By Sharon McQuillan
Let us delve into the chilling world of serial killers. These individuals have left a dark mark on history, and their stories continue to captivate our imagination:
Theodore "Ted" Bundy, also known as "The Lady Killer", was a charming and cunning American serial killer. His thirst for blood led him across the country during the 1970s.
Bundy targeted young brunette co-eds, often pretending to be injured to lure them into his infamous VW Beetle. His gruesome acts included attacking victims with a crowbar, rape, and strangulation in the woods. Bundy escalated, even invading a sorority house, and attacking four women within 15 minutes. He was caught in 1975, sentenced to death by electric chair, and executed in 1989. Ted Bundy is still one of the most famous serial killers of all time.
The legend of Jack the Ripper haunts Victorian London even 130 years later.
This elusive Killer brutally murdered at least five women, gutting, and disembowelling them on the midnight streets of London in 1888. Jack taunted the police with letters and postcards, one of which was sent alongside the extracted kidney of a victim. While never caught, Jack's legacy endures as England's most famous serial Killer.
Ed Gein, the inspiration behind iconic horror characters like Norman Bates and Leatherface, was a real-life monster. He exhumed corpses, crafted furniture and clothing from human skin and bones, and even wore masks made from human faces.
Gein's macabre acts shocked the world and influenced popular culture for decades.
"The Killer Clown", John Wayne Gacy, was an American serial killer who lured young boys to his home. Gacy sexually assaulted and murdered at least 33 victims, burying most of them under his house. His dual life as a respected community figure and a sadistic murderer added to the horror of his crimes.
Jeffrey Dahmer, known as the "Milwaukee Cannibal", committed a series of gruesome murders. He dismembered and cannibalized his victims, keeping body parts as trophies.
Dahmer's twisted desires and chilling crimes shocked the world when they became known.
Aileen Wuornos, a female serial killer, targeted men in Florida during the late 1980s.
She claimed self-defense but was convicted of murdering seven men while working as a prostitute. Wuornos's troubled past and her violent spree became the basis for the film "Monster" starring Charlize Theron.
These infamous serial killers left a trail of horror, fascination, and unanswered questions. Their stories continue to intrigue and terrify us, reminding us of the darkest corners of humanity.
A serial killer is someone who commits multiple murders over some time. Here are the essential characteristics:
Serial killers carry out a series of killings, often with a similar pattern or method.
These murders occur over an extended period rather than in a single incident.
Serial killers may have various motives, such as psychological gratification, power, revenge, or thrill-seeking.
They show specific personality traits, often including psychopathy, sadism, or other mental disorders. Serial killers often follow a consistent pattern in their choice of victims, methods, and locations. Remember that the study of serial killers involves complex psychological, sociological, and criminal profiling aspects.
Robert Ressler and John Douglas found a set of characteristics common among serial killers in 1984. The psychology and motivations of serial killers are still tricky and disturbing to understand. Some factors are:
• They are primarily single white males.
• They have a "bright, normal" average IQ but are intelligent.
• They perform poorly in school, have unstable work histories, and become unskilled workers despite their intelligence.
• They have troubled family backgrounds; usually, their fathers left them early, and they grew up in dysfunctional homes ruled by their mothers.
• They have a long family history of mental illness, criminality, and alcoholism.
• They endure severe abuse as children - sometimes psychological, sometimes physical, often sexual; this makes them feel profoundly humiliated and helpless.
• They have trouble with male authority figures because of their anger toward their distant or abusive fathers; they also have an intense hatred of women because of their mother's dominance.
• They show signs of mental problems early and often spend time in institutions as children.
• They are extremely socially isolated and hate the world and everyone, including themselves; they often have suicidal thoughts as teenagers.
• They have an early and lasting fascination with deviance or sexuality and are fixated on fetishism, voyeurism, and violent pornography.
Over the years, various typologies have appeared. First, let us focus on the two most common, based more on Characteristics than motives.
Organized killers are methodical and calculated. They plan their crimes meticulously, often selecting specific victims. They keep control during the killings and may even keep souvenirs.
