Presentation on theme: "Serial Killers Dr. Mike Aamodt Radford University"— Presentation transcript:

1 Serial Killers Dr. Mike Aamodt Radford University maamodt@radford.edu

Updated 09/09/2012



2 Types of Multiple Killers

Mass Spree Serial # of victims # of events # of locations Cooling-off period no no yes Note: # of victims for serial killers was revised from 3 to 2 at the 2005 FBI-sponsored symposium on serial murder.



3 Radford Serial Killer Database

Currently has 2,756 serial killers 1,788 from the U.S. 968 from other countries Began with student serial killer timelines 18 years of data collection Goals Accurate information for my forensic psychology class lectures Provide accurate information to the public Potentially assist law enforcement using statistical profiling models



4 Creating the Database Compiling names of serial killers

What is a serial killer? 2 or more victims (this is a change in definition) 2 separate events Cooling off period in between Determine whether person is actually a serial killer or a Spree killer Mass killer None of the above We eliminated 473 people found on common serial killers lists that are not actually serial killers Issues What to do with people who have killed once and clearly would have killed again had they not been caught? What about a person with one kill and nine attempts? Suspected v. confessed v. convicted



5 Creating the Database Gathering Information Sources Issues

True-crime books Newspaper articles On-line prison records Court documents Ancestry.com Internet sites Issues Accuracy of information Availability of information



6 Creating the Database Gathering Information

Information Obtained (141 variables) Demographics (age, sex, race, country, state, city) Childhood info Birth order, raised by, teased, abused Education and IQ Vocational and military history Criminal and forensic record Information about the crime Method, victim, location, partner Information about the trial NRGI, sentence, confession, New Section on Victims Names & dates Excellent check for data accuracy and will be useful in studying victims rather than killers Information on 7,400 U.S. victims to date



7 Classifying the Killers

Motive Financial, thrill, power, revenge, anger, convenience Victim Age, sex, race High risk vs. low risk Acquaintance vs. stranger Location (e.g., home invasion, street, hospital) Method Strangle, bludgeon, shoot, stab, suffocate, poison



8 Classifying the Killers

Kills family Black widow (financial gain) Bluebeard (power) Attention (Munchhausen by proxy) Kills patients or other dependents Angel of death (power) Lethal caretakers (financial gain) Baby farmers (financial gain)



9 Classifying the Killers

Home invasion Rape or no sex Robbery or just killing Age of victim (elderly, family, adult female) Type of weapon used Torture? Overkill or mutilation? Staging, posing, totems?



10 Problems with Dates Date of Victim Death

Date victim actually died Date of attempted kill (might be different if the person was in the hospital for several days before death) Date last seen Date reported missing Date body was found Date reported by killer Source differences State death index Social security index Prison Inmate Locator information Court transcripts



11 Problems with Locations City, County, State

Location of abduction Location of killing Location where body was dumped Location where body was found Burial location



12 Serial Killer Frequency

Hickey (2010) 352 males and 64 females in U.S. from 158 males and 30 females in U.S. from Gorby (2000) 300 international serial killers from Radford University Data Base (9/08/2012) 2,756 serial killers US: 1,788 International: 968 Number of serial killers varies with each update because many names listed as serial killers are not actually serial killers and new serial killers are added Updated 09/08/2012



13 Serial Killers by Country

1,788 United States 101 Italy 98 South Africa 95 England 82 Japan 72 Germany 59 Canada 48 Australia 47 France 37 Russia 31 India 28 China 20 Mexico 14 Brazil 13 Scotland 10 Poland



14 Percentage of World Population Percentage of Serial Killers Ratio

Country Percentage of World Population Percentage of Serial Killers Ratio United States 4.47 64.9 14.51 Australia 0.33 1.7 5.15 South Africa 0.72 3.6 5.00 United Kingdom 0.94 4.1 4.36 Italy 0.87 3.7 4.25 Canada 0.50 2.1 4.20 Germany 1.17 2.6 2.22 France 1.81 Japan 1.82 3.0 1.65 Poland 0.55 0.4 0.73 Russia 2.04 1.3 0.64 Mexico 1.60 0.7 0.44 Brazil 2.75 0.5 0.18 India 17.28 1.1 0.06 China 19.24 1.0 0.05



15 Problems with International Comparisons

Language issues in finding serial killers in other countries Easier to find the “two kill” people in the U.S. than in other countries Centralization of records Media policy about publicizing murders



