Understanding serial killers pt 2

Classical Criminology

-arose during Enlightenment (18th century)
-crime is the product of free will
-criminals rationally choose to commit their crimes because they believe the crime will bring them more pleasure than pain
-jeremy Bentham-utilitarian calculator
-modern formulation-rational choice theory
-deterrence (swift, certain, severe)

Early biological approaches to crime

-family studies
-focused on genetic inheritance as usual
-confabulated nature and nurture
(bar maid/”respectable” woman)

Franz-Joseph Gall (1758-1828)
cranioscopy or phrenology

-27 “organs” on the surface of the brain which affected the contour of the skull
-included a “murder organ” present in murderers

Cesare Lambroso (1835-1909)

-Gall+Darwin= Lambroso
-atavists or born criminals
-mentally unfit for life in modern society
-lack finer capacities like empathy, honor, and are violent and self gratifying
-characterized by primitive traits like large arms, lips, crooked noses and a lot of body hair

Problems with early biological Theories

-gave birth to bad things like the eugenics movement of the early 1920s and 30s
-simplistic ideas about inherited or innate criminality are largely discounted today

Why are simplistic ideas about inherited or innate criminality are largely discounted today

-little empirical evidence to support
-nature vs nurture
-realization that human behavior is very complex and difficult to predict from any one set of variables
-increasing recognition of interrelatedness of genetics, environment, and life experience in producing human behavior

No evidence for a serial killer gene

-verry little evidence it runs in families
couples often kill together but serial killing with relatives, esp. intergenerationally is rare (although not unheard of)
-Shawney Bean- Patriarch of a murderous clan who ambushed, robbed and then ate travelers in 15th century scottland

Modern Biological theories

-Persistent correlation between traumatic brain injury and subsequent antisocial and/or violent behavior
-Ex: Phineas Gage
-Rob pierce through his skull
-intelligence was in tact, but this once model young man now cursed, lied and behaved horrible to people around him

Murderers have brains that work differently

some evidence suggests murderers have brains that work differently (processing issue) or are strucurally different, either congenitally (birth defect), traumatically, or pathologically
-Pet scans found that murderers have less activity in their medial prefrontal cortex particularly in the orbiotofrontal cortex on the right hemisphere

Animal research

-indicates medial prefrontal cortex inhibits the limbic system, a region located much deeper in the brain that produces aggressive behavior
-the right orbitofrontal cortex is involved in fear conditioning-the subconscious association between antisocial behavior and punishment that in humans is thought to be key to developing a sense of conscience

Charles Joseph Whitman

-mass murderer at University of Texas
-killed his wife and mother the night before
-on aug 1, 1966, stormed tower on UT campus and killed from the observation deck
killed 16 and wounded 32
-bifurcated mass murder
-had been complaining of tremendous headaches shortly before incident
-autopsy discovered a cancerous brain tumor

Amygdala

-impairment may be linked to the development of antisocial behavior or psychopathy in human
-damage may reduce the startle response and sensitivity to pain, making people less fearful and adverse to pain

Hormones

-while significant efforts to tie testosterone to violence have been made, the research is imperfect, although some physically aggressive males have elevated levels, perhaps it acts in concert with abuse history or drug problems
-hormones can effectively chemically castrate an offender, which may reduce sex-related offending

serotonin

-neurotransmitter
-increases reduce violence (direct
-lack reduces impulse control (mediated)

Psychopath versus psychotic

-psychopaths (most serialists) are not legally insane
-insanity-don’t appreciate the nature quality or wrongfulness of their acts (or similar)
-psychotics often do meet the definition of legal insanity, but they are less prevalent
-most serialists are clinically mentally ill

Psychotics

-psychosis is a state in which a person loses contact with reality in specific ways
-psychotics suffer from a severe break with reality and in some cases may exhibit dangerous behavior
-according to the DSM-V (2013), psychotic disorders include 1 or more
-delusions
-hallucinations
-disorganized speech
-grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior
-as serial murderers, rarely clean up crime scene or conceal evidence (usually caught early and rarely amass large body counts)
-”crazy people”

More psychotics

-tend to be socially and sexually incompetent
-kill because voices told them to
-Herbert Mullins killed strangers in response to voices that told him to do so to prevent a massive California earthquake
richard chase killed people because he had gooey soap which he thought meant he had soap dish poisoning which turns blood to powder- the UFOs telepathically told him he had to kill to replenish his blood

