SERIAL KILLERS AND INSANITY

Article BY Jessica Robinson - Art by NICOLAS CASTELAUX

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In a perfect world, serial killers would be insane. This would allow the public to understand why they did what they did, and it would give them the chance to be treated. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world, and most serial killers are not insane. What does it mean to be insane? Surely anyone who kills another, eats their body parts, or has sex with a headless corpse can’t be in their right mind. Insanity, as defined by the Law Dictionary, reads as follows: “mental illness of such a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, cannot conduct her/his affairs due to psychosis, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior.” The definition continues for criminal insanity:

In criminal cases, a plea of ‘not guilty by reason of insanity’ will require a trial on the issue of the defendant’s insanity (or sanity) at the time the crime was committed. In these cases the defendant usually claims ‘temporary insanity’ (crazy then, but okay now). The traditional test of insanity in criminal cases is whether the accused knew ‘the difference between right and wrong,’ following the ‘M’Naughten rule’ from 19th century England. Most states require more sophisticated tests based on psychiatric and/or psychological testimony evaluated by a jury of laypersons or a judge without psychiatric training. A claim by a criminal defendant of his/her insanity at the time of trial requires a separate hearing to determine if a defendant is sufficiently sane to understand the nature of a trial and participate in his/her own defense. If found to be insane, the defendant will be ordered to a mental facility, and the trial will be held only if sanity returns.1

The M’Naghten Rule, which was the earliest and most common test for criminal insanity, was based on a man named Daniel M’Naghten. He believed that he was personally being threatened by Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel. He went to defend himself, and accidentally shot and killed Peel’s private secretary. He was acquitted on the grounds of insanity because he was not aware of his actions or the difference between right and wrong.

The only serial killer who has used the insanity plea successfully was Ed Gein. At the time of his arrest, he was found to be mentally incompetent, so he was considered unfit to stand trial. Instead of prison, he was sent to Central State Hospital in Waupun, Wisconsin. When this hospital was converted into a prison, Gein was sent to Mendota State Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. His doctors determined he was sane enough to stand trial in 1968. He was found guilty of first-degree murder, but since he was already declared legally insane, he spent the remainder of his life in a mental institution.

Several other serial killers have attempted to convince the courts and the public that they are insane, but usually to no avail. One of the most common ruses is to create an alter ego. The hope here is that the killer will appear to have multiple personalities, making them less culpable for their actions. Multiple personality disorder, now referred to as dissociative identity disorder (DID), is defined as:

a mental illness that involves the sufferer experiencing at least two clear identities or personality states, each of which has a fairly consistent way of viewing and relating to the world...This disorder was formerly called multiple personality disorder (MPD) and is often referred to as split personality disorder. Although statistics regarding this disorder indicate that the incidence of DID is about 3% of patients in psychiatric hospitals and is described as occurring in females nine times more often than in males, this may be due to difficulty identifying the disorder in males. Also, disagreement among mental-health professionals about how this illness appears clinically, and if DID even exists, adds to the difficulty of estimating how often it occurs.

Some professionals continue to be of the opinion that DID does not exist...[A] concern about the diagnosis of DID involves having to rely on the traumatic memories of those who suffer from this disorder. That DID is significantly more often assessed in individuals in North America compared to the rest of the world, for the most part, leads some practitioners to believe that DID is a culture-based myth rather than a true disorder...Research on individuals with DID that have little to no media exposure to information on the illness lends further credibility to the reliability of this diagnosis.

If professionals can’t agree on how to diagnose it or if it even exists, then it must be easy to fake. H.H. Holmes created “Edward Hatch,” who he claimed was the evil mastermind behind the Pietzel children murder. (It should be noted that this in itself is an interesting defense considering “H.H. Holmes” was an alias created by Herman Webster Mudgett.) William Heirens created “George Murman,” John Gacy created “Jack Hanley,” and Kenneth Bianchi created “Steve Walker.” These alter egos fall apart under scrutiny because actual cases of DID are extremely rare. In the case of Kenneth Bianchi’s Steve, it was discovered that Bianchi had seen the movie “Sybil” days before his psychiatric evaluation.