16 U.S. Serial Killers by Decade (Decade of First Kill)

24 35 29 28 27 39 132 364 475 371 194 16 Updated 9/08/2012



17 Age Age at the start of the series Potential problems

Should we use age at first kill rather than first kill in series? 6% killed prior to the start of the series Should we use age at first attempted murder Many of the older serial killers spent time in prison prior to their series Simple descriptive statistics Mean = 28.4 (SD = 9.3) Median = 27 Youngest = 9 (Robert Dale Segee, final kill was at age 21) Oldest = 72 (Ray Copeland) Only 27.5% actually fall into their mid-to-late 20’s (24 – 29) Updated 09/08/2012



18 General Serial Killer Profile Age at First Kill

Race N Mean Our data (2011) 1,890 28.4 Kraemer et al. (2004) 157 31 Hickey (2002) 28.5 Updated 09/08/2012



19 General Serial Killer Profile Demographics – Average age is 28.1

Males 29.0 is average age at first kill 9 is the youngest (Robert Dale Segee) 72 is the oldest (Ray Copeland) Jesse Pomeroy (Boston in the 1870s) Killed 2 people and tortured 8 by the age of 14 Spent 58 years in solitary confinement until he died Females 30.9 is average age at first kill 11 is youngest (Mary Flora Bell) 66 is oldest (Faye Copeland) Updated 09/10/2011



20 A Problem with Profiling

Typical Serial Killer Profile in the Media A white, male, in his mid to late twenties Statistics (U.S. Serial Killers) Male (91.4%) White (52.4%) Mid to late twenties (28.6%) White, male (45.3%) White male in his mid to late twenties (12.7%) Updated 09/08/2012



21 Gender Changes Across Time U.S. & International Serial Killers

Decade Men Women 2000 93.7% 6.3% 1990 92.6% 7.4% 1980 91.0% 9.0% 1970 93.9% 6.1% 1960 91.5% 8.5% 1950 81.7% 18.3% 1940 87.5% 12.5% 1930 80.9% 19.1% 1920 78.2% 21.8% 1910 70.0% 30.0% 1900 57.1% 42.9% TOTAL 89.8% 10.2% Updated 09/09/2012



22 Race Most media sources suggest that non-White serial killers are rare

Justin Cottrell (2012) Rise of the Black Serial Killer Found hundreds of Black serial killers that were not on other lists Extensive search was useful but might now overestimate the percentage of Black serial killers because a similar extensive search was not used for other races (including Whites)



23 General Serial Killer Profile Race

U.S. N=1,730 U.S. & International N=2,700 White 52.0% 56.1% Black 42.8% 31.1% Hispanic 3.8% 4.7% Asian 0.7% 7.5% Native American 0.8% 0.6% Updated 09/09/2012



24 Racial Changes Across Time U.S. Serial Killers

Decade White Black Hisp Asian N 2000 28.4% 68.6% 1.5% 1.0% 194 1990 41.8% 52.3% 4.6% 1.3% 371 1980 54.3% 37.0% 6.6% 0.6% 473 1970 62.0% 33.6% 3.3% 363 1960 68.7% 29.8% 0.0% 131 1950 79.5% 20.5% 39 1940 63.0% 29.6% 3.7% 27 1930 53.6% 46.4% 28 Updated 09/09/2012



25 Serial Killing is a White Thing 1980-2009

Serial Killers 1980, 1990, 2000 Census White 45.0% 74.40% Black 48.4% 11.95% Hispanic 4.9% 9.55% Asian 1.0% 2.81% Native Am. 0.8% Updated 09/09/2012



26 Race Prolific African American Serial Killers

44 Jake Bird 27 Coral Eugene Watts 23 Wayne Williams Edward Suratt 17 Clementine Barnabet Milton Johnson 16 John Muhammad/Lee Boyd Malvo Vincent Darrell Groves 15 Richard Jameswhite Fred Glover O’Delle, Pearl, & Peyton Jackson John Reed 14 Jesse Lee Cooks Larry Green Vincent Groves Hulon Mitchell Manuel Moore J.C.X. Simon Chester Dwayne Turner Clarence Walker