An organized serial killer is above average in intelligence and usually considers himself superior to other people. He is detailed in most aspects of their life, and they take great care with personal appearance grooming. The crimes are well thought out and carefully planned. The crime is usually committed away from his area of residence or work, and he is mobile, often traveling long distances to commit his crimes. Fantasy and ritual are essential to the organized Killer, and he typically selects a stranger whom he considers the "right" type of victim in terms of age, physical appearance, behavior, and other qualities. The Killer often carries a carefully prepared "torture kit", having his preferred implements of bondage and mutilation. He may follow and stalk this victim for hours or days and take immense pride in verbally manipulating his target into a position of vulnerability. His capture and control of the victim are calculated to afford him maximum power over his hapless prey. Alcohol is often used during the murder. He often takes a souvenir or trophy from his victim that he may later use to relive the event or enhance his fantasies surrounding the killing.
The organized serial Killer is often familiar with police procedures and takes immense pride in thwarting investigations and taunting law enforcement officials with the careful placement or concealment of evidence. In some cases, he is currently or has formerly worked in some branch of law enforcement or security or aspired to do so. They may be a "student" of earlier or contemporary serial killers, reading up on their exploits and even corresponding with them in prison. He typically learns from each of his crimes and becomes increasingly sophisticated in predatory and elusive tactics. Although casual observers may describe some serial killers as solitary and strange in their daily behavior, just as commonly, they may appear normal and a "regular guy" to coworkers, family, and neighbors.
Disorganized killers act impulsively. Their crimes are chaotic and messy. They often target victims randomly and leave behind evidence.
This type of Killer is average or below average in intelligence. He is often a loner and a recluse. He is typically an underachiever, feels sexually and interpersonally inadequate, has a poor self-image, and is considered "weird" or "creepy" by acquaintances. He typically engages in such sexual activities as voyeurism, exhibitionism, lingerie thefts, and fetish burglaries. He uses sadistic and fetishist fantasies and pornography in autoerotic activities. He is less careful about planning, and his crime scenes typically display more haphazard behavior. The violent offense is more impulsive and spontaneous, and the victim is often a target of opportunity. The disorganized Killer's crimes lack the manipulation and cunning of the organized Killer and typically consist of "blitz attacks" intended to silence the victim quickly through blunt force trauma, following which death usually follows quickly. Some attacks may be characterized by overkill, with multiple stabs and blows. Postmortem activities with the corpse may include biting, exploratory dissection, mutilation, insertion of foreign objects, or masturbation onto the body, and there may or may not be actual penile penetration of the body. As the name implies, the crime scene is sloppy and disorganized, with minimal effort to conceal the evidence. Trophies are less often taken, but there may be a secondary robbery of opportunity.
The other typologies of serial killers are based on their motivations and characteristics, as proposed by Holmes and DeBurger (1998). They are Hedonistic, Power/Control, mission-oriented, Visionary, and Utilitarian/Comfort serial killers. These types are not mutually exclusive, and some serial killers may have more than one motivation or characteristic.
However, they do supply a valuable framework for understanding the different motivations and behaviors of serial killers.
• Thrill/Rush
• Lust/sexual pleasure
• Necrophilia
The Hedonistic Serial Killer. This is the type of serial murderer who derives sexual pleasure from the act of killing, which is usually prolonged and contains acts of mutilation, torture, dismemberment, and necrophilia. This is closest to psychopathic sexual sadists and to the classic description of the serial sexual homicide perpetrator.
Sexually sadistic killers are murderers who derive sexual pleasure through inflicting pain on their victims, which describes both psychopathic sexual sadists and hedonistic serial killers. Sex is the primary motive for hedonist lust killers, regardless of whether their victims are alive or dead. That is why they often practice necrophilia or sex with corpses.
For example, Edmund Kemper was an American serial killer who killed ten people, including his grandparents and mother, between 1964 and 1973. He was also known as the Co-ed Killer because he targeted female college students who hitchhiked in California. He was very tall, intelligent, and friendly, but also had a history of childhood abuse, necrophilia, and mutilation. Edmund Kemper, the notorious serial killer, had a troubled and tumultuous upbringing. Edmund Kemper was the middle child born in Burbank, California, on December 18, 1948. His father served in World War II and later worked as an electrician. He even took part in nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific Proving Grounds.
His mother was an abusive woman, and their marriage was fraught with difficulties. She often complained about her husband's meager earnings and expressed immense frustration.
Her treatment of Edmund was harsh, and she often locked him in a dark basement alone at night. However, even as a child, Edmund showed high intelligence and demonstrated excessive cruelty. At the tender age of ten, he committed a disturbing act: he buried the family cat alive, dug it out after its demise, and then decapitated its head, mounting it on a spike. Edmund Kemper's upbringing was marked by dysfunction, abuse, and early signs of disturbing behavior. These factors would later contribute to his chilling crimes as a serial killer.
