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Paulina Ortiz

Professor Judith McCann

ENGL 1302-213

28 February 2023

Serial Killers and How They are Made

“Breaking News: Another body was Found just off Exit 32 next to Saunders”, read the

caption. That was the fourth body found in six weeks. All of the victims were males with good

lives. No one knew who would want to murder them. The wives and kids were left at home on

their own. The only problem was that most of them just looked numb to the news. But not the sad,

staring off into space numb, this type of numbness looks indifferent. There had been whispers

around town that it was the wives who killed their husbands. The rumor started spreading after

multiple witnesses had seen them talking in hushed whispers on multiple occasions. Then, a

neighbor came forward and said they had heard loud disruptions such as screaming and crying

from the house multiple times. And others said that sometimes one of the wives would flinch

randomly as if she was in pain. Friends of another said that she would cancel plans without

notice and would not talk to anyone for days to come. No one knew what to make of the

information until someone suggested that maybe they were being abused. At first, it was

unbelievable. What husband with a good life would want to hurt his wife? Then again, is that not

how the story always goes? And if that is the case, then is the killer, or killers, only taking down

abusive husbands one by one? Even though this scenario may not be real, there are many others

that are similar to it. Lives around the world end because some people have unresolved issues.
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In this essay, six articles will be analyzed and connected one way or another to determine

what makes a serial killer, how their experiences affect what victims they choose, and what the

motive behind the crime is.

Is there only one thing or factor that makes a serial killer or many? The answer to that

question is unknown, but that does not stop people from trying to crack the mystery. The next

three articles written by Unal, Dr. Simon, and White will discuss many possibilities that may

give people even an inkling of how serial killers are made. Unal’s article states that while abuse,

trauma, and parental brutality are definitely causes of how serial killers are made, there are some

that can be found in the brain too. The author of the article talks about how there are weak

connections between parts of the brain that deal with emotions and violent feelings. The author

mentions that serial killers tend to act antisocially such as Ted Bundy. While these are not the

leading causes that make someone pull a trigger and end someone’s life, they still attribute to the

fact that it even happens at all. In the end, the author concludes that the most probable answer is

that there is a mix between genetic qualities and life experiences that make a serial killer.

Following the medical lead, in Dr. Simon’s study, the authors main goal is to not only find why

people become serial killers in the psychological aspect but in the neurological one as well. More

specifically, damage done to the frontal lobe, the limbic system, the role of the hypothalamus,

among others. The author did a deep dive into every killer that they were studying and

classifying them on basically every single move that they made. In the end, there are a lot of

factors that can contribute to someone becoming a serial killer such as being narcissistic, wanting

control, trying to fill an emotional void, etc. As mentioned before though, those experiences are

not the only causes. One of the main findings that the author mentions is damage to the

amygdala. They are found in the temporal bone, and they enhance aggressive behavior and
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uncontrolled sadism. That can be used as an explanation considering the fact that many serial

killers posses those characteristics. The only article that contradicts the findings in this article,

among many others, is White’s. In the article, White focused on what abuse during childhood,

neglect, death, and no support can do to a person, and if they are more likely to become serial

killers. A survey was given out to 100 participants with questions asking whether or not they

have experienced homicidal fantasies or if they know how to cope with traumatic experiences.

55 of the participants admitted to having had a homicidal fantasy at least once but there was no

correlation between this and childhood trauma. The correlation lies between the ability to cope

with traumatic experiences and homicidal fantasies. Even though many people have thought

about committing homicide, they have not because of society’s standards. The author included

evidence from other articles that supported the fact that people thought twice before they did

something that they could never take back. There are many factors as to what make a serial

killer, and many non-factors too apparently. It can be concluded that there will not be one clear

cause that every killer will posses, but multiple. And it not only matters what they went through,

but how they deal with it.

When it comes to the victims of the killers, not many people know how they get chosen.

The primary purpose of the next two articles written by Adelstein et al. and Salman is to find any

form of connection, positive or negative, between the killer and their victims. In the article

written by Adelstein et al., the authors wanted to confirm or deny the statement that the victims

of serial killers were chosen based on trauma or diagnosed mental disorders. The author went on

to make tables during conducting their research to see if there really was any connection between

the abuse that was experienced by the serial killer and the torture that the victims experienced.

