Serial Killers
The Forensic Psychiatrist Test a subject for mental illness Assesses a perpetrator’s sanity Makes sure they are not faking mental illness Profiles criminals and victims
Digging into the psyche Personality Inventories Check to see what type of personality the criminal has
Digging into the psyche Projective Testing Evaluate a person’s personality and thought processes without a formal test
Digging into the psyche Intellectual/Cognitive Tests See how intelligent the person is and how they think
Recognizing Liars Look for nervousness Read Body Language Neuro-Linguistic Programming (eye movements)
Determining Competence Things that affect competence: Mental Retardation Drug or alcohol addiction Strokes, tumors, or infections Mental disorders
Determining Sanity You can be found not guilty by reason of insanity if you didn’t know at the time of the crime that your actions were illegal or you couldn’t change your behavior
Types of Serial Murderers Mass Murderers: Kill more than four people in one place at one time
Types of Serial Murderers Spree Killer: Kill more than one person at two or more locations that are linked by motive with no cooling-off period
Serial Killers
Regular Murders Kill out of anger or passion
Serial Killers Kill many people, almost all of whom are usually strangers, over a period of time, and usually with some sort of cooling-off period between killings
3 is the magic number A serial killer is someone who has killed a minimum of three people. This includes people who were stopped from murdering before they reached 3 victims
How do Serial Killers come to be? There are three theories based on childhood
Theory 1: The compulsion (need) to kill may be the result of trauma to the brain
Theory Two The compulsion to kill is genetic. A mutation in the DNA happens that puts people on the homicidal path.
Theory Three The compulsion is a result of something dreadful that happened to the child in childhood
The theories’ commonality: All theories believe that serial killers begin to show signs in childhood
The signs: Cruelty to animals that increases over time Pyromaniacy- setting fires Wetting the bed
Why do they kill? Killing is something they can control It gives them a way to deal with the terrifying events and feelings from childhood Allows the adult to feel all powerful and often fills a sexual need
Trophies Some serial killers need something to remind them of the feeling of power Trophies include: Body Parts Cannibalism Trinkets from the victim
Empathy- Empathy- The ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and relate to their feelings
Serial Killers are… SOCIOPATHS Missing the ability to empathize with the pain and suffering of others