CRIMINOLOGY

FEMALE SERIAL KILLERS

IV YEAR B.A., LL.B.(HONOURS)

THE TAMIL NADU NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL,

TRICHY.

SUBMITTED TO,
PROF. GOLDA SAHOO
SUBMITTED BY,
ATHISH E

BA0140011

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DECLARATION

I do hereby declare that the project entitled FEMALE SERIAL KILLER submitted to Tamil
Nadu National Law School in partial fulfilment of the requirement of the award of the degree
of B.A., LL.B.(HONOURS) is a record of original work done by me under the supervision
and guidance of PROF. GOLDA SAHOO criminology department of Tamil Nadu National Law
School, Trichy and that has not formed the basis for the award of any degree or diploma or
fellowship or any other title to any candidate of any university.

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Acknowledgement

I would like to sincerely thank my criminology Professor prof . GOLDA SAHOO for guiding
me throughout the project. Through this research project I have learned a lot about the
aforesaid topic and this in turn has helped me grow as a student. I am grateful to the authors
of the various articles referred whose inputs were useful to the researcher. They have given so
much insights in to the topic. I also thank my parents and friends for their precious inputs
which have been very helpful in the completion of this project.

ATHISH E

BA0140011

PLACE

TIME

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FEMALE SERIAL KILLERS
CHAPTERISATION

Chapter -I

Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………..5

Chapter-II

Causes ……………………………………………………………………………………6

Physiology of female serial killers…………………………………………………………8

Chapter-III

The famous female serial killers and their impacts of criminal justice system……….11

Difference between male and female serial killers……………………………………….13

Chapter-IV

Regulations for serial killers………………………………………………………………16

Chapter-V

Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………..17

Bibliograph………………………………………………………………………………18

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Chapter –I

INTRODUCTION

serial killers have a tendency to be white, hetero guys in their thirties who are sexually
broken and have low confidence. “Their deliberate frenzies are quite often sexual in nature.
Their killings are normally part of an intricate dream that works to a peak right now of their
deadly upheaval. Serial executioners for the most part kill outsiders with chilling periods
between every wrongdoing. Numerous appreciate barbarianism, necrophilia and keep trophy-
like body parts as tokens of their work”1. Serial executioners are savage in nature. Some
arrival to wrongdoing scenes or gravesites of their casualties to fantasize about their deeds.
“Numerous get a kick out of the chance to embed themselves in the examination of their
wrongdoings and some appreciate insulting specialists with letters or precisely set bits of
proof2”. Serial executioners tend to go after ladies and offspring of their same race. Whores,
vagabonds and wanderers are their casualties of decision. “Some gay executioners appreciate
chasing young men and gay men. Female serial executioners have a tendency to be "dark
dowagers" who murder a progression of spouses, darlings, or other relatives 3”. “They can
likewise be attendants or other medicinal experts who end up self-named "heavenly
attendants of death" killing infants, elderly, or the urgently sick in a confused push to mitigate
their torment. Most serial executioners experienced childhood in brutal family units. As
youths they delighted in tormenting creatures, setting fires and were ceaseless bed-wetters.
As grown-ups, numerous serial have some kind of mind harm and are dependent on liquor or
potentially medicates4”.

This research paper going to deals specifically the FEMALE SERIAL KILLER in the
society, as well as what are the difference between male and female serial killers .and the
regulations governs serial killers. These things going to deal this project.

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“ By Ashwaq Masoodi Serial killings: India’s untold story
Last Published: Fri, Oct 14 2016. 03 16 AM IST
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Chapter-II

CASUES

In opposition to prominent folklore, there are to be sure female serial executioners, and
together, they contain no less than 15% of every serial executioner. Be that as it may, the
inspirations of female serial executioners vary altogether from their male partners.

Specifically, sex is for the most part significantly more distant down on the rundown of
inspirations for female serial executioners. Actually, sexual or savage thought processes are
to a great degree uncommon among female serial killers. Psychopathic attributes and
histories of youth mishandle are frequently found among the not very many female serial
executioners who have sexual or vicious thought processes.

Dissimilar to male serial executioners who are often determined by sexual desire, female
serial killers tend to adopt a considerably more down to business strategy to their killings.

