and short-sighted. Additionally, Gottfredson and

Hirschi believe in versatility, which refers to the

capability of the theory to predict any type of

crime from street to suite, male to female and

juvenile to senior (Lilly, Cullen and Ball 108, 2007).

Compatibilities between Self-Control Theory and Serial Homicide In his book To Kill Again, Donald J. Sears

states, “the serial killer’s childhood is marked by

a lack of nurturing and love. He usually grows up

in a neglectful, abusive, and even violent atmo-

sphere, where important needs are not met” (79).

As a result, many kids who grow up in this type

of environment have trouble controlling emo-

tions and establishing meaningful relationships as

they grow older. The relationship with one’s par-

ents, the first connection a human builds in his or

her life, provides structure and lesson, teaching

us how to interact with others. Speaking meta-

phorically, if this so-called “lesson” is absent or

not taught correctly, the individual will lack the

knowledge to connect with others in physical,

emotional, spiritual, and sexual relationships (80).

Here Sears refers to what Gottfredson and Hirschi

would suggest is improper childhood socializa-

tion on the part of the parents (Lilly, Cullen and

Ball 108). This improper socialization should be

interpreted as anything from abuse to neglect,

or simply not correcting negative behaviors.

As explained previously, the McDonald Tri-

ad proposes early warning signs of future violent

behavior. Fire setting, prolonged bed-wetting,

and violence toward animals are not the only

early behaviors that provide insight into a child’s

troubled mind, but these activities, among oth-

ers, could easily be ignored by a neglectful par-

ent. In allowing this sort of behavior to continue,

parents are promoting the improper socialization

of their child. Children displaying these behav-

iors need attention, prevention lessons, or even

psychological help. Self-Control Theory clearly

addresses this concept of neglect that Sears

presents in its idea of improper childhood social-

ization.

Gottfredson and Hirschi also claim that

self-control is developed around the fifth grade.

This idea can also be paralleled to the develop-

ment of a serial murderer because, as presented

in the triad, early warning signs develop during

childhood. These two criminologist attempt to

accurately pinpoint the age in which such char-

acteristics develop, which may not be possible,

Schemata | Fall 09

but they do strongly state their belief in a youthful

onset of the traits which can be analogous to the

development of a killer.

One major issue not directly explained of

serial murders in Self-Control Theory is why some

children who are raised improperly become

criminals and others do not. Furthermore, an in-

dividual’s degree of criminality becomes impor-

tant here because it is yet another variable in

the equation of Self Control. While Gottfredson

and Hirschi do not address this problem directly,

their theory does provide an answer as to why

this behavior may occur in some individuals and

not others who have similar backgrounds. Peo-

ple with low self-control are impulsive. The major

aspect that separates killers from non-killers, both

of whom have deprived childhoods, is intense

frustration (Sears 85). The intense frustration de-

scribed by Sears can lead to the lashing out or

impulsiveness that Gottfredson and Hirschi claim

plagues victims of low self-control. Secondly,

people with low self-control are insensitive and

risk-taking. Most killers are insensitive to the pain

they cause and quite obviously take the risk of

being put to death for their crimes.

Self-Control Theory and the crime of se-

rial homicide are very compatible. Serial killers

do appear to have low self-control, and much

of their lack of ability to establish meaningful re-

lationships, according to Sears, stems from depri-

vation during the childhood years. Also, many

of the characteristics of individuals with low self-

control can serve as possible explanations as to

why murderers kill. The theory’s characteristic

of impulsiveness also explains why some people

with poor childhoods resort to murder and others

do not. But does the theory work for those who

commit the crime but never had a rough child-

hood? Ted Bundy and David Berkowitz grew up

without violence or abuse. It may appear that

these two men had quality childhoods, but a

lack of violence and abuse does not necessar-

ily mean “good quality.” Any omission of love,

care, nurturing, and expression of emotion can

also result in improper childhood development

of social skills. In other words, while Bundy and

Berkowitz may not have been abused, they were

most likely neglected. Thus Self-Control Theory

does prove very compatible with serial murder,

but there are some incongruous factors as well.

Incompatibilities between Self-Control Theory and Serial Homicide Gottfredson and Hirschi were largely igno-

rant of three major factors when they developed

the theory of Self-Control. The theory lacks the

ability to differentiate between improper social-

ization by gender and the types of crimes com-

mitted. They also disregarded the correlation

between improper socialization and its effects

on social bonds in adulthood (one of Hirshi’s own

ideas). Finally, the researchers disregarded any

evidence that shows possible biological fac-

tors that may contribute to criminal behavior.

Although it seems that sociological issues carry

more weight in creating a serial killer, it is impor-

tant not to exclude other variables, since we are

not attempting to derive a “general theory” of

serial killing.

According to the Bureau of Justice statis-

tics, a vast majority of serial killers tend to be white

males (Bureau of Justice Statistics). Self-Control

Theory is incapable of explaining this phenom-

ena because Gottfredson and Hirschi do not dis-

tinguish between the types of crime and the sex

of the offender. In 2000, 50.9% of the white popu-

lation was female (U.S. Census Bureau, female)

and 49.1% of the white population was male (U.S.