Psychotics often…

-revisit the crime scene (stakeouts)
-some psychopaths and sociopaths may do this but usually more stealthy

Psychopaths

-not out of touch with reality although they may process reality much differently

Dr. Robert Hare’s Psychotic Checklist: Factor 1 “Tools” of the Psychopath

-glibness/superficial charm
-egocentric/grandiose/narcissist
-conning, deceitful, manipulative behavior
-pathological lying
-lack of remorse or guilt
-shallow affect/shallow emotions
-callousness/lack of empathy
-failure to accept responsibility for actions
—today the diagnosis of anti-social personality disorder is used clinically

Dr. Hare’s PCLR: Factor 2 or “Deficits” of the Psychopath

-need for stimulation/excitement/proneness to boredom
-parasitic lifestyle
-poor behavioral controls
-early behavioral problems
-adult anti-social behavior
-lack of realistic, long-term goals'
-impulsivity

Internal Controls: How it works

socialization- creates a systems of beliefs, attitudes, and personal standards which determine how we interact with the world
-creates an inner voice which helps us resist temptation and feel guilty when we don’t
-together with fear of punishment, internalized norms, and our conscience provide internal controls which operate even in the abscence of external controls to curb anti-social behavior

Psychopaths lack internal controls

-don’t fear punishment
-never internalize norms
-develop no or a very weak conscience
-result-know the rules but don’t chose to follow them

Why do psychopaths lack internal controls

-completely focused on present
-don’t experience fear or anxiety so punishment is no deterrent
-inner speech of psychopath lacks emotional punch
-psychopaths have weak capacity for picturing consequences
-only care about people to the extent that they derive benefits from relationship
-much easier to pick and choose which rules to follow and base solely on their on selfish desires

Psychopaths and crime

over-represented: psychopaths are 20% of criminals and 1% of the population
more violent
-commit 50% of serious violent crime
-commit twice as many violent acts as non psychopathic
44% of cop killers are psychopaths
-their violence is cold blooded and casual

Callous, Selfish, and Instrumental Use of Violence is Common Among Psychopaths

-DV (25% common psychopath crime)
-rape (about ½ of serial rapists are psychopaths)
-uninhibited expression of sexual desire/fantasy
psychopathy+deviant arousal corrextly predicted recidivism in 75% of rape
-desire for control and power
-views victims as objects for pleasure and satisfaction

Recidivism

-about double
-triple for violence
age out but it may take longer
-criminal involvement remains high until about age 40
violent ones more likely to persists until death

Childhood deprivation/abuse

-does not appear to be causal; some have that background but many don’t
-most people with that background are not psychopaths
-childhood experiences may influenxe how the syndrome is expressed
-most psychopaths are not violent criminals

sociopaths vs psychopaths

-psychopathy: biological (born w/ no capacity for empathy
-sociopathy: environmental origins (lose capacity through abuse/neglect)

other argue that they can be distinguished by
-skill level
-intelligence
-experience
-emotionality
psychopaths become adept at psychological game playing and ultimately proficient at controlling their environment

2 types of psychopaths

—Sociopathic type: Those with poor impulse control, low IQ and little empathy (e.g. Henry Lee Lucas).

—psychopathic (or True) type: Better impulse control, high IQ and heightened empathy (e.g. Bundy).

Primary (Advanced) Psychopaths

-above average to highly intelligent
-social chameleons
-not vagal reactors-can beat polygraphs because lack galvanic skin response
-calm under stress
-calm when committing crimes
anti-social
-compulsive liars

Remorse

-true sociopaths/psychopaths are incapable of feeling remorse and rarely confess
-confessions are self-serving/instrumental
-some serialists need to dehumanize victims first (more likely to confess)

Psychopathic serial killers often try to fake psychotic

-create a basis for insanity defense
-Son of Sam-fake claim of demon dog
-Kenneth Bianchi (hillside Strangler)
-false claim of multiple personality

Mask of Sanity

-term used to describe psychopaths
-allows them to appear normal, they are usually sexually and socially competent
—psychotics, by contrast are unable to blend in annd are usually easily identified as mentally ill

Psychologically based Criminology Theories

-explain criminal behavior as the consequence of individual factors
-negative early childhood experiences
-mental disorders or deficiences
-resulting in criminal thinking patterns and/or incomplete cognitive development

psychoanalytic theory (Freud)

