NCJ Number
130405
Date Published
1991
Length
279 pages
Annotation
This empirical examination of serial murder in the United States analyzes the lives of serial killers through individual cases, typology construction, and models.
Abstract
Data were derived from visits to prisons, police departments, and numerous university libraries across the United States as well as interviews with several serial murderers, their spouses, ex-spouses, lovers, and one-time friends. Also explored were the lives of dead victims and victims who survived the attacks. The book explores five aspects of serial murder. It first examines the emergence of serial killing in the United States and the many problems involved in defining the phenomenon. Three chapters explore cultural, biological, psychological, and sociological frameworks as explanations for serial murder and present a model for understanding serial killing as a process. An examination of the victims and prospective victims of serial murderers focuses on young women, children, and the elderly. Four chapters sort out the demographic, social, and behavioral characteristics of male and female offenders as well as those who murder with accomplices. An indepth interview with an incarcerated serial killer is included. The final chapter addresses current issues faced by law enforcement officials, such as the detection and apprehension of offenders through psychological profiling, sentencing, punishment, treatment, and the prevention of serial murder. 322 references and a subject index