CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
► Know the five types of mass murder.
► Understand the kind of mass murder Andrea Yates is associated with.
► Know the kind of mass murder Charles Whitman and James Huberty are associated with.
KEY TERMS
Mass murder Cooling-off period
Rampage killer Disciple killer
Family annihilator Pseudocommando
Set-and-run killer Copycat murderer
Organized serial killer Disorganized serial killer
LECTURE NOTES
Mass Murders and Serial Killers
Mass Murder
Disciple killer
Follows the dictates of a charismatic leader. An example would be Charles Manson and his
group of disciples.
Family Annihilator
Pseudocommando
Preoccupied with weaponry of all sorts. When he kills, it is usually after a long period of
School shooters
Reveal additional idiosyncratic personality features and reactionary patterns to campus life.
Disgruntled Employees
Often former employees of a company who have been counseled, disciplined, dismissed, or
placed on some form of medical leave or disability. He retaliates for this perceived injustice by
going to the place where he once worked and killing former fellow employees either randomly or
selectively.
Set-and-Run Killers
These individuals are usually motivated by a need for revenge. But extortion, insurance fraud,
and ideological motives are also frequent motives.
Sometimes, copycat murders use the set-and-run technique to cover up other murders.
Case Examples of Mass Murderers
Charles Joseph Whitman
James Oliver Huberty
“I’m going to hunt humans.”
Seung-Hui Cho
“I didn’t have to do this . . . I could have fled. You had a hundred billion chances . . . but you
Spree murder
Normally refers to the killing of three or more individuals without a cooling-off period, usually
Serial Murder
“What’s one less person on the face of the earth, anyway?” “We serial
– Ted Bundy
Serial murder usually refers to incidents in which an individual (or individuals)
separately kills a number of people (usually a minimum of three) over time. The
cooling-off period for serial killers may be days or weeks but more likely months or
years.
Myths Regarding Serial Killers
The first myth is that serial killers are all “dysfunctional loners.” According to the FBI, most
serial killers are not reclusive misfits who live alone. They do not appear as monsters and may
live and work in plain sight within their communities.
Developmental Aspects of Serial Killers
A vast majority of future serial killers grew up in dysfunctional families with histories of
abuse, neglect, and domestic violence, but this is not always the case.
Serial Killer Phases (Norris, 1988; Ressler et al. 1988)
Not all theorists believe such phases exist.
The aura phase consists of a withdrawal from reality and a heightening of the senses. This may
last anywhere from several moments to several months and can begin as an extended and
prolonged fantasy.
The next phase is the totem phase in which many, but not all, serial killers seek a memento of
their kill by taking artifacts belonging to the victim, removing or eating part of the body,
removing and wearing the skin, or taking photographs.
A depression phase sometimes occurs after a kill when the satisfaction achieved from the killing
begins to wane (explaining to some extent the need for the totem).
Visionary Type
The Visionary type of serial killer is psychotic. He or she often hears voices or sees visions and
is driven to kill by these hallucinations or by delusions.
Mission-oriented Type
Hedonistic Type
The hedonistic type of serial killer gains pleasure from the pure act of killing. To
The Power-seeker
The Power-seeker desires complete control over the life and death of others. Jeffrey Dahmer
practiced cannibalism to have ultimate control over his victims by bringing them alive in him.
Organized Killers
Organized killers are of at least average intelligence and are socially competent. They are able
to control their emotions during the actual crime and tend to be methodical and well-planned in
their actions. After the killing has taken place, they enjoy following their crimes in the news.
Disorganized Killers
Disorganized killers often have a below average intelligence and are not socially
Examples of serial killers
Jeffrey Dahmer
Jeffrey Dahmer showed both necrophilia (sex with the dead) and necrophagia (eating of the
dead).
Dennis Rader (the “BTK” Killer)
Dennis Rader (the “BTK” killer) was consumed with sexual fantasies which motivated his
The Number of Serial Killers
There have been approximately 400 serial killers in the United States in the past century,
SUMMARY
Mass murder is defined as the killing of three or more persons at a single location with no
cooling-off period. Accordingly, most mass murders take place in a matter of minutes or hours.
Depending on their motive, mass murderers are classified in one of the following groups:
disciple killers, family annihilators, pseudocommandos, school shooters, disgruntled employees,
or set-and-run killers.
Disgruntled Employees are often former employees of a company who retaliate after being
disciplined or dismissed. Set-and-run killers may also be motivated by revenge but kill from a
distance by planting a bomb or setting a time device so that the murderer is far away when the
explosion occurs.
who murdered 15 young boys from 1978 to 1991, and Dennis Rader (the “BTK” killer) who
killed 10 people during the period of 1974 to1991. Both were sexually-motivated power-seeker
killers.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. How is mass murder differentiated from spree and serial murder?
2. About how long would you expect the cooling-off period to be in serial murder?
5. A worker is fired from his job and returns with a shotgun killing his boss and several
former coworkers. What kind of mass murder is this?
6. What kind of mass murderer sends poison-laced letters through the mail?
7. Name two kinds of brain dysfunctions possibly linked to violence and murder.
8. What as the worst non-terrorist mass murder in U.S. history?