An Introduction to Serial Killers Deviance and Crime

Silence of the Lambs (Inspired by the real serial killer– Ed Gein)

Common Traits Male High IQ Sociopaths: a person who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience. Unstable families Domineering mothers and absent fathers Bed wetter Childhood abuse History of psych. problems Torment small animals Obsession with fire starting Suicidal at some point Have fetishes or into sado-masochistic pornography Stealing Nightmares Lying

The MacDonald Triad Also known as the triad of sociopathy or the homicidal triad The triad links 1) cruelty to animals, 2) obsession with fire setting, and 3) persistent bedwetting past a certain age, to violent behaviors particularly homicidal behavior and sexually predatory behavior (other studies have not shown a significant link between these childhood behaviors and adult sociopathy or homicidal tendencies)

Killers to think about Richard Trenton Chase Vampire of Sacramento Drank blood of victims Cannibal

Jeffery Dahmer Killed 17 men and boys Forced sodomy, necrophilia, dismemberment, cannibalism

Albert Fish Werewolf of Wysteria and maybe Brooklyn Vampire Child molestation Cannibalism Mostly African American victims

Mary Ann Cotton killed more than 20 people, including her own children, by using arsenic and then collected their insurance money.

Aileen Wuornos A prostitute Charged with killing seven men, who she claimed (attempted to) rape her while she was working as a prostitute.

Dennis Rader BTK: Bind, Torture, Kill Strangle them, revive them, and then strangle them again Sexual gratification from killing

John George Haigh Acid Bath Murderer Put victims in sulfuric acid Sold their possessions

Ted Bundy Killed women who looked like his ex-girlfriend Raped Confessed to 30 but probably more Decapitated victims w/ hacksaw

John Douglas, a former chief of the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit and author of, "Mind Hunter," says, "A very conservative estimate is that there are between 35 and 50 active serial killers in the United States" at any given time.

Journal What about serial killers makes them socially deviant? Why are their actions so taboo?