The results showed that there was no positive correlation between the abuse that the killers
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experienced to the torture that was inflicted upon their victims. Only two out of the ten serial

killers did inflict the pain that they experienced, Ted Bundy being one of them. His two forms of

childhood trauma came in sexual and emotional abuse. While he did not inflict emotional abuse,

he did use sexual abuse as a form of torture. His secondary being physical abuse. The results in

Salman’s article said otherwise though. In this article, the author’s main purpose is to explain

how a serial killer’s childhood affected their life. The way that the author performed this study is

by observing two women serial killers. More specifically, their victims and the way that they

operate. The two women being observed are Juana Barrana and Nannie Doss. The author

describes their traumatic childhoods and their adult life too before going into detail as to how

they committed the crimes. After explaining how the killer operated, they then went on to

analyze the psychological motive behind their crimes and how it most likely started. Both

women stated that the reasons that they killed were because of their experiences from their

childhood. Except that Nannies extended all the way into adulthood. It was concluded that the

killers did have a connection to their past experiences. While Juanna’s victims connection to her

past was more shallow, only killing women who would have been her mother’s age, Nannie’s

had a deeper meaning. To her, it was a way of taking back the control that she did not have with

her day. It was her not letting anyone, whether they were her husband, mother-in-law, or

daughter, take away the control that she never had but wanted. Based on the findings of these

two articles, it is safe to assume that who and how serial killers decide to go about choosing and

ending their victims lives is unique to each one. There is not a way to make a general assumption

because it differentiates for every case.

Out of all the serial killers in the world, not many motives are known for most of them.

When asked, they either stay quiet or stray the topic from the questions. That is why the next two
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articles will try to explain some reasons for why they kill. In the study conducted by Harrison et

al., the authors focused on comparing fifty-five female serial killers to fifty-five male serial

killers. They studied what the main motive for killing was among other factors such as who,

how, and where. The way that the study was conducted was by gathering data on the killers from

reliable sources in media. The serial killers were matched up by age and had to be active during a

certain period of time. The results show that the male serial killers were more likely to have a

sexual motive for committing the crime. Apart from that, males in their prime reproductive years

were twice as likely to commit murder than ones that were not. The theories that surround these

findings are that males are looking for a partner, or mate, and pursue their victims taking on a

“hunter” role. Women, however, are three times more likely than men to kill for resources, such

as money, a home, etc, and adopt the role of a “gatherer”. As mentioned previously in the article

written by Salman, there can also be the want to take back something that you never had in life.

In Nannie’s case, that something was control. It was something that was first taken away by her

father, then her mother-in-law, and then he third and fourth husbands. She later also tried to

assert that control by murdering her daughter’s kids. These are just some of many reasons as to

what the motive is behind the crime. Some will always remain a mystery thoguh.

Serial killers are a mystery in and of themselves. Not many know what goes on in their

mind, and those who do have a complicated way of reiterating the information. For this

assignment, six articles were analyzed on the basis of what made a serial killer, how they chose

their victims, and what the motive was behind the crimes. Ultimately, there will never be a clear

answer, but knowing something is better than knowing nothing.

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Works Cited

Adelstein, Dani, et al. “Serial Killer & Childhood Trauma.” UNF Digital Commons,

https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/soars/2020/spring_2020/77/.

Dr. Simon, Gabriella Ürmösné. “Portrayal and Attributes of Serial Killers and Some of the Most

Notorious Ones.” Internal Security, vol. 12, no. 2, 2020, pp. 46–47.,

https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0014.6699.

Harrison, Marissa A., et al. “Sex Differences in Serial Killers.” Evolutionary Behavioral

Sciences, vol. 13, no. 4, 2019, pp. 295–310., https://doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000157.

Salman, Ayesha. “An Insight into Female Serial Killers: A Product of Childhood Abuse and

Trauma?” 2020, https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/8mdvh.

Unal, Burcak. “Are Serial Killers Born or Made?” IACS, 11 June 2021,

https://theiacs.org/are-serial-killers-born-or-made/?print-posts=print.

White, Amber. The Relationship of Early Childhood Experiences and Homicidal Fantasies: A

Comparative Study between the General Community and Existing Research on Serial

Killers, Alliant International University, United States -- California, 2018. ProQuest,

https://go.openathens.net/redirector/tamiu.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertation

s-theses/relationship-early-childhood-experiences/docview/1957430070/se-2.
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