Census Bureau, male). If sex is not relevant to

the theory, the proportion of female to male se-

Sociology

rial killers should be closer to the ratio of female

to male whites throughout the United States.

Gottfredson and Hirschi may have been a bit ig-

norant to suggest that their theory is a “general

theory of crime,” or they have simply forgotten to

address the differences that take place in the im-

proper socialization of males in comparison with

that of females. Along the same lines, one would

expect to see, proportionally to the population,

more minority serial killers as well.

Hirschi also wrote a theory suggesting that

people commit crimes as a result of poor social

bonds with society. This theory can also be par-

alleled to the behavior of the typical serial killer

because killers can become frustrated by their

inability to establish meaningful relationships

with others. A correlation might exist between

the weak social bonds of Bond Theory and the

improper socialization of children in Self-Con-

trol Theory. Weak social bonds may be a result

of a lack of nurturing as a child. As previously

mentioned, a baby’s first bond is formed with his

mother and then his father. This primary relation-

ship provides an example for future connections.

If the parent-child relationship is weak, it is likely

that future relationships will be feeble as well.

Therefore, social bonds could be useful in accor-

dance with Self-Control Theory to explain serial

killing. Despite Hirschi’s development of both the

Bond and Self-Control theories, he failed to make

this connection.

Many researches state that biological jus-

tifications would be more efficient at explaining

the heinous acts of a serial murderer. Brain in-

juries, genetics, and chemical imbalances have

been linked to murders and this relationship is il-

lustrated by Sears and Hicky in their books. De-

spite the popularity of biological reasoning in

criminological literature, Self-Control Theory is

incompatible with the logic. In no way did Gott-

fredson and Hirschi give any credit to the previ-

ously mentioned explanations in accounting for

the commission of any type of offense.

Self-Control Theory is quite deficient in

many ways. Its authors failed to address a varia-

tion in the improper socialization between sexes

and between races. Hirschi also ignores the con-

cepts of his Bond-Theory, which could possibly

have a relation with some of the aspects of his

Self-Control Theory, especially regarding crimes

of impulsive violence. On the other hand, serial

killers may be difficult to understand because

many of their behaviors do not seem impulsive

whatsoever. The term “impulsive” in this case

is more or less used to describe the reaction to

a breaking point in the individual’s life which

causes them to act out. It is a motivating force.

Finally, there is an inconsistency between litera-

ture on serial killers and Self-Control in regard to

the credit they give to biological causes of crime.

Does the Theory Work? Without ignoring the discrepancies of Self-

Control Theory, it is more compatible with serial

homicide than not. At the theory’s core, it states

that crime is a result of improper childhood rear-

ing which is very comparable to the sociological

development of the serial killer. Literature on the

crime and the theory are also harmonious in ex-

plaining the early age of emerging, potentially

dangerous characteristics. Finally, Self-Control

Theory makes clear why some children with in-

sufficient childhood development on the part of

their parents commit murder and others do not.

People with low-self control are impulsive and

high frustration levels can cause them to act on

impulses due to a lack of ability to express them-

selves and relate to others.

While Self-Control Theory is very accurate

at depicting what preambles may lead to the

Schemata | Fall 09

formation of a killer, it is difficult to tell where such

knowledge has a place in a reactive criminal

justice system. It is also difficult to understand a

mind so troubled. In fact, we may have trouble

understanding serial killers because many times

they do not seem to be troubled at all. For the

average person it is hard to understand how

someone so normal can commit an act so evil.

Works Cited Bureau of Justice Statistics. Homicide Trends in

the United States. 11 July 2007. 13 September

2007 <www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/hom-

trnd.htm>.

Hickey, Eric W. Mind of a Killer: An Investigation

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<http://www.serialhomicide.com/serial-killers.

htm>.

Kirkpatrick, Sarah. International Encyclopedia of

Justice Studies. December 2002. 8 October 2007

<http://www.iejs.com/Law/Criminal_Law/arson.

htm>.

Lilly, J. Robert, Francis T Cullen and Richard A

Ball. Criminological Theory: Context and Con-

sequences. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications,

2007.

Meyer, C. B. Criminal Profiling Research. January

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filing.ch/introduction.html>.

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der: Towards an integrated model. 1997. 21

September 2007 <http://forensic.to/webhome/

venoutsos/Serial_Killer_Theses.htm>.

Petheric, Wayne. Crime Library. 10 October 2007

<http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/

profiling/profiling2/2.html>.

Sears, Donald J. To Kill Again: The motivation and

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SR Books, 1991.

Shaibly, D. Jay. What Twists a Man so far as Mur-

der? (Serial Killers). 16 April 2003. 24 Septem-

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U.S. Census Bureau. “Female Population by Age,

Race, and Hispanic or Latino Origin for the Unit-

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www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t9/

tab03.pdf >.

—. “Male Population by Age, Race and Hispanic

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*Title art by John Piazza

Sociology