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Serial killers are one of the most notorious criminals for the past several decades. They have proven their reputation to the world, killing in the most gruesome way they can think of. While some serial killers like Ted Bundy, Andrei Chikatilo, Jeffrey Dahmer, and many more are already behind bars, there are those who managed to get away with their crimes like the infamous ‘Jack the Ripper.’
The Federal Bureau of Investigation defined a serial killer as someone who has killed more than three people. An article by the Paranormal Guide reported that the 1980s was the golden time for serial killers. It has been recorded that during that decade, there were about 765 serial killers who are out there murdering people. However, many of these serial murderers are not caught. An article by Live Science reported that since 1980, there are at least 2,000 unrecognized series of homicides.
With that, thousands of people around the world have made their own assumptions as to why serial killers prefer to commit murder or other gruesome acts. Fortunately, researchers and psychologists are doing their own studies to further understand their prevalence around the world.
Prevalence of Serial Killers
Why are serial killers terrifyingly more popular than any other criminals? Simply because they cause more deaths than an ordinary murderer or criminals. However, cases like these are also one of the most difficult to solve especially if the serial killer is notorious for its kind.
According to an article by Forbes, serial murders can be difficult to solve for several reasons. First, these killers may have no close connection to the victims, making it difficult for the police to link them to crime. Another is the failure of the police to share information about crimes or what they call ‘linkage blindness.’ This is particularly important to connect one crime to the other especially if they have already different jurisdictions.
It has been recorded that the total figures showed that there have been 3029 male serial killers and only 309 females for the past 11 decades. This is contrary to popular belief that only men can commit serial murders because most of the time, they are portrayed as victims. Although there has been a number of male serial killers than females throughout time, the presence of female serial murders is well documented in the crime data. The Scientific American reported that in the United States alone, 17 percent of all serial homicides are committed by women.
There are several reasons why serial killers murder many people throughout their lifetime. Their primary purpose is sexual satisfaction because they wanted to feel empowered. This is followed by financial gain then gang activity, anger, attention, to avoid arrest, hallucinations, and others. What’s more surprising is that the average IQ of a serial killer is 94.1.
The Difference Between Male and Female Serial Killers
Now that we have established that women have also the capacity to commit serial murders, let’s know the difference between male and female serial killers. In a recent study conducted by researchers from Penn State, they found out that male and female serial killers tend to choose their victims and commit crimes in different ways probably because of thousands of years of psychological evolution.
Male serial killers, they choose their victims who are strangers to them. Meanwhile, females tend to ‘gather’ their victims and target people who they may already know mostly because of financial gain. In an interview, Marissa Harrison, associate professor of psychology at Penn State Harrisburg stated that the results of this study can contribute to the future of murder investigations.
Since murders committed by serial killers are often difficult to solve, police use details of the crime to create a profile of the possible criminal. ‘So if you know that men are more likely to commit a crime in a certain way and women are more likely to do it another, hopefully, it can help investigators go down the correct path,’ Harrison said. She also said that although serial killers are popular in some ways, there has been little research about them because they are rare.
According to an article by Science Daily, the difference between how male and female serial killers choose their victims and they will commit the crime goes back to the ancient roles. Historically, men were tasked to hunt animals for survival while women are those who gather nearby resources such as plants and grains.
The researchers used reliable and reputable news sources such as Reuters, Associated Press, TV networks, and national and local newspapers to gather data about serial killers. They used the information of 55 male serial killers and 55 females from the U.S. The results show that there are six times more male serial killers who are more likely to murder a stranger. Female serial killers, on the other hand, are almost twice as likely to kill a person they already knew.
Additionally, the study also revealed that 65.4% of male serial murderers stalked their victims while females are only 3.6%. ‘In our sample, there were two female serial killers who engaged in stalking-like behavior during their crimes. Interestingly, reports indicate that men were also involved in those crimes,’ Harrison said.
References:
- http://www.theparanormalguide.com/blog/serial-killer-statistics
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/5-myths-about-serial-killers-and-why-they-persist-excerpt/
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