A psychological look into serial killers

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was coined by either an FBI agent or Dr. Robert D. Keppel in the 70s. The term was first associated with the notorious murderers Ted Bundy and David Berkowitz ( The son of Sam). Serial murders are committed by an act of compulsion and often have hidden abuse roots from their childhood.

Serial killers murder not for financial gain or religious motivation, but simply because they often are mentally unstable. Many believe that they are not suffering from psychosis, but from neurosis. Psychosis is the loss of control, a complete break from reality, whereas neurosis is mental anguish and the fear of losing control.

When it comes to female serial killers, there are seldom cases known, especially in Canada. The most noted would have to be Karla Homolka who killed her sister and three other young girls along side her husband, Paul Bernardo. They abducted, tortured, raped then murdered them all and were fortunately caught in a short time period .To best explain why this couple might ...

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that the most popular method of murder among female serial killers was poisoning and the most popular motive was to gain money. For reasons unknown it was also stated that women tend to kill people who they knew, while male serial killers tend to kill randomly.

The Kelleher typology is about the only accurate study done on female serial killers. The typology is based on whether or not female serial killers act alone or in partnership. The researches came up with nine different categories.

The black window, who kills spouses, partners or family members and acts alone.
Angel of death, who kills people in her care and acts alone.
Sexual predator, who kills in acts of sexual ...

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