Victims of Violence - Serial Killers

"Manson was nothing compared to me. People built me into something. I became a monument. I got fan mail, friends...people that would die for me." (Serial killer Henry Lee Lucas)

INTRODUCTION

For most of us, the term "serial killer" brings to mind the movie Silence of the Lambs about a serial killer called Hannibal the Cannibal. It won an academy award for best picture, and it was entertaining. But the real life serial killer is anything but entertaining for his real life victims and their families. Serial killers represent a unknown fear and fascination in society. They are the embodiment of evil, yet it seems that we cannot get enough of them. There are few news items that generate the hype and hysteria that the serial killer does. Everyone knows who Jeffrey Dahmer is, but how many know the names of his victims? The obsession that the public has with serial killers in itself is terrifying.

Serial killers do not have obvious motives for their crimes, nor is there any pattern to who their next victim will be. It may be the woman who has the misfortune to walk past them on the street, or the boy riding his bike down the wrong road. They strike without warning, and they are almost impossible for the police to catch. Where do they come from, and what makes them into such monsters? These are the questions that beg answers.

DEFINITION

Defining a serial killer is not as obvious as it may appear to be. First of all, a distinction between a serial killer and a mass murderer must be made. A mass murderer is someone who kills several people all at once or within a relatively short span of time. For example, a person who walks into an office and shoots 5 people is a mass murderer. A serial killer is someone who murders several people over a longer period of time, sometimes over a number of years.

The victims have nothing in common except that their general type or appearance (i.e. little boys, elderly women, college girls, etc.). The victims do not usually know each other, and they do not know the killer. They are connected by the desires of a man they do not even know. The serial killer usually has at least 3 victims. The murders are often very brutal, involving some kind of ritual that has specific meaning only for the offender. Sexual violence is usually a factor, whether it be before or after death. Some killers can only get sexual satisfaction through the pain of their victim.

Other problems arise in developing a definition for serial killers. For example, would a hit man be a serial killer - they often have numerous victims, but they kill for money. Would Bonnie and Clyde be considered serial killers?

SERIAL KILLER PROFILES

In 1978, the FBI set up a Behavioural Science Service Unit in Quantico, Virginia. At this centre, serial killers are studied, and profiles are compiled on suspects. This information in turn allows the FBI to do profiles of cases that are brought to their attention. Through studying the case, including the manner in which the killer murders his victim, who the victims are, how the body was left, etc., the FBI comes up with a "description" or a profile of what the killer is probably like. Profiles include things like what the killer's age is, his race, his social ties, some of his personal characteristics, etc.

The first time a profile was ever used was in 1957 in the New York case of the Mad Bomber. The profile said that the offender would be: heavy set, middle aged, foreign, Roman Catholic, single, living with a brother or sister and would like double breasted suits. The profile was right except for the fact that the offender lived with 2 sisters. This does not mean that profiles are always right on. Some can be vague. The profile for Arthur Shawcross, who killed several women in Rochester, said he was 15 years younger than he actually was. Critics of these profiles worry that the police will become to literal in their interpretation of the profile, and therefore search only for people who match the profile, whether or not they are the killer.

The following list of traits are the factors most commonly found in serial killers. While not every serial killer will have all of these qualities, there is a good chance they will have some if not most.

25-35 years of age
white males (85%) (there have been very few documented cases of female serial killers)
kill same type of victim in same way
charming/likable
possibility of physical deformities (i.e. webbed feet)
average or above intelligence
abuse as child/dysfunctional childhood
psychopaths
few social attachments
interest in violent pornography, bondage equipment, detective magazines (83%)
keep records of offences (53%)
no arrest histories (57%)
history of some kind of head/brain injury
alcohol/drug abuse
mobile; travel frequently
follow crime story in media
like the publicity/notoriety
kill within their own race
may return to scene of the crime or burial
compulsive/obsessive (i.e. multiple showers a day)
keep souvenirs or body parts of victims
likely to have been interviewed by the police in the serial killings investigation
sadistic treatment towards animals as a child
play with/start fires as a child
work alone (about 25% of serial killers have a partner or group)

It is amazing what the FBI can tell about a person just from examining how the victim was killed, and what was done to her/him before death. For example, if the killer strangles his victim, it may indicate a need to be intimate with the victim. If the killer shoots the victim, it indicates a desire to remain remote or distant from the victim. If the killer "overkills" the victim (i.e. stabs the victim multiple times), that may indicate that he felt powerless and was trying to show his dominance. If the victim is mutilated after death, the killer was likely afraid or ashamed to face the victim alive. If he killed the victim after mutilation, he was likely trying to gain control over the victim. If he spent a long time at the scene, then he was confident, and likely older. If he was in a rush, he was likely younger. If the murder was very brutal, it may indicate that the killer has feminine characteristics. If he sexually assaulted the victim after death, he was shy.

