Forensic Psychology

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Forensic Psychology

• Serial Killers

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The odds

• The odds of meeting your end at the hands of a
  serial killer in the UK are..
• 1 in 1 million (Hicky 1991)
• The odds of winning the lottery are
• 1 in 13 million
• So you are more likely to fall victim to a serial
  killer than you are to win the lottery!

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Serial Killer or Mass Murderer?

• Mass murderers kill a large number of people on
  one occasion, for example Thomas Hamilton who
  murdered 16 children and their teacher at
  Dunblane in 1996.
• Serial killers murder large number of people
  (minimum of three) over a prolonged period of
  time (usually).
• Mass murderers have little interest in concealing
  their crime and may kill themselves as well as
  victims.
• Serial killers outwardly may appear quite normal
  and live a respectable life concealing their
  criminal activities.
• Mass murderers often have a history of mental
  illness that may be associated with childhood
  trauma or abuse.
• Serial killers often show no history of mental
  disturbance and may even be seen as pillars of
  society, e.g. Harold Shipman.

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Mass Murderers
Michael Ryan, killed himself after shooting 30
people, 16 of whom died, in Hungerford in1987
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 13 at
Columbine High school in April 1999
Cho Seung-Hui injures seventeen and kills
thirty-two people at the Blacksburg, Virginia
campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
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Serial Killers How Many?
The number of serial murderers in existence at
any given time is obviously difficult to
estimate. In the USA, Jenkins (1988) has
suggested that there has been a rapid increase in
their numbers since the 1950's. Defining a
serial killer as someone who has killed 10 or
more people, there were only two cases between
1950 and 1970. Since then there have been over 40
such cases. In the UK the picture is less clear.
It has been estimated that any one time there are
probably about four serial killers active in the
UK (Gresswell and Hollin, 1994). In the period
between 1982 and 1991 there were 196 victims of
serial killers in England and Wales (estimated).
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In the UK there has been a gradual increase in
the proportion of murders attributed to serial
killers (why?). In the forty five years between
1940 and 1985 only 1.7 of all murders in England
were the work of serial killers. However in the
later years of this period, 1973-83, 3.2 of all
murders were committed by serial killers. It
should also be noted that in 1997 the Serious
Crime Bureau was set up to investigate some 200
unsolved murders of women. Early results suggest
that some of these murders are likely to be the
work of serial killers.
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Who are the serial killers?

• Andre Chikatilo The Russian Cannibal
• John Wayne Gacy The Killer Clown
• Ted Bundy Intelligent and handsome but obsessed
  with killing young women
• Pedro Lopez The monster of the Andes
• Ian Brady and Myra Hindley The moors murderers
• Dennis Nielsen Killed 15 gay young men.
• Peter Sutcliffe The Yorkshire Ripper
• Dr Harold Shipman The UKs most prolific serial
  killer
• Steve Wright The Ipswich prostitute killer

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Andrei Chikatilo
Andrei Chikatilo was a Russian cannibal who was
convicted of killing 52 people, both males and
females. Chikatilo became a killing machine who
was found guilty of 52 murders on Oct. 15, 1992.
He had mutilated and eaten parts of most of his
victims. The females were missing their uteruses
and nipples and the males were missing their
genitals and had their tongues bitten or sliced
off. He was sentenced to death and was executed
by one bullet to the back of the head on Feb. 14,
1994.
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John Wayne Gacy Jr
The killer clownDuring a three-year-period in
the late 1970s, Gacy went on to viciously
torture, rape and murder more than thirty young
men, who would later be discovered under the
floorboards of his home and in the local river.
10
Ted Bundy
Between 1974 and 1978 is was estimated that Ted
Bundy had mutilated and killed up to 40 young
women. The exact number will never be known
11
Pedro Lopez The monster of the Andes
During the late 1970s and early 1980s Pedro
Alonzo Lopez, was responsible for the murders of
over 350 children. He confessed to killing at
least 110 children in Ecuador, over 100 more in
Colombia, and another 100 in Peru. He was
released from prison in 1998his whereabouts are
currently unkown.
