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CHAPTER 1
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. One of the confounding myths of serial murder is that they are all, by definition
_____.
a. violent.
b. committed by killers who report prior criminality and incarcerations.
c. cases of sane individuals who commit atrocities on society.
d. sexual.
2. Stereotypes of serial murderers that have formed in the minds of American society
include:
a. the murderer is ruthless.
b. the murderer is blood-thirsty.
c. the murderer lives a Jekyll-and-Hyde existence.
d. all of the above
3. In his novel, American Psycho, Ellis did NOT explore which of the following?
a. psychopathy
b. obsessive-compulsive disorder
c. narcissism
d. sadism
4. Which of the following offenders has been identified as a serial killer?
a. Richard Speck
b. James Huberty
c. Charles Whitman
d. Jerry Brudos
5. Which of the following is NOT a myth surrounding serial killers?
a. One in five U.S. serial killers is black.
b. They are all male.
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c. They are all insane.
d. They are all lust killers.
6. Which of the following is NOT a fact surrounding serial killers?
a. Some victims are poisoned or shot.
b. Most killers are of average intelligence.
c. They have high mobility in the United States.
d. Most offenders remain in a local area.
7. According to Haggerty, which precondition for serial murder does not have its roots in
modernity?
a. mass media and the rise of celebrity status
b. a society in which everyone knows everyone else
c. a society void of value considerations that encourages extreme rationalization
d. opportunity structures that afford serial killers more access to certain victims such as
females who now often work outside their homes victims such as females who now
often work outside their homes
8. In 2012, males accounted for _____of all murder victims.
a. Only 5 percent
b. 25 percent
c. Over half
d. Over 77 percent
9. Homicide offenders are mostly _____.
a. male
b. female
c. each sex equally
d. The sex of homicide offenders is not recorded.
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10. Females who were murdered by someone they knew accounted for _____ percent
of female homicides.
a. 42.7
b. 68.3
c. 12.1
d. 98
11. When combining all mass murders, mini-mass murders, and attempted mass
murders, the incidences of such murders remains _____.
a. very high.
b. very low.
c. consistently stable.
d. a mystery to explain.
12. Women are _____ than men to commit mass murder.
a. more likely
b. just as likely
c. less likely
d. Women never commit mass murder.
13. According to Holmes and Holmes, a person who plans an escape route following
the killing aftermath falls into which mass murderer classification?
a. ideological mass murderer
b. disciple-type killer
c. psychotic killer
d. set-and-run killer
14. With the exception of those who murder their families, mass murderers appear to
_____.
a. plan their attack like serial murderers
b. give little thought or concern to capture or death
c. commit their crimes in private places
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d. plan a detailed escape route
15. According to the FBI, what is killing four or more persons at one time considered to
be?
a. blanket homicide
b. spree murder
c. mass murder
d. serial murder
16. In some mass killings an offender begins killing in one location, then moves to
another location to continue. What is this phenomenon called?
a. bifurcation
b. bilocation
c. bicyclation
d. bilaterality
17. Holmes and Holmes, in their mass murderer classifications, would place Mark
Barton in which category?
a. murderer for profit
b. murderer for sex
c. family slayer or annihilator
d. disciple-type killer
18. What are spree murders sometimes called?
a. cluster killings
b. group killings
c. fun killings
d. flash murders
19. Compared to a mass murderer, a serial murderer _____.
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a. kills groups of people
b. individualizes his or her murders
c. makes his or her “final statement” in or about life through violence
d. is the product of a stressful environment
20. Which of the following characteristics are common to both mass and serial
murderers?
a. For both, murder is means of control over life.
b. Both are usually arrested or killed at the crime scene.
c. Both often commit suicide after the crime.
d. Both elude arrest and detection.
21. Perhaps the single most critical stumbling block that currently stands in the way of
understanding serial murder is the disagreement among researchers and law
enforcement personnel about _____.
a. how to keep track of all the serial murderers
b. how to define the phenomenon
c. who is considered the real “expert” on the matter
d. how to draw jurisdictional lines in investigations
22. What is the killing of a newborn within the first 24 hours of life called?
a. infanticide
b. prolicide
c. parricide
d. neonaticide
23. This is sometimes referred to as “no fault” homicide, and usually involves the killing
of someone out of necessity or duty.
a. homicide
b. necessary murder
c. mercy killing
d. justifiable homicide
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24. John is robbing Radio Shack with his partner Eric. Eric becomes impatient with the
store owner and waves his gun, which goes off accidentally. The bullet ricochets off a
metal table and strikes John, killing him. What crime has Eric committed?
a. manslaughter
b. felony murder
c. negligent homicide
d. accidental homicide
25. From a judicial point of view, the most serious of murders are those that are capital
cases involving _____, or the willful, intentional killing of another person(s).
a. premeditated murder
b. serial murder
c. unmeditated murder
d. mediated murder
26. In California, the average length of time for an appeals process to be completed is
_____.
a. over 16 years
b. over 10 years but less than 15
c. 10 years or less
d. 5 years tops
27. Where was the Southside Slayer from?
a. South Detroit
b. Atlanta
c. Los Angeles
d. Seattle
28. Which of the following serial killers was convicted of the most murders in the history
of the United States?
a. Ted Bundy
b. Gary Ridgway
c. John Wayne Gacy
d. Edmund Kemper
29. The Green River Killer, Gary Ridgway, in response to a detective asking him to rank
himself on a scale of 1-5, with 5 “being the worst possible evil person that could have
done this kind of thing,” viewed himself as a _____.
a. 2 because he only chose women who deserved to die
b. 3 because it wasn’t like he was a monster like Ted Bundy
c. 4 because he considered Jeff Dahmer to be the worst
d. 3 because he killed them fast and didn’t torture them
30. Which of the following categories by Holmes and Deburger would be most likely to
have offenders who suffer from some type of psychosis?
a. hedonistic
b. power/control
c. visionary
d. mission oriented
TRUE/FALSE
1. All serial killers are psychopaths.
2. Law enforcement officials have been dealing with serial murder for only a few years.
3. According to Holmes and Holmes, an institutional mass murderer commits mass
murder as a crime of obedience when ordered to by his or her leader.
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4. All mass murderers are motivated by similar circumstances.
5. Hickey, in noting the degree of mobility exercised by offenders, has delineated three
distinct groups of offenders: traveling serial killers, local serial killers, and serial killers
who never leave their homes or places of employment.
COMPLETION
1. Technology, specifically _____, became a critical factor in convicting Wayne
Williams.
2. Insanity is a _____. Very few offenders (2 percent–4 percent) are legally insane.
3. _____, in which several victims are killed within a few moments or hours, seem to be
occurring with greater frequency.
4. In what is called a _____, some mass murderers begin killing in one location, then
move to another to continue killing.
5. The FBI’s definition of serial killing is the unlawful killing of _____.
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ESSAY QUESTIONS
1. Discuss Haggerty’s assertion that focusing on the etiology and biography of offenders
is only part of the equation in understanding serial murder.
2. What is bifurcation? Explain the difference between public-to-public events and
private-to-public events.
3. Each state has specific criteria for defining murder. List at least two different forms
and discuss their differences.