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Serial Killer Motives

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Into the Mind of a Serial Killer Have you ever thought about what it takes to be a serial killer or why people do this? Well, I certainly have. In this paper I will be talking about the motives, the mental functions, and the makings of a serial killer. First, I will talk about the motives of a serial killer. The motives of a serial killer all depend on the situation and the person. “They’re trying to kill me!” This exact phrase is what Shannan Gilbert said as she was running for her life on May 1, 2010. It took police months to find Shannan’s body. They eventually did along with several other bodies. Police never did find out who did the crime (Dennis, Pelisek). Now you might be asking yourself “why would somebody do this”. White, Lester, …show more content…
A case was conducted in 2006 by Frei and some colleagues and they found that a female serial killer met the ICD standards for mixed-personality disorder. However, examiners did not classify the subject to be mentally ill. Another factor of the behavior of serial killers would be their past history of abuse both sexually and physically (Harrison). In 1994, Keeney & Heide found that out of eight female serial killers, five reported to have been sexually abused and five reported physical abuse. One of ten female serial killers have had a childhood illnesses (Harrison). Female serial killers have had more mental illnesses than that of male serial killers. Male serial killers have also been caught more often and faster than female serial killers. The typical female serial killer would be white, married, but has had a bad marriage and possibly been married more than once, in her mid 20s early 30s and is probably in the middle class. She would also most likely kill in a suburban area (Harrison). According to Harrison only 11.1% of female serial killers actually killed because of a mental illness. Some of these mental illnesses would be diagnosed but not all of them. Most female serial killers have not been diagnosed with a mental illness and therefore don’t know anything about what to look for. Many female serial killers have a bipolar personality therefore making them more susceptible to holding things in that should be taken care of. That being said they also get mood swings and they can get to be very unpredictable. This could cause some trouble when they are under investigation. Since many females suffer from this investigators would look at the suspects who have this disease and question them first. The female serial killers who work alone “generally are more calculated, mature, and methodological, while those who work with a partner are often younger, more disorganized,

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