12
Ian Brady and Myra Hindley The moors murderers
The couple were tried for the killing of Edward
Evans, 17, Lesley Ann Downey, aged 10, and
12-year-old John Kilbride in 1966 and sentenced
to life imprisonment.
13
Dennis Nielsen
Dennis Nielsen was known to have killed at least
15 men and boys between 1978 and 1983 in and
around the Muswell Hill area of London. He was
discovered after a drain cleaning company found a
flesh like substance blocking the drains. He had
been cutting up the bodies and flushing the
pieces down the drain.
14
Peter Sutcliffe The Yorkshire Ripper
On Friday, 2 January 1981 the Yorkshire Ripper's
five-year reign of terror came to an end. In the
previous five years, beginning in July 1975 with
his first attack, he had killed thirteen women
and left seven others for dead. He is presently
serving life imprisonment for these crimes.
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Dr Harold Shipman
In January 2000 he was found guilty of 15
murders, mainly his elderly patients. It is known
that he was responsible for at least 215 other
murders and this therefore makes him the most
prolific serial killer ever found in the UK. He
hanged himself in January 2004 at Wakefield
prison.
16
Steve Wright The Ipswich prostitute killer
In February 2008, Steve Wright was convicted of
murdering five Ipswich prostitutes. The case was
unusual in that all the killings took place
during a 10 day period in December 2006. This
made it the most intensive murder spree in
British criminal history.
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Profiling Serial Murders
Probably one of the most disturbing aspects of
the serial murderer is that they are often so
ordinary indeed it is this ordinariness that
allows them to continue with their killing
without being detected. e.g.Peter Sutcliffe, the
"Yorkshire Ripper" was married to Sonia and had
friends and family none of whom initially
suspected. In the USA, John Wayne Gacy was a
respected member of the community with his own
building company, he also tortured, raped, and
killed more than 30 men before and burying their
bodies under his house. Statistically, we know
who serial killers are likely to be, they will be
white males in their late twenties or early
thirties, if they are employed it will probably
be a blue-collar job, i.e. semiskilled or
skilled. Unfortunately this stereotypical
description also accounts for a major part of the
male population and therefore is of little
practical use. A more thoughtful insight into
their motivations and behaviours is required
before any useful profile can be constructed.
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Typologies of Serial Killers
It is possible to categorise serial murderers
into different type or typologies based on
various criteria (Harrower, 1998). These
typologies are often based on motivation or modus
operendi, i.e. the specific methods used by the
killers. Holmes and DeBurger (1988) suggest four
types of serial killer
Visionary .......... these people kill for some
"higher" reason, perhaps a religious belief, of
because voices tell them they should. These types
of killers are often considered to be mentally
ill, suffering from a psychotic delusion. David
Berkowitz, the Son of Sam, shot 13 people and
killed 6 because he was told to by Satan in the
form of a black Labrador dog.  
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Typologies of Serial Killers
Mission-Orientated .......these people see
themselves as having a mission in life, usually
to rid the world of some particular group of
people, e.g. prostitutes or children Peter
Sutcliffe the Yorkshire Ripper is an example.
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Typologies of Serial Killers
Power/Control.... types are people whose
murderous behaviour may have a sexual basis but
who also have a strong need to exert control over
others often to the point of death. Fred and
Rosemary West appear to be of this type, often
binding their victims to make them totally
helpless before torturing and killing them.
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Typologies of Serial Killers
Hedonists .... are killers who derive some form
of pleasure or satisfaction from the murders. The
pleasure may be direct as in the case of those
who have sexual or sadistic motives,or it may be
indirect, e,g, they may gain financial benefits
from those they kill, e.g. John George Haigh, the
acid bath murderer who killed six people and
dissolved their bodies in a bath of acid,
believing that without a body murder could never
be proved.
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Typologies Based on Mobility
Obviously the criteria used to form typologies
will vary with different researchers and there
may well be overlaps between the typologies
developed. Hickey (1986) focused on the mobility
of the serial killer and identified three types
on this basis
1. Those killers who have very little mobility
and therefore choose their victims from their
immediate locations, i.e. their own homes, places
of work or surrounding streets. The victims of
the Moors Murderers all lived within a few
streets of the killers.
