Types and Motivations of Serial Killers
A large portion of serial killers are sexually motivated (DeFronzo et al.,2007). There are other motivations of why serial killers pick their victims and commit their murderess act. As stated before sexual pleasure is usually the main motivation of serial killers, but there are also motivations of money, power/control, directive from a higher power or hallucinations, or to gain a certain benefit that they believe only their victims can give them. Over time many researchers with social science backgrounds have tried to classify serial killer into different categories. There are multiple typologies for serial killers throughout most literature on serial killers. Some include the Deitz typology, the Holmes typology, the Rappaport typology, the FBI’s organized and disorganized typology. Most of the articles used for this paper highlighted the Holmes typology and the FBI’s organized and disorganized classification. The Holmes typology separates serial killers into four different categories. The typologies of the visionary, mission-oriented, the hedonistic, and the power/control oriented serial killers.
Visionary
The visionary serial killer is guided by hallucinations/visions to commit the serial murders across multiple victims. According to Vronsky (2004) the visionary type of serial killer’s mind is
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A mission oriented serial killer has a general goal in mind when they pick and murder their victims. The mission-oriented serial killers are usually looking to decimate a certain group of people usually involving victims that have political and or religious ties. Unlike the Visionary serial killers mission oriented serial killers usually do not have mental disorders or hallucination/visions that influence their acts. The mission-oriented killer is able to function and blend in normally without bringing attention to him/her self. They are very organized and are a great