“Female serial executioners are significantly more likely than guys to slaughter for monetary
benefit, solace or reprisal. Not at all like male serial executioners who as a rule target obscure
casualties, females tend to murder men who are candidly and physically nearest to them,
especially spouses or sweethearts and they for the most part slaughter to enhance their way of
life5”.

“Notwithstanding, casualties of female serial executioners are not bound to male spouses or
sweethearts. An essential mental investigation of eighty-six female serial executioners in the
U.S. discovered that their casualties likewise included youngsters and the elderly6”.

The news and diversion media have promoted the female solace/pick up executioner in the
social picture of the "Dark Widow." The dark dowager serial executioner is a lady who
murders at least three spouses or darlings for money related or material increase through the
span of her criminal vocation. The dark dowager executioner was included in the 1944
exemplary dim comic drama film Arsenic and Old Lace featuring Cary Grant. This
profoundly well known film tells the anecdotal story of two sisters who kill elderly refined
men by serving them elderberry wine bound with arsenic.
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“ By scott A. bonn Why Some Women Kill Again and Again. Female killers are rarely driven by sexual sadism
like men. Posted Jan 12, 2015
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Id”

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Despite the fact that they involve under 20% of every single serial executioner, females are
extremely powerful in their work and they regularly utilize calmer and less muddled
techniques to murder than their male partners The strategies they use for kill are more
undercover or low-profile, for example, kill by harming which was the favored decision or
usual way of doing things of female serial executioners in the previously mentioned inquire
about investigation. Different strategies for kill that were likewise distinguished in the
examination incorporate shooting, cutting, suffocation and suffocating

“Female solace/pick up executioners are every now and again engaged with burglary,
misrepresentation or theft before getting to be serial executioners because of their enthusiasm
for material things . Albeit most female serial executioners kill for cash or other benefit, some
do it for the consideration and sensitivity they get following the passing of somebody they
administered to. It isn't exceptional for female solace/pick up executioners to be utilized as
overseers in nursing homes for the elderly7”.

“Female serial executioners by and large work in a particular place that they know well, for
example, their home or a human services office where they are utilized. They seldom go
trolling for casualties out in the open as male serial executioners regularly do, yet rather
discover casualties in their family or working environment8”.

A striking exemption to the average attributes of female serial executioners is the famous
interstate whore Aileen Wuornos (depicted by Charlize Theron in the 2003 film Monster),
who murdered outside rather than at home, utilized a weapon rather than harm, slaughtered
outsiders rather than companions or family and murdered for individual delight and
retaliation. I trust that Aileen Wuornos rose to ignominy since she was atypical of female
serial executioners. The absence of open attention to female serial executioners preceding
Aileen Wuornos was because of the virtual nonattendance of female serial executioners in the
news and stimulation media.

PHYCOLOGY OF FEMALE SERIAL KILLERS

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“Section 84 of Indian penal code does not falling under the pshyco path of female serial
killers. Because section 84 speaks about, Act of a person of unsound mind.—Nothing is an
offence which is done by a person who, at the time of doing it, by reason of unsoundness of
mind, is incapable of knowing the nature of the act, or that he is doing what is either wrong or
contrary to law. Female serial killers never falling under unsound mind because they have the
good mind but they getting irritated as well as getting vexed9”

“There is a mixed up social presumption, say Marissa Harrison and her associates, that ladies
are, by their temperament, unequipped for being serial executioners – characterized here as
killers of at least three casualties, dispersed out with no less than seven days between
killings10”.

This misinterpretation, the therapists caution, is a "savage oversight". They bring up that one
out of six serial executioners are female. Their violations have a tendency to go undetected
for longer than their male partners, likely to some extent on the grounds that "our way of life
is trying to claim ignorance of ladies' proclivity for animosity.11"

“Harrison and her group have profiled 64 US female serial executioners dynamic between the
years 1821 to 2008. The analysts utilized the murderpedia.org site to distinguish these
executioners and they confirmed the cases they discovered utilizing trustworthy news
sources12”.

“A significant number of the desperate ladies had characteristically female callings,

including being medical caretakers and sitters. They had a tendency to be better than
expected in physical engaging quality, which may have caused confide in their casualties13”.

