Serial offences

Question 1

Are most murders single or multiple murders? In how many events?

Answer 1

1 1

Question 2

In general, if the person kills more than one person, they have at least __ victims

Answer 2

3

Question 3

Mass murder, spree murder and serial murder depend on 3 factors, what are they?

Answer 3

Number of victims, number of locations, cooling off period

Question 4

Mass murder: at least __ victims. ___ location and cooling off period of…

Answer 4

3
one
minutes or hours (so no cooling off period)

Question 5

Spree murder: at least __ victims. ___ location and cooling off period of…

Answer 5

3
2+
hours to days

Question 6

Serial murder: at least __ victims. ___ location and cooling off period of…

Answer 6

3
many locations, or always same one
weeks to years

Question 7

What is a high profile case of mass murder?

Answer 7

Polytechnique by Marc Lepine

Question 8

What are the subcategories of mass murder?

Answer 8

school shootings, family mass murders

Question 9

What usually happens in a classic case of mass murder?

Answer 9

Enter public place, kill at location, strangers or people known to the victim. If strangers, not at random. Often caught because stay at the scene long enough and seen by many. Often commit suicide or killed by police.

Question 10

What is the prevalence of mass murders in US?

Answer 10

Mass murder every two weeks

School shooting monthly

Question 11

What is an exception to mass murder? Grey zone

Answer 11

If the plan was to kill more than 3 people, but didn’t succeed. Might still count as a mass murder.

Question 12

What are predispositions? Precipitants? Facilitators? (definitions)

Answer 12

Particular condition, particular attitude, act in particular way
Cause or stimulus that precipitate a condition (trigger pushed perpetrator)
Something/someone makes it easier

Question 13

Mass Murder:
Murders are (planned/impulsive).
There (is/is no) warning signs.
Usually (follows/ doesn’t follow) a trigger
Committed by (stranger/non-stranger)
(rarely/often) committed as a result of mental illness

Answer 13

planned
is
follows
non-stranger
rarely

Question 14

Who is the classical offender for a mass murder?

Answer 14

Adolescent man, loner in high school, likely uses drugs/alcohol, almost 50% were bullied and had histories of violence. 23% had mental illness and only 1% were psychotic.

Question 15

How does the media portrays offenders of mass murder?

Answer 15

deranged, mentally ill loners
say mental illness causes gun violence
psychiatric diagnosis can predict gun crime
gun control won’t prevent another mass shooting

Question 16

mental illness is a predictor only if…

Answer 16

paired with another characteristic

Question 17

Who are the targets of mass murder?

Answer 17

represents something offender hates or blames

Question 18

Why do people commit mass murder? Ideas behind

Answer 18

usually because of depression, anger, frustration
belief they won't succeed in life. 
Fantasies of violence or revenge
Trying to create their dream world
glorifies death as a mean of fame and themselves as powerful beings
starting revolution
provide sense of self-esteem
performance of power and masculinity

Question 19

What are the 5 motivations of mass murder?

Answer 19

power: heavily armed, create war zone
revenge:
loyalty: save them from something
profit: robbery
terror: extremists
relationships, history of bullying and victimization.

Question 20

Why are spree murder a difficult category, that is even debated?

Answer 20

No characteristics that is exclusive to spree murder, so is it a serial mass murder? Is moving between locations a cooling off period?

Question 21

What is a good Canadian example of spree murder?

Answer 21

Gabriel Wortman killed 22 people in 13h disguised as an RCMP person. 9 different locations.

Question 22

What is a subject that is debated regarding serial murder?

Answer 22

What about contract killers? Where do they go?

Question 23

____% of serial killers are male. Mostly (solo/accompagnied)
Race?
Victims?

Answer 23

83
solo
caucasian
young females, strangers.

Question 24

What is a black widow? An Angel of death?

Answer 24

Female kills for financial gain

Nurse kills patients

Question 25

Studies for female serial killers are rare and biased. Nevertheless, explain the difference between men and women: 
History?
Accomplice?
Motive?
Mean?
Victims?
Location?

Answer 25

Men have a prior history, women don’t
Men are solo (75%), women are accompanied (50%)
control sex, women for $$
Firearm, stabbing, women use poison
Men kill strangers, women kill family members
men are mobile, women are in one specific place

Question 26

What are the four types of serial killers? Explain each.

Answer 26

Visionary: voices or visions - delusional, psychotic.
Mission -oriented: eliminate undesirable effects
Hedonistic: self-gratification, lust, thrill, comfort
power/control: no sexual gratification, absolute control and dominance over victim.

Question 27

What are the problems with the typology of serial killer?

Answer 27

• Overlap

- Failed to test multiple motivations

Question 28

Explain the theory of serial homicide in your words:

Answer 28

1- person maybe has predisposition factors (not requires)
2- Person has traumatic events (Death, divorce, abuse)
3- person might dissociate (detach from one self, from parents)
3- Person also might have low self esteem, fantasies (manifests rejection, mistrusts, anxiety)
4- Trauma is reinforced (relationship deficiency, failed relationships, loss control, other failures) —– leads back to self esteem problems
5- Also links to increasingly violent fantasies
6- facilitators (alcohol, drugs, porn)
7- homicidal behaviours

Question 29

Why do serial killers repeat?

Answer 29

victim rarely plays the role they wanted them to have, not as satisfying as fantasy. Recreate to obtain perfect scenario. Inactive period get shorter to get satisfaction.