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Typologies Based on Mobility
A moderate degree of mobility allows the killer
to venture further afield, although in the case
of this research this was restricted to the home
state of the killer. In the UK, John Duffy the
"Railway Rapist" would be an example of this. He
murdered three women and raped 18 more. His
victims were all found close to a railway
station. John Duffy worked for the railways. He
was caught following the intervention of David
Canter, a Forensic Psychologist who produced an
offender profile that predicted the murderer
would live or work close to a railway line.
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Typologies Based on Mobility
The highly mobile killers are those who will
travel across states (in the USA) as they kill,
and who for this reason are often difficult to
catch. Hicky (1986) suggests that the highly
mobile killer is probably in the minority with
only 32-35 of all victims being killed by this
sort of murderer. In the UK Robert Black, a
convicted child killer, was a van driver who
spent a lot of his time driving from London to
Scotland. The bodies of his victims were found
close to the route he used to take.
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Profiling Techniques
Profiling, according to Jackson and Beckerian
(1997) can take several forms Offender
profiling is the collection of empirical data in
order to collate a picture of the characteristics
of people involved in certain types of crime,
e.g. is there a typical rapist or serial killer?
Crime scene profiling uses information from the
crime scene, this may include forensic evidence
or statements by the victim or witnesses, to
build a picture of the offender. Psychological
profiling uses standardised personality measures
sometimes coupled with interviews to examine the
extent to which a suspect might fit the
personality type of a particular type of
offender, e.g. rapist.
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FBI Profiling
Another method of developing typologies was
devised by Ressler, Burgess and Douglas (1988)
who were working for the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI). After extensive research
using FBI files on serial killers they came to
the conclusion that two types of serial killer
could be identified The Organised Killer The
Disorganised Killer
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Organised Killers
The Organised killers were described as being
socially competent and intelligent, they were
often married and had skilled occupations. They
would plan their murders, usually targeting
strangers, who after restraining they would often
have sex with before killing them. After the
killing the body is usually hidden and any
weapons or evidence removed. Their crimes often
involve the use of a vehicle to transport the
victim or move the body. They may return to the
scene of the crime and are likely to anticipate
the sorts of questioning they may have to deal
with.
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Disorganised Killers
The Disorganised murderer was described as
socially immature, they have a poor work history,
are sexually inhibited and may level alone. They
may live or work near the crime scene and the
victims are often known to them. The murder is
often spontaneous with a great deal of violence.
Use of restraints is minimal and any sexual acts
are likely to occur after the death of the
victim. The crime scene will show clear evidence
of the murder with the body and other evidence
simply left with no attempt to hide it. They
show no interest in the crime after the event,
e.g. won't follow progress of the investigation
in the media.
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FBI Profile Generation
The FBI suggest a four stage approach to profile
generation Data Assimilation This is the
collection of all data relevant to the crime. It
will include forensic evidence, photographs,
witness statements, police reports, modus
operandi, and the psychological signature of the
offender, i.e. data that might indicate something
about the offender psychological state,
motivations, fantasies, etc. Crime Scene
Classification Examination of the crime scene
according to the criteria described above in
order to determine if it should be classified as
organised or disorganised.
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FBI Profile Generation
Crime Scene Reconstruction There is a need to
understand the dynamics of a crime scene, e.g.
how was the victim killed, did they know the
killer, what happened prior to the attack, did
the victim know they were to be attacked, did the
victim admit the killer into their home or was
there a forced entry, was there an attempt to
conceal the body, any evidence of mutilation or
necrophilia (sex with the corpse). By attempting
to reconstruct the crime scene a fuller picture
of exactly what occurred can be obtained.
Profile Generation Initially the profile will
be a series of hypotheses that can be tested
against the available evidence. These hypotheses
may be demographic, e.g. was the killer male,
what social class, occupation lifestyle
questions may be asked, e.g. does he live alone
or with someone, does he have many friends what
personality dynamics may be involved, e.g. any
evidence of neurosis or psychopathology.