27 Race Prolific Hispanic Serial Killers

27 Angel Colon Maldonado 25 Juan Corona 23 Adolfo Constanzo 16 Richard Ramirez Angel Maturino Resendiz 12 Robert Rubane Diaz Timothy Joseph McGhee 11 Juan Chavez 10 Eddie Seda 9 Jorge Beniquez 9 Rolando Garcia 9 Alfredo R. Prieto 9 Dorothea Puente 7 Fernando Cota 7 Tondy Herrera 7 Diana Lumbrera 7 David Villarreal 6 Juan Cordoba 6 Timothy Joseph McGhee 6 Paul Ruiz 6 Efren Saldivar 5 Ricardo Caputo 5 Ramon T. Hernandez 5 Leslie Torres



28 Race Prolific U.S. White Serial Killers

49 Gary Ridgeway 48 Amy Archer-Gilligan 41 Billy Gohl Belle Gunness 40 Charles Cullen 37 Donald Harvey 36 Ted Bundy 35 Dr. Michael Swango 34 Gerard Schaefer 33 John Wayne Gacy Bruce Alan Davis 32 Patrick Kearney 31 Jane Toppan 30 Stanley Bernson Morris Bolber 29 Charles Cullen 28 David Douglas Hill 27 Dean Corrl, David Brooks Elmer Henley Herman Mudgett



29 Serial Killer IQ Media/Internet Our Database (N = 202) Rape Type

High IQ Our Database (N = 202) Mean = 95.1 Median = 89.0 Range (54 – 165) Rape Yes (94.2) No (96.3) Type Organized (99.6) Disorganized (93.2) Method of Killing Bomb (140.3) Gun (93.0) Hands (95.0) Updated 09/08/2012



30 Are IQ Scores Reliable? You can fake dumb, but you can’t fake smart

People scoring lower than 70 cannot be executed (Atkins v. Virginia, 2002) David Leonard Wood 1977 – Age 19 – 111 1980 – Age 23 – 64 1980 – Age 23 – 101 2011 – Age 54 – 75 (death sentence appeal) Psychologist thought Wood was faking low Wood correctly used “big words” in his letters



31 Intelligence The Smart

165 Ted Kaczynski (155) 160 Charlene Gallego 152 Carroll Cole 145 Rudy Bladel Ed Kemper (136) Ronald Williams Herbert Coddington (142) 140 Charles Albright Robert Browne Harvey Glatman (130) 138 James Clifford Carson 136 Ted Bundy (125) 134 Thomas Dillon William Christenson 130 Lawrence Bittaker Juan Corona Gary Heidnik (148) Walter Leroy Moody (125) Marcel Petiot (135) Angel Resendez Gerard Schaefer 129 Bill Heirens Paul Knowles Randy Kraft 128 Joel Rifkin



32 Intelligence The Not So Smart

54 Donnie Gene Craig 57 Simon Pirela 58 John Staffen 60 Eugene Britt 62 Willie James Hodges (66) 63 Arthur Goode 64 John Thomas Straffen (58) Arthur Culombe 65 Albert Dyer Derrick Todd Lee (91) Sean Paul Hanify Karl Lee Myers (75) Charles Ng 66 Elroy Chester (69) Charles Troy Coleman 67 Sean Paul Hanify Donald William Dufour (62)



33 Family Comparison Serial Killers U.S. Population* Birth parent/s

82.71% 87.4% Adopted 5.36% 2.2% Relative 6.03% 8.3% Foster home 3.22% 0.4% Orphanage 2.01% ? Abandoned 0.67% Other 1.7% N =746 2000 Census *O’Hare (2008; Table 2) Updated 09/08/2012



34 Birth Order Comparison

Serial Killers U.S. Presidents U.S. Population First Born 31.2% 33.3% 28.36 Middle Born 31.4% 50.0% 15.90 Youngest 25.7% 14.3% Only Child 11.4% 2.4% 27.39 N = 440 2000 Census Updated 09/08/2012



35 General Serial Killer Profile Childhood

Unstable home Absence of loving and nurturing relationship Physical ailments and disabilities Head injuries Triad bed wetting fire starting animal torture



36 Effects of the Family Child Abuse

Comparison of Serial Killers to the General Population (Mitchell & Aamodt, 2005) Type of Abuse General Population Serial Killers Physical 6% 36% Sexual 3% 26% Psychological 2% 50% Neglect 18% Other Not applicable No Abuse Reported 70% 32%



