- Mission Oriented Serial Killer Examples
- Visionary Serial Killer Examples
- Hedonistic Serial Killer Examples
- Visionary Serial Killers Examples
- What Is A Visionary Serial Killer
Every state has a different definition of what classifies as murder, homicide, serial murder, etc. The following is a brief overview of the broad definitions of serial murder and mass murder.
Serial Killer Classifications
Guttmacher (1973)
sadistic serial murderers are those who derive sexual gratification from killing and who often establish a pattern, such as the manner in which they kill or the types of victims they select. They are motivated by fantasies and the offender appears to derive pleasure from dehumanizing his or her victims.
Visionary: Visionary serial killers often report hearing voices that tell them to kill, but don’t seem to have a mental illness that would be associated with hearing voices. David Berkowitz aka The Son of Sam aka the.44 Caliber Killer, proclaimed to hear demonic voices that told him to kill. The visionary serial killer is commanded to kill by voices or visions. The second type of serial killer is identified as the 'mission serial killer'. The mission serial killer is interested in ridding the community from undesirable individuals. The third type of serial killer is a 'hedonistic serial killer'. The first category is visionary. A visionary killer’s motive for killing is based on visions that they have. These visions maybe associated with psychosis or delusion. David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam killer is an example of a visionary serial killer. Berkowitz was given up for adoption because he was a child of an extramarital affair. Visionary: Visionary serial killers often report hearing voices that tell them to kill, but don’t seem to have a mental illness that would be associated with hearing voices. David Berkowitz aka The Son of Sam aka the.44 Caliber Killer, proclaimed to hear demonic voices that told him to kill. Jan 26, 2015 David Berkowitz, the 'Son of Sam,' is frequently cited as a classic example of the visionary serial killer. They sometimes believe they are another person, or they are compelled to murder by higher entities such as God or the Devil.
Lunde (1976)
Mission Oriented Serial Killer Examples
Difference between serial and mass murderer
Mass killers appear to suffer from psychosis and should be considered insane. Found little evidence of mental illness among serial killers.
Danto (1982)
Most serial murderers can be described as obsessive-compulsive because they normally kill according to a particular style and pattern
Egger (1984)
“Serial murder occurs when one or more individuals… commits a second murder and/or subsequent murder; is relationshipless (victim and attacker are strangers); occurs at a different time and has no connection to the initial (and subsequent) murder; and is frequently committed in a different geographic location. Further, the motive is generally not for material gain but is usually a compulsive act specifically for gratification based on fantasies. The key element is that the series of murders do not share in the events surrounding one another. Victims share in common characteristics of what are perceived to be prestigeless, powerless, and/or lower socioeconomic groups (that is, vagrants, prostitutes, migrant workers, homosexuals, missing children, and single and often elderly women)” (Hickey, 2010, p. 26).
Holmes and DeBurger (1988)
Visionary Type
such murderers kill in response to the commands of voices or visions usually emanating from the forces of good or evil. These offenders are often believed to be suffering from some form of psychosis.
Mission-Oriented Type
these offenders believe it is their mission in life to rid the community or society of certain groups of people. Some killers may target the elderly, whereas others may seek out prostitutes, children or a particular racial/ethnic group.
Visionary Serial Killer Examples
Hedonistic Type
offenders are usually stereotypes as thrill seekers, those who derive some form of satisfaction from the murders. Subcategories include those who kill for “creature comforts,” “pleasure of life,” and “lust murderers”
Power/Control-Oriented Type
the primary source of pleasure is not sexual, but is the killer’s ability to control and exert power over his helpless victim. Some offenders enjoy watching their victims cower, cringe, and beg for mercy.
Title 18, US Code, Chapter 51, Section 1111
Federal law passed by Congress: Protection of Children from Sexual Predator Act of 1998
“The term ‘serial killings’ means a series of three or more killings not less than one of which was committed in the United States, having common characteristics such as to suggest a reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors” (Hickey, 2010, p. 27).
Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Behavioral Analysis Unit at the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime symposium, San Antonio, TX (2006)
150 experts in the fields of psychiatry, forensic psychology, law, criminal investigation, and behavioral analysis gathered to define serial murder
Serial murder was defined as one or more offenders, two or more murdered victims, the killings should be occurring in separate events at different times, and the time period between murders separates serial murder from mass murder.
the unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offenders in separate events
Hedonistic Serial Killer Examples
Mass Murderer Classifications
Wille (1974)
10 different types of murderers based on bio-socio-psychological categories
Depressive, Psychotic, Afflicted with organic brain disorder, Psychopathic, Passive aggressive, Alcoholic, Hysterical, Juvenile, Mentally retarded, and Sex killers.