The specialists encourage alert in regards to the elements that added to these ladies getting to
be serial executioners. Aside from whatever else, the verifiable records are fragmented and
the nonattendance of data does not imply that a given factor was not contributory.
“Regardless, Harrison and her group feature a few observable examples in the information: a
more prominent extent of the ladies, as contrasted and the all inclusive community, had: a

9
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1433889/
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“ Phycology female serial killers forensic gender, published on March 5,2015
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By: Marissa Harrison, The Psychological Difference Between Male and Female Serial Killers
Posted on: July 8, 2015
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past filled with having been physically or sexually mishandled; medication or liquor issues;
and a finding or indications of dysfunctional behaviour14”.

A striking contrast with male serial killers is the relative absence of sexual violence and
deviance. Two exceptions were a female serial killer who was a rapist, and another who
reportedly barked like a dog during sex. But overall, the researchers highlighted how the
women in their study primarily killed for resources, while their male counterparts kill for sex.
This follows evolutionary theory, Harrison and her co-authors explained, in the sense that
men are said to be motivated more by seeking multiple sexual opportunities, while women
are motivated to find a committed partner with sufficient resources. “However,” they added,
“although an evolutionary framework can offer understanding, we stress that these heinous
acts are a vicious extension of unconscious drives and are not therefore ‘normal’ or ‘excused’
… “.

The researchers concluded: “Increasing our understanding of serial killers may minimise the
number of victims potentially lost in the future while maximising the effectiveness of
interventions to prevent vulnerable individuals from taking a killing path.15”

Chapter-III

THE FAMOUS FEMALE SERIAL KILLERS AND THEIR IMPACTS OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

SYSTEM

Here researcher would like to focus the famous female serial killers who did the
unimaginable things in their life .some followings are ,

“Myra Hindley, Rosemary West and Aileen Wuornos - these women are considered some of
the most evil people to ever walk the Earth16”

“Among this group are caregivers who slaughtered dozens of infants helping usher in laws on
medical abortions and bored housewives who knocked off their husbands. Others such as
Hindley and West are the twisted lovers who made up one half of a murdering couple.
Following the news that notorious Canadian killer Karla Homolka is now free and helping

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India's infamous serial killers
TNN | Updated: Jan 3, 2018, 02.15 PM IST

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volunteer at a primary school, we take a look below at some of history's worst female serial
killers17”.

NANNIE DOSS

“Nannie Doss was an American serial killer who murdered 11 individuals more than a very
long while starting in the 1920s. Nicknamed the "snickering nannie" in light of her merry
smile, she admitted to her wrongdoing wave in the wake of being gotten in 1954 18”. “On the
whole, she utilized arsenic to knock off four spouses, her mum, a relative, her two sisters, two
of her kids and a grandson and a nephew 19.” As per Gizmodo, she blended the toxin into
stewed prunes, espresso and moonshine which she at that point provided for her casualties.
She was gotten subsequent to killing spouse number five, who survived her first harming
endeavor, recuperated, and afterward was struck during a time and passed on. “A doctor,
suspecting unfairness, persuaded Doss to enable him to play out a post-mortem - where he
found a modern scale measure of arsenic in his body 20”. “Cops at that point captured her, she
conceded the wrongdoings and was passed on a lifelong incarceration. An aficionado of
"Genuine Romance" magazines, she told examiners she continued knocking off spouses in an
offer to locate the ideal perfect partner. She enlightened cops: "That is concerning it. I was
hunting down the ideal mate, the genuine sentiment of life21”.

KARLA HOMOLKA

Canadian serial killer Karla Homolka was imprisoned alongside her at that point spouse Paul
Bernardo over the slayings of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy, and her sister Tammy.
Conceived in Ontario, Canada on May 4, 1970, she helped Bernardo assault and murder the
three youngsters22. The turned couple were captured in 1993 and she was condemned to 12
years in jail soon thereafter for her part in the slayings. She conceded to the murder of French
and Mahaffey. Homolka wasn't charged over the passing of her sister yet her sentence
considered the occurrence. She was discharged from jail in 2005 in the wake of finishing her
supplication bargain sentence named by the press as an "arrangement with the fallen angel".
Today she lives in Montreal, where she has been spotted taking her kids to class and
supposedly volunteering on school field trips.
17
By suzanna Weiss How and Why Women Become Serial Killers
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Female Serial Killers and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System
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AILEEN WUORNOS

