Editing Serial killer (section)

==Motives==

The [[Motive (law)|motives]] of serial killers are generally placed into four categories: ''visionary'', ''mission-oriented'', ''hedonistic'', and ''power or control''; however, the motives of any given killer may display considerable overlap among these categories.<ref>{{harvnb|Holmes|Holmes|1998|pp=43–44}}, {{harvnb|Bartol|Bartol|2004|p=284}}</ref>

===Visionary===
Visionary serial killers suffer from [[Psychosis|psychotic]] breaks with reality,<ref name="Bonn2014c">{{cite book|author=Scott Bonn|title=Why We Love Serial Killers: The Curious Appeal of the World's Most Savage Murderers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WUJgBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT108|year=2014|publisher=Skyhorse|isbn=978-1-63220-189-8|pages=108–|access-date=September 1, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053014/https://books.google.com/books?id=WUJgBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT108|url-status=live}}</ref> sometimes believing they are another person or are compelled to murder by entities such as the [[Devil]] or God.{{sfn|Holmes|Holmes|1998|p=62}} The two most common subgroups are "demon mandated" and "God mandated".{{sfn|Bartol|Bartol|2004|p=145}}

[[Herbert Mullin]] believed the American casualties in the [[Vietnam War]] were preventing California from experiencing [[San Andreas Fault#The next .22Big One.22|the Big One]]. As the war wound down, Mullin claimed his father instructed him via [[telepathy]] to raise the number of "human sacrifices to nature" to delay a catastrophic earthquake that would plunge California into the ocean.{{sfn|Ressler|Schachtman|1993|p=146}} [[David Berkowitz]] ("Son of Sam") may also be an example of a visionary serial killer, having claimed a demon transmitted orders through his neighbor's dog and instructed him to commit murder.{{sfn|Schechter|2003|p=291}} Berkowitz later described those claims as a hoax, as originally concluded by psychiatrist David Abrahamsen.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Demons of 'Son of Sam' |date=July 1, 1979 |last=Abrahamsen |first=David |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/139894111 |newspaper=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]] |volume=101 |issue=168 |pages=2G, 5G |access-date=February 1, 2018 |archive-date=February 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202190246/http://www.newspapers.com/image/139894111/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Mission-oriented===
[[File:Gary Ridgway 1982 Mugshot.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Gary Ridgway]] in 1982. Ridgway stated that he wanted to kill as many [[Prostitution|prostitutes]] as possible.]]
Mission-oriented killers typically justify their acts as "ridding the world" of certain types of people perceived as undesirable, such as the [[Homelessness|homeless]], [[Convict|ex-cons]], [[Homosexuality|homosexuals]], [[Substance abuse|drug users]], prostitutes, or people of different ethnicity or religion; however, they are generally not psychotic.{{sfn|Holmes|Holmes|1998|p=43}} Some see themselves as attempting to change society, often to cure a societal ill.{{sfn|Holmes|Holmes|2002|p=112}}

An example of a mission-oriented killer would be [[Joseph Paul Franklin]], an American [[white supremacy|white supremacist]] who exclusively targeted [[Jewish]], [[Multiracial people|biracial]], and African American individuals for the purpose of inciting a "[[Ethnic conflict|race war]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fox19.com/2020/02/18/worst-serial-killer-i-ever-dealt-with-confession-joseph-paul-franklin/|title='The worst serial killer I ever dealt with': The confession of Joseph Paul Franklin|first=Jason|last=Scott|website=www.fox19.com|date=February 18, 2020 |access-date=May 30, 2020|archive-date=August 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807065217/https://www.fox19.com/2020/02/18/worst-serial-killer-i-ever-dealt-with-confession-joseph-paul-franklin/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wicked-deeds/201809/understanding-pragmatic-mission-killers|title=Understanding Pragmatic Mission Killers|website=Psychology Today|access-date=September 1, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053023/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wicked-deeds/201809/understanding-pragmatic-mission-killers|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Saeed Hanaei]] was a serial killer convicted of murdering at least sixteen women in his native Iran, many of whom were sex workers. He reported his goal was to cleanse his city of "moral corruption" and that his mission was sanctioned by God.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ramsey |first=Nancy |date=2004-05-25 |title=Out of Iran, a chilling truth |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-may-25-et-ramsey25-story.html |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=Los Angeles Times |archive-date=November 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114065018/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-may-25-et-ramsey25-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Hedonistic===
This type of serial killer seeks thrills and derives pleasure and satisfaction from killing, seeing people as expendable means to this goal. [[Forensic psychology|Forensic psychologists]] have identified three subtypes of the hedonistic killer: "lust", "thrill", and "comfort".{{sfn|Bartol|Bartol|2004|p=146}}

