Multiple Murderers: ‘HOW’ they kill explains ‘WHY’ they kill
They way that multiple murderers chose to kill their victims speaks volumes to their true motives and underlying trauma.
There are millions of ways to kill someone. There are brutal, vicious methods such as strangulation and stabbings. There are more humane ways such as lethal injection. There are long, drawn out ways such as torture and rape. Then there are quick ways like using a gun. All end with the same result, but they differ in the meaning behind them.
This is the most important aspect in the process for multiple murderers, so it should be provided significant thought. They are categorized in three distinct ways – serial murderers, mass murderers, and spree murderers. Serial murderers kill two or more victims on separate events, typically with a “cooling-off” period in between. Their method of killing is usually brutal and hands-on such as strangulation and torture. The other two categories have no cooling-off period. Mass murderers kill four or more people at one location. Spree murderers kill three or more individuals at two or more locations (Bartol & Bartol, 2016, p. 299). These latter two groups typically use methods that murder a lot of people in the least amount of time such as a bomb or gun. How the multiple murderer chooses to be categorized, and the method that they choose to kill, is essential to uncovering their true motive.
Serial murderers are obsessive, strategic animals and the way that they take the lives of their victims supply them the control that they desperately desire. As stated in the textbook, “serial killers often murder in accordance to a carefully thought-out plan” (Bartol & Bartol, 2016, p. 301). Therefore, it must be performed exactly the way that they intend it to – the way they constantly fantasize about. So because this is such an integral part of their process, it rightfully should be the first place that investigators look to unearth the reasoning behind it.
For instance, let’s take another look at the subject of our team case study, Jeffrey Dahmer. He usually chose the long, drawn-out method of raping, torturing, and strangling his victims to death (Crime Museum, 2005). This shows that he wanted the process to last. He enjoyed feeling every second of befouling someone’s body and taking their life. Most of the time, taking their lives was not even enough for him. He would proceed to engage in necrophilia and dismember the bodies, in order to prolong the experience. A gun would have been way too quick and unsatisfying. The entire killing process aroused Dahmer.
The team case study project helped us to induce that he was verbalizing his trauma and his pain through his method of killing. Dahmer was severely traumatized by his family’s abandonment at a young age. He was constantly neglected throughout his childhood. As stated in our project research, “within two weeks of his graduation, his father left the family to live in a motel, then the mother and brother left him to visit his relatives” (Nichols, 2006). So this left him with tremendous pain and anger that he expressed through his complete brutalization of his victims. This method of killing also was redemption for Dahmer. It gave him complete and utter power over his victims. He forbade to ever feel as vulnerable as he felt as a lonely child, so raping, torturing, and strangling his victims provided him with the sense of dominance that he desperately desired. Quicker methods such as a gun or poisoning his victims would have been too quick and would not have quenched his thirst for control. Dahmer wanted to emphasize that he had complete supremacy over his victims.
Mass murderers and spree murderers are usually more concerned about making a loud, public statement through their killings. A prime example of the mass murderer category is Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh. With one push of the button, McVeigh blew up the Murrah Federal Building, murdering 168 people, including children – wounding 650 plus (Editors 2017). Without knowing anything about McVeigh’s childhood, one can get a good sense of his intentions by analyzing his method of killing. A bomb murders a significant amount of people in a short amount of time. It is immediate, usually quick deaths for the victims. Also, the detonator can usually perform the act from far away. This allows the perpetrator to be a bit detached from the crime. Unlike stranglers, bombers usually cannot fully stomach the true horror that they inflict, since it is a very impersonal act. But they enjoy knowing that they still caused it. Thus, you can deduce that McVeigh enjoyed the aftermath of the slaughter more than the killing itself. It was later confirmed that he chose this building in particular because “it provided excellent camera angles for media coverage” (Editors 2017). He had a personal vendetta against the government, so this was his public act of defiance against it. So he more preferred killing for the spotlight rather than killing for personal benefit in the shadows like serial killers.
There is significant underlying meaning in the way that multiple murders occur. Single homicides can have endless motives – accidental, passion, anger, etc. But multiple murders show consistency and a general theme that can be induced through close analysis of their decisions throughout the process, primarily their chosen method of kill.
References
Bartol, Curt R., & Bartol, Anne M. (2016). Criminal behavior: A Psychological Approach. 11th Edition. Pearson
Crime Museum. (2005). Jeffrey Dahmer. Crime Museum Biographies. Retrieved from https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/serial-killers/jeffrey-dahmer/
Editors. (2017). Timothy McVeigh. Biography.com. Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/people/timothy-mcveigh-507562
Nichols, D. S. (2006). Tell Me a Story: MMPI Responses and Personal Biography in the Case of a Serial Killer. Journal of Personality Assessment, 86 (3), 242-262. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9b62/3584ef58fd641ae435bff50a491b61b5f0f0.pdf