These men tried to manipulate the system into thinking they were insane. One of the reasons they might have done it was so they wouldn’t get the death penalty, but then again, they might have just done it because it is their nature (I will expand upon this idea later). Serial killers aren’t stupid. That is evident in the fact that they can get away with multiple murders before finally being caught. Some of them are even able to hold together families. They know how to appear “normal.” So why would it be so hard to believe that they would want to appear insane? One of the most famous cases of attempting to be insane is Edmund Kemper.

After Kemper murdered his grandparents, he was sent to the criminally insane unit at Atascadero State Hospital. Kemper learned to manipulate the system. He “was such an endearing model prisoner and so intelligent that the staff trained him to administer psychiatric tests to other prisoners. Kemper later admitted that being able to understand how these test functioned allowed him to manipulate his psychiatrists.” He stayed in the hospital for 5 years before he was declared cured; he was no longer a danger to the public. He continued to see his probation psychiatrist, all the while fantasizing about murdering women. On one occasion, he even went to his session with a victim’s head in the trunk of his car. Because of his ability to appear “normal,” his psychiatrists believed that he was a well-adjusted individual.

But that is not to say that there are no instances of insanity among serial killers. One of the most common diagnoses for serial killers is schizophrenia, which is defined as:

A psychiatric diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by abnormalities in the perception or expression of reality. Distortions in perception affect all five senses, including sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch, but most commonly manifest as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking with significant social or occupational dysfunction. Onset of symptoms typically occurs in young adulthood, with approximately 0.4-0.6% of the population affected…Studies suggest that genetics, early environment, neurobiology, psychological and social processes are important contributory factors; some recreational and prescription drugs appear to cause or worsen symptoms.

During Albert Fish’s trial, he claimed that he heard voices from God telling him to kill children. His family had a history of mental illness, including a family member who suffered from religious mania. Several experts took the stand, including several psychiatrists and his own 17-year old step-daughter. Nevertheless, he was found sane, and sentenced to death.

Peter Sutcliffe, The Yorkshire Ripper, pleaded not guilty on the grounds of diminished responsibility at his trail, but he was found sane and found guilty of murder on all counts. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. Later, he was diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia. In March 1984, he was sent to Broadmoor Hospital.

Herbert Mullin murdered thirteen people because voices in his head told him to do it to prevent an earthquake. He confessed to his crimes, so his trial focused on whether or not he was culpable for his actions. Despite the fact that he was in and out of mental institutions since the age of 21, he burned himself with cigarettes, and was evicted from an apartment because he repeatedly pounded on the floor and shouted at people who weren’t there, he was found guilty of first-degree murder for two of his victims and second-degree murder for eight. It was FBI profiler Robert K. Ressler who asserted that Mullin was schizophrenic. He claimed that it manifested as early as his senior year of high school and was accelerated by the use of marijuana, LSD, or amphetamines.

It is interesting to note that Mullin was claiming victims at the same time as Kemper, and they spent some time in the same prison. According to Peter Vronsky:
Kemper and Mullin were incarcerated in the same prison block, and Kemper tormented Mullin by calling him ‘Herbie,’ a diminutive Mullin hated. ‘He had a habit of singing and bothering people when somebody tried to watch TV. So I threw water on him to shut him up. Then, when he was a good boy, I’d give him peanuts. Herbie liked peanuts. That was effective, because pretty soon he asked permission to sing. That’s called behavior modification treatment.’

Asked if Kemper thought Mullin was insane, he replied, ‘Yes, judging from my years in Atascadero, I would say he is mentally ill.’3

Just because a serial killer is diagnosed as schizophrenic, that does not mean the disease was the cause of their murders. Whether or not violence is a symptom of schizophrenia is a very contentious issue. “Studies have indicated that 5% to 10% of those charged with murder in Western countries have a schizophrenia spectrum disorder.”4 Yet, there are also statistics that claim “Individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia are often the victims of violent crime—at least 14 times more often than they are perpetrators.”

