Books Must be Purchased by September 22, 2009

THE MIND OF A

General Serial Killer Profile Demographics – Average age is 28.7 Males – is average age at first kill  11 is the youngest (Kody Scott – Gang member)  72 is the oldest (Ray Copeland) – Jesse Pomeroy (Boston in the 1870s)  Killed 2 people and tortured 8 by the age of 14  Spent 58 years in solitary confinement until he died Females – is average age at first kill  11 is youngest (Mary Flora Bell)

Types of Serial Killers Visionary Motive Type-This type is considered insane or psychotic. They often hear voices in their head telling them to commit the crime. They may also see visions. Mission-Oriented Type This type displays no psychosis to the outside world, while on the inside the killer has a need to rid the outside world of what he considers immoral or unworthy. This type of killer will select a certain group of individuals to kill (prostitutes, young women, gay men, etc.)

Types of Serial Killers Thrill-Oriented Type This type is in it for the fun. This killer gets a high from killing. He is very sadistic and kills for excitement. Lust Killer This type is a sexual killer, and kills for the pure turn-on. The amount of pleasure the killer derives depends on how much they torture their victim. The more heinous the torture, the more aroused they become. This type is in touch with reality.

Types of Serial Killers Souvenirs & Serial Killers: Serial killers often keep mementos of their victims. Robert Keppel places these collections into 2 categories: souvenirs and trophies. –Souvenirs: Personal items allow the killer to enjoy the memories of the crime. –A trophy can become something of a shrine

Sigmund Freud’s Take on Serial Killers Freud believes that we are simply actors in the drama of our minds, pushed by desire, pulled by conscience. Underneath the surface, our personalities represent the power struggles going on deep within us.

Three main players in the mind... Id: The seat of our impulses Ego: Negotiates with the id, pleases the superego Superego: Keeps us on the straight and narrow Each of these characters has its own idea of what the outcome of the story should be. Their struggles are fueled by powerful motives, and each one is out for itself.

Id- want, therefore I am Has an urge, impulse, or desire so strong that it just had to be satisfied. According to Freud, desire comes from the part of your personality called the id. id contains all of our most basic animal and primitive impulses that demand satisfaction.

The ego It’s main function is to mediate between the id's demands and the external world around us — reality in other words. The ego is like a sports agent for a really talented athlete. Even though the athlete may demand a multimillion-dollar contract, the agent reminds him that he could price himself out of a job. So the ego negotiates with the id in order to get it what it wants without costing it too much in the long run

The final judgment the superego judges the performance. Superego is another name for your conscience. Usually, our conscience comes from our parents or a parental figure. As we grow, we internalize their standards, those same standards that make us feel so guilty when we tell a lie or cheat on our taxes. But does everyone have a conscience? A famous psychiatrist once said that evil men do what good men only dream of.

My Brain Makes Me Crazy? A Gene called Monoamine oxidase-A (MAOA) also known as the violent gene, is something that has been found in almost all murderers. It is a brain enzyme which helps clean up neurotransmitters after they’ve done their job. Now there are two different types of cleaners, one that does its job and gets them all out and one that does a piss poor job and leaves all these neurotransmitters sloshing around your brain driving you crazy

Why are Most Serial Killers Males? Mother’s have passed down the dysfunction of the gene to their sons. Many genetic diseases are carried by a female and become active in their male offspring.

Monster or Victim?

Charles Manson “From the worlds of darkness I did let loose devils and demons with the power of scorpions to torment."

Ted Bundy: Campus Killer “You feel the last bit of breath leaving their body. You’re looking into their eyes. A person in that situation is God..."

John Gacy: Killer Clown “I should never have been convicted of anything more serious than running a cemetary without a license."

David Berkowitz: Son of Sam “I am deeply hurt by you calling me a woman hater. I am not. But I am a monster. I am the ‘Son of Sam’."

Jeffrey Dahmer: The Milwaukee Cannibal “After the fear and terror of what I had done had left…I started it all over again. From then on it was a craving, a hunger..."

Peter Sutcliffe: The Yorkshire Ripper “The women I killed were filth-bastard prostitutes who were littering the streets. I was just cleaning the place up a bit."

Edmund Kemper: Co-Ed Killer “One side of me says ‘I’d like to talk to her, date her’. The other side of me says, ‘I wonder how her head would look on a stick’."

Aileen Wuornos: Highway Killer “I robbed them, and I killed them cold as ice, and I know I would kill another person because I’ve hated humans for a long time."

Herman Mudgett (H. H. Holmes): America’s First Serial Killer “I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer….I was born with the Evil One standing as my sponsor beside the bed where I was ushered into the world, and he has been with me since.” - H. H. Holmes

Harold Shipman: Dr. Death "The only thing I did wrong was not having her cremated. If I had had her cremated I wouldn't be having all this trouble."

Andrei Chikatilo: Citizen X “I felt a kind of madness and ungovernability in perverted sexual acts. I couldn’t control my actions."

Pedro Alonzo Lopez: Monster of the Andes “I am the man of the century. No one will forget me.” “The moment of death is enthralling and exciting. Only those who actually kill know what I mean…When I am released I will feel that moment again.”

Serial Killers Project