ipl-logo

Serial Killer Research Paper

1110 Words5 Pages

Did you know that in the United States, there have been over 3,200 serial killers? That is 67% of all serial killers in the world. (Serial Killer Statistics.pdf) As you can see that is a very high number, so my question is what types of serial killers are there? What do those different types of serial killer do to their victims? The four different types of serial killers are: power and control, mission, visionary, and hedonistic. The first type, power and control, is a type of serial killer that experiences complete gratification from the domination and humiliation of the victim. This killer is a true psychopath. The second type of serial killer is mission. A mission serial killer usually will have the desire to kill certain types of people …show more content…

These types of serial killers get their motivation to kill people from the voices and visions they experience. They sometimes believe they are someone else, or they are compelled to murder by higher entities such as God or the Devil. In fact the two main subcategories of a visionary killer is demon-mandated, and God-mandated. These individuals are often suffering from psychosis or some other mental disease. They also often hallucinate and normally their victims are not targeted. David Berkowitz is an example of this type of serial killer. Although you may think that he was crazy, he wasn’t. All his test results showed that he did not have any mental illness. Berkowitz is also known as the “Son of Sam”. This motto for David came from his neighbors dog, Sam. David claimed that the dog was a demon who barked orders at him. Later on, David shot and killed the neighbor's dog (David.pdf). This is when his killing spree began in 1976. David was adopted and he later went on to try and find his birth mom but, he ended up finding out she died from childbirth. David targeted women so they would not be able to have kids and abandon them, like his mom did to him. David Berkowitz murder six people in New York City in 1977. He was then arrested on August 10th, 1977. Eleven days after his last murder and he was sentenced to six consecutive 25 years-to-life long sentences. Unlike the other serial killers David Berkowitz was not executed and he is still alive. Since David has been in prison he has become very religious and now instead of being called the “Son of Sam” he wants to be called the “Son of Hope”. A little over a month ago David was transferred to a nearby hospital to undergo a heart

Show More
Related
1917 Words | 8 Pages

His early behavior in prison earned him a new nickname David Berserkowitz. He also claimed he was a Satanist at the time of the murders and said he was part of a cult that motivated him to commit the crimes he did. There was another attempt on his life in 1979 and he refused to tell anyone who the attacker was and said they must have been a part of the cult he used to attend. Berkowitz also stated he did not work alone on these murders. He claimed he was part of an occult group that sacrificed animals to satan.

Read More
1037 Words | 5 Pages

Xavier Diaz Professor Noblett Criminology 1 6 September 2016 Before a Killer Serial killers aren’t born to kill. They were once pure and innocent just like everyone else, it’s the childhood aspect that can mold someone into a normal person or killer. David Berkowitz (also known as “Son of Sam” and “The .44 Caliber killer”) is no exception, having a poor childhood that could have had an impact in turning him into a serial killer.

Read More
1335 Words | 6 Pages

The first time, he shot two women, Donna Lauria and Jody Valenti. It resulted in Donna’s death. Three months after his first killing, David Berkowitz shot at a couple sitting in a parked car. In that same year in November, David attacked two teenage girls who were on their way home. He severely injured one of the girls leaving her paralyzed from the spine down.

Read More
1810 Words | 8 Pages

A serial killer is a person who murders three or more people. There are many serial killers in the world, and they are sick people. Most of the time something horrific happens in their life to turn them into a killer. Serial killers usually get a high from killing others and get addicted to it just like anything else. Many people who kill only do it to forget the pain they feel every day.

Read More
845 Words | 4 Pages

Berkowitz is a serial killer who has a very interesting story unlike some others you may have heard. You may be wondering why he committed the crimes he did, and it all comes down to his childhood he had while growing up. David Berkowitz didn’t have your typical standard of a good childhood. It was extremely complicated and most likely took a huge toll on his psychology. David Berkowitz was put up for adoption shortly after he was born.

Read More
1226 Words | 5 Pages

I believe this was something that made David behave the way he did. It was said that he became a bully around his neighborhood. He was filled up with so much anger and guilt that his behavior became aggressive. The biological theory also applies to him because his behavior became more erratic when his adoptive mother died and his father later married and moved away. He had a hard time of getting use to

Read More
1243 Words | 5 Pages

David Berkowitz, otherwise known as the Son of Sam, was arguably New York’s most notorious serial killer. Berkowitz was a postal employee who murdered six people in the late 1970’s with his .44 caliber handgun. After being caught through a parking ticket and sentenced to 365 years in prison, he made considerable profit from selling the story of his crimes. In 1977, New York State passed a law prohibiting criminals from profiting off of the publicity of their crimes, commonly nicknamed the Son of Sam laws.