(1) the actions and behaviors of an adult are understood in terms of childhood development
(2) behavior and unconscious motives are intertwined and their interaction must be unraveled if we are to understand criminality
(3) criminality is essentially a representation of psychological conflict

psychoanalytic theory of crime

Id- seeks pleasure (animal instincts)
Superego- strives for morality (seeks to conform with socially imposed expectations of behavior)
Ego- the arbiter of the personality triad seeks to mediate between our based desires and our more refined or civilized impulses and usually provides a compromise

Edmund Kemper

—Parents were unhappily married and ultimately divorced

—Bounced between them, eventually sent his grandparents.

—Kemper shot and killed his grandparents when he was 115

—“just wanted to see what it felt like to shoot Grandma.”

—“wanted to protect his Grandfather from seeing his wife dead and possibly having a heart attack.”

—During his confinement, he was diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic and tested with a fairly high IQ (did not recognize Anti Social Personality Disorder at the time). 

hitchhiker killer

The Co-Ed Killer

—Picked up mostly college girls who were hitch-hiking

—6 girls in total (see notes)

—He was a multi-methods killer: strangling, stabbing and shooting his victims.

—Mutilated the bodies, often decaptitating them

—Had sex with their corpses

—Ate small pieces of them and kept some body parts

—Photographed them.

—Buried some parts in Mom’s backyard, dumped others in various locations.

—Was able to remain cool- Once he was pulled over with bodies in the trunk and another time he went to a court-ordered counseling session with a victim in the trunk.

Edmund Kemper-Killing mom

—Ed killed his mother  with a claw hammer while she was sleeping. He slashed her throat, decapitated her, and placed her larynx in the garbage disposal

—“I put it [mom’s head] on a shelf and screamed at it for an hour… threw darts at it… smashed her face in . . .”

—Later that day, he invited his mother’s friend, Sara Hallett, over for dinner.  When she arrived, he strangled her to death with another victim’s scarf

Ed had sex with Sara’s corpse that night

Edmund Kemper- The End

—Ed left town in Sara’s car then rented a separate car to avoid discovery/detection.

—He drove straight through to Colorado and around Pueblo got tired and called the Santa Cruz police department to confess

—He had to call back a couple times because they thought it was a prank!

—Santa Cruz police knew him as “Big Ed” from the bar but they eventually agreed to come get him and arrest him.

Edmund Kemper-Childhood Waning Signs

—Mother moved his room to the basement when he was 10, apparently concerned he might hurt his sisters (locked in)

—Ed killed two of the family’s cats, both were mutilated and buried (found by Ed’s Mother).

—During his pre-teen years Edmund had a crush on a grade school teacher and his sister asked why he didn’t just go ahead and kiss her to which he replied “If I kiss her I would have to kill her first.” (Warning signs of latent necrophilia?)

—Played gas chambers and electric chairs with his sisters during his preteen years.

—Acted out bizarre sexual rituals with sisters' dolls.

Edmund Kemper- Cop Wannabe

—Rejected due to size limitations (6’9” tall and  weighed 300+ pounds) but hung out at cop bars like the Jury Room

—Bought a motorcycle to feel like a police officer but had a bad accident in 1969, he received a head injury and settlement money

—Bought a car that looked like an unmarked police car (the one he used to picked up college girls to kill)

—Had a radio receiver-transmitter to listen to Police broadcasts

—A police officer friend allegedly leant him cuffs, a gun, and a trainee badge

Joel Norris- Psychological Phases of Serial Murder
AURA phase

-Withdrawal from reality and a heightening of the senses
-several moments to several months
-often begins as a prolonged fantasy
-killer may attempt to medicate w/alcohol or drugs
-killer becomes antisocial; life no longer has meanng
-looking around for someone to blame for his/her anger and hatred

Joel Norris- Psychological Phases of Serial Murder
TROLLING phase

-behavior patterns used to identify and stalk his/her next victims
-seeking the next victim

Joel Norris- Psychological Phases of Serial Murder
WOOING phase

-win the confidence of victims before luring them into a trap
-some pose as police there to help, others may pose as johns to get the victim to come willingly

