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Profiling Serial Killers

477 Words2 Pages

Profiling serial killers has proven to be a difficult task because despite the fact that serial murders have been recorded since the 1400’s, there are multiple definitions of what a serial killer actually is. In the article, “The Use of Criminal Profilers in the Prosecution of Serial Killers” by Chelsea van Aken, she explains the different definitions of what make a serial killer, a serial killer. According to Van Aken, “The FBI characterizes a serial killer as an individual who has various degrees of a personality disorder and unlawfully kills two or more individuals at different times.” The FBI’s behavioral unit, also known as the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, is currently the leading organization in profiling serial …show more content…

(131) The difference in the two definitions are the important. While the FBI explains a serial killer as having personality disorder and having killed two or more people, Holmes and Holmes describe serial killers as having killed three or more people. Holmes and Holmes do not describe a serial killer as having any sort of psychological or personality disorder. The “cooling off” period described in both definitions is critical however, in what makes a serial killer, a serial killer. Many people confuse the definition of serial murder with the definition of mass murder and spree murder. According to Zelda G. Knight, in the article, “Some Thoughts on the Psychological Roots of the Behavior of Serial Killers as Narcissists: An Object Relations Perspective” she describes three classifications of multicide: mass murder, spree murder, and serial murder. (1131) Knight states, “Mass murder is the killing of three or more people at one time in one place. There is no, or very little cooling-off period. Spree murder involves the killing of at least three or more people within a 30-day period and is also accompanied by other

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