Serial Killers

Dennis Nilson stated "a mind can be evil without being abnormal". If this is the case, then what makes a serial killer tick? The definition of a serial killer is; a series of two or more murders committed as separate events usually, but not always, by one offender standing alone. (Brookes, 1988) Over the years, many murderers have been given this term. From the early days of Jack the Ripper, to the most recently publicized case of "the sniper", all have different motives and reasons to the crimes that they commit. Most of the serial killers suffer from mental illness/addictions or have had traumatic life experiences. This is not always the case though; some can also be racially motivated. The typical serial killer is a lower to middle class white male in his twenties to thirties. As children, they usually have a "triad" of symptoms which include bed wetting, playing with fire, and animal torturing. In one instance, Peter Kurten of Dusseldorf, Germany would have sexual relations with animals including pigs, goats, and sheep. While having sex with sheep, he would repeatedly stab them.

In the past fifteen years, as narcissistic disturbance in general has been better understood, a relationship has been noted between pathological narcissism and serial homicide (Schlesinger, 1998). Serial killers' motivation to kill seems to stem from their underlying personality makeup. In studies, psychologists believe that there is a relationship between narcissism and aggression. Most serial killers are diagnosed borderline or narcissistic, even older cases that were reported in literature (Schlesinger, 1998).

Aileen Wuornos

Aileen Wuornos, born in Rochester, Michigan, was the daughter of teenage parents. Her father, a child molester and psychopath, left the family several months before Aileen was born. Her mother left soon after, claiming Aileen and her brother Keith were "crying unhappy babies," leaving their grandparents left to care for them.

At fourteen, she found herself pregnant, claiming her brother as the father. After the death of her grandmother from liver failure, although assumed murdered by Aileen's mother, Aileen dropped out of school and started prostituting cross country. Using many aliases, Aileen had many encounters with the law. Spanning from disorderly conduct to assault charges, she showed a steady progression of what was yet to come.

Her brother Keith died on July 17, 1976 of throat cancer, and Aileen was paid 10,000 dollars from his life insurance. She blew it all, and hitchhiking her way to Florida and married a 69 year old yacht club president. Lewis Fell and Aileen were married in 1976, and a year later the marriage was annulled. After many offenses committed in Florida, including serving 13 months in prison for armed robbery, Aileen met Tyria Moore. They remained close friends after a failed attempt at a relationship.

Aileen supported Tyria by prostituting since Tyria quit her job as a maid. Moving from one motel to another, they soon began to have financial issues. This made Aileen more and more desperate to earn a dollar. On November 30, 1989 Aileen murdered her first victim. He was a Palm Beach store owner by the name of Richard Mallory. She claimed that he violently raped her, making her vengeful against men. Aileen claimed this sparked a fuse for the rest of her murders. She killed six other victims, with only five being found. Aileen Wournos was found guilty and executed Wednesday, October 9, 2002 at 9:47 a.m.

John Allen Muhammad & Lee Boyd Malvo

Changing the stereotype of a typical serial killer were John Allen Muhammad & Lee Boyd Malvo, also known as "The Snipers". They were both African American men, who killed people at random. The victims were all different from their race, gender, and social & economic status.

Spanning many races, this crime was not racially motivated, but they planned to extort ten million dollars from state and local governments. Muhammad told Malvo that they were going to start a pure black nation somewhere in Canada.

John Allen Muhammad was born on December 31, 1960 with the name John Allen Williams. He was in the army and served in the Gulf War. As a soldier, he was trained as a mechanic, truck driver, and a specialist metalworker. Muhammad ranked as an "expert" out of the three levels of marksmanship.

After changing his name in 2001, Muhammad became a Muslim. He was a member of the Nation of Islam, a black separist group. He is reported to have provided security for the Million Man March in 1995.

After leaving the Nation of Islam, Muhammad joined Jamaat al Fugra. Other sources said he moved to Antigua and participated in acts of fraud. Muhammad met a young man by the name of Lee Boyd Malvo during his stay in Antigua, who soon became his counterpart in the future serial killings.

Lee Boy Malvo, who also had many alias's, was born in Kingston, Jamaica on February 18, 1985. He moved to Antigua with his mother in 1998. Not seeing his father since then, he met Muhammad, and soon looked up to him. In 2002, Malvo moved to Bellingham, Washington. He lived in a homeless shelter, and enrolled in high school listing Muhammad as his father.

Muhammad committed many other crimes before his stint as a serial killer. He had been married twice, and one of his ex-wives filed a restraining order against him which he soon violated.

During their random killing spree, they were estimated to have killed 16 people. It may have been more, since they were said to have committed crimes in southern and west coast areas such as; Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, California, Arizona, and Texas, in addition to Washington D.C. Malvo was sentenced to many life sentences without parole, and Muhammad was sentenced to the death penalty. Both killers still have pending trials within other states.

Forensic Science

Forensic and DNA casework has been a major player in catching these cold blooded killers. Since most investigators have to work from clues, they rely on these sources to lead them in the right direction. Many findings such as, blood, weapons, hair, or any source of DNA can help put the puzzle pieces of these cases together. This has solved many cases, and is a strong piece of evidence in the judicial system.