1. CHAPTER FOUR: Social Construction of Serial Murder
SERIAL MURDERERS & THEIR VICTIMS 7TH EDITION Prepared by Eric W. Hickey, Ph.D.
CHAPTER FOUR: Social Construction of Serial Murder
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2. Learning Objectives
To evaluate sociological theories as they pertain to violent behavior
To understand the role of family and maladaptive childhood behaviors that may portend adult criminality, especially violence
To examine the incidence of school shootings by juveniles compared to adults
To examine the Myers and Kirby typologies of juvenile serial killers
To explore the etiology of serial murder as it relates to Hickey’s Trauma-Control Model
To review the case studies as they relate to the process of becoming a serial murderer
To understand the facilitators that influence the construction of serial murderers
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3. Are You a Criminal?
Have you ever committed a crime for which you could have been arrested but did not get caught?
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4. Theoretical Frameworks to Explain Serial Murder
Neutralization
Social Control
Labeling
Social Structure
Social Class
Social Process
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5. Per Capita Homicide Rates
According to Roth (2013) homicide rates in the United States do not correlate well with many social factors including per capita income, unemployment, prison populations, household gun ownership, police presence or rates of substance abuse. Rather, he correlates homicide with feelings and beliefs toward government and society. They are, he maintains, fundamental facilitators or deterrents to homicide.
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6. Juvenile Mass Murderers & Serial Killers
On April 09, 2014, Alex Hribal, 16, entered Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania and wielding two kitchen knives slashed and stabbed 21 fellow students. Ordered to drop the knives by an assistant principal, Hribal refused and stated:
"My work is not done, I have more people to kill,”
Later, in a search of his locker, evidence of his plans to commit the mass stabbing was found in some of his writings:
"I can't wait to see the priceless and helpless looks on the faces of the students of one of the 'best schools in Pennsylvania' realize their previous lives are going to be taken by the only one among them that isn't a plebeian."
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7. Juvenile Mass Murderers & Serial Killers
Less than 10% of all homicides in the United States are committed by juveniles.
They frequently come from abusive family backgrounds where they often witnessed acts of violence or were the recipients of abuse.
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8. School Shooters
One theme that often arises with juvenile school shooters is their experiences with rejection, social marginalization, public humiliation, being designated by peers as an outcast, developing a sense of personal victimization such as bullying and being demeaned by fellow students. (See the Columbine profile.)
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9. Table 4.1 School Shootings in the United States, 1966–March 31, 2014
School Type
No. of Schools with Shootings
Total No. of Dead
No. of Schools with No Fatalities
Ave. No. of Dead per School with Fatalities
College 43
122 10
3.7
High School 85 91 35
1.8
Middle School 24 27 6
1.5
Elementary 18 9
4.7
Preschool 1
1.0
 TOTAL
171
284 60
2.6
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10. School Shooters
There are numerous cases of youth making death threats, bringing weapons to school, and sometimes killing classmates and/or teachers but seldom on the mass scale of deaths played out at Columbine High School.
Youth who commit school shootings may intend to kill many but due to lack of preparation and sophistication often fall short of their objectives.
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11. Juvenile Serial Killers
The Myers Typologies
The Kirby Typologies
Explosive
Predatory
Revenge
Displaced Matricide
Primary Juvenile Offenders
Maturing Juvenile Offenders
Secondary Juvenile Offenders
See the Craig Price profile.
Which typology does he best fit into?
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12. Juvenile Sexual Murderer Study
Myers and Chan (2009) examined 22 convicted juvenile sexual murderers who had been released back into their communities. All had been tried in adult court and 59% had been given one or more life sentences. Most commonly found amongst this group were personality and conduct disorders, sexual sadism, and psychopathic
traits. More than half of them recidivated in slightly more than 4 years. Of specific interest is that of those who reoffended most of them reported higher PCL-R scores.
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13. The MacDonald TRIAD
Serial killers have been linked to childhood maladaptive behaviors such as
torturing animals;
enuresis, or chronic bed-wetting;
and fire-setting.
The presence of the MacDonald Triad indicates a pattern of creating hurt because of hurt:
The victim becomes the victimizer.
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14. (See the Edmund Kemper case.)
MacDonald Triad
The Triad is not a good predictor of later adult violent behavior, nor is it a valid instrument to measure future violence.
However, there does exist a correlation between youth with such behaviors, and they do appear more often among the serial-killer population than among non-offenders.
(See the Edmund Kemper case.)
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15. Animal Abuse
Overton, Tallichet and Hensley (2012) in their study of 180 prison inmates that included demographic characteristics, childhood abuse and relationships of abused animals to their abusers found differences between urban and rural offenders. Rural animal abusers were more likely to have witnessed family members or friends abuse animals. They were also more likely to abuse both personal pets as well as strays unlike urban offenders who tended to target their own pets.
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16. Reasons for Animal Abuse
To control the animal
To retaliate against the animal
To satisfy a prejudice against a specific species or breed
To express aggression through an animal
To enhance one’s own aggressiveness
To shock people for amusement
To retaliate against another person
Displacement of hostility from a person to an animal
Nonspecific sadism
(Kellert & Felthous)
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17. Common Psycho-Behavioral Problems Observed in Juvenile Fire-Setters
Learning problems
Poor school behavior
Poor concentration
Lying
Excessive anger
Fighting with siblings
Disobedience
Being influenced by peers
Attention seeking
Impulsiveness
Preoccupation with fire
Impatience
Unhappiness in dysfunctioning family
Pronounced need for security and affection
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18. Cyclical Nature of Serial Killing
The trauma-control model of violent behavior describes, in effect, the cyclical experience of serial offenders.
Fantasies, possibly fueled by pornography or alcohol, reinforced by “routine” traumatizations of day-to-day living, keep the serial killer caught up in a self-perpetuating cycle of fantasies, stalking, and violence.
(See the Edmund Kemper profile.)
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19. Trauma-Control Model

20. (See Jeffrey Dahmer profile).
Rejection
For serial murderers the most common effect of childhood traumatization manifested is rejection, including rejection by relatives and parent(s).
It must be emphasized that an unstable, abusive home has been reported as one of the major forms of rejection.
(See Jeffrey Dahmer profile).
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21. Dr. Victor Cline’s Four-Factor Pornography Syndrome
Addiction
Escalation
Desensitization
Acting Out
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22. Impact of Media Violence
Contrary to popular belief, video games are not cathartic in releasing pent-up emotions but rather increase aggression.
Such false beliefs influence angry people to play violent games.
Participants exposed to media violence and who identified with violent characters were more prone to participate in aggressive behavior prior to exposure to violence.
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23. Violence and Video Games
Dr. Michael Welner (2013), a New York forensic psychiatrist, argues that American video culture influences our behavior and argues that violent video games encourage violence more directly than illegal drugs such as cocaine. What do you think?
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24. Related Movies The Unsaid Point of Origin Cape Fear To Catch a Killer
Story of a teenager with a deeply troubled past.
Point of Origin
True story of a prolific serial arsonist who writes his own novel.
Cape Fear
Story of a convicted rapist, released from prison, who stalks the District Attorney who prosecuted him.
To Catch a Killer
True story of prolific serial killer John Wayne Gacy.
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25. Related Websites
Psychology Today: When is Bad Behavior Really BAD?,
Biography: Belle Gunness,
TruTV: Clifford Olson,
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