What is a Serial Killer?
The definitions vary from source to source. In general, a serial killer is one who preys on people he or she does not know. Some writings say there must be at least three killings, while others say four or more. The killings are done in different locations and the motive usually is power over defenseless, similar-looking victims who substitute for a person stressing the killer. There is usually a cooling-off period of days, months or years between killings. Other definitions of murderers with multiple victims include spree killers and mass murderers.
How is a serial killer different from other murderers? • Crewmembers of U-234 considered their mission a “suicide mission.” What is a suicide mission? Why did the crew consider their mission to be one? What other missions or orders might be considered suicide missions? • U-boat U-234 had a specific mission and goal. What was the purpose of the mission? Why did it fail? • If the mission of U-234 had been successful, the course of World War II might have been altered. Discuss how the history of the twentieth century might have been different if the U-234 had succeeded. • The supreme commander of Germany pleaded with U-234 to surrender after the suicide of Adolf Hitler and Germany’s surrender. Why did Hitler commit suicide? • Louis Pasteur is famous for the process that bears his name, pasteurization. What is pasteurization? How is this process used? What are its benefits? • Although pasteurization is most closely associated with milk, it was not this beverage Pasteur sought to make safe.
A serial killer is someone who kills at least three victims one by one in a series of sequential murders, with a form of psychological gratification as the primary motive. The need for psychological gratification distinguishes serial killers from other types of murderers, who usually murder for things like profit or revenge. Because an element of psychological instability is involved in serial killing, many serial killers are committed to mental institutions if and when they are caught, reflecting a general belief that they are not of sound mind. While many people think of serial murder as a crime which emerged in the 20th century, it is actually quite ancient. Documents from places like China indicate that serial killers were operating well before the common era, and some particularly notorious serial killers like Erzsebet Bathory and Jack the Ripper date to periods before the 20th century. It is true, however, that the number of serial killings seems to have increased in the 20th cen
The most widely accepted definition is a person who has killed three or more people over a period of time. This means, guys shooting down folks in a herd on a bad hair day or some nutter driving down the coast knocking off one person per state on a spree doesn’t qualify as a serial killer. A serial killer is defined as someone who kills, takes a break, kills again, takes another break, kills again, and so on. He likes killing and will continue to do so as he sees fit. He tends to have some pattern to his peculiarities and his murders will be recognized as part of a group of homicides. Or WILL they? Now we come to MY definition. A serial killer is someone who has killed once and is likely to kill again given time and opportunity. We can’t say how often this will be or if there might even be a gap of five or ten years between homicides. Serial killers don’t kill when the moon is full. They kill when they have a need to regain power and control. When they get to this point is a very indiv
A serial killer is a person (it can be a man or a woman) that murders more than one person, but only kills them one at a time. They are different from mass murderers, mass murderers kill large groups of people at once, for instance, suicide bombers are mass murderers because their bombs kill big groups of people in a short space of time.
