PSYCHOLOGICAL PHASES OF SERIAL KILLERS

There are seven psychological phases a serial killer goes through in his mind. They were identified and described by psychologist Joel Norris in 1988. Norris worked on the defense teams of several convicted killers from Georgia and completed 500 interviews with such individuals, during which he identified the following phases.

1. AURA PHASE

He hasn't killed yet, but he starts to withdraw from family and friends, isolating himself more and more.  He is like a person addicted to television, all he wants to do is to continue watching it, but the 'television' that he is watching is a fantasy in his head.  People he comes in contact with might not even notice that there is a difference, but at this aura phase, he won't be trying to make any contact with other people that he isn't already obligated to talk to and interact with.  It is here that he might start abusing alcohol or drugs, which usually leads to the fantasies intensification and after awhile these fantasies have to be acted upon.  This phase can last from a few minutes to a few months.  This is the time when he is getting up his nerve to put action to his fantasies, he's building himself up.

2. TROLLING PHASE

The killer has decided that he is ready, and he is looking for a victim. He's usually going to be looking in a place where he's been before, so that being familiar with the surroundings, he knows where he will most likely succeed in finding someone he won't be caught with. He has to find a good place to kill the victim.  He also has to take into consideration where he will leave or dump the body.  This phase takes as long as it takes, sometimes a day, sometimes months.  He is looking for the perfect victim to act out those fantasies that have grown in his mind.  By this phase, he has an idea of how he will approach the victim.

3. WOOING PHASE

Note that the disorganized killer wouldn't be here at this phase, as the organized killer is more confident and has better social skills.  He will try to socialize with the victim and gain their trust.  Once he has their trust, he will get them to a secluded area that he picked out during the Trolling phase and move on to the next phase. 

4. CAPTURE PHASE

This is where he betrays the trust he has gained.  The capture.  He somehow got the victim into the car (or knocks them out and puts them there) and he goes to the secluded area that he already picked out.  He might pretend to need help with something to get them to the car.  He gets pleasure out of the capture phase; he is in complete control and loves this. Once he's sure his victim cannot get away, he goes to the next phase. Note that some people have actually escaped or talked the killer into letting them go during this phase.  It seems as though there is a way to interrupt the fantasy here, maybe mentioning children, somehow in begging for their life, some victims have been let go, sometimes the killer just walks away or drops them off on the side of the road or at a hospital.

5.  MURDER PHASE

A disorganized killer is likely to kill the victim quickly, raping and mutilating after death.  With the organized killer, time will be taken to act out his fantasy, usually raping and mutilating while the victim is still alive.  The most organized serial killer will keep the person alive as long as possible to get the most enjoyment out of the act and make it last, because he is not really there for the kill, he is there to live out the fantasy.

6.  TOTEM PHASE

The fantasy is over, and the excitement is gone. He gets depressed because it's over and it didn't last.  This is why some serial killers will take what we call 'trophies' away with them, so that they have something that will help them reenact the kill over and over in his mind.  This helps him remember the power he had over the victim, it reminds him that he actually did it.

7.  DEPRESSION PHASE

This is the last phase before he starts again.  He's emotionally let down.  This can last for days or weeks, sometimes even months.  This is the time that they might try to commit suicide, or even confess to the police before he kills again.  Now that the victim is dead, they don't represent what the thought they did and the fantasy is still there.  It never gets finished with a satisfactory ending.  It's like an incomplete story. In every subsequent murder, he tries to make the scene of the crime the same as the fantasy, which is why there are almost always patterns to a serial killers kills. Serial killing is an addiction, and the killing patterns will be continued.

To date, there is not a way to stop a serial killer from killing but the catch them and put them in prison.  The above phases help to explain this, as they did it, got away with it, still need to satisfy that fantasy, and will continue because there is no satisfactory end.