====Lust====
Sex is the primary motive of lust killers, whether or not the victims are dead, and fantasy plays a large role in their killings.<ref name="BartolBartol2008"/> Their sexual gratification depends on the amount of torture and [[mutilation]] they perform on their victims. The sexual serial murderer has a psychological need to have absolute control, dominance, and power over their victims, and the infliction of torture, pain, and ultimately death is used in an attempt to fulfill their need.{{sfn|Myers|McElroy|Burton|Recoppa|1993|pp=435–451}} They usually use weapons that require close contact with the victims, such as knives or hands. As lust killers continue with their murders, the time between killings decreases or the required level of stimulation increases, sometimes both.<ref>{{harvnb|Bartol|Bartol|2004|p=146}}, {{harvnb|Holmes|Holmes|2001|p=163}}, {{harvnb|Dobbert|2004|pp=10–11}}</ref>
[[File:Paul Durousseau.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Paul Durousseau]] raped and murdered at least seven young women.]]
[[Kenneth Bianchi]], one of the "[[Hillside Strangler]]s", murdered women and girls of different ages, races, and appearance because his sexual urges required different types of stimulation and increasing intensity.{{sfn|Dobbert|2004|p=10-11}} [[Jeffrey Dahmer]] searched for his perfect fantasy lover—beautiful, submissive and eternal. As his desire increased, he experimented with drugs, alcohol, and exotic sex. His increasing need for stimulation was demonstrated by the dismemberment of victims, whose heads and genitals he preserved, and by his attempts to create a "living zombie" under his control (by pouring acid into a hole drilled into the victim's skull).<ref>{{harvnb|Giannangelo|2012}}, {{harvnb|Fulero|Wrightsman|2008}}, {{harvnb|Dvorchak|Holewa|1991}}</ref>

Dahmer once said, "Lust played a big part of it. Control and lust. Once it happened the first time, it just seemed like it had control of my life from there on in. The killing was just a means to an end. That was the least satisfactory part. I didn't enjoy doing that. That's why I tried to create living zombies with acid and the drill." He further elaborated on this, also saying, "I wanted to see if it was possible to make—again, it sounds really gross—uh, zombies, people that would not have a will of their own, but would follow my instructions without resistance. So after that, I started using the drilling technique."{{sfn|MacCormick|2003|p=431}} He experimented with [[Human cannibalism|cannibalism]] to "ensure his victims would always be a part of him".{{sfn|Dobbert|2004|p=11}}

====Thrill====
{{Main|Thrill killing}}
{{Further|Serial offender hunting patterns}}
[[File:Michael Penttilä.jpg|thumb|150px|According to psychiatric reports, [[Michael Maria Penttilä]], the so-called "serial strangler" reportedly admired the primordial, violent manhood of his teenage years.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.iltasanomat.fi/kotimaa/art-1444805886271.html| title = Vankilasta paenneen sarjakuristajan rikoshistoria on poikkeuksellisen synkkä| work = Ilta-Sanomat| date = 2015-10-14| access-date = 2015-10-15| language = fi-FI |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202112313/http://www.iltasanomat.fi/kotimaa/art-1444805886271.html |archive-date=2016-02-02 |url-status=dead}}</ref>]]
The primary motive of a thrill killer is to induce pain or terror in their victims, which provides stimulation and excitement for the killer.<ref name="BartolBartol2008">{{cite book|author1=Curt R. Bartol|author2=Anne M. Bartol|title=Introduction to Forensic Psychology: Research and Application|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=on2XfplaMTQC&pg=PA285|year=2008|publisher=Sage|isbn=978-1-4129-5830-1|pages=285–286|access-date=September 1, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053022/https://books.google.com/books?id=on2XfplaMTQC&pg=PA285|url-status=live}}</ref> They seek the [[adrenaline]] rush provided by hunting and killing victims. Thrill killers murder only for the kill; usually, the attack is not prolonged, and there is no sexual aspect. Usually, the victims are strangers, although the killer may have followed them for a period of time. Thrill killers can abstain from killing for long periods of time and become more successful at killing as they refine their [[Modus operandi|murder methods]]. Many attempt to commit the [[perfect crime]] and believe they will not be caught.<ref>{{harvnb|Bartol|Bartol|2004|p=146}}, {{harvnb|Howard|Smith|2004|p=4}}</ref>

