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Controversy: What Makes A Serial Killer

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What Makes a Serial Killer
To this day there's controversy to what makes a serial killer; the upbringing by family and peers or the genetic heritability to a mental disorder. A twin study done by Professor of Psychology Thomas Joseph Bouchard, Jr., held the results of psychopathy being sixty percent heritable. There should be abnormalities in the brain if psychopathy is genetically determined. Brain scans have shown decreased connectivity between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex is related to psychopathy in criminals. “When the connectivity between these two regions is low, processing of negative stimuli in the amygdala does not translate into any strongly felt negative emotions.” (Brogaard,2012). There are many mental conditions that …show more content…

After her death he became captivated in anatomy books and got jobs as a handyman and a babysitter. In 1957 hardware store clerk Bernice Worden was reported missing. Her son Frank, happened to be a deputy sheriff and suspicious of Gein. What authorities were greeted with that night when entering Gein’s house was horrific, “The authorities sent to Gein's home that night were greeted by the gruesome sight of Worden's headless, gutted body hanging from the ceiling. Further investigation yielded more shocking discoveries, including organs in jars and skulls used as soup bowls.” (biography.com, 2017). After these findings Gein was brought in for questioning. He admitted to the murder of Worden and Mary Hogan, who he had killed three years prior. He also confessed to digging up bodies out of graves and using their body parts to make skin suits and masks to wear around his house.
Gein pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in 1958. He was sent to Central State Hospital and worked different jobs, such as a carpenter's assistant. Ten years later he was finally ready to go on trial; he was then found guilty of the murder of Bernice Worden. In 1984 Gein died from respiratory and heart failure (biography.com, 2017). Gein was also the inspiration for characters in horror movies, Norman Bates in Psycho (1960), Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and Buffalo Bill from The Silence of the Lambs

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