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UK Profiling The Statistical or Actuarial
Approach
One of the objections to the FBI approach raised
by Canter(1995) is that after acquiring all this
information there doesn't appear to be a great
deal of systematic analysis of the data in order
to arrive at the profile, it appears to be an art
as much as a science and there appears to be
heavy reliance on the experience and intuition of
the profilers.
Canter suggests that when a criminal interacts
with his environment and people within that
environment, they leave subtle clues. These are
not the clues that forensic scientists typically
have to deal with, e.g. a strand of hair, traces
of bodily fluids, or perhaps even a finger print.
The clues a forensic psychologist has to work
with are far more subtle than this. They are
concerned with the behaviour of the criminal,
what do they do to their victims, do the say
anything, are they controlled in their behaviour.
How does the crime fit in with everyday patterns
of behaviour?
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UK Profiling
By looking at the patterns of rape and murder in
the John Duffy case, Canter was able to conclude
that he must have the type of job that allowed
him to be "missing" for periods of time without
arousing suspicions or indeed attracting a rebuke
from his employers. The pattern of attacks also
revealed that the person responsible would have
to have a good knowledge of the railways system
around North London. The crimes were carefully
planned so the criminal was probably reasonably
well educated, perhaps had a skilled or
semi-skilled occupation. The various sexual acts
committed revealed that this man was sexually
experienced, perhaps even married or with a
partner. John Duffy was not unknown to the
police at the time of these crimes, indeed he was
1500 on a list of possible suspects. What Canter
was able to do was move Duffy up the list, to
make him a much more likely suspect for the
police to investigate. And this is all offender
profiling can really do...........it will not
provide names or addresses of suspects, but by
using the methods of psychological science it
will allow practitioners to tease out the details
hidden in what Canter calls the "criminal
shadows".
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UK Profiling
The UK approach to profiling uses systematic
methodologies, derived mainly from psychological
research, to examine a crime scene. The UK system
places heavy emphasis on the use of statistical
techniques in the analysis of a crime scene.
What information is available at a particular
crime scene? can this information be classified
or clustered with data from other crime scenes?
Does this data reveal anything about the
psychological or other features of the offender?
Do individual offenders leave evidence of
consistency in their behaviour at a crime scene?
Is this consistency stable across different
crime scenes or over time? It is the existence
and coexistence of particular features of the
crime scene that the statistical approach seeks
to identify.
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UK Profiling
In describing this process Howitt (2002) cites
the example of rape in which many features are
common, e.g. vaginal penetration, removal of
clothing, and an element of surprise. Other
features are less common, e.g. oral sex,
apologising, torture. Yet other features may be
associated with other types of criminality, e.g.
theft of money or belongings of rape victim, or
extreme violence. Through the statistical
analysis it is possible to identify these types
of features and thereby produce a profile of the
rapist. Of particular interest might the
co-occurance of features that would not normally
be expected to occur together. For example sodomy
and theft from the victim rarely go together, so
when they do this suggests that a particular type
of rapist is being sought. Or in a series of
rapes if theft was a common feature, then
statistically, this would suggest that the rapist
has probably committed acts of petty theft before
and almost certainly has a police record. This
sort of information can help to narrow down the
list of potential suspects.
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Geographical Profiling
Geographical profiling is another statistical
technique that uses algorithms based on the
movements of serial offenders to attempt identify
the likely location from which they operate, i.e.
from home or perhaps their place of employment.
Canter's description of his techniques used to
help in the capture of John Duffy explains how,
by looking at when and where the victims were
found he was able to determine that Duffy
probably had some connection with the railways or
lived near a railway. In fact, Duffy was a
carpenter working for British Rail, and who had
an intimate knowledge of the railway system
around North London where he lived and where he
found his victims.
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Geographical Profiling
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Marauders and Commuters
Marauder Crimes Static, localised or
geographically stable serial offender Commits
crime within a confined area Bounded by
psychological barriers and landscape features
Operates within his/her awareness space Likely
to have an anchor point (the haven) from which to
operate Offender's haven lies within the
distribution of crime sites.