IMPACT/PREVALENCE OF SERIAL KILLERS

Contrary to popular belief, most victims of violence are victimized by someone they know. For example, a woman is more likely to be killed by her partner than a stranger. A child is more likely to be molested by an uncle than abducted and raped by a stranger.

Only about 1% of the population are serial killers. Yet the number of identified serial killers has risen dramatically in the last 20 years or so. Whether this is an increase in the actual number of offenders or whether it is due to better police work is unknown. Whatever the reason, the serial homicide rate has risen tenfold.

The FBI estimates that there are currently 500 serial killers at large. Other estimates are much lower, around 35 - 100 serial killers currently committing crimes. In 1983, they estimated that 5000 Americans, or 15 people a day were killed by strangers. Every year, between 3500 - 5000 people in America are the victims of serial killers. In the past 20 years, 160 serial killers have been identified or captured, and 120 of them were in the United States.

POLICE RESPONSE

One of the reasons that serial killers are so dangerous, despite the small number of them, is that they are able to kill numerous victims before being apprehended. Some are never caught. One of the problems that investigators have is the seemingly randomness of the victims. It may not be until after the killer is caught that the true motive is discovered. Although the police can often predict the type of victim the killer is looking for it is impossible for them to predict who it will be because likely the killer does not even know yet. For example, if the killer's victims are all young women with blonde hair, the police cannot protect every young woman who fits that description. The next victim will likely be the next blond woman the killer encounters whoever she may be.

Traditional police investigative styles operate on a motive basis. Most murders are done by someone known to the victim, often someone very close. Therefore the police usually have a list of suspects. Also, the police will determine who had a motive to kill the victim, and who had the opportunity. But serial killers are not part of this process. They do not usually know their victim. And the motive is something that only the killer knows. While most people who commit murder are amateurs, serial killers are professionals. One time killers make mistakes because they are not often in control, but the serial killer controls everything.

Most serial killers are caught purely by luck. Some of them may make mistakes because they become over confident due to the fact that they have not been caught yet. Others subconsciously leave clues that will lead the police to them in hopes of being caught. Many like to taunt the police by sending them notes and warnings that they will kill again.

Other problems with police investigation arise from the fact that many killers will abduct a victim from one community, and take her/him to another community to murder them, or bury them. Police forces have been famous for having problems working with forces in other jurisdictions, in both Canada and the UNITED STATES It is this lack of information sharing that allows some killers to get more victims. Often times, murders are not even linked as bodies are discovered in different areas. Therefore, the police may not even be aware that a serial killer is at work. Police did not know that a serial killer was at work in British Columbia in the early 1980's, but Clifford Olson murdered 11 children. Police did not suspect that 33 boys had been killed by the same man, John Wayne Gacy, since they were not even aware that most of them were dead. The majority were considered runaways.

Sometimes bodies are not found for long periods of time. Therefore, any physical evidence leading to the killer may have been destroyed. And many killers bury the bodies of their victims somewhere other than where they killed them. Since the killer is may be so in control of the crime scene, little information leading to the killer will be found.

One powerful weapon of the police when dealing with serial killers has been task forces. When a serial killer has been discovered, many police forces set up task forces consisting of several officers who deal only with the serial murders. Yet, the fact remains that most killers have been caught mainly by luck. Many police discover that when the killer has been caught, he was already questioned about the murders.

PUBLIC FASCINATION WITH SERIAL KILLERS

Serial killers cause a panic in the community that they are operating in. They often hold towns and cities in a state of terror. Yet, for some reason, the public cannot seem to get enough of these monsters. While some interest in serial killers and their motives are normal, some people take that interest to another level which does not seem normal. Sometimes, it is scary.

For example, John Wayne Gacy, the man who raped and murdered 33 young men, had his own 1-900 telephone number. Before he was executed, people could call this number and listen to Gacy ramble on about how he was framed, and how he was the "34th victim." During his 14 years on death row, Gacy had over 3500 interview requests.

The day after Jeffrey Dahmer was convicted of murdering 17 young men, he had over 200 interview requests. Richard Ramirez, the "Nightstalker," who murdered 13 women, gets numerous visits from young women in their 20's. Kenneth Bianci, one of the Hillside Stranglers, gets marriage proposals.

