NCJ Number
180933
Date Published
1998
Length
315 pages
Annotation
This book describes the phenomenon of serial murder.
Abstract
The book provides an overview and describes the six myths of serial murder. Serial killers: (1) had terrible childhoods, were beaten by their parents and were sexually abused; (2) are “mutants from Hell” who do not look or act like the average person; (3) prey on anyone who crosses their path and do not spend time selecting their victims; (4) have an uncanny ability to elude the police for long periods of time; (5) had unusual relationships with their mothers, travel alone across large geographic areas, have in-depth knowledge of police criminal investigative procedures which allows them to elude the authorities, and are insane and cowardly maniacs who prey on the weak and helpless. The final myth is that: (6) the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigates all serial murders since most of them cross State lines. The book also presents detailed case studies of four infamous serial killers and in-depth comparative analysis of their similarities. Finally, the book describes the investigation of serial murder and seven major problems impeding those investigations, and presents an agenda for future research of serial murder and its investigation. Tables, references, appendixes, indexes