What is the one standard definition for a serial murder that social scientists developed?
A serial killer is typically defined as an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time (a “cooling off period”) between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is largely based on psychological gratification. Other sources define the term as “a series of two or more murders, committed as separate events, usually, but not always, by one offender acting alone” or, including the vital characteristics, a minimum of at least two murders. Keep doing the ChaCha!