Aileen Wuornos, whose life was sensationalized in the Hollywood film Monster featuring
Charlize Theron, murdered seven men between November 1989 and November 1990. The
sex specialist shot every one of them point clear range, guaranteeing it was done in self
protection after every one had either assaulted her, or endeavored to assault her. Conceived in
1956 in Rochester, Michigan, Wuornos' dad dedicated suicide while in jail for youngster
attack, and she was put into the care of her grandparents, who were said to be brutal and
alcoholic.

When she achieved adulthood, she carried on with an existence in the city and in the long run
swung to prostitution, grabbing and executing trucker customers navigating the Florida
expressways. She was in the long run found after her fingerprints - which were at that point
on record because of past feelings - were found in the slammed truck of a missing man Peter
Siems. This drove cops to another six slayings, which she said were done in self protection,
however she later abnegated this and conceded she butchered the men so she could victimize
them and leave no witnesses. CNN revealed her as demonstrating little lament in the prior
months he execution in 2002. She stated: "I slaughtered those men, ransacked them as icy as
ice. Furthermore, I'd do it once more, as well. "There's no possibility in keeping me alive or
anything, since I'd slaughter once more. I have detest slithering through my framework.23"

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE SERIAL KILLERS

A youthful, working class lady, a wedded Christian of normal insight and childhood. She fills
in as a medical attendant, or caretaker, or Sunday School educator — anything that includes
being around individuals more defence less than herself24. This could portray any number of
ladies in the United States. In any case, as indicated by a current report from Penn State, it's
likewise the profile of the normal American female serial executioner. "It is stunning," said
Penn State brain research teacher Marissa Harrison, the lead creator on the investigation, in a
phone meet with The Washington Post. "The profile we set up together sounds simply like
your normal individual. … There is no real way to tell." Harrison and her associates invested
months brushing daily paper reports going back to the Revolutionary War to locate each

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By Sarah Kaplan The surprising but curiously logical differences between male and female serial killers March
6, 2015

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recorded occurrence of a female serial executioner. (In spite of the fact that definitions
change, Harrison considers a "serial executioner" any individual who slaughters at least three
individuals with a "chilling period" of up to seven days between each murder.)

Starting in 1821 with Martha "Patty" Cannon – the "she-evil spirit" pioneer of a posse, as
indicated by contemporary daily paper reports, who submitted no less than four murders over
the span of her standard business of seizing individuals and offering them into bondage – the
examination looks at the foundations, thought processes, strategies and attitude of 64 ladies
serial executioners in American history.

Albeit female serial executioners, as troubled families, are each appalling in their own
specific manner, Harrison discovered some striking likenesses among her subjects. The
majority of them originated from genuinely unremarkable foundations, their essential weapon
was harm, and about every one of them executed individuals they knew, frequently their own
relatives. By correlation, most casualties of male serial executioners are obscure to their
killer.

"Female serial executioners accumulate and male serial executioners chase," Harrison said.
"That was extremely fascinating to me, as a transformative clinician, that it reflects sort of
familial propensities."

Harrison additionally observed proof of developmental impacts in what drove ladies to

slaughter. “While most murders by male serial executioners have a tendency to include sex
somehow — a recent report found that male serial killings are described by a want for
mastery, control, mortification and vicious sexual viciousness — ladies will probably
slaughter for cash or power25”.

"It struck me that ladies would slaughter for assets, which was their essential drive in the
familial condition, and men execute for sex," she said.

The greater part of the serial executioners assumed up sex parts further bolstering their good
fortune. Around 66% of them for whom information was accessible were depicted as having
normal or better than expected allure, which the examination says they abused to escape
doubt26. They additionally went up against employments in cliché ladylike callings —
nursing, mind giving, instructing — that gave them access to helpless casualties. Also, they

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were frequently given dainty or energetic monikers that are jarringly discordant with the
frightfulness of their wrongdoings.

