Serial Killers

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one prostitute then the next victim is a mother. All of the victims will have something in common. Louise Gerdes, who wrote Serial Killers states “Female serial killers usually have a motive for murder.”(52). Whether it’s a spouse, lover, or someone who wronged them. They typically don’t kill for sexual related reasons (52).

However, something all serial killers have in common is that they seek total control, so their way of killing is always in a fashion where they control it all. The control issues could come from feeling weak or feeling like a loser in real life, in real life where they have no control (52). Each serial killer has a "calling card" or a unique thing about each of their murders, their signature. The killers signature is typically a fantasy the killer has had since a young age, and they get to act out those fantasies when they kill. A serial killer’s signature doesn’t completely change, it can evolve though, such as one cut off finger can turn into multiple fingers, or even a whole hand. Ted Bundy described a killer’s signature as something that "gets his rocks off", basically saying it’s whatever satisfies the killer the most (52). The Zodiac killer is a good example of a killer with a pattern. Campbell MacGregor, writer of The Zodiac Killer, explains “The Zodiac killer took zodiac symbols and English letters to create a code. If the police solved it, they could piece together all the messages to figure out who he was.”(45). They still haven’t solved the code entirely to this day.

Not all Serial Killers are the same

The police are very good but sometimes the killers just get the best of them. The clever ones who evaded capture for a long time, like B.T.K. or Dennis Roder are just a few examples of some who the police just couldn’t get (2). In Gerdes Book he elaborates on technique of the investigations and how the police go about them. “Investigation is very important, though that should be common sense. When at the scene of the crime, look for the unique factor to see if it relates to any other murders.” (49). A serial killer’s signature can be something they have to do, such as arranging something a certain way, this can help to identify one. A signature serial killer, will often take a memento from each of their murders to help them to hold onto the excitement. When a serial killer commits a murder, it relates to a certain scene in their own life, and they are all the same scene, each murder. Because their murder has to do with a part of their life, it is possible that if someone knew the murder, they could identify who it might be, based on the scene, and they might be able to stop it (52).