Joel Norris- Psychological Phases of Serial Murder
CAPTURE phase

-killer springs his/her trap
-killer savors this moment

Joel Norris- Psychological Phases of Serial Murder
MURDER phase

-emotional high-some have reported spontaneous orgasms
-murder may be a ritual reenactment of the disastrous experiences of the killer’s childhood but this time he reverses the roles (e.g. the abuse victim who replays childhood victimization only this time as the aggressor)

Joel Norris- Psychological Phases of Serial Murder
TOTEM phase

-killer tries to preserve the intensity of the murder, to prolong the feeling of power and triumph
-ritually dismember the body and preserve pieces of it or take other souvenirs
-trophy is meant to give the murderer the same feelings of power they experienced at time of kill

Joel Norris- Psychological Phases of Serial Murder
DEPRESSION phase

-a victim, now killed, no longer represents what the killer thought they represented, and the memory of that individual that tortured the murderer in the past is still there and the fantasy remains unfulfilled
-post homicidal depression sets in and triggers the cycle of steps to begin it all over again

compartmentalization

-psychological facilitator that allows serialists to overcome feelings of guilt
-compartmentalize
—at least two categories of human beings (those they care about and treat well and those they have no relationship with and can victimize)
-doubling applied to Nazi Drs to explain development of 2 separate distinct selves and one capable fo atrocities to another family men

Helen Morrison

-forensic psychiatrist- served as an expert witness/consultant in several high profile cases
-also conducts research on serialists

theorizes that:
-serialists never progress emotionally
-beyond infancy (3-6 months)
-serialists are driven (desire experimentation and are addicted to killing)

Morrison favors Nature over nurture

-argues serialists are “born not made”
-believes there is a genetic component
-neurochemical or neurohormonal resulting in emotional and psychological dysfunction
-suggests triggered by changes which occur during adolescence-points to a lack of pre-pubescent serialists

Personality Disorders

-common among serialists
-defined as enduring pattern of inner experiences and outward behavior that impairs a person’s sense of self, emotional experiences, goals, capacity for empathy and/or intimacy and deviates markedly from the expectation of their culture
-pervasive and inflexible
-onset in adolescence or early adulthood
-stable over time
-leads to distress or impairment

Primary Types of Personality Disorder

—Paranoid – pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of others

—Schizoid – a pervasive pattern of detachment from relationships, limited expression of emotion

—Schizotypal – social and interpersonal deficits , eccentric behaviors that inhibit the development of close relationships

—Anti-social- extreme disregard for and violation of the rights of ohers

—Borderline – instability in personal relationships and self image, extreme impulsivity

—Histrionic – grandiosity, egocentric excessive emotionality and attention seeking

—Narcissistic-grandiosity, lacking empathy, need for praise

—Avoidant – socially inhibited, feelings of inadequacy, hypersensitive to criticism

—Dependent – need to be cared for fear of abandonment, submissive, clingy behavior

—Obsessive-compulsive – preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, need for control, inflexible

Narcissism and anti-social

most commonly associated with killers although some so skillfully wear the mask of sanity, they aren’t often labeled until their crimes come to light

Narcissism

-pathological lack of self-esteem defended against by compensatory grandiosity
-severely disturbed interpersonal relationships

Narcissism cause

narcissism is supposedly caused by very early affective deprivation-blame it on mom

Infants need to be acknowledged by significant others and learn their worth by seeing love and adoration mirrored in a significant other’s eyes. 

This person is normally Mom and  through this process the infant learns that s/he is worthy and valued. They learn “I am perfect”.

This mirroring experience is internalized and forms a sense of healthy self esteem

Narcissism is supposedly caused by very early affective deprivation-Blame it on dad

—Infants also need to learn how to admire others.

—Usually Dad’s job, the infant comes to view the father as idealized, as good, perfect and powerful, thus learning that s/he is also a part of that which is idealized and perfect.

—This experience can be expressed as “you are perfect and you are part of me”.

—This idealization experience is internalized so that ‘the ideal parental image’ becomes a part of the infant’s self-structure and is how the child learns to internalize and idealized self
—If things go wrong and the internalization process doesn’t happen, you end up with a narcissist who constantly seeks to use others to provide grandiose mirroring and idealization

Narcissism in the offender makes repetition more likely

—Recidivism is predicted by the extent to which the victim can be dehumanized

—The most pathologically narcissistic offender, with total and permanent dehumanization of others, is at the highest risk for repetition (recidivism)

Limited research suggests many (if not most) Serialists are Narcissists

—Fusion of sexual and aggressive impulses in narcissistic personality

—Coexistence of narcissistic and antisocial traits is common

—Self- glorifying fantasies to compensate for sexual inadequacies; experiences of narcissistic injury and rejection by females

—Pathological need for omnipotence drives antisocial behavior

—Pathological grandiosity often response to rejection and humiliation

Diphasic Personality

—Horrific abuse, loss of a parent or parental rejection are all common among serial killers.