[[Robert Hansen]] took his victims to a secluded area, where he would let them loose and then hunt and kill them.{{sfn|Howard|Smith|2004|p=4}} In one of his letters to [[San Francisco Bay Area]] newspapers in San Francisco, California, the [[Zodiac Killer]] wrote "[killing] gives me the most thrilling experience it is even better than getting your rocks off with a girl".{{sfn|Graysmith|2007|pp=54–55}} [[Carl Eugene Watts|Carl Watts]] was described by a surviving victim as "excited and hyper and clappin' and just making noises like he was excited, that this was gonna be fun" during the 1982 attack.<ref name=Cbs2004>{{cite news | url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-deal-with-the-devil-14-10-2004/ | title = A Deal With the Devil? | publisher = [[60&nbsp;Minutes]] | date = October 14, 2004 | access-date = June 28, 2008 | archive-date = October 18, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131018183418/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/14/60minutes/main649363.shtml | url-status = live }}</ref> Slashing, stabbing, hanging, drowning, asphyxiating, and strangling were among the ways Watts killed.{{sfn|Mitchell|2006|pp=207–208}}

====Comfort (profit)====
Material gain and a comfortable lifestyle are the primary motives of comfort killers.<ref name="BartolBartol2012">{{cite book|author1=Curt R. Bartol|author2=Anne M. Bartol|title=Criminal & Behavioral Profiling|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SYcgAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT197|year=2012|publisher=Sage Publications|isbn=978-1-4522-8908-3|pages=197–199|access-date=September 1, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053022/https://books.google.com/books?id=SYcgAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT197|url-status=live}}</ref> Usually, the victims are family members and close acquaintances.<ref name="BartolBartol2008"/> After a murder, a comfort killer will usually wait for a period of time before killing again to allow any suspicions by family or authorities to subside. They often use poison, most notably [[arsenic]], to kill their victims. Female serial killers are often comfort killers, although not all comfort killers are female.<ref>{{harvnb|Bartol|Bartol|2004|p=146}}, {{harvnb|Schlesinger|2000|p=276}}, {{harvnb|Holmes|Holmes|2000|p=41}}</ref>