Kemper would often return to the corpses of his young female victims and have sex with them even when they were decomposing. Many of these Hedonistic/Sadistic killers also have to mutilate, drink the blood of, and cannibalize their victims to achieve sexual pleasure. Kemper killed his victims for his sexual satisfaction and enjoyment. He had sex with their bodies and severed heads, which is a type of necrophilia. Kemper had a fantasy of killing his mother, which he finally fulfilled. Kemper also said he was curious about how a pretty girl's head would look on a stick, showing a sadistic and twisted imagination. Kemper wanted public recognition and praise for his murders. He befriended the police officers looking for him and admitted his crimes to them.
Power-control serial killers kill to exert dominance and control over their victims. They are often obsessed with power and fantasy and look to manipulate and humiliate their victims. They are motivated by the desire to control and dominate their victims. They enjoy the process of murder, such as stalking, capturing, and torturing their prey. They find the act of murder sexually arousing and satisfying, as it is the final expression of their power and control over their victims. They are patient and kill their victims slowly to prolong their sadistic pleasure. They are often psychopaths and fall into the FBI's "organized" category of predators because they are meticulous planners, calm, and patient. They are often charming, charismatic, intelligent, and can blend in with society. They may sexually assault their victims, but not for Lust, but for another means of domination and control. They may not lose interest in their victims after they are dead and may engage in necrophilia or mutilation.
Born on November 24, 1946, in Burlington, Vermont, Ted Bundy's mother was an unwed mother who gave birth at a center for unwed mothers.
The identity of Bundy's biological father remained uncertain. Some accounts suggest his birth certificate listed "Unknown" as his father's name. In contrast, others guess that an Air Force veteran or sailor might have been his true father. Shockingly, there are claims that Bundy was the product of incest between his mother and her father. However, this has never been conclusively proven through DNA evidence. To avoid raising a child without a known father, His mother returned home to her parents' house in Philadelphia and surrendered her child to them. For the first three years of his life, Ted Bundy believed his mother was his sister and his grandparents were his parents. Bundy's upbringing was marked by confusion and secrecy. Raised by his grandparents, he discovered his true parentage only in 1969, shortly before his killing spree began. His maternal grandfather, who initially raised him, was racist, misogynistic, and abusive. Bundy spent his adolescence far from his childhood home, removed from everything familiar and raised by a stepfather with whom he felt no connection.
Ted Bundy's life took a dark turn. His childhood experiences, combined with other factors, contributed to the violent insanity that defined his adult years.
Ted Bundy was an American serial killer who killed at least 30 women in the 1970s. He was known for his charm, intelligence, and charisma, which he used to lure his victims. Ted Bundy was a power/control serial killer. This means that he killed his victims to dominate and control them. He enjoyed torturing his prey and found it sexually arousing. Still, it was the act of murder that was his most satisfying and final expression of power and control over his victims. He also engaged in necrophilia, or sex with corpses, to perpetuate his domination and control of the deceased. He was a psychopath who lacked empathy and remorse and sought public recognition and acclaim for his murders. He was also intelligent, charming, and charismatic and could blend in with society.
Mission Orientated/ /Custodial Killers/Utilitarian Killers. These types of Serial killers kill to "rid" society of a particular group of people, such as prostitutes, gay people, or members of a different race or religion. A sense of moral duty or a personal vendetta often drives them. Seek revenge. Eliminate a specific group or person. "Ridding the world. "Not for psychotic or financial gain
Mission-oriented serial killers operate under a compelling ideological imperative. While not permanently grossly psychotic, they are affected by delusional beliefs or extreme convictions. Their mission involves eradicating a specific group of people, often driven by religious, political, or racial motivations.
For example, James Clayton Vaughn was Born on April 13, 1950. His World War II veteran and butcher father abandoned the family when James was eight. His mother, described as a strict and perfectionist lady, had his after jailed twice for public drunkenness. She was of German descent and raised her children with strict discipline. James suffered severe physical abuse as a child and was rarely given enough to eat. His emotional development was stunted, and he felt emotionally behind his peers by at least ten years. His interest in evangelical Christianity and later in Nazism emerged during high school. Inspired by Paul Joseph Goebbels and Benjamin Franklin, Vaughn changed his name to Joseph Paul Franklin. He became a member of both the National Socialist White People's Party and the Ku Klux Klan. Unfortunately, in 1980, he was convicted of four homicides, including the sniper shooting of two black men who were jogging with a white woman in Salt Lake City, Utah. Shooting of an interracial couple in Madison, Wisconsin. Franklin justified and rationalized his compulsive and ritualistic killings by claiming that "race mixing is a sin against God and nature."
