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Nicole Khoury
Mr. Price
AP English, Period 5
15 December 2015
Inside the Minds of Serial Killers: The Connective Factors
Acting on impulse and desire, serial killers execute some of the most grisly crimes
imaginable. They dont murder for revenge or to satisfy an anger, but to bring to life their
twisted, violent fantasies. Their emotional disconnect causes them to feel, in most cases, little to
no remorse or guilt. They murder to be in control, and do so repeatedly. This kind of behavior
suggests deep psychological complications, leading criminologists, profilers, psychologists, and
forensic psychiatrists to believe that the mental health of these people are compromised. One
trait in common out of many, serial killers are less so the lone wolves of humanity as they are a
wholly different breed. There are many underlying factors that unify all serial killers, many of
which are observable and predictable.
Serial murder, as defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, is the unlawful
killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events. (Serial Murder, 1).
The murders have to be multiple, and spread out over time. The resting period between attacks is
characteristic of serial murder and separates it from mass murder. Their motives to kill are
completely different than other murderers. They do not kill to seek revenge or release anger, but
to receive psychological gratification. "A psychokiller, I should make clear, is not a regular
murderer. A murderer has a vendetta, a nice specific personal thing against his victim" (The
Stranger Beside Me 63). Unlike that of a normal homicide, serial killers are only driven by
instinct and a desire to kill. Many of these cases also include paraphiliac crimes, such as

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necrophilia and cannibalism. Due to these sexual desires and the need to fulfill their fantasies,
serial killers were driven to murder those who are complete strangers. They adhered to a pattern
unique to each individual serial killer. Indicators of these patterns include race, sex, sexual
orientation, appearance, and age of the victim, as well as the cause of death and place of
discarding the corpse.
Though serial killers only make up one percent of murderers, the account of these crimes
dominates the true-crime genre: a plethora of nonfictitous films and literature follow the story of
serial murders. These works attempt to encompass the lives of the murderers as well as delve into
macabre series of deaths they cause. Though saturated in repugnant detail, this genre is
continually, and ever increasingly, popular due to its shock factor. This genre of literature and
film typically traces a killer's life back to the very beginning. Many of these works are made by
doctors or psychologists that specialize in criminal behavior.
These doctors all testify to the fact that serial killers genes contribute immensely to their
actions. A killer, in their opinion, isnt formed, but born. Serial killers brains are hardwired
differently. So differently, in fact, that they are missing integral components of emotional
connection. Parts of the brain that contribute to feelings such as compassion and empathy dont
work- and most of the time, the killers are unaware of this fact. The two genetic variants that are
linked more closely to causing violent behavior is found in serial killers. (Murderers May Be
Hardwired to Kill 1). In fact, People with both of these genetic variants have a 13-fold increase
of committing a violent crime versus those who do not have the mutations. (Murderers May Be
Hardwired to Kill 1). When paired with childhood adversity, this gene is associated with higher
rates of crime. (Murderers May Be Hardwired to Kill 1). Just as there are naturally nurturing and
caring people, there are those born with the natural compelling tendencies to destroy and murder.

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Serial killer Ted Bundy was an alluring law school student, with one of the most
intelligent minds of the 20th century. During the 1970s, Bundy raped and murdered young
women in several states. He was connected to at least 36 murders, but some thought he had
committed one hundred or more. (Ted Bundy- Murder 1). He especially puzzled psychiatrists
due to his gruesome murders, but expert Dr. Helen Morrison believes that Bundys brain
functioning is unique in that part of his mind is split off. We have this piece of this puzzle thats
somewhere that doesnt connect with the thinking part, or the logical part. Its not far removed
from those of us who drive every day, and we drive the same route, and we dont know how we
got from Point A to Point B. We know we did it, but it doesnt enter our consciousness. (Bundy:
A Documentary). She and many other doctors believe that Bundy carried the gene for emotional
disconnect, something that would have aided and fueled his murder urges.
Many serial killers carry the gene that causes this disconnect. In certain serial killers this
effect is so prominent that the act of murder comes over them almost like a dream. In an
interview, serial killer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer recounts him sleeping with a male he met at
a gay bar, whom he woke up to find dead. He states, I was just going to spend the night with
him. When I woke up in the morning, my forearms were bruised and his chest was bruised, and
there was blood coming out of his mouth. He was hanging off the side of the bed. I have no
memory of beating him to death, but I must have. And thats when it all started again. I had no
intention of hurting him at all. (Dahmer Interview). This type of behavior and this urge
develops, and its triggered almost unconsciously by a familiar sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch.
The senses become intimately connected with memory and previous experiences, and something
that goes on at an unconscious level causes serial killers to make a direct correlation to their
victims.

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The majority of the memories that act as the triggers, however, do not stem from the
gene, but from the serial killers childhood. Most serial killers come from broken homes of
deaths in the family, parents divorces, and socially outcast upbringings. These memories in turn
cause a chemical imbalance in the brain to occur, and a killer that has not committed murder in
years can snap in an instant and go on another spree. Instead of releasing the chemical that
causes compassion, a downpour of endorphins showers the serial killer when the murders take
place.
In the early lives of serial killers, research has been done to show that many of the
children were far advanced in their psychosexual development. (Inside the Minds of Serial
Killers 43). Psychosexual urges follow along the instincts that a human is born with, and
sometimes develops into sexual infantilism. Sexual infantilism is the process that, in pursuing
and satisfying his or her libido, the child might experience failure (parental and societal
disapproval) and thus might associate anxiety with the given erogenous zone. To avoid anxiety,
the child becomes fixated, preoccupied with the psychologic themes related to the erogenous
zone in question, which persist into adulthood, and underlie the personality and psychopathology
of the man or woman, as neurosis, hysteria, personality disorders, et cetera. (Pychosexual
Development 1). As a result, a common trait that most serial killers have is the tendency to have
developed sexual infantilism when they were in their childhood. This starts to appear later on,
and is proven to be true when serial killers discard the victims body. A lot of the time due to oral
stage fixation, the period of time when the serial killer was breastfed, they bite into and tear off
large pieces of human flesh, delving back into their first instincts. Jeffrey Dahmer was a prime
example of a serial killer that highlighted this type of mental disability. After killing the victims,

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Dahmer confessed to biting off two victims nipples, and to eating parts of their flesh. This can
all be traced back to a fixation of the oral stage, and is backed by Freudian psychology.
Serial killers commit some of the most heinous crimes ever known, relying on their
ability to disregard feelings of empathy and remorse to carry out their plans. Premeditated
fantasies get played out in real life, resulting in countless victims in every part of the world.
Genetic material as well as upbringing and home life are scientifically proven to be the
underlying factors that unify most, if not all, serial killers.

Works Cited
Psychosexual Development. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 15 Dec. 2015.
"FBI - Serial Murder." FBI. FBI, 21 May 2010. Web. 15 Dec. 2015.
<https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder>.

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Conversations with Killers. Dir. Bill Kurtis. Dahmer Interview, 2005. Film.
Bundy: A Documentary. Dir. Hamish McAlpine. First Look Home Entertainment, 2002. Film.
"Murderers May Be Hardwired to Kill : DNews." DNews. Web. 15 Dec. 2015.
<http://news.discovery.com/human/genetics/murderers-may-be-hardwired-to-kill141028.htm>.
Ramsland, Katherine M. Inside The Minds of Serial Killers - Why They Kill. Westport, Conn.:
Praeger, 2006. Print.
Rule, Ann. The Stranger Beside Me. Updated Twentieth Anniversary ed. New York: Norton,
2000. Print.
"Ted Bundy." Bio.com. Biography.com. Web. 15 Dec. 2015.