Serial Killers

Not to be confused with Mass Murderers or Spree Killers.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing profiles with reliable sources.

Jacktheripper2 — "Jack The Ripper" depicted in a British satire magazine in 1888.

A serial killer is a person who murders three or more people, with the murders taking place over more than a month and includes a significant period of time between them.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines serial killing as "a series of two or more murders, committed as separate events, usually, but not always, by one offender acting alone." We adhere to their old definition of "three or more murders," while 1 or 2 murders will be categorized as suspected or "would-be" serial killers, depending on the situation.

To add this category, use: {{Serial}} or {{Serial killer}}.

Below is a list of Serial Killers.

What are the different types of serial killers?[]

Visionary: Believes that a person or entity is commanding him to kill. Most likely suffering from psychosis.
Mission-oriented: Kills in order to "rid" society of a certain group.
Hedonistic: Commits his acts for his own personal pleasure. For example, rape, torture or money.
Power/control: Fantasizes about having power and seeks to dominate and control his victims.

Organized and Disorganized Serial Killers[]

Organized crimes are premeditated and carefully planned, so little evidence is normally found at the scene.
Disorganized crimes are not planned and the criminals typically leave evidence such as fingerprints or blood at the scene of the murder. There is often no attempt to move or otherwise conceal the corpse after the murder. Disorganized criminals may be young, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or mentally ill.
There are serial killers who do not fit neatly into one category or the other and these are the mixed killers. They display traits common to both organized and disorganized killers and can be far more difficult to track down because they do not follow a given pattern.

The organized vs. disorganized typology in criminal profiling is now considered outdated. While once a cornerstone of profiling methods, the FBI has since moved away from it due to its oversimplification of complex behaviors^[1].

Modus Operandi[]

The Modus Operandi (Method of Operation or MO) is what the offender must do in order to commit the crime. For example, the killer must have a means to control his victims at the crime scene such as tying them up. Significantly, the MO is a learned behavior that is subject to change.

A serial killer will alter and refine his MO to accommodate new circumstances or to incorporate new skills and information. For example, instead of using rope to tie up a victim, the offender may learn that it is easier and more effective to bring handcuffs to the crime scene. The MO of Jack the Ripper, for example, was that he attacked prostitutes at night on the street with a knife.

Signature[]

The signature, on the other hand, is not required in order to commit the crime. Rather, it serves the emotional or psychological needs of the offender. The signature comes from within the psyche of the offender and it reflects a deep fantasy need that the killer has about his victims. Fantasies develop slowly, increase over time and may begin with the torture of animals during childhood, for example, as they did with Dennis Rader ("Bind, Torture, Kill").

The essential core of the signature, when present, is that it is always the same because it emerges out of an offender's fantasies that evolved long before killing his first victim. The signature may involve mutilation or dismemberment of the victim's body. The signature of Jack the Ripper was the extensive hacking and mutilation of his victims' bodies that characterized all of his murders.

Staging[]

The Police or FBI profiler may encounter deliberate alterations of the crime scene or the victim's body position at the scene of the murder. If these alterations are made for the purpose of confusing or otherwise misleading criminal investigators, then they are called staging and they are considered to be part of the killer's MO.

Posing[]

On the other hand, if the crime scene alterations only serve the fantasy needs of the offender, then they are considered part of the signature and they are referred to as posing. Sometimes, a victim's body is posed to send a message to the police or public. For example, Jack the Ripper sometimes posed his victims' nude bodies with their legs spread apart to shock onlookers and the police in Victorian England.