Most individuals who are diagnosed with schizophrenia tend to shy away from social situations because of their hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized and unusual thinking and speech. Since the disease usually manifests in late adolescence or early adulthood, the person’s social and vocational development can be severely disrupted. According to Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, a well known researcher, psychiatrist, and author in the field of schizophrenia:

There appear to be three primary predictors of violence and three other less well-defined predictors. The most important one is a history of past violence; this is the most significant predictor of violence no matter whether a person is mentally ill or not. In trying to predict future violent behavior, the person’s history is the single most critical piece of information.

The second important predictor is drug and alcohol abuse, and this is also valid whether the person is mentally ill or not. In 1994, Jeanette Smith and Stephen Hucker reviewed studies of substance abuse in persons with schizophrenia and noted ‘a growing body of research suggesting a significant link between schizophrenia, substance abuse, and violence.’

The third important predictor is the failure to take medication...Those who do not take prescribed medication appear to be much more likely to commit violent acts.

Albert Fish was born on May 19, 1870, in Washington D.C. His father was 43 years older than his mother and worked as a river boat captain and a fertilizer manufacturer. Fish’s father died of a heart attack, and his mother was forced to find work. She was unable to care for her son, so she placed him in an orphanage where he was frequently whipped and beaten. He discovered that he enjoyed the physical pain, and would get an erection from the abuse, which led the other kids to tease him. His mother eventually got a job with the government and was able to take him back. In 1882, Fish began a relationship with a telegraph boy who introduced him to drinking urine and coprophagia (which in itself might seem crazy, but the court did not find that his fetishes were caused by insanity). Perhaps if Fish had not been subjected to this abuse, he wouldn’t have murdered kids. Since violence was enacted on him, he felt he needed to enact it on others, which is very common in the cycle of abuse.

Herbert Mullin decided to stop taking drugs in January 1973, after he had murdered three people. He blamed his friend Jim Gianera from high school, who had sold him marijuana. But his spree did not end after he stopped taking drugs. He went on to murder ten more people.

The only known treatment for schizophrenia is antipsychotic medication. But, like all medications, they are only effective if taken regularly. It is unknown if any serial killers were prescribed antipsychotics or if they took them on a regular basis.

Schizophrenia describes the actions of some serial killers. Most experts (Peter Vronsky [an investigative journalist and author] and Dr. J. Reid Meloy [author of The Psychopathic Mind: Origins, Dynamics, and Treatment]) agree that serial killers can be classified as psychopathic, which is commonly known as antisocial personality disorder. As I mentioned earlier, serial killers may do what they do because it is in their nature. Vronsky claims:

Psychologists theorize that psychopaths have a diminished capacity to experience fear and anxiety, which are the roots to the normal development of conscience. Psychopaths are often very charismatic and very able at manipulating people. They are highly talented in feigning emotions while inside feeling nothing. They have no remorse for their victims and have highly developed psychological defense mechanisms such as rationalization (‘She should have known better than to hitchike’), projection (‘She was a heartless manipulating slut’), and disassociation (‘I don’t remember killing her’). They have a very weak realization of self and compensate for that with grandiosity and an inflated notion of entitlement—meaning that they feel that they are special and ‘entitled’ to act above the law or morality. Most notable, psychopaths lack any sense of empathy with the feeling of others.3

The list of serial killers who fit this profile seems endless. Ted Bundy calls himself the “most cold-blooded sonofabitch you’ll every meet. I just like to kill, I wanted to kill.” John Gacy never showed remorse, and called his victims “worthless little queers and punks.” Sutcliffe believed he was “cleaning up the streets.”

Dr. Meloy asserts that the psychopath’s relationships are based on power, not attachment. He believes that it starts in early childhood development. There is a split between the “soft me,” which is the vulnerable inside, and the “hard not-me,” which is the punishing outside. The child goes through neglectful or painful experiences, and expects that all outside experiences are going to be painful, so he turns inward. He distrusts everything and everyone outside, and refuses to allow anyone in. Because of this distrust, the child cannot identify with the parents, and soon, the child has no empathy for anyone.