—It is theorized that such significant trauma to the developing  child may result in diphasic personality development

—One phase is the fantasy life where the child has complete control

—Other phase is the shell that walks through the real world and has little energy or effort committed to it.

—Emotionally isolated with his fantasies.

—When these fantasies turn violent they may provide the impetus for serial murder

Dissociative identity disorder
FKA Multiple Personality

—More common among females who are less commonly SK under conventional definitions of serial killing.

—Some theorize multiple personalities are are just extreme manifestations  of normal mood swings

—Ex: Bundy and the “entity” or “hunchback”.
—Some theorize multiple personalities are developed as a coping mechanism to deal with extreme childhood trauma/ abuse/stress

—There are no well documented or clinically substantiated cases of MPD who killed serially.

—Remains a speculative cause of SK because of intuitive appeal and scattering of evidence.

Borderline Personality Disorder

—Ansevics and Doweiko argue that BPD may be more appropriate for some serial killers than antisocial personality disorder

—BPD is similar to antisocial personality disorder

—BPD is marked by instability in mood, relationships, and self image

—BPDs are often manipulative, impulsive, intensely angry, bored or restless.

—They usually feel abandoned and rejected

—In response to a stressful situation, people with BPD may become pseudo-psychotic for short periods of time and act out

—Unlike anti-social personality disorder, however, persons with BPD are capable of feeling remorse and empathy

—Their conscience is weak but not absent

The Macdonald triad (Triad of sociopathy)

-bed wetting past age 5
-cruelty to animals (graduation hypothesis)
-obsession with fire setting

Kryptoplyyroluria

—Shawcross’s  Kryptopyrrole levels were very high (he had kryptopyroluria)

—Naturally occurring substance with a similar chemical structure to LSD and other chemicals known to be toxic to brain function

—While not diagnostic for a particular disorder, it is a biochemical marker for psychiatric dysfunction

—Evidence it effects short term memory, temperament and tolerance for stress

—Shawcross had 10 times normal levels in his urine when tested

Pyroluria

-excessive Kruptopyrrole can combine with B6 and zinc to cause a metabolic defect known as pyroluria
-pyrolurics function well in controlled settings of low stress, proper diet, and predictability
(Shawcross adjusted to prison life well)

—Outside of institutional setting pyrolurics have trouble managing anger once provoked, mood swings, can’t tolerate sudden loud noises or bright lights, and are “night people”

—Accords with Shawcross

—Parallels with vampire mythology

Social Structure Theories

Posit that certain groups of people are more inclined toward crime and delinquency because of their social status in community

Classic Strain (Merton, 1938)

-Anomie is the feeling an individual experiences when he cannot obtain goals
-When a person cannot accomplish his goals legitimately, he may turn to deviance or crime
-offered as an explanation for the prevalence of lower-class crime
-some people with blocked access to appropriate means will innovate inn the form of crime to reach goal of monetary success

Strain as an Explanation of Serial Killing

-innovation could take the form of monetarily motivated serial killing
-hedonistic comfort killers
-DC sniper apparently hoped to negotiate for 10 million to stop their killing spree
-Dorthea Puente killed her boarders for their SS checks
-classic strain is not great at explaining psychosexual killing
-Terrorism can be conceived of as rebellion (replace goals and means)

General Strain theory (Agnew)

-expanded source of strain beyond blocked access to material prosperity:
-failure to achieve positively valued goal
-loss of positively valued stimuli
-presentation of negative stimuli
-gap between aspiration achievement
-we all experience multiple sources of strain, although it varies by magnitude, duration, and prevalence
-not the strain itself, but how the person copes with it that is important for criminological purposes
-negative affective states may serve as mediators-anger, disappointment, fear
-perhaps those from traumatized backgrounds have failed to develp adequate coping skills so they resolve negative affective states caused by strain in anti-social ways
-school shooters usually have low status among peers and are frequently bullied, teased, ignored by peers