37 A Strange Way to Raise a Child Gary Heidnik

3 years old Didn’t clean room properly Father hung him by his feet out of a 3rd story window



38 A Strange Way to Raise a Child Henry Lee Lucas

3 years old Mother forced him to watch her have sex with strangers 7 years old Mother made him go to school dressed like a girl Mother beat him when his teacher gave him a pair of shoes 10 Years old Mother’s lover showed him how to kill animals and then have sex with them



39 A Strange Way to Raise a Child Danny Rolling

6 months Father kicked him into a wall 1 year old Father beat him when he crawled funny 6-8 years old Father beat him twice a week 13 years old Father handcuffs him to brother, beats them, leaves them outside



40 A Strange Way to Raise a Child Robert Garrow

1 year old Father made him kneel for hours in the corner 2 years old Mother splits his head open with a crowbar during a beating 5 years old Knocked unconscious when mother hits him in the head with a piece of wood 6 Years old Beaten unconscious by his father Made to wear his sister’s bloomers out to play



41 General Serial Killer Profile Forensic History

Triad Most have a criminal history 83.4% were previously arrested 74.5% had spent time in jail or prison Many received prior psychiatric treatment 11.3% spent time in a forensic unit prior to their series 6.0% killed prior to their serial killing This is a difficult statistic to accurately compute Updated 09/08/2012



42 Categorizing the Serial Killer

sex, race, age IQ psychopathology Crime Scene type of weapon use of torture attempt to hide body location Motive sex power financial gain Victim sex, race, age occupation personality



43 ____________________________________________________

Type of Victim ____________________________________________________ Spouse, Random Specific Specific Motive Family Strangers Type Strangers Employees Patients ________ ______ ________ _______ ________ _________ _______ Money Black Contract Cost Lethal Widow Killer Cutter Caretaker Sex Disorganized Organized Lust Lust Thrill Disorganized Organized Thrill Thrill Power Bluebeard Angels of Death Revenge Revenge Psychosis Visionary Hate Missionary Attention Munchausen Munchausen No motive Anti-social



44 Broad Motive Broad Motive (1,979 killers) %

Enjoyment (thrill, lust, power) 50.3 Financial gain 31.1 Anger 9.7 Multiple Motives 3.7 Gang Activity 2.5 Avoid arrest 1.1 Attention 0.8 Convenience 0.5 Hallucinations 0.4 Cult 0.3



45 Types of Serial Killers Visionaries

Psychotic - told to kill paranoia, schizophrenia 1% of killers are psychotic (Henn et al., 1976) Examples Herbert Mullin Miguel Rivera Joseph Kallinger



46 Herbert Mullin Crimes Vision Operated during 1972-1973

Killed 13 in Santa Cruz, CA Shot most of his victims Vision Voices told him to shave his head and burn his penis with a cigarette (he obeyed) Voices told him to kill in order to prevent a catastrophic earthquake



47 Joseph Kallinger Crimes Vision Operated during 1974-1975

Murdered 3 in NJ and PA (including one of his sons) Robbed and assaulted many others His 13 year old son was his accomplice Vision Told by God (through a large floating head with tentacles) to murder young boys and sever their genitals



48 Harvey Carignan Crimes Vision Known as the “Want-ad Killer”

Operated in Seattle Killed 3 (probably many more) by smashing their skull with a hammer Vision Told by God to kill women God didn’t tell him why



49 Types of Serial Killers Missionaries

Kill to “Clean-up” world Examples Joseph Franklin Killed interracial couples and African Americans Wounded Vernon Jordan and Larry Flynt (Hustler Magazine) Wolfgang Abel Killed drug addicts Axe Man of New Orleans Killed 11 (most were Italian grocers) Carroll Cole



50 Carroll Edward Cole Crimes Mission Operated during 1975-1980

Killed at least 13 women in several western states Mission Rid the world of loose women All his victims cheated on their significant-other with Cole



51 Types of Serial Killers Hedonists

Kill for fun or profit Subtypes Lust Killers (kill for sexual gratification) Organized Disorganized Mixed Thrill Killers (kill for the thrill of killing) Gain Killers Contract Killers Black Widows Lethal Caretakers Cost Cutters



52 Examples of Lust Killers

Organized Killers Ted Bundy John Gacy Chris Wilder Kenneth Bianchi Ed Kemper Disorganized Killers Arthur Shawcross Richard Chase Jeffrey Dahmer Danny Rolling