38
Marauders and Commuters
Commuter Crimes Mobile dispersed or
geographically transient serial offender
Commits crimes over large areas Cross cultural
and psychological boundaries Most offences
occur outside the offender's awareness space
Involves complex hunting strategies Hunting
area lack a definable anchor point.
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Profiles v Typologies
The distinction between typologies and profiles
is often blurred. Offender profiles are often
thought of as a means of identifying specific
individuals whereas typologies are more concerned
with the general characteristics of offenders.
There are elements of truth in both these
statements but it is probably more correct to say
that at present, it is traditional police work
that catches individual offenders, profiling may
offer pointers or help to reduce the number of
suspects. The techniques of offender profiling
are a long way from being able to identify
specific individuals.
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Explaining Serial Murder
Developmental Problems Focusing on the early
developmental years of serial killers has proved
a promising approach to explaining the behaviour
of these people. A common feature among
sexually motivated multiple murderers is the
failure to bond or form an attachment with the
parents or primary carer, resulting in a child
that appeared to be emotionally detached (Burgess
et al, 1985). Jeffrey Dahmer who by the age of 14
was already having fantasies about killing men
and having sex with their corpses, may be cited
as an example in this context. Other examples of
disturbed childhood behaviour found in the
backgrounds of sadistic serial killers include
enuresis, starting fires, and torturing animals.
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Developmental Problems?
One difficulty with this theoretical approach is
that there are many examples serial killers who
have apparently come from quite "normal"
respectable backgrounds. Jenkins (1988) found
that of the 12 English serial killers he studied,
six of them seemed to have quite ordinary
childhoods. Similarly, Stone (1994) who looked
at 42 serial killers, found that while a history
of abuse and neglect in childhood was common, 30
of his sample had no such history. Thus it seems
that while a disturbed upbringing may be a
sufficient condition to predispose certain people
to multiple murder, it is rarely a necessary
condition. Violent adults very often will have
suffered abuse as children, but only a small
proportion of abused children go on to become
violent offenders let alone serial killers.
42
Mental Illness
Are serial killers mentally ill? Surely for a
person to commit random acts of multiple murder
they must be suffering from some sort of mental
illness. Whilst this may seem a tempting
theory, the evidence suggests otherwise. Henn
(1976) looked at the psychiatric assessments of
2000 people who had been arrested for murder
between 1964 and 1973. Of these, only 1 were
found to be psychotic. Mental illness is probably
more likely in mass murderers rather than the
serial killer and as we have seen, these people
are more likely to kill themselves.
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Mental Illness?
One way in which some people cope with severe
childhood abuse is to adopt alternative
personalites, this is known as a dissociative
disorder and often results in the individual
having multiple personalities. In the case of
Kenneth Bianchi, one of the hillside stranglers,
he claimed in his defence that he was suffering
from this disorder. Under hypnosis another
personality, Steve Walker emerged who was
described as cold, and vicious and was
responsible for the murder of 12 young women.
Kenneth Bianchi himself, came across as a very
pleasant individual, a kind loving husband and
father, but he did have a history of abuse by his
mother. However, something about Bianchi's
behaviour suggested to the examining psychiatrist
that he might be faking the disorder in order to
get a lesser sentence. This was later found to be
the case.
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Psychopathic Disorder
A psychopath is usually defined as someone who
exhibits a variety of antisocial behaviours,
including violence, and who shows no hint of
sorrow or remorse for their behaviour. To a
casual observer, the psychopath may appear quite
normal, indeed in some cases even charming and
this of course is why they can be so dangerous.
Psychopaths seek total control over situations
and individuals and if this control is threatened
in any way they may become violent and even
murderous. The fictional character Hannibal
Lector would be a good example of a psychopath.
45
Psychopaths?
Explaining psychopathic behaviour is extremely
difficult. Attempts at finding a physiological
or genetic component have produced inconsistent
findings (Raine, 1989). There is some
suggestion that psychopaths may be less receptive
to facial cues of distress, but whether this is a
cause of the condition or simply a symptom
remains unclear (Blair et al, 1997). Seto et al
(1997) have also observed that psychopaths are
far more likely to use deception, regardless of
the situation they find themselves in, and even
when it isnt really necessary.
