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Stefany Ambriz
Professor Taylor
ENG-102
May 9, 2018
Grade Level: 12.6

Seed of Serial Killer

It is unfortunate, that there are many serial killers to which naming each one of them

would be impossible to do in one sitting. Each story behind a serial killer is diverse, some may

have similar patterns, but never less are different. Taking a closer look at these circumstances, if

we pay attention we can see the root of a seed that made a person bloom into a tree of death.

Some kill for revenge, some are just sexually perverse murderers where rape was the primary

intention and murder was the act committed to hide evidence. Resentment, caused by being

bullied, or mistreated/abused at an earlier age, money and/or benefits, pleasure and thrill are all

factors. Serial killers find pleasure in killing, that is why these people are always looking for

victims then, when they least expect it more than a hundred people are already murdered, which

are usually started with fantasies. Some serial killers are obsessive fanatics of movies, books, and

video games, so much that it becomes a reality for them, for example, the two high schoolers that

went on a full massacre in their school because they believed themselves to be part of a sect from

a movie that was an addiction for them, this case is known as the Columbine Shooting 1998.

Lastly, it is drugs, although not all there is a huge percentage of cases where the push to commit

this crime is drugs or their heritage of drug use taking effect in post-generations. Studies show

five myths that only reinforce the already mentioned.

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To know how to help the situation, a common citizen was interviewed to test her

knowledge in simple questions on news and the life of a serial killers. All serial killers are

horrible, but there is always one that leaves you with your mouth open. For Milagros Gamez the

worst serial killer she has heard of is Jeffery Dahmer, she explains that her impact was how he

could kill young men, abuse them, take their limbs apart and even eat them! As we know this

world it is full of surprises, which are not always pleasant for example learning that children also

fall into the disgrace of killing for pleasure. Milagros Gamez once heard of a little girl Beth

Thomas that without shame she coldly admitted she wanted to kill her parents and her little

brother. The main reason Ms. Gamez thinks person turn into homicides is revenge, or people not

being in their right mind, and have obsessive issues. Continuing, she does believe that the

development of a child counts a great deal because for instance, she explains, “if there was abuse

per say a scenario involving physical abuse like hitting, hurting, also sexual abuse during

childhood, the way the child grows will not be properly developed. Some people as well as Ms.

Gamez believe anyone can become a serial killer at any moment but also believe that if a person

shows signs of hope then the right therapy can help or at least take control of a person, so

redemption can be found. The last question was, if she has ever had thoughts of committing

murder to which was answered that she has never had thoughts of doing such thing, but has

wondered what if that was herself? What can possibly make someone do that? She believes not

even the reasons she mentioned previously can make her commit homicide. Analyzing her

responses, we can see that she has a very close idea of what goes along the life of a serial killer,

but we cannot all assume by just Milagro Gamez that everyone knows this information, so it is

necessary to pass the word around.

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A serial killer is someone who premeditatedly kills more than three human beings. Serial

killers usually claim to kill over 100 humans but then are only charged with the ones that can be

proven/ found. In between these killings it is recorded that all serial killers take what is called a

“cooling period”, which means “…they take time off to not become suspicious of their recent

murder and to start spying on their next victim” in other words the first myth, which is having

the ability to elude the path of police officers knowing how to hide their paths very good, well at

least until these runners get caught. Right off the bat, we can easily agree with the second myth

where it is believed that the serial killers are just simply beings that came straight from hell that

are singled out because of their abnormal ways of behaving. Without justifying them all serial

killers are different, their torture, their victims, especially the crucial cause and the effect. Nearly

all serial killers admit that before moving on to humans, actions of their fantasies started on

small animals, which brought them a major source of pleasure while operating in animal torture.

Some of them have unusual traits, for example, here enters the third myth where these people are

frequently found to have an unusual or unnatural relationship with their mothers, and when some

end up losing them that causes them to act upon their victims. Ed Gein is a clear example since

he is known for choosing female victims to skin them after murder to make a body suit remaking

his mother. He even made skin face masks! Serial killers are difficult to catch, because they often

seem sane, like normal people, at least that was the case with some serial killers like John Wayne

Gacy Jr and Ted Bundy. Dr. Helen Morrison studied and interviewed 135 serial killers in total.

Morrison's research advocates that a chromosome abnormality is the most likely the trigger

which normally begins to express itself during puberty along with displaying their homicidal

tendencies, mostly happening to men. Studies also show that serial killers never develop a sense

of attachment and belonging to the world, this lack of development means serial killers do not
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empathize with their victims. They do not develop emotional attachment to their victims which

allows them to "experiment" on them and repeat this crime over and over.