The majority of serial killers came from rough childhoods. Many of them grew up with abusive parents and suffered horrible forms of torture. It’s possible that the reason Fish murdered children was because he held animosity toward those who made fun of him in the orphanage. He could exert his power over those who were younger and weaker than he was.

Kemper murdered women he believed he could never possess. His mother was overbearing and abusive. She constantly blamed her troubles on her son. She constantly belittled him and made him feel worthless. Kemper mainly murdered coeds because they were easy prey. Kemper’s mother worked at the University of California in Santa Cruz, so she gave him a parking sticker so he could pick her up from work. Even though students were warned not to take rides from strangers, the sticker in the window made them feel more at ease. He had power over the women, which was more than he could say with his mother.

The pattern continues with other serial killers. Those who suffered abuse from the hands of their mothers generally wound up killing women. Gacy, who suffered abuse from his father, wound up killing adolescent boys and men. The killers feel a sense of helplessness, a sense of worthlessness, so they kill those who are weaker to provide themselves with power and meaning.

Not every psychopath becomes a serial killer. Vronsky explains:
While not all psychopaths are violent, they are prone to violence more than average. It is estimated that 20 to 30 percent of prison populations consist of psychopaths. But the same might be said for the populations of corporate CEOs, performing artists, and certainly for politicians. Being a psychopath alone does not make one a serial killer.3

Kemper’s first profession of choice was to be a cop. At 6 feet 9 inches and weighing 280 pounds, Kemper tried out for the California Highway Patrol, but he was rejected because of his size. That did not stop him from hanging out with the police and becoming friends with them. After he started killing, he received inside information on the course of the investigation. He was so liked by the Santa Cruz police that when he called to confess to the murders of eight women, no one believed him.

There is no indication why Kemper went from wanting to be a cop to killing women. Perhaps it is because he wanted to be in a position where his lack of fear and anxiety would be put to good use, but since he couldn’t use that to help people, he used it to harm. There is a clear distinction between cops and criminals, between good and bad, and since Kemper couldn’t be good, his only other option was to be bad.

No one really knows why some psychopaths become violent and others don’t. It is theorized that the violence emerges out of personal social conditions and biological and genetic factors. There also seems to be an imbalance of chemicals that are linked to depression and compulsive behavior. There are a myriad of theories out there. But the truth is: no one really knows why serial killers kill.
The prevailing theory is that there is a delicate balance between a chaotic or abusive childhood and biochemical factors that can trigger murderous psychopathic behavior. Healthy social factors can prevent a biochemically unstable individual from committing criminal acts; healthy biochemistry can protect a person with a turbulent childhood from growing up to be a killer. Violent offenders emerge when both elements are out of balance. This theory goes a long way to explain why some children with difficult childhoods do not become serial killers and not everyone with a head injury behave criminally.

Unfortunately, there is no treatment or cure for psychopaths. It cannot be traced to a single chemical, viral, or organic agent. Psychiatric facilities have no influence on a psychopath, with the exception of giving them more ways to manipulate the populace (see Edmund Kemper). Fortunately, it seems that psychopaths cure themselves as they age. For whatever reason, “Starting from age twenty-one, approximately 2 percent of all psychopaths go into remission every year. The older the psychopath becomes, the more likely that he will become adjusted to society—especially in his midforties.”3 This may explain why most serial killers kill in their mid-20s, and perhaps why Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer disappeared without being apprehended.

While it is possible for a serial killer to have a serious mental illness, most of them are diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. They are not legally insane because they know the difference between right and wrong; why else would they try to hide their actions from the public? On the one hand, this can be comforting. If serial killers are declared criminally insane, they cannot be given the death penalty. On the other hand, it is very frightening. If there is no treatment or cure, there is no way to stop it from occurring in future generations.