CHAPTER FOUR: Social Construction of
Serial Murder
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▪ To evaluate sociological theories as they pertain to violent behavior
▪ To understand the role of family and maladaptive childhood
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
behaviors that may portend adult criminality, especially violence
To examine the incidence of school shootings by juveniles
compared to adults
To examine the Myers and Kirby typologies of juvenile serial killers
To explore the etiology of serial murder as it relates to Hickey’s
Trauma-Control Model
To review the case studies as they relate to the process of becoming
a serial murderer
To understand the facilitators that influence the construction of
serial murderers
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Have you ever committed a crime for
which you could have been arrested but
did not get caught?
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Social Structure
Neutralization
Social Class
Social Control
Social Process
Labeling
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According to Roth (2013) homicide rates in the
United States do not correlate well with many
social factors including per capita income,
unemployment, prison populations, household gun
ownership, police presence or rates of substance
abuse. Rather, he correlates homicide with feelings
and beliefs toward government and society. They
are, he maintains, fundamental facilitators or
deterrents to homicide.
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On April 09, 2014, Alex Hribal, 16, entered Franklin Regional High
School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania and wielding two kitchen knives
slashed and stabbed 21 fellow students. Ordered to drop the knives by an
assistant principal, Hribal refused and stated:
"My work is not done, I have more people to kill,”
Later, in a search of his locker, evidence of his plans to commit the mass
stabbing was found in some of his writings:
"I can't wait to see the priceless and helpless looks on the faces of the
students of one of the 'best schools in Pennsylvania' realize their previous
lives are going to be taken by the only one among them that isn't a
plebeian."
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Less than 10% of all homicides in the United
States are committed by juveniles.
They frequently come from abusive family
backgrounds where they often witnessed acts
of violence or were the recipients of abuse.
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One theme that often arises with juvenile
school shooters is their experiences with
rejection, social marginalization, public
humiliation, being designated by peers as an
outcast, developing a sense of personal
victimization such as bullying and being
demeaned by fellow students.
(See the Columbine profile.)
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School Type
No. of Schools Total No. of
with Shootings Dead
No. of Schools Ave. No. of
with No
Dead per School
Fatalities
with Fatalities
College
43
122
10
3.7
High School
85
91
35
1.8
Middle School
24
27
6
1.5
Elementary
18
43
9
4.7
Preschool
1
1
0
1.0
171
284
60
2.6
TOTAL
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There are numerous cases of youth making
death threats, bringing weapons to school,
and sometimes killing classmates and/or
teachers but seldom on the mass scale of
deaths played out at Columbine High School.
Youth who commit school shootings may
intend to kill many but due to lack of
preparation and sophistication often fall
short of their objectives.
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THE MYERS TYPOLOGIES
THE KIRBY TYPOLOGIES
Explosive
Primary Juvenile Offenders
Predatory
Revenge
Maturing Juvenile
Offenders
Displaced Matricide
Secondary Juvenile
Offenders
See the Craig Price profile.
Which typology does he best fit into?
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Myers and Chan (2009) examined 22 convicted juvenile
sexual murderers who had been released back into their
communities. All had been tried in adult court and 59% had
been given one or more life sentences. Most commonly found
amongst this group were personality and conduct disorders,
sexual sadism, and psychopathic
traits. More than half of them recidivated in slightly more than
4 years. Of specific interest is that of those who reoffended
most of them reported higher PCL-R scores.
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Serial killers have been linked to childhood
maladaptive behaviors such as
▪ torturing animals;
▪ enuresis, or chronic bed-wetting;
▪ and fire-setting.
The presence of the MacDonald Triad
indicates a pattern of creating hurt because
of hurt:
▪ The victim becomes the victimizer.
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The Triad is not a good predictor of later adult
violent behavior, nor is it a valid instrument to
measure future violence.
However, there does exist a correlation
between youth with such behaviors, and they
do appear more often among the serial-killer
population than among non-offenders.
(See the Edmund Kemper case.)
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Overton, Tallichet and Hensley (2012) in their study of 180
prison inmates that included demographic characteristics,
childhood abuse and relationships of abused animals to
their abusers found differences between urban and rural
offenders. Rural animal abusers were more likely to have
witnessed family members or friends abuse animals. They
were also more likely to abuse both personal pets as well
as strays unlike urban offenders who tended to target
their own pets.
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
To control the animal
To retaliate against the animal
To satisfy a prejudice against a specific species or breed
To express aggression through an animal
To enhance one’s own aggressiveness
To shock people for amusement
To retaliate against another person
Displacement of hostility from a person to an animal
Nonspecific sadism
(Kellert & Felthous)
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▪ Learning problems
Attention seeking
▪ Poor school behavior
Impulsiveness
▪ Poor concentration
Preoccupation with fire
▪ Lying
Impatience
▪ Excessive anger
Unhappiness in
dysfunctioning family
Pronounced need for
security and affection
▪ Fighting with siblings
▪ Disobedience
▪ Being influenced by
peers
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The trauma-control model of violent behavior
describes, in effect, the cyclical experience of
serial offenders.
▪ Fantasies, possibly fueled by pornography or
alcohol, reinforced by “routine” traumatizations
of day-to-day living, keep the serial killer caught
up in a self-perpetuating cycle of fantasies,
stalking, and violence.
(See the Edmund Kemper profile.)
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For serial murderers the most common effect
of childhood traumatization manifested is
rejection, including rejection by relatives and
parent(s).
▪ It must be emphasized that an unstable, abusive
home has been reported as one of the major
forms of rejection.
(See Jeffrey Dahmer profile).
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Addiction
Escalation
Desensitization
Acting Out
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Contrary to popular belief, video games are not
cathartic in releasing pent-up emotions but
rather increase aggression.
▪ Such false beliefs influence angry people to play
violent games.
Participants exposed to media violence and who
identified with violent characters were more
prone to participate in aggressive behavior prior
to exposure to violence.
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Dr. Michael Welner (2013), a New York
forensic psychiatrist, argues that
American video culture influences our
behavior and argues that violent video
games encourage violence more
directly than illegal drugs such as
cocaine. What do you think?
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The Unsaid
▪ Story of a teenager with a deeply troubled past.
Point of Origin
▪ True story of a prolific serial arsonist who writes his
own novel.
Cape Fear
▪ Story of a convicted rapist, released from prison, who
stalks the District Attorney who prosecuted him.
To Catch a Killer
▪ True story of prolific serial killer John Wayne Gacy.
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Psychology Today: When is Bad Behavior Really BAD?,
www.psychologytoday.com/blog/childmyths/200909/when-is-bad-behavior-really-bad.
Biography: Belle Gunness,
www.biography.com/people/belle-gunness-235416.
TruTV: Clifford Olson,
www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/ols
on/1.html.
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