Serial Killers Do Exist
Ciera Steele
Mr. Ripplinger
English 11
April 16, 2013
Serial Killers Do Exist Today, serial killings seem to be something that we only hear about in books, or movies. Most Americans believe that serial murder is so rare, and if it did happen it is easily detected by our law enforcement. Crime experts in the field of serial murder predict that 35 to 50 serial killers may be active in the United States at any given time because, “multiple homicides frequently occur in a manner that doesn’t clearly indicate they are part of a pattern” (APB News Online, 2000). There have been approximately 400 serial killers in the United States in the past century. 80% of the 400 emerged since 1950 (Freeman, 1). There are several different classifications of serial killers. Not every serial killer falls into a single type, and many are more than one type. Some serial killers can be act-focused or processed focused. Another type is the visionary and also the missionary (Freeman, 3). It may be difficult to address all of the classifications, sub-classifications and those that fall into more than one class in this particular paper. Serial killers exhibit three behaviors in early childhood that experts refer to as the McDonald Triad: bed-wetting, arson, and cruelty to animals. They are most likely to come from broken homes and have experienced great dysfunction within the family unit including abuse and neglect. These children may be very shy and introverted and yet others may be gregarious and outgoing when they really feel isolated (Freeman, 2) In trying to figure out the theory as to how a child grows up to become a serial killer is much more complicated than childhood neglect, abuse, mental illness, or brain injury. One particular pattern that seems to stand out amongst serial killers is severe childhood neglect. During a child’s development, under normal circumstances, they learn love, trust, empathy, and basic knowledge of interacting with other human beings. A child
Mr. Ripplinger
English 11
April 16, 2013
Serial Killers Do Exist Today, serial killings seem to be something that we only hear about in books, or movies. Most Americans believe that serial murder is so rare, and if it did happen it is easily detected by our law enforcement. Crime experts in the field of serial murder predict that 35 to 50 serial killers may be active in the United States at any given time because, “multiple homicides frequently occur in a manner that doesn’t clearly indicate they are part of a pattern” (APB News Online, 2000). There have been approximately 400 serial killers in the United States in the past century. 80% of the 400 emerged since 1950 (Freeman, 1). There are several different classifications of serial killers. Not every serial killer falls into a single type, and many are more than one type. Some serial killers can be act-focused or processed focused. Another type is the visionary and also the missionary (Freeman, 3). It may be difficult to address all of the classifications, sub-classifications and those that fall into more than one class in this particular paper. Serial killers exhibit three behaviors in early childhood that experts refer to as the McDonald Triad: bed-wetting, arson, and cruelty to animals. They are most likely to come from broken homes and have experienced great dysfunction within the family unit including abuse and neglect. These children may be very shy and introverted and yet others may be gregarious and outgoing when they really feel isolated (Freeman, 2) In trying to figure out the theory as to how a child grows up to become a serial killer is much more complicated than childhood neglect, abuse, mental illness, or brain injury. One particular pattern that seems to stand out amongst serial killers is severe childhood neglect. During a child’s development, under normal circumstances, they learn love, trust, empathy, and basic knowledge of interacting with other human beings. A child