Aileen Wuornos's tragic childhood experiences played a significant role in shaping her troubled adulthood and the violent path she took. Born in Rochester, Michigan, in February 1956, Aileen Wuornos faced substantial challenges. Her parents were in a divorce when she was born. She never met her father, who was incarcerated at the time. He was a convicted child molester diagnosed with schizophrenia. Tragically, he committed suicide while in prison. Aileen was abandoned by her mother shortly before her fourth birthday. She was adopted by her maternal grandparents in Troy, Michigan. By the age of 11, Aileen was already prostituting herself to schoolmates in exchange for drugs, cigarettes, and food. Her maternal grandfather, an alcoholic, sexually assaulted and beat her. Aileen's life spiraled downward: she dropped out of school, turned to prostitution for survival, and became a chronic runaway.
Aileen Wuornos became an American serial killer who killed at least seven men in 1989–90. She claimed that she acted in self-defence after being assaulted or raped by her clients. Still, she was convicted and executed for her crimes. According to some criminologists, Wuornos could be classified as a mission-oriented serial killer because she killed to "rid" society of a particular group of people. These, namely men, exploited or harmed women. She also displayed some traits of power/control as a serial killer because she killed to exert dominance and control over her victims.
Custodial Killers murder vulnerable victims who are supposed to be in their care. Or other caretakers who poison or asphyxiate victims for financial gain, revenge, ideology, or twisted altruism ("angels of mercy/angels of death"). The most common examples include nurses in hospitals or nursing homes who surreptitiously murder ill or elderly patients, usually by asphyxiation or medication overdose, and foster parents of disabled children. This group is likely to hold the highest number of female serial killers.
One notable example is British nurse Lucy Letby, who was recently sentenced to life in prison for murdering seven infants in her care and trying to murder six others. Her case highlights the chilling reality of custodial killers working within healthcare systems.
During the trial of former neonatal nurse Lucy Letby, the prosecution explored several theories about her motives for committing heinous crimes against infants, the enjoyment of Control ("Playing God), Thrill-seeking and enjoying the emotional reactions. Letby may have had a secret relationship with a doctor. While the exact motivations behind Letby's actions may never be fully known, these theories shed light on the complex factors that led to her disturbing crimes. Unlike some other serial killers, there were no signs of significant hardship during her upbringing.
Charles Edmund Cullen, born on February 22, 1960, in West Orange, New Jersey, had a troubled and unstable frame of mind right from his childhood. Charles was the last of eight children born to his parents, Edmond and Florence. His father tragically died when Cullen was only seven months old. During his childhood, Charles displayed symptoms of mental instability and endured constant bullying by his sister's boyfriend and schoolmates. At the tender age of nine, he attempted suicide by drinking chemicals. The loss of his mother in a car accident in 1977 further devastated the already troubled Cullen.
Eventually, he dropped out of high school, setting the stage for a tumultuous journey that would lead to his dark crimes as a serial killer. Eventually, Charles became a nurse in the United States and gained notoriety as a custodial killer. His career spanned various hospitals in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. During this time, he is suspected of having murdered at least 40 patients, although the actual number may be even higher. Cullen's method of killing involved administering lethal doses of medications to patients under his care. His twisted sense of mercy led him to believe he was relieving patients of their suffering. In 2003, his crimes were exposed, and he faced justice, receiving multiple life sentences. The chilling reality remains that some healthcare workers can exploit their positions of trust to commit heinous acts against vulnerable patients.
Visionary serial killers murder at the command of imagined internal or external voices, which they experience and perceive to be authentic. These individuals are often suffering from psychoses or some other form of mental illness. Visionary killers typically experience a psychotic break from reality that leads them to murder. Unlike most serial killers who have an ideal victim they seek out, visionary killers select their victims at random based on logic that is indiscernible to investigators or forensic psychologists. Their murderous agenda is entirely synchronized with their internal madness.