Read More
327 Words | 2 Pages

In a terrorized killing spree conducted by David Berkowitz in New York City from 1996 to 1997, six people were killed and seven wounded. In 1975 on Christmas Eve, Berkowitz started his terrorization of New York City by severely wounding a 15 year-old girl with a hunting knife. He believed that his neighbors and their dog were demons that told him to go kill women. In July of 1976, he walked up to a car that had two women inside and fired 5 bullets.

Read More
2855 Words | 12 Pages

David Berkowitz also known as “The Son of Sam,” was New York’s infamous serial killer in the 1970’s. Berkowitz is known for being a troubled child, which caused mental disorders and lead to various serial murders, giving him the nickname “ The 44 Caliber Killer” (“The Finer Times”) . David Berkowitz was adopted by Nathan and Peal Berkowitz in 1965. David was close with his mom, and did not have the best relationship with his dad, who was not home often. David was an outcast, and was hard to control.

Read More
893 Words | 4 Pages

Most of the gruesome and violent acts committed are by serial killers, and compare to others, serial killers are known to be charismatic but also sick in their minds. Most serial killers are usually male and have damage done to their brains or either been abused/witness violence throughout their childhood. Remarkably, most serial killer tend to display similar traits to each other because all great minds think alike. H. H. Holmes and Jack the Ripper are two serial killers that have indistinguishable cases, but both differ approaches, techniques, and what has happened to them. Herman Webster Mudgett, known as H.H. Holmes, is one of the most notorious serial killer in America.

Read More
1943 Words | 8 Pages

A serial killer can best be described as a person who commits a series or murders, often with no apparent motive and typically following a characteristic, predictable behavior pattern. A disturbing fact about serial killers is that most of them should be eminently identifiable. Serial killers commit their acts specifically in one place, therefore, give the residents of the community, its police force, and even their neighbors ample opportunity to find out what they are. The fact they are not caught is attributed to three factors. The first being the characteristics of the victims, which in Jeffrey Dahmer's case he prayed mostly on gay men.

Read More
1236 Words | 5 Pages

Most people think of serial killers as some sort of genius. This is not true in most cases. They pick on people they know would not be missed if they went missing. Samuel Little killed mostly prostitutes, as the cops did not care to investigate them11. But even these traits don’t mean that someone becomes a serial killer, so to answer the question,

Read More
1061 Words | 5 Pages

In classifying whether or not a person is a serial killer certain criteria should be met. A serial killer is somebody who commits three or more murders in a short period of time such as a month but has a cooling off period in between murders. The killings or murders must be done at different times, meaning they are separate events. Also serial killers are driven by some type of thrill or pleasure. Often times these people do not feel any remorse for their victims, and enjoy seeing their victims in pain and fearing for their life.

Read More
1843 Words | 8 Pages

Serial killers have common personality traits that they all exhibit, and kids should be assessed with a personality test to see if they have any common personality traits that align with serial killers (Smith). Some common personality traits that align with serial killers are having a lack of empathy for people, lack of remorse or guilt, grandiosity, impulsivity, narcissism, lust for power, manipulation, sensation seeking, and superficial charm are some of the commonalities that serial killers tend to exhibit. Some experts believe that the cognitive dissonance by serial killers is because they are living with two minds (Smith). Serial killers all have common personality traits that help make them become serial killers and pretty clear and obvious traits that stand out in a person and make them more noticeable. So children should be given a personality test, like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality test, it is the world's most popular and accurate personality test and it should be tested on kids to see whether or not they follow the same personality traits of a serial

Read More
1296 Words | 6 Pages

How Mental Disorders Contributes to Serial Killers A serial killer and the reasons for their behavior are so unlike there is no basis to compare to other criminals and the reasons they commit their crimes. One reason why is that most serial killers are affected with various mental disorders, also known as a mental illness.

Read More

More about Serial Killer Research Paper

Related Topics

Open Document