Profiling

A girl goes to her brother's funeral and there is a guy there that she has never seen before. The guy claims he hasn’t even known her brother or any of the family members or friends at the funeral.

The girl begins to talk to the unknown guy who cheers her up. Before he leaves, however, she forgot to get his phone number. She searches all over in phonebooks for his number but can't find him. Two days later, after reflecting on the funeral, she kills her sister.

She killed her sister, hoping the guy from her brother's funeral would also show up to her sister's funeral.

If you answered correctly, you think like a psychopath. This question was asked to convicted murderers and all answered correctly.

What is the profile of a serial killer?

• Age• Race• Sex

• Background/ Childhood

• Intelligence• Mental Health: Are they insane?• Genetics: Are they born to kill?

• Environment: Do they learn to kill?• Personality

• Motives: Why do they kill? When do they stop?• Victims

• Sketch Image

Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)

• Score 0 if the trait is absent,

• 2 if it is possibly or partially present and;

• 3 if it is present

Profile of the Sociopath

Glibness & Superficial

Charm

Manipulative & Conning

Grandiose Sense of Self

Pathological Lying

Lack of Remorse, Shame & Guilt

Shallow Emotions

Incapacity for Love

Need for Stimulation

Lack of Empathy

Impulsive Juvenile Delinquents

Promiscuous Sexual Behavior

Irresponsible/

Unreliable

Lack Realistic Life Plan

Criminally Versatile

Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)

• The item scores are summed to yield a total score ranging from 0 to 40 which is then considered to reflect the degree to which they resemble the prototypical psychopath.

• A score higher than 30 supports a diagnosis of psychopathy.

In 1979, sixteen-year-old Brenda Spencer received a rifle for her birthday.  She used it to shoot kids at an elementary school near her San Diego home, wounding nine and killing two.  A reporter asked her later why she had done it.  Her answer:  "I don't like Mondays.  This livens up the day."

Nine-year-old Jeffrey Bailey, Jr. pushed a three-year-old friend into the deep part of a motel pool in Florida in 1986.  He wanted to see someone drown.  As the boy sank to the bottom, Jeffrey pulled up a chair to watch.  When it was finished, he went home.  When he was questioned, he was more engaged in being the center of attention than in any kind of remorse for what he had done.  About the murder he was nonchalant. 

Jessica Holtmeyer, 16, hanged a learning-disabled girl in Pennsylvania and then bashed in her face with a rock.  Afterward, a witness reported Holtmeyer to say that she wanted to cut the girl up and keep one of her fingers as a souvenir.

Sensation Seeker’sAre you one?

Are they Insane?

• Legal definition of

insanity:

– Based on 19th century

McNaghten Rule:

• Does the offender understand the difference between right and wrong?

Explanation

• If he flees or makes any attempt to hide the crime, then the offender is deemed not insane, because his actions show that he understood what he was doing was wrong.

Why would serial killer’s attempt to convince authorities they are

insane?

• Avoid death row

• Fake recovery and manipulate therapists etc.

• Thrill in ability to “play” the public

The Mind of a Serial Killer

“After I’m dead, they’re going to open up my head and find that

just like we’ve been saying a

part of my brain is black and dry and

dead.”

Antisocial Personality Disorder/Psychopaths

• Diagnostic Criteria (DSM-IV)

• 1. Since the age of 15 there has been a disregard for and violation of the right’s of others as indicated by at least three of the following:

– Repeated acts that could lead to arrest

– Conning for pleasure or profit, repeated lying, or use of aliases

– Failure to plan ahead or impulsiveness

– Repeated assault on others

– Reckless when it comes to their or others safety

– Poor work behavior or failure to honor financial obligations

– Rationalizing the pain they inflict on others

• 2. At least 18 yrs. Old

• 3. Evidence of Conduct Disorder before 15

• 4. Symptoms are not due to another mental disorder (Schizophrenia)

Antisocial Personality Disorder/Psychopaths

The Case of Eric

• What does Eric pinpoint as his cause(s) for “acting out”?

• Why does Eric “act out”?

• What characteristics does Eric suggest he lacks?

• Do you think Erick has been rehabilitated?

Causes

Genetics? Bad Seeds? Natural Born Killers?

If there is a genetic explanation the gene mutation must be discreet since no “kill gene” has been found.

Don’t see entire families of serial killers.

Connections between genes and sensation seeking or impulsivity.

Brain Defects

Hypothalamus Damage: sexual instinct & violence become connected

Limbic Damage: loss of control over primary emotions of fear and rage; “cold-blooded”

Prefrontal Cortex Damage: long term planning & judgment is lost

Body Defects

Immunity to fear?

Psychopaths have a greater threshold for fear

Less-likely to respond to fear-inducing stimuli (loud noises etc.); less startled

Low heart rates and skin temperature

Need higher level of thrill for their bodies systems to react

Bed wetting

Environment? Childhood? Upbringing?

Separation from parents early on; denial of mother’s love and physical touch can lead to withdrawal & attack

Bad seeds blossom in bad environment:

Adoption= sense of rejection can impact psyche

Witnessing violence &/or being abused

Peer rejection/isolation=fantasy development

Culture? Social Evils?

NO direct proof that violence in media creates serial killers but it may activate fantasy

“fuels the fire”

Serial Killer Project• You will profile one serial killer (group of 2)

– Use the two slides of profile material to research a killer– Provide a brief summary of his infamy– Explain the causes behind what made him/her a killer

based on the causes slide– Explain how he was captured and prosecuted

(insanity?)

• Material should be presented by PPT, Prezi, Photostory (6-7 minutes each)– Will be presented Thursday/Friday in class

Inside the Criminal Mind

RULES• 1,2 or 3 points per question correct

• Minus1,2 or 3 points per question incorrect

• Two vs. Two

• Notes can be used

• First team to raise hand

• Question can be answered after incorrect response is given

• Winning team gets a tasty treat

The Serial Mind Quiz

• According to law, this defense cannot be used if a person knows the difference between right & wrong?

• The DSM-IV classifies psychopaths as typically suffering from this?

The Serial Mind Quiz

• Acting aggressively, harming animals, and involvement in pyromania, are evidence of this disorder, a prerequisite for antisocial personality disorder?

• What emotion do sociopaths lack?

• The application of this 19th century rule, helps determine if a person is or is not insane.

• What age, race, and sex, are most serial killers?

The Serial Mind Quiz

• Identify one reason why serial killers attack?

• What sleep problems do many serial killers suffer from as a child?

The Serial Mind Quiz

• What genetic connection supports the notion of “born serial killers”?

• For what reason is adoption noted as a cause of sociopaths?

The Serial Mind Quiz

The Serial Mind Quiz

• What do serial killers feel immediately after killing, when the excitement fades away?

• How do social evils relate to the cause of serial killing?

• Extreme isolation & rejection can lead to destructive development of these mental coping mechanisms.

• Identify two ways in which the body

(not brain) of serial killers differs from the normal.

The Serial Mind Quiz

• A characteristic of sociopaths: having no problem lying coolly and easily nearly all the time.

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• A characteristic of sociopaths: having a history or behavioral and academic difficulties during teenage years.

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The Serial Mind Quiz

The Serial Mind Quiz

• A characteristic of sociopaths: feeling entitled to certain things as “their right.”

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• A characteristic of sociopaths: ability to speak with ease and charm.

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