sniper case from 2002 is a good example of a spree killing when 10 people were killed over 23 days by two shooters. "This is very different than serial killers who are much more likely to stalk and target complete strangers who somehow fulfill deranged and secret fantasies that only they understand," Psychology Today reported. The lack of a cooling-off period is the difference between a spree killer and a serial killer, the FBI said. Serial killers, on the other hand, may cool off for weeks, months and, in rare instances, even years between murders,” the magazine reported. "We come up with names for them, like 'The Hillside Strangler' or 'The Night Stalker' … People forget about the victims.“The maximum duration between murders in spree killing is generally considered to be seven days. "The highlight, the interest in serial killers is about the killer, it always has been," Egger said. Prostitutes are what he calls the "less-dead," people who fall through the cracks of society and are less likely to be looked for or linked together.Įven when a serial killer case becomes famous, Egger said, the victims remain overlooked. That makes the Long Island killer or killers' choice of prostitutes very typical, Egger said. Below is a look at some of the most prolific serial killers in history. That's the key," Egger told LiveScience." I don't care if the killer's psychotic or psychopathic or out for money, they're still going after vulnerable victims." Convicting a serial killer is difficult for police forces because it is difficult to link multiple murders to one person particularly if they occur over multiple jurisdictions or without any normal possible motivating factors. "It's going to take time."Įgger said the main similarity among serial killers is their choice in victims. "It's a very difficult investigation," said Steven Egger, a serial killer expert and criminologist at the University of Houston, Clear Lake.
Police aren't yet sure whether the victims are from one killer or several, though they have linked the killings of the four identified women. The remains of five or six more people have recently been found, but those bodies have yet to be identified. Police have identified four of the bodies found on Long Island as young women, all of whom were working as prostitutes when they disappeared. "I remember one guy who said, 'Well, just because I killed somebody doesn't make me a bad person,'" Samenow said. One thing almost all of the serial killers he's interviewed have in common is a desire to convince him that they're good people at heart, touting their musical or artistic talents or all the good things they've done in life, Samenow said. "Sometimes it's even hard to remember while you're talking to them, that they've done the terrible things that they've done, because they can be very winsome and charming," Samenow said. Samenow, who has interviewed multiple serial killers, said the Ted Bundy-style stereotype of a personable - even charismatic - serial killer is often true. "It's probably not surprising that serial killers would lie," Aamodt said. While convicted serial killers often report childhood abuse, Aamodt said, he warned that the refusal to take responsibility for their actions means that serial killers' childhood reminiscences should be taken with a grain of salt. They often show early personality traits such as a need to be in control and the refusal to take responsibility for wrongdoing, but the factors that create these traits aren't known. His take, he said, is that serial killers come from all walks of life. "You can ask eight experts and get 10 opinions on that," he said. The development of a serial killer is not well-understood, Samenow said, including the role of childhood abuse. nurture argument continues to remain prevalent in the discussion regarding serial killers. Thus, this often leads to higher crime rates among serial killers and places them in a different category. "They have a view of themselves as being the hub of the wheel around which everything else should revolve." This makes it difficult for police to track serial killers and link them to the crimes. "These are people for whom life is not acceptable unless they have the upper hand," he said. In many ways, serial killers are similar to other chronic criminals, Samenow said. Some kill for money, others for revenge and still others for the thrill of it. Serial killers - the term that generally refers to someone who kills three or more people with a "cooling off" period in between murders, though some experts argue that the definition should include killers with two victims - have many motivations, Samenow told LiveScience. The problem with profiling the average serial killer is that there is no such thing, said Stanton Samenow, a criminal psychologist and author of the book "Inside the Criminal Mind" (Crown, 1984).
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