The Disturbing Mind of Jeffrey Dahmer: A Psychological Profile of the Milwaukee Cannibal (2024)

Brittany is a 2020 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. During her time at UNCC, she attained a bachelor of science in Psychology and a bachelor of arts in Criminal Justice, graduating summa cum laude. Her research interests lie in examination of the violent offender and their psychopathology, as well as in examination of paraphilia and sexual disorders. She hopes to someday work as a clinician and educator, but in the meantime enjoys painting and caring for her three pet rats.

The character Hannibal “the Cannibal” Lecter, best known from the motion picture The Silence of the Lambs from 1991, has become a cultural icon and model for later portrayals of seriously disturbed offenders. He displays key characteristics of the Psychopathy Checklist–Revised, such as arrogance, manipulation, callousness, and lack of remorse. From a clinical point of view, one of the most fascinating aspects with Lecter is his display of a variety of capacities alternating between cold-blooded predatory behavior, affection toward FBI special agent Starling, and mourning of the loss of his sister Mischa. Many authors have described the ruthless characteristics of the psychopath. Through the lens of object relations theory, this review systematically examines case descriptionsof severely psychopathic offenders published between 1980 and March 2009. In contrast to the prevalent opinion, case material (n = 11) demonstrates that severely psychopathic offenders do suffer from psychological pain.

Bucks New University , 2019

Although serial killing was only defined in 1988, there is still more research to be conducted into the causes of this phenomena. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to look into potential causes of serial killing, with emphasis on social, biological and cognitive psychology. A plethora of literature and various case studies of incarcerated serial killers have been used to support or debunk the theories explored. Serial murderer is classified as the murder of 3 or more victims by the same offender, over multiple locations with the presence of a cooling off period (Ressler et al, 1988). Definitional problems with defining serial murder has led to confusion when classifying murder and therefore its causes. Social psychology explores the nurture side of the ‘nature vs nurture’ debate, with emphasis on childhood trauma, re-enactment and self-evaluation. Biological psychology explores the nature side of the debate, with emphasis on chromosomal abnormalities, a biological predisposition for crime and other biological functions. Cognitive psychology explores how brain dysfunctions can lead to serial murder, with emphasis on head injury causing frontal lobe damage. Lastly, personality disorders are explored in relation to social, biological and cognitive psychology and how they link to serial killing. After reviewing the evidence, it is reasonable to suggest that there is not one singular cause of serial killing, rather a variety of social, biological and cognitive factors and that can cause someone to be susceptible or expedite the process of becoming a serial killer.

ABSTRACT People who kill strangers all have their own macabre reasons for their acts. There is much to learn from those who are willing to divulge their reasons, and sometimes from the acts of those who don’t. Lieutenant Nelson Andreu retired from the Miami Police Department in 2002 where during his tenure as a detective, he investigated six serial murder cases. In this article he first attempts to track similarities among people who kill strangers and then presents how the six cases he investigated may or may not have conformed to these generalities. Five generalities are discussed based on a consensus of the majority of criminal profilers, based on actual cases investigated: (1) common knowledge, (2) genesis of a serial killer, (3) victim selection, (4) victim objectification, and (5) denouement. A summary of these generalities begins with that most, although not all, serial killers begin their lives as petty criminals. They frequently suffer from low self-esteem, often complicated by some type of sexual dysfunction. Many were victims of sexual abuse or raised in a violent household. Generally, serial killers select their victims based on certain physical and/or personal characteristics. When a serial killer begins their hunt for human prey, it is almost always true that they know absolutely nothing about the person who is to become their victim. Lastly, once a serial killer is in possession of a living victim and has the victim where he/she feels safe enough to act out his/her fantasies, the acts are often performed as if on “autopilot.” The killer’s acts appear to be a close reenactment of what they previously did in his/her imagination.

OMEGA--Journal of Death and Dying, 2012

Serial killers have always fascinated society. A serial killer is typically defined as a perpetrator who murders three or more people over a period of time. Most reported cases of serial killers come from the United States and Canada. In India, there are few reported cases. We present, to the best of our knowledge, the first Indian case in the literature. The present case is of a 28-year-old man, Surinder Koli. The Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delphi handled the forensic study. We present a most unique psychological investigation into the mind of a serial killer.

Multiple murder is a popular topic for many movies, TV series, novels, and other art forms due to its seemingly mysterious nature. However, against the depictions of the perpetrators as being rather charismatic and charming personas, the reality is that they are individuals with serious personality disorders of different types. To correct these misleading public images, this paper introduces a simple classification chart of serial, spree, and mass killers to promote easy understandings of who they are and where they come from. It proposes that three factors decide which symptom the subject falls into on the same continuum.