53 Hedonists-Gain Killers Black Widows

The Crime Kill husbands, lovers, or relatives for financial gain Almost always women Almost 90% use poison to kill their victims Examples Diana Lumbrera (killed her 6 children for insurance) Nanny Hazel Doss (killed 4 husbands, 2 sisters, 1 mother) Lydia Trueblood (killed 4 husbands, 1 child, brother in-law) Amy Gilligan (killed 5 husbands, several patients)



54 Hedonists - Gain Killers Cost Cutters

Crime Kill to save money Examples Joseph Briggen Killed 12 ranch hands when their pay was due Fed the people to his prize-wining pigs Georg Grossman Killed over 50 people, put the meat into his hotdogs Joe Ball



55 Joe Ball Operated during the late 1930s

Killed at least 5, probably 14, waitresses at his tavern (The Sociable Inn) in Texas Threw them into a pit with 5 alligators in the back of the tavern



56 Hedonists-Gain Killers Lethal Caretakers - Profit

The Crime Kill patients for profit Usually women Examples Dorthea Puente killed 7 elderly to cash social security checks Antoinette Scieri killed 12 elderly patients so that she could take their assets Anna Hahn poisoned 5 elderly men she cared for to get their insurance



57 Types of Serial Killers Power Seekers

Kill to exert power over strangers Examples Ted Bundy David Berkowitz Angelo Buono Edward Kemper



58 Power Seekers Angels of Death

The Crime Usually women Kill patients for feelings of power and control Examples Genene Jones - As a nurse, she killed between 11and 46 babies by injecting them with a muscle relaxant Terri Rachals killed 9 patients through injections of potassium chloride David Harvey is an example of a male angel of death Gwendolyn Graham and Catherine Wood



59 Gwendolyn Graham and Catherine Wood

Killed 5 patients in Alpine Manor (a nursing home) Initial plan was to spell MURDER with the first letter in the last name of each victim Graham did all the killing and Wood kept watch



60 Power Seekers Blue Beard Killers

Males who kill their spouses Examples Johann Hoch Henri Landru Harry Powers James Watson



61 Henry Landu Romanced more than 300 women out of their money during the early 1900s in France Ran personal ads to meet his women Married and killed 10 of them Put their bodies in an oven to dispose of them



62 Lethal Caretakers Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy

The Crime Kill or hurt others in order to be admired for curing them or to get sympathy for the death of a loved one Mostly females Examples Beverly Allitt injected insulin and potassium into 26 children (4 died, 9 had irreparable brain damage) over a 58-day period Martha Woods - 27 respiratory attacks in 9 children resulted in 7 being killed (3 were her own children)



63 Types of Serial Killers Revenge Killers

Kill for revenge Examples Martha Wise: Killed 3 family members opposing her marriage Ellen Etheridge: Killed 4 of her 8 step-children because she was jealous of their relationship with her husband Martha Johnson Had 4 fights with her husband After each fight, suffocated a child as revenge Suffocated by laying on top of them (she weighed 250 pounds)



64 Types of Serial Killers Antisocial Personalities

Definition Pattern of irresponsible or harmful behavior Lack of conscience Ignore social rules and laws Impulsive Fail to learn from punishment Examples Gang Members Criminals who kill for no reason



65 The Crime Scene Serial Killer Type .

Crime Characteristic Disorganized Organized Body disfigured hidden Sex after death before death unsuccessful successful Weapons finds at scene brings Viciousness torture quick Sophistication low high, learns each time



66 The Crime Scene Serial Killer Type .

Crime Characteristic Disorganized Organized Totem not taken taken Follows crime in news no yes Victim high risk low risk Gets to crime by walking, bus drives



67 Killer Profile Serial Killer Type .

Characteristic Disorganized Organized Residence close to crime further IQ less intelligent intelligent Employment menial or normal unemployed Appearance unattractive attractive Self-image feels inferior feels superior Social loner outgoing



68 Killer Profile Serial Killer Type .

Characteristic Disorganized Organized Romance lives alone affairs, short relationships Anger keeps inside acts out, bully, class clown Birth order low high Habits nighttime daytime Childhood discipline harsh lax or inconsistent



69 Killer Profile Serial Killer Type .

Characteristic Disorganized Organized Family alcoholism, mental illness Father’s work unstable stable