[[Dorothea Puente]] killed her tenants for their [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] checks and buried them in the backyard of her home.{{sfn|Holmes|Holmes|2000|p=44}} [[H. H. Holmes]] killed for insurance and business profits.{{sfn|Holmes|Holmes|2000|p=43}} Puente and Holmes had previous records of crimes such as theft, fraud, [[debt|non-payment of debts]], [[embezzlement]] and others of a similar nature. Dorothea Puente was finally arrested on a parole violation, having been on parole for a previous fraud conviction.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/puente/9.html |title=Dorothea Puente, Killing for Profit – Easy Money  |publisher=Trutv.com |access-date=July 29, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114083906/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/puente/9.html |archive-date=January 14, 2010 }}</ref> [[Contract killing|Contract killers]] ("hitmen") may exhibit similar characteristics of serial killers, but are generally not classified as such because of third-party killing objectives and detached financial and emotional incentives.<ref name="Madjd-Sadjadi2013">{{cite book|author=Zagros Madjd-Sadjadi|title=The Economics of Crime|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dd7XAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT162|year=2013|publisher=Business Expert Press|isbn=978-1-60649-583-4|page=162|access-date=August 30, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053041/https://books.google.com/books?id=Dd7XAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT162|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Holmes|Holmes|1998|p=7}}<ref name="WilsonYardley2015">{{cite book|author1=David Wilson|author2=Elizabeth Yardley|author3=Adam Lynes|title=Serial Killers and the Phenomenon of Serial Murder: A Student Textbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iXg7CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA43|year=2015|publisher=Waterside Press – Drew University|isbn=978-1-909976-21-4|page=43|access-date=August 30, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053040/https://books.google.com/books?id=iXg7CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA43|url-status=live}}</ref> Nevertheless, there are occasionally individuals that are labeled as both a hitman and a serial killer.<ref name="WilsonYardley2015a">{{cite book|author1=David Wilson|author2=Elizabeth Yardley|author3=Adam Lynes|title=Serial Killers and the Phenomenon of Serial Murder: A Student Textbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iXg7CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA43|year=2015|publisher=Waterside Press|isbn=978-1-909976-21-4|page=43|access-date=August 30, 2020|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120053026/https://books.google.com/books?id=iXg7CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA43|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Power/control===
[[File:Illustrated Police News - Jack the Ripper 2.png|thumb| A policeman discovering the body of [[Catherine Eddowes]], one of [[Jack the Ripper]]'s victims]]

The main objective for this type of serial killer is to gain and exert power over their victim. Such killers are sometimes [[Child abuse|abused as children]], leaving them with feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy as adults. Many power- or control-motivated killers [[Sexual abuse|sexually abuse]] their victims, but they differ from hedonistic killers in that rape is not motivated by lust (as it would be with a lust murder) but as simply another form of dominating the victim.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Egger|first=Steven A.|year=2000|title=Why Serial Murderers Kill: An Overview|journal=Contemporary Issues Companion: Serial Killers}}</ref> [[Ted Bundy]] is an example of a power/control-oriented serial killer. He traveled around the United States seeking women to control.{{sfn|Peck|Dolche|2000|p=255}}

===Media influences===
Many serial killers claim that a violent culture influenced them to commit murders. During his final interview, [[Ted Bundy]] stated that [[hardcore pornography]] was responsible for his actions. Others idolise figures for their deeds or perceived [[vigilante]] justice, such as [[Peter Kürten]], who idolized [[Jack the Ripper]], or [[John Wayne Gacy]] and [[Ed Kemper]], who both idolized the actor [[John Wayne]].<ref name="Tick" />

Killers who have a strong desire for fame or to be renowned for their actions desire media attention as a way of validating and spreading their crimes; fear is also a component here, as some serial killers enjoy causing fear. An example is [[Dennis Rader]], who sought attention from the press during his murder spree.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.biography.com/people/dennis-rader-241487|title = Dennis Rader|access-date = January 1, 2016|website = Biography|publisher = A&E Television Networks|archive-date = March 18, 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190318200921/https://www.biography.com/people/dennis-rader-241487|url-status = live}}</ref>

===Theories===

====Biological and sociological====
Theories for why certain people commit serial murder have been advanced. Some theorists believe the reasons are biological, suggesting serial killers are born, not made, and that their violent behavior is a result of abnormal brain activity. Holmes believes that "until a reliable sample can be obtained and tested, there is no scientific statement that can be made concerning the exact role of [[biology]] as a determining factor of a serial killer personality."{{sfn|Holmes|Holmes|2010|pp=55–56}}

The "Fractured Identity Syndrome" (FIS) is a merging of [[Charles Cooley]]'s "[[looking glass self]]" and [[Erving Goffman]]'s "virtual" and "actual social identity" theories. The FIS suggests a social event, or series of events, during one's childhood results in a fracturing of the personality of the serial killer. The term "fracture" is defined as a small breakage of the personality which is often not visible to the outside world and is only felt by the killer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fbilibrary.fbiacademy.edu/bibliographies/serialkillers.htm |title=Serial Killers  |publisher=[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] |access-date=May 26, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100520203225/http://fbilibrary.fbiacademy.edu/bibliographies/serialkillers.htm |archive-date=May 20, 2010 }}</ref>