46
Paraphilias
For many serial killers murder alone is not
enough, they need to degrade, torture, and
humiliate their victims....an expression of their
need for control. For this reason there is
often an element of sexual sadism in the way they
kill their victims. Sexual sadism is an example
of a paraphilia and is defined in the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual IV as "acts in which
psychological or physical suffering of the victim
is sexually exciting, including domination or
torture". Paraphilias are usually described as
unnatural sexual acts or perversions and include
necrophilia (sex with corpses), zoophilia (sex
with animals) and paedophilia (sex with children.
It is not uncommon to find multiple paraphilias
within the same individual.
47
Paraphilias
Brittain (1970) suggests that the sadistic
murderer often feels inferior to others, may find
it difficult to form relationships with women and
has an almost uncontrollable desire for power
over others. This type of killer will use
fantasy to help him cope with feelings of
inadequacy and ultimately may act out these
fantasies. They are likely to feel sexually
aroused as a result of the fear expressed by
their victims. Fred and Rosemary West are good
examples of the sexual sadist. Their victims
were rendered helpless by tying them very
elaborately with a variety of ropes. Their heads
were wrapped in cling film with a thin pipe
allowing them to breathe. They were then
systematically tortured before being murdered.
48
Psychoanalytic Explanations
It has been suggested that sexual sadism may
result from a fixation at the psychosexual stages
of development (Kline, 1987). Degradation of
females is an example of reaction formation
against the incestuous desires for the opposite
sex parent (Oedipus and Electra complex). By
subjecting females (mother substitutes) to
violence and degrading acts the sadist is
refusing to acknowledge the sexual feelings that
they have for their mother. Anal fixation which
is a result of inadequate toilet training can
result in buggery, a common feature of sexual
sadism.
49
Psychoanalytic Explanations
Gallagher (1987) suggests that a dysfunctional
parent-child relationship will lead to the child
becoming fixated at an immature stage of
development. The case of Ed Kemper who had a
difficult relationship with his domineering
mother is often cited as an example. As a
result of the feelings of frustration and
ambivalence which stemmed from this relationship,
by the age of 15 Kemper had killed both his
grandparents. After his release into his
mother's care, and despite the fact that his
psychiatrist though he was making good progress,
he was in fact murdering female hitchhikers,
cutting them up, saving various body parts and
cooking and eating others. Finally he
decapitated his mother before having sex with her
corpse. he later claimed that this final act had
a liberating effect on him so that he no longer
felt the need to kill other women.
50
Fantasy
Ressler et al (1988) have suggested that negative
life experiences give rise to aggressive and
sexual fantasies which help the individual
restore a sense of control in their life. When
they interviewed 36 convicted sex murderers (USA)
25 of whom were serial killers they found that
42 had been sexually abused as children and 32
as adolescents. 70 of them felt sexually
incompetent and relied heavily on pornography.
Prentky et al (1989) compared serial sex
murderers with single sex murderers and found
that 86 of the serial killers fantasized prior
to the killings compared with only 23 of the
single murderers. The amount of fantasy was
also found to be correlated with the planning and
organisation of the murders by the serial
killers.
51
Fantasy
Gresswell and Hollin (1997) go so far as to
suggest that fantasy is an addictive process and
that serial killers use it to try and regain the
sense of euphoria that accompanied the killing of
their victims. Fantasy alone however is never
enough and so the serial killer has to seek out
further victims. Fantasy may also be used to
try out new features, i.e. ways of torturing or
killing the victims, before the actual event.
Based on interviews with 20 serial killers
between 1982 and 1991 it was concluded that
multiple murder may well be an addictive pattern
of behaviour like any other addiction, i.e.
serial killers are addicted to killing.
52
Conclusion
This has been a very brief random selection of
some of the most notorious serial murderers.
Unfortunately, a quick trawl through the
Internet will reveal a much greater number.
There is no simple way to explain serial
killing, it is almost certainly complex and
multifactorial. In the UK alone, there are
currently 35 serial killers in prison. We dont
know how many more there might be still at large,
who have not yet been caughtand who might still
be going about their work.