This article is going to present the offenses of
several serial murderers and then speak briefly about childhood behaviors
that should have given an indication of possible future problems. Similar
behaviors being demonstrated by children does not mean that they will
develop into serial murderers, or for that matter a violent offenders,
however if the reader of this article recognizes similar behaviors or
interests, it may be wise to seek some form of intervention.
Subject 1:
The offender in this case killed women and then
dismembered the bodies. He kept the heads of his victims for sexual
purposes and kept trophies from each victim. One of this offender’s last
victims was his mother who he treated no differently than his previous
victims.
When this offender was an adolescent, he murdered his
grandparents and spent the rest of his juvenile years in a psychiatric
hospital. Prior to that incident, he was known to play “death chamber”
games with his sister and tortured animals. This offender reported that he
cut the head off of animals and placed them on sticks. In this case, the
desire for this offender to remove heads was demonstrated in his youth and
continued on into his later offenses.
Subject 2:
This offender killed women in order to satisfy
paraphilic needs of partialism, fetishism, and possibly sadism. This
offender collected shoes of his victims, dressed them in a specific dress,
and then removed their feet. In one instance he removed a victim’s breasts
that he used to make casts, which he then placed on his shelf as a
souvenir.
During his childhood years, this offender was caught
numerous times with women’s shoes and underwear, and actively pursued his
fantasies. As an example of juvenile behaviors that provided indicators of
later behavior; this offender captured a girl when he was in his late teens
and demanded to photograph her nude. Years later, this offender was
captured after photographing one of his victims after death. In the corner
of a mirror was an image of him taking the photo.
Subject 3:
During childhood this offender was known to be violent
for no apparent reason and was a loner. This offender wrote journals about
starting 1400 or more fires and the enjoyment and sense of power he received
from watching the firefighters battle the fire he created.
His crimes of murder later in life seemed to surround a
hatred for women, or may have just been a continuation of previous acts of
violence for no apparent reason. After committing his crimes, this offender
wrote to the authorities and media, stating he took direction from an
ancient dog. Looking at this offender’s journal, it is more likely that
these writings were his attempt to re-create the sense of power and control
he received when he started fires years earlier.
These are just three examples of childhood acts that
could have or should have given parents, teachers, police, or someone in the
community a sense of alarm. Killing and decapitating animals, stealing
shoes and underwear, setting fires and documenting the thrill are not acts
that should be ignored or pushed aside as “kids will be kids”. In these
three instances, there may have been a chance to intervene if the fantasies
behind the behaviors were explored. In each case presented, there was a
strong indication of fantasy elements at the crime scenes, which related
back to earlier aspects of the offenders’ lives.