"Social Process Theory" has also been suggested as an explanation for serial murder. Social process theory states that offenders may turn to crime due to peer pressure, family and friends. Criminal behavior is a process of interaction with social institutions, in which everyone has the potential for criminal behavior. A lack of family structure and identity could also be a cause leading to serial murder traits. A child used as a scapegoat will be deprived of their capacity to feel guilt. Displaced anger could result in animal torture, as identified in the [[Macdonald triad]], and a further lack of basic identity.{{sfn|Claus|Lindberg|1999|pp=427–435}}

====Military====
[[File:Charles Ng.jpg|thumb|150px|A dishonorably discharged Marine, [[Charles Ng]] participated in the kidnapping, sadistic torture, rape, and murder of numerous victims.]]

The "military theory" has been proposed as an explanation for why serial murderers kill, as some serial murderers have served in the military or related fields. According to Castle and Hensley, 7% of the serial killers studied had military experience.<ref>{{harvnb|Castle|Hensley|2002|pp=453–465}}, {{harvnb|DeFronzo|Prochnow|2004|pp=104–108}}</ref> This figure may be a proportional under-representation when compared to the number of military veterans in a nation's total population. For example, according to the United States census for the year 2000, military veterans comprised 12.7% of the U.S. population;<ref>{{Cite web|last1= Richardson |first1= Christy |last2= Waldrop |first2= Judith |title= Veterans: 2000 |url= https://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-22.pdf |publisher= U.S. Census Bureau |year= 2003 |access-date= July 13, 2011 |page= 5 |journal=  |archive-date= August 25, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110825194126/http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-22.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> in England, it was estimated in 2007 that military veterans comprised 9.1% of the population.{{sfn|Woodhead|Sloggett|Bray|Bradbury|2009|pp=50–54}} Though by contrast, about 2.5% of the population of Canada in 2006 consisted of military veterans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/98-187-x/4151287-eng.htm#table3|title=Estimated population of Canada, 1605 to present|date=July 6, 2009|publisher=Statistics Canada|access-date=May 23, 2011|archive-date=June 30, 2019|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20190630114202/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/98-187-x/4151287-eng.htm#table3|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Veteran Population and the People We Serve |url=http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/sub.cfm?source=department%2Freports%2Ffiveyearplan03%2Fplan03_population |year=2003 |work=Veterans Affairs Canada |access-date=July 13, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001151839/http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/sub.cfm?source=department%2Freports%2Ffiveyearplan03%2Fplan03_population |archive-date=October 1, 2012 }}</ref>

There are two theories that can be used to study the correlation between serial killing and military training: ''Applied learning theory'' states that serial killing can be learned. The military is training for higher kill rates from servicemen while training the soldiers to be desensitized to taking a human life.{{sfn|Castle|Hensley|2002}} ''Social learning theory'' can be used when soldiers get praised and accommodated for killing. They learn or believe that they learn, that it is acceptable to kill because they were praised for it in the military. Serial killers want accreditation for the work that they have done.<ref name="Exploring">{{cite web |url=http://www.deviantcrimes.com/serialmurder_sociallearning.htm |title=Social Learning and Serial Murder |website=www.deviantcrimes.com |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104221523/http://www.deviantcrimes.com/serialmurder_sociallearning.htm |archive-date=4 January 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In both military and serial killing, the offender or the soldier may become desensitized to killing as well as compartmentalized; the soldiers do not see enemy personnel as "human" and neither do serial killers see their victims as humans.{{sfn|Hamamoto|2002|pp=105–120}} The theories do not imply that military institutions make a deliberate effort to produce serial killers; to the contrary, all military personnel are trained to recognize when, where, and against whom it is appropriate to use deadly force, which starts with the basic ''[[Laws of war|Law of Land Warfare]]'', taught during the [[Recruit training|initial training phase]], and may include more stringent policies for military personnel in law enforcement or security.{{sfn|Atwood|1992}}