Merchandise with depictions of serial killers are everywhere and on everything. T-shirts, baseball cards, board games, comic books, etc. are all being sold with pictures of some of the most horrifying human beings ever to walk the Earth. The rock group Guns 'N' Roses recorded a song about Charles Manson, and the lead singer Axl Rose wears a Manson t-shirt on stage. T-shirts of Karla Homolka are being sold. Clifford Olson trading cards are available, and when sent to him he autographs them for $10. Two questions come to mind: what are these people thinking when they make this stuff or buy it? And do they not realize that their actions are an insult to all of the victims of these monsters, and the victim's families?

MOTIVATION

Perhaps one of the reason for the fascination with serial killers is the mystery surrounding them. How many times have we heard a neighbour of a killer after they were caught say that he was such a normal guy? And most serial killers do appear to be very normal, at least on the outside. Ted Bundy was a law student, a volunteer on a suicide hotline, and an author of a rape prevention manual. The whole time he was raping and murdering young university women. John Gacy made over $200 000 a year at his contracting business, was involved in politics, and even dressed up as a clown to visit sick children in the local hospitals. No one suspected that he had over 30 young men buried in his basement.

No one really knows what turns an individual into a serial killer. It is probably a combination of things. Many experts claim that it is a disease; that serial killers are not even responsible for their actions as they have an inner psychological need to kill. It is difficult to accept that serial killers have no free will. They do not kill every time they see a woman or a child, only when a safe opportunity presents itself, or a safe situation which they have created. Their ability to remain at large indicates that they do have control over their actions. The fact that the majority of them pick vulnerable victims is also another indicator that they are in control. Women and children are the most common victims of serial killers. As one expert says, "they do what works for them."

However, to say that serial killers are completely normal would also be inaccurate. In the majority of offenders, abuse and/or neglect was a factor in their childhood. Charles Manson was made to go to school in a girl's dress, as was Henry Lee Lucas. Many experts feel that each killing is a reenactment of a traumatic childhood experience. Each time Lucas killed, he was killing his mother.

Many serial killers have had some kind of head injury in their past. This may somehow affect them, and is likely a factor in the killings. Others maintain that it is a genetic predisposition to kill. Some have had physical deformities. For example, Bobby Joe Long, who raped over 50 women and murdered 9, grew breasts during adolescence.

WHAT MUST BE DONE

It is obvious that the serial killer phenomena needs to be looked at more closely. While these kinds of individuals are rare, the damage that they do can be overwhelming. However, there are some obvious things that need to be done. Since it is a known fact that many serial killers enjoy attention and notoriety, society must make more of an attempt to ignore these kinds of men. While it is understandable that people will want information on serial killers, it is not necessary to put them on t-shirts and baseball cards. Clifford Olson says that he is envious of Ted Bundy's notoriety, and he sees Jack Nichols playing him in the movie about his life.

While the majority of the states in the UNITED STATES have addressed the issue of infamous criminals selling their stories for profit, Canada has not. No one who makes a career out of murdering innocent people should ever be allowed to profit from those heinous acts in any way. Any such profits should go to the victims' families.

Police need more training in this area of law enforcement as well. While the difficulties they experience are understandable, they must be given more information as it is gathered. More information could hopefully lead to better predictors of who will or will not have the potential to become a serial killer. If professionals can tell earlier in an individuals criminal career that he has a good chance of becoming a serial killer, they can intervene at an earlier stage and save numerous lives. In fact, several killers have pleaded with prison officials to keep them in jail early on in their careers because they knew they would kill again. Henry Lee Lucas pleaded to be kept in jail. Almost immediately after he was released, he murdered a woman within 1 mile of the jail.

CONCLUSION

The serial killer phenomenon seems to be mostly situated in the United States. Canada has relatively few true serial killers, Clifford Olson being the most infamous. One wonders where the next few years will take us as our society becomes even more violent than it used to be. How many serial killers are in the making?

One thing that does seem clear is that the chance of rehabilitation for a serial killer is slim. Therefore, they must never be let out of secure custody. Some freely admit that they will kill again if given the chance (i.e. Manson).

While the whole issue of serial killers can be very upsetting, we must keep in mind that they are relatively rare. While American television would have us believe otherwise, serial killers are not lurking in every shadow. But their threat cannot be taken lightly.

One of the few things that is very clear is that serial killers do not deserve our adoration. Being pen pals and sending nude photos to these men is truly beyond comprehension. If we really want to pay homage to anyone in the serial killer phenomena, let it be to the police officers who work so hard to catch these monster and the hundreds of victims who lost their lives to satisfy the sadistic urges of one man.