English 122 Detective Fiction
May 3, 2012
Tamara Wolff
Motivation in Real Life Serial Killers The human brain is a complete mystery to us. Some believe that it is so complex that even the best and the brightest within our society will never uncover its secrets. So why it is that some are born with the innate characteristics of a murder. Or why people just “lose it” and become capable of a horror such as murder. Serial killers are viewed as people who have killed at least three people, and are mentally insane and can deal with reality. Many believe that these people were harmed in a way to inflict pain on most people, which can be true. My reason to this is that psychopaths and sociopaths just have no emotion towards other individuals. These are very selfish people; never putting themselves in others shoes. Serial killers are pointed out to be people who don’t care for human lives except their own. Many still question on how people can be possessed with this deviant behavior. But do we have a good answer to what motivates them, and what led them to their behavior? Jeffrey Dahmer is a prime example. The effects of your childhood are known to have a profound effect on the rest of your life. From these two people you can see the twisted and distorted realities that these two, as children began to build within their minds. Most serial killers become who they are because of their childhood, but there are other things to also consider why they act the way they do. Some say it is genetic, biological, or conditioned. But do serial killers have any control over their impulses to kill? All of us have experienced sexual impulses or anger, but somehow we it locked up in a box inside of us. These impulses have been let loose in the psychopathic killer. It not only has been let loose, but can’t be stopped as well. So what sets them apart from “normal” people? Theres has been numbers of serial killers that have an excuse for their horrible behavior. Serial killers like Henry Lucas blamed how he acted on the way he was raised. Some say that they were born with a “missing feeling inside, such as Jeffrey Dahmer. Ted Bundy, said that it was pornography that gave him the urges to rape, then murder more than 30 victims. Santa Cruz, the murderer of thirteen victims, said it was the voices in his head that turned him to a killer, while people like Christopher J. Scarver said his killings “were a work of God”. Many serial killers throughout history have been white male that come from a middle class background from the ages twenty-five to thirty. Almost all of these serial killers were horribly physically, emotionally, or sexually abused by parents and other family member. Many also at a young age set fires to homes, torture animals, and hurt others. Brain injuries also play a role in some serial killers motivation. They are intelligent and have to carry successful careers. Psychologists like to explore how the child was raised, who influenced them, and the environment they were raised. For serial killers, they come from homes with very troubled families. These horrific encounters leave them feeling hopeless and humiliated, leaving a void. They can grow up in two types of homes: male dominant and female dominant. Meaning the father or mother are the ones taking care of them. Some grow up without having father, leaving them with a dominant abusive mother which leads toward a very extreme hate against women. When he was younger, Ed Kemper was beheading his sister’s dolls. Kemper had a very close relationship with his father and was shocked to hear his parents were divorcing. He was eventually raised by his mother who was a violent alcoholic who would constantly humiliate Kemper every day. His sister tried to drown him and push him in front of a moving train. His mothers usually made him sleep in the locked basement because she was scared he would rape and kill his younger sister, who also belittled