Lee (1988)
created labels to differentiate between motives
Profit, Passion, Hatred, Power or domination, Revenge, Opportunism, Fear, Contract killing, Desperation, Compassion, and Ritual killers
Visionary Serial Killers Examples
Holmes and Holmes (2000)
Family Slayer or Annihilator
a person who kills his family and commits suicide
Murderer for Profit
a person who kills in order to profit materially. Murderers for profit may kill their family or other groups of people such as coworkers or friends.
Murderer for Sex
a person with the primary goal to sexually torture, rape, and murder the victims.
Pseudo-Commando
a person with an obsession for guns and a fantasy for murder.
Set and Run Killer
a person who plans an escape route following the killing aftermath.
Psychotic Killer
a person suffering from acute or chronic psychosis who is considered to be legally insane
Disgruntled Employee
a person who seeks revenge for real or imagined wrongs at the hands of coworkers or employers.
What Is A Visionary Serial Killer
Disciple-Type Killer
a person who commits murder at the behest of a charismatic leader
Ideological Mass Murderer
a person, especially a cult leader, who is able to persuade other to kill themselves or each other.
Institutional Mass Murderer
a person who commits mass murder as a crime of obedience when ordered to by his or her leader
References:
Athens, L. H. (1980). Violent criminal acts and actors. Cambridge, MA: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Boar, R. & Blundell, N. (1983). The world’s most infamous murders. New York: Simon ans Schuster.
Egger, S. A. (2001). The killers among us: An examination of serial murder and its investigation. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2010). Serial murder: Multi-disciplinary perspectives for investigators. Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder/serial-murder-1/
Hickey, E. W. (2010) Serial murderers and their victims. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Warwick, A. (2006). The scene of the crime: Inventing the serial killer. Social & Legal Studies, 15(4), 552-569. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umw.edu:2048/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=104&sid=f92df02a-4f90-4904-b819-ac022eac3253%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=23637990
Presented by: Ashley DuVal
Last week in my blog, I talked about how serial killer characteristics can start to emerge as early as two years old. Wow, that’s a crazy thought. This week in my blog post, I will talk about the four types of serial killers; Hedonistic, mission-oriented, visionary, and power serial killers and control killers. “Warning some disturbing facts.”
Hedonistic or thrill killers are like the label suggests in it for fun or the rush they get when they kill. Often engage in rape, sex being the biggest motivation. Some of the more well-known examples of hedonistic or thrill killer included Jeffery Dahmer. Jeffery, aka “The Milwaukee Monster stalked bus stops, malls and gay bars seeking out his targets. His target was black, gay men. He ended up killing 17 of these individuals before he was caught and taken into custody. After leaving in his victim by drugging them, he would then commit acts of necrophilia (sexual intercourse with or attraction towards corpses). His thought behind this was that he was trying to turn them into a zombie by giving them a “chemical lobotomy.” And if you do not know what that is, it is a procedure where you drill a hole into someone’s head in this care his victims, and he would take it a step further and pour acid into, hoping he would reach his end goal of them being zombies.
The second type of serial killer is the visionary serial killer. In comparison, quite similar to the hedonistic or thrill killers mentioned above lay in one single difference. Those who fit this type of serial killing are generally psychotic or schizophrenic, so there is something neurologically wrong with the brain. Vision or hallucinations motivate them to kill random victims, commonly coming from God or the devil. You may have heard of Vince Li, a schizophrenia killer who believed he was being called to behead a fellow passenger on the bus as a higher calling from Jesus. This happened on July 30, 2008, near Portage la Prairie Manitoba. These individuals often time in a trial are found not criminally responsible because of insanity.
The third type of serial killer is power and control killers. These individuals are motivated by power and control. They thrive on the feeling of domination of their victims. These killings often take a considerable amount of time and have sexual components as well. Other characteristics of these serial killers are that they are highly organized, preventing them from being easily caught. They are often deemed charming and intelligent by those closest to them, sometimes even giving these people trophies from their victims. One example of this type of killer is John Wayne Gacy, who told his family the reason for the smell in their home was moisture. In actuality, it was the smell of 29 out of 33 of his victims buried within their home and property. The others were found in the nearby Des Plains River.
The fourth and final type of serial killer I am going to address is mission-oriented killers. These killers are motivated by the desire to eliminate a specific kind of person to make the world a better place. Not often psychotic, these killers are well organized and quite to jump on the prey they find undesirable. For example, the commonly known serial killer nicknamed Jack the Ripper was convicted he was doing the world right by targeting and getting rid of sex workers. By killing certain groups of people, they believe they cleanse them of whatever the “bad” is about them.
Overall serial killers fascinate me. I love to learn how they think and act. It is a fascinating topic, and I have enjoyed the last two weeks delving deeper into this content. I hope you enjoyed it as well. Thanks.