Female serial killers - Essay Example

? Female serial killers of the of the Introduction Serial killers are understood in limited way due to rarity of serial murders (Campobasso et al., 2009, p. e7). Sadly, the understanding of female serial killers is very remote due to lack of research and low percentage compared to male serial killers. The percentage of female among the serial killers is estimated to be 10 to 15 (Siegel, 2012, p.352). Depending on the circumstances of the homicides and what was done to the victims, the forensic psychiatrists have developed a point of view that most of the serial killers are psychopaths and/or sexual sadists or possess antisocial disorder (Campobasso et al., 2009, p. e11). Study by Hickey (1997) revealed that over 50% of the victims of female serial killers are either too young or too old (Schurman- Kauflin, 2000, p. 17). This shows that they choose the most vulnerable and helpless people among the population as their victims. Hence, it is highly important to conduct more research studies on female killers as it can help in developing profiling on them and help the police to catch them. Differences Researches on female serial murderers have found that there are some distinct differences in male and female serial killers (Hilton, 1997, p.65). Research by Keeney and Heide (1994) has revealed that aspects of serials killers like “motivation, victim damage, victim torture, weapon of choice, method of killing, and stalking versus luring behaviors” are different in male and female serial killers (Hilton, 1997, p.65). Female serial killers tend to use more subtle ways to murder their victims than male serial killers (Schurman- Kauflin, 2000, p. 17). Psychosocial Factors Family Background It has been found that most of the female serial killers comes from families which are broken and troubled (Hilton, 1997, p.72). Their childhood is usually spent in poor conditions. Their socioeconomic background consists mostly of semiskilled labor (Hilton, 1997, p.72). Kirby (1998) also found that in the families in which the female serial killers are raised, the sex roles in the family unit are clear and traditionally defined (Schurman- Kauflin, 2000, p. 17). According to Hickey (1991) and Leyton (1986), it is from the lower middle-class or middle-class economic status that most of the female serial killers come from (Hilton, 1997, p.74). Study of a female serial killer called JB, who was accused of killing at least 12 elderly women, shows that there are various environmental and social factors that are potential in making people to become violent (Ostrosky-Solis et al., 2008. p.1228). In JB’s case, the factors were “i) her mother’s alcohol abuse history and limited prenatal and postnatal care, ii) physical, psychological and sexual abuse during childhood, iii) lack of affective and social support and iv) extreme poverty” (Ostrosky-Solis et al., 2008. p.1228). Moreover, as she took care of her two younger half siblings, she was never allowed to go out of house and she never attended the school (Ostrosky-Solis et al., 2008. p.1224). So her childhood was spent without friends and toys and was filled with misery, abuse and aggressive behavior from mother (Ostrosky-Solis et al., 2008. p.1224). Age Studies by Holmes and DeBurger (1988), Hickey (1991), Levin and Fox (1993) and Keeney and Heide (1994) have revealed that contrary to the male serial killers who start killing in their twenties, the female serial killers start killing in their thirties (Hilton, 1997, p.72). Keeney and Heide (1994), in their study of 14 female serial murders, found that “the average age of these women when they began to kill was 32.9 years” (Hilton, 1997, p.72). The average age of female serial killers was found to be 32 in a study of 34 female serial murderers conducted by Hickey (1991) (Hilton, 1997, p.72). This shows that it is at somewhat older age that female serial murderers start killing (Hilton, 1997, p.72). Racial and Ethnic Background It has been found that most of the female serial killers are from White ethnic background. Studies by Holmes and DeBurger (1988), Levin and Fox (1993), and Holmes and Holmes (1996) have revealed that predominant ethnic background of female serial murderers is White (Hilton, 1997, p.73). Keeney and Heide (1994) discovered that all the females in their study of 11 female serial murders out of 14, on which the data was available, were Caucasian (Hilton, 1997, p.73). In study by Hickey (1991), 97 percent of female serial killers from the 34 female serial murderers who were being studied, were from White ethnic background (Hilton, 1997, p.73). These statistics prove that the predominant ethnic background of female serial killers is White. Psychological Problems The abuse of drugs and alcohol was found to be common among the female serial killers (Siegel, 2012, p.352). Psychological problems like histrionics, manic depressive, dissociative and anti-social personality disorders were found to be common in female serial killers (Siegel, 2012, p.352). The abuse of drugs and alcohol was also common among the female serial killers (Siegel, 2012, p.352). The psychological problems create disturbance in their perception of people and of world around them. For example, in case of female serial killer JB, it was found that she displayed lack of emotional empathy even though she was able to establish some relations with the victims (Ostrosky-Solis et al., 2008. p.1228). JB was incapable of differentiating between nuances of life as she perceived the world in “black and White” (Ostrosky-Solis et al., 2008. p.1228). According to her, people can be distinguished only in two groups, i.e. “good people and people who humiliate” (Ostrosky-Solis et al., 2008. p.1228). It was the humiliating comments from the victims that made her to kill those victims (Ostrosky-Solis et al., 2008. p.1228). It was when a lady stated that she was not used to having poor, dirty people in her house, that JB killed the lady, who was her first victim (Ostrosky-Solis et al., 2008. p.1228). This shows that she perceived the world and people around her differently than normal people. Occupation In a study by former FBI agent Patricia Kirby (1998), it was found that “female serial killers tend to be involved in female-dominated occupations that entail care giving” (Schurman- Kauflin, 2000, p. 17). This fact is also confirmed through a study of 34 female murderers conducted by Hickey (1991), in which it was found that 32 percent of the 34 females were home makers,18 percent were nurses, 9 percent worked as waitresses and 6 percent were hired housekeepers (Hilton, 1997, p.74). Criminologists have found that female serial killers are stabile geographically (Schurman- Kauflin, 2000, p. 18). Education Studies by Hickey (1991) and, Keeney and Heide (1994) have found that frequently, the female murderers do not go past high school in their educational attainment (Hilton, 1997, p.74). In their study of 14 female murderers, out of which the data was available on 10 female murderers, Keeney and Heide (1994) found that “5 graduated from high school, 4 quit high school, and 1 obtained GED” (Hilton, 1997, p.74). They found that it was in pursuit of a 1 or 2 year nursing degree that only four women continued their education after high school (Hilton, 1997, p.74). Conclusion The discussion above shows the profiling of female serial murderers is an essential thing as most of the times their method of killing is subtle. This allows their crime to remain undetected. This leads them to victimize more people than male serial killers. Hence, more research studies are needed to be conducted on female serial killers as due to their method of killing, they pose extreme threat to the vulnerable and helpless people in the society. References Campobasso, C.P., Colonna, M.F., Carabellese, F., Grattagliano, I., Candelli, C., Morton, R.J. & Catanesi, R. (2009). A serial killer of elderly women: Analysis of a multi-victim homicide investigation. Forensic Science International, 185, e7–e11. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2008.12.023 Hilton, T.K. (1997). Profiling female offenders. St, Nacogdoches, TX: Stephen F. Austin State University. Ostrosky-Solis, F., Velez-Garcia, A., Santana-Vargas, D., Perez, M., Ardila, A. (2008). A Middle-Aged Female Serial Killer. Journal of forensic science, 53 (5), 1223-1229. doi: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2008.00803.x Schurman- Kauflin, D. (2000). The New Predator: Women who kill- Profiles of female serial killers. New York, NY: Algora Publishing. Siegel, L.J. (2012). Criminology (11th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Read More