Consequently, visionary killers always fall into the FBI's "disorganized" category of serial killers because of the mental illness and impulsivity that drive their criminal offenses. They are not thoughtful planners like their "organized" counterparts, exemplified by the calm and meticulous Ted Bundy. Moreover, visionary killers are said to be "act-focused" because the act of killing itself is their immediate goal. Some visionary killers come to believe that they are someone else. In contrast, others feel compelled to murder at the behest of entities such as the Devil or God. Both "God-mandated" and "demon-mandated" serial killers are common and well-documented.
For instance, Herbert Mullin, a visionary serial killer who murdered thirteen people in the early 1970s, believed that American casualties in the Vietnam War were somehow preventing a catastrophic earthquake in California. As the war wound down and U.S. casualties decreased, Mullin claimed that a supreme voice told him to raise the number of "human sacrifices" to delay an earthquake that would plunge California into the ocean. After his eventual capture, Mullin confessed to his crimes and asserted that the reason there had not been a catastrophic earthquake in California was due to his murderous actions. Mullin did not have a tragic upbringing; his father was stern but not abusive, but he was in and out of mental hospitals, eventually being diagnosed with Paranoid schizophrenia in his mid-twenties.
David Berkowitz, also known as the "Son of Sam," is another classic example of a visionary serial killer. Berkowitz shot thirteen people during his reign of terror in New York City in 1976 and 1977. In handwritten letters sent to the police and press before his arrest, Berkowitz claimed that Satan was ordering him to kill. Some even speculated that Berkowitz killed at the behest of Harvey, a black Labrador retriever owned by his neighbor Sam Carr, believing that the dog was a demon sending him murderous messages through its incessant nocturnal barking. Berkowitz also had a troubled upbringing. Born on June 1, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York, David Berkowitz grew up in a dysfunctional family. His birth mother, Betty, gave him up for adoption shortly after his birth. Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz adopted him. The Berkowitz family faced challenges, including financial difficulties and marital discord. As a child, David showed behavioral issues, including setting fires and cruelty to animals. His adoptive mother, Pearl, died when he was fourteen years old, further affecting his emotional well-being.
A Utilitarian, comfort-oriented serial killer primarily seeks material gain and an improved quality of life through the act of murder. These killers are perhaps the oldest recognized and least complicated type among all serial killers. Here are some critical points about them:
Their primary motive is financial profit. They murder to enhance their well-being.
Pirates have often fallen into this category throughout history. They sought wealth and comfort through acts of violence and plunder. Highway Bandits: Similar to pirates, highway bandits targeted travelers for their valuables. Black Widow Husband Killers: These women married multiple times, intentionally causing the deaths of their husbands to inherit their wealth. Landlord Killers: Some landlords murdered tenants for financial gain.
Dorothea Puente, also known as the "Death House Landlady," was an American convicted serial killer. In the 1980s, she ran a boarding house in Sacramento, California. Her crimes involved murdering various elderly and mentally disabled boarders who lived in her home. After killing them, she would cash their Social Security checks. Puente's total count reached nine murders, although she was convicted of three, and the jury hung on the other six. During her trial, she was portrayed as either a sweet grandma-like figure or a manipulative criminal who preyed on the vulnerable.
While her primary motive was not explicitly financial gain, her actions align with the characteristics of a comfort-oriented serial killer. She sought to improve her well-being through her crimes, even if her methods were not as straightforward as those of a typical comfort-oriented killer. Puente was born Dorothea Helen Gray on January 9, 1929, in Redlands, California, to Trudy Mae (née Yates) and Jesse James Gray. Her parents had an alcohol use disorder, and her father repeatedly threatened to kill himself in front of his children. Her father died of tuberculosis in 1937; her mother, who worked as a sex worker, lost custody of her children in 1938 and died in a motorcycle accident by the end of the year. Puente and her siblings were then sent to an orphanage, where she was sexually abused.
Utilitarian/Comfort Killers, not to be confused with Hired hitmen.
Because These killers are not professionals in the same way as hired hitmen.
They choose their targets based on personal motivations.
They do not receive a salary from a third party for committing murder.
An emotional need for comfort or security often drives their killings.
Hired Assassins, Hitmen (Contract Killers) These killers are professionals specifically employed for contract killings.: Their killings involve a business transaction. No Cooling-Off Period: Unlike other killers, they do not need a cooling-off period between murders. Targets Chosen for Them: Their employers carefully choose targets for them, paying handsomely for their services.