Take, for instance, "Cheerful Jane" Toppan, a medical caretaker at Cambridge Hospital in
Massachusetts. In 1901, she admitted to having harmed many casualties — among them no
less than 12 patients, her proprietors, her cultivate sister and her cherished companion. She is
said to have later told police: "That is my desire, to have executed more individuals — more
vulnerable individuals — than any man or lady who has ever lived."

Or then again the "Demise House Landlady," Dorothea Montalvo Puente, a grandmotherly
looking lady who ran a lodging for the elderly. Puente would money their standardized
savings checks for her own particular utilize, and slaughter each one of the individuals who
griped. A police examination uncovered seven bodies covered in her terrace. ) .

Chapter-IV

REGULATIONS FOR SERIAL KILLERS

Murder is the unlawful killing of another human being without any justification or valid
excuse with a malice intention. Murder is considered as one of the serious crime in our
society which demands harsh punishments for the purpose of retribution, deterrence and
incapacitation. “In most of the countries a person convicted of murder generally faces a long
term prison sentence in fact a life sentence where permitted. Death penalty for murder are
also charged upon the criminals sometimes and at some places but this kind of punishment
has been less in practice27”

SECTION 299: CULPABLE HOMICIDE:

 Section 299 of IPC defines culpable homicide. It means Who ever causes death by doing an
act with the intention of causing death, or with the intention of causing such bodily injury as
is likely to cause death, or with the knowledge that his act is likely to cause death, commits
the offence of culpable homicide28.

SECTION 300: MURDER: Culpable homicide leads to murder when:

1. If the act by which the death is caused is done with the intention of causing death, or
27
By Rishabh Banerji 9 Indian Women Who're Accused Of Committing Heinous Murders!
Updated: November 13, 2015”
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 2. “If it is done with the intention of causing such bodily injury as the offender knows to
be likely to cause the death of the person to whom the harm is caused29”.
3. “If it is done with the intention of causing bodily injury to any person and the bodily
injury intended to be inflicted is sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause
death30”.
4. If the person committing the act knows that it is so imminently dangerous that it must,
in all probability, cause death or such bodily injury as is likely to cause death, and
commits such act without any excuse for incurring the risk of causing death or such
injury as aforesaid.

CHAPTER-V

CONCLUSION

Society is in hazardous, in light of the fact that a major issue is pulverizing individuals. Serial
executioners are in all aspects of the world, harming everybody that gets in their direction. Is
difficult to perceived an executioner if individuals don`t comprehend and know the psyche
and the identity they have. “It is important to be watchful with everybody and that is the
reason data about serial executioner is vital. Individuals must be educated about them to be
cautious and to spare our lives. Individuals need to break down the data they think about the
executioner and all attributes that the scene and the casualty extent. To influence the profiles
we to need to know the kinds of serial executioners that exist and the disarranges they can
have. There are two essential kinds of serial executioners, the sorted out and the muddled”.

The sorted out serial executioners are the most perilous on the grounds that they are average
folks with a major mystery. They appear to resemble everybody except they are not, they
have an issue. Generally these kinds of serial executioners are extremely savvy with an IQ
normal between 105 to 120. They are exceptionally agreeable and control individuals to pick
up their trust in the serial executioners. When they design a wrongdoing they consider every
one of the points of interest which is the reason they don`t leave confirmation to implicate
them. They assault utilizing enticement and they control the whole wrongdoing scene. They
can converse with the police without protection or issue. Then again the confused

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executioners have an IQ normal is between 80 to 95. They are secluded and don`t have
companions, they normally live alone and are precarious people. They don`t design a
wrongdoing they just execute by an attack of fierceness. They are more clear than the sorted
out serial killers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

STATUTE

Indian penal code,1860

Criminal procedure code, 1973

WEBSITES

https://www.humbleisd.net/cms/lib2/TX01001414/Centricity/Domain/3035/Purcell%20Serial
%20killer%202016.pdf

http://collegeallergy.com/extraordinary-research-project-ideas-on-serial-killers/

http://collegeallergy.com/extraordinary-research-project-ideas-on-serial-killers/

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/indias-infamous-serial-
killers/articleshow/62350270.cms

http://www.livemint.com/Politics/tA3y9h6kitDz4K1eVVU7FN/Serial-killings-Indias-untold-
story.html

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