Understanding the great, immense severity and importance of childhood development is

such a simple concept, but because of the endless negative cases it appears to not be a simple

task to carry through. A study of a group of fifty serial killers shows that the majority

experienced abuse as a child. This is the fourth myth where it is known for believing that serial

killers had a terrible childhood full of abuse. Another study from Journal of Police and Criminal

Psychology states that “over one-third of people were shown to have a history of physical abuse,

26 percent were sexually abused, 50 percent were psychologically abused, and 18 percent were

neglected as a child.” Charles Manson was born to a 16-year-old girl who was both an alcoholic

and prostitute that did not want Manson, making him feel of neglected and in adulthood acting

out what was formed. Aileen Wuornos was abandoned by her mother, raped, beaten by her

grandfather and one of his friends, she got pregnant at age 14 becoming a prostitute herself

making the men victims of her killings. The psychological mental development of childhood

goes deeper than we imagined even if it is not directed to them. Jeffery Dahmer was known to be

a happy, healthy child, even though his mother was on rehabilitation because of a bad drug

addiction. It all started to change when his parents started to have heavy discussions, Dahmer

become isolated and antisocial. He started to have fantasies which were turned into reality by

killing animals, opening them up because of pleasure and curiousness in addition, placing them

in jars with chemicals. Research leads up that his parents’ divorce triggered his fantasies to turn

to human life. Victims were known to be young men since he felt an attraction to them. He

raped, dismembered, took pictures of them, kept body parts and even committed cannibalism

with some of the dead corpses. Parent or close influencers are the seed planters in children and
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until that tree can take care of itself the parents must also water and care for it, therefore they will

also be guilty with what kind of tree grows and the kind of fruit it gives.

There are also very peculiar differences between a male and a female serial killer. Yes,

there are female serial killers, many of us wonder how a female can be a murder when they are

supposed to have a motherly figure. Well, even the unexpected can do the unimaginable. The

reason for women killing usually is for resources while men kill for sexual pleasure, which

brings to my next point where it also differentiates that men typically have a childhood of

physical abuse, while women have a childhood of sexual abuse. Women also tend to know their

victims carefully, they are premeditated frequently murdering in the home of the victim where as

men are totally opposite, here fits myth five where their victims are regularly not known and just

kill whoever crosses their paths generally doing it in the streets or another place other than the

victims home.

When it comes to a serial killer those in their right mind most likely wonder how in the

world someone could end the life of somebody. Many studies have been made searching for an

answer to that question. Researchers come to conclusions some of which are still mysterious but

still have logic. For occasion, clear factors that build a killer can be, environment around them,

trauma of physical and/or sexual abuse, childhood, or pure condition of hereditary psychopathy.

This topic always sends an alert and for at least a moment, people in one’s own life are evaluated

to make sure they are in no danger. But that only takes a moment, and because humans are

always looking for happiness and peace, as soon as the thought of safety is established thinking

“they will be careful”, their life routines will continue not knowing that a serial killer does not

intend to be discovered, which means that in any moment action will be taken. We always live

on edge and evidently sometimes we cannot keep a situation from happening, nevertheless there
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may be other times where we can. It is better to be completely sure that you or anyone near you

is free from the symptoms of a serial killer so be always be alert and seek help with any unusual

feelings or thoughts. With that said, DISCLAIMER! Not every tough situation will form a serial

killer, these are just “special” cases from where we learn from and use to prevent any more death

trees to be planted.
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Citation

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System.” SpringerLink, Kluwer Academic Publishers-Plenum Publishers, 2000,
link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1007551316253.

Egger, Steven A. “Killers Among Us: An Examination of Serial Murder and Its
Investigation.” National Criminal Justice Reference Service, 1998,
www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=180933.

Hayden, Aly Vander. “Exclusive Interview, Jeffery Dahmer’s Parents Explore How Their
Son Turned Into The ‘Milwaukee Cannibal’.” Oxygen Official Site, 9 Nov. 2017,
www.oxygen.com/blogs/why-jeffery-dahmer-became-murder-parents

Kaplan, Sarah. “The Surprising but Curiously Logical Differences between Male and
Female Serial Killers.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 6 Mar. 2015,
www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/03/06/inside-the-minds-
of-female-serial-killers/?utm_term=.24c916a33f02.

Mehrotra, Akarsh. “20 Of the Most Notorious Serial Killers the World Has Ever Seen.”
Scoop Whoop, 12 June 2015, www.scoopwhoop.com/world/most-evil-serial-
killers/.

Mitchell, Heather, and Michael G. Aamodt. “The Incidence of Child Abuse in Serial
Killers.” SpringerLink, Springer US, Mar. 2005,
link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02806705.

“The Brain of a Serial Killer.” Best Counseling Degrees,

www.bestcoundelingdegrees.net/serial-killer/.