Serial Murder

Serial murder involves the killing of three or more victims over a period of days, weeks, months, or even years. The media focus attention on these crimes because they often appear to be so bizarre and extraordinary. They engender the kind of headlines that sell newspapers: “The Atlanta Child Killer,” “The Stocking Strangler,” “The Hillside Strangler,” “The