For example, Murder, Inc., also known as Murder, Incorporated, was an organized crime group active from 1929 to 1941. It functioned as the enforcement arm of the National Crime Syndicate. This intricately connected criminal organization included the Italian American Mafia, the Jewish Mob, and other criminal groups in New York City and elsewhere.
Murder, Inc. was composed of Jewish and Italian American gangsters. Its members were recruited from poor, working-class Jewish and Italian neighborhoods in Manhattan and Brooklyn. They were initially led by Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and later by Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia.
Murder, Inc. managed between 400 and 1,000 contract killings. The group accepted murder contracts from mob bosses across the United States. Their base of operations was Rosie Gold's candy store in Brooklyn. The killers were paid a regular salary as a retainer and an average fee of $1,000 to $5,000 per killing. Their families also received monetary benefits.
Harry Strauss was one of the most prolific killers, committing over 100 murders, with some estimates going as high as 500. Murder, Inc. ran in the shadows, leaving a dark legacy of violence and fear.
I am going to mention one more serial Killer, and that is Ivan Milat, an Australian serial killer who killed at least seven backpackers in the 1980s and 1990s. He is commonly referred to as the Backpacker Murderer. Ivan Robert Marko Milat abducted, assaulted, robbed, and murdered two men and five women in New South Wales between 1989 and 1992. His modus operandi involved approaching backpackers along the Hume Highway, offering them transport to areas of southern New South Wales, and then taking his victims into the Belanglo State Forest, where he would incapacitate and murder them.
Here are some critical details about Ivan Milat:
He was born on December 27, 1944, in Guildford, New South Wales, Australia. His parents were Croatian immigrants and laborers Stjepan Marko "Steven" Milat and Margaret Elizabeth Piddleston, an Australian national. Ivan was the fifth of their 14 children. The impoverished Milat family lived in rural areas before moving to Liverpool. Milat's father had a temper due to alcoholism. Milat displayed antisocial and psychopathic behavior from an early age, including attacking animals with machetes. He had multiple run-ins with the law, including theft, break and entering, and car theft. By age 22, he was imprisoned for robbery for three years. Milat targeted backpackers, luring them under the guise of providing transport. He murdered his victims in the Belanglo State Forest. His crimes involved abduction, assault, robbery, and murder. Milat is also suspected of committing other similar offenses and murders around Australia. Ivan Milat's crimes left a dark legacy, and his case is still one of Australia's most notorious serial killer investigations.
According to criminologists, Milat can be categorized as a Mission-Oriented/Power-Control and Hedonistic Serial Killer.
Milat killed with a sense of purpose, driven by a twisted mission or ideology.
His need for control over his victims was evident in the way he incapacitated them before taking their lives. Robbery was another aspect of his power and control, allowing him to dominate his victims. Milat derived pleasure and gratification from his heinous acts.
His crimes were not merely functional; a dark desire for personal satisfaction fueled them.
Milat, like almost all the other Serial Killers in this article, shares characteristics that Robert Ressler and John Douglas identified as common risk factors and characteristics for serial killers. Serial killer typologies are valuable tools for understanding the motives, methods, and patterns of serial murderers. However, they are not definitive or comprehensive and may vary depending on the source and criteria used. Other researchers and practitioners have widely adopted and modified Ressler and Douglas's typology. Still, it also has some limitations and criticisms. For example, some serial killers may not fit neatly into any of the categories, or they may change their type over time. Furthermore, some factors that may influence serial killing, such as biological, environmental, or situational factors, are not adequately addressed by the typology. Therefore, while serial killer typologies can provide valuable insights into the complex phenomenon of serial murder, they should be applied with caution and flexibility and supplemented by other sources of information and evidence.
Editor's note: this article ran in Serial Killer Magazine and is reproduced as written, less a repeated date and byline header from the manuscript. It is a survey of the classification systems rather than a case report, and the figures behind the names it uses as examples are these: Ted Bundy thirty confessed, John Wayne Gacy thirty three, Jeffrey Dahmer seventeen, Edmund Kemper ten, Herbert Mullin eleven to thirteen, David Berkowitz six, Charles Cullen twenty nine convictions against about forty admitted, Dorothea Puente three to nine or more, Ivan Milat seven convictions covering all seven murders, and Joseph Paul Franklin convicted across a series of trials with around twenty confessed. Aileen Wuornos received six death sentences, one at trial and five on pleas. Lucy Letby's convictions are under review by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, and this archive carries a separate article on that; where she is used here as an example of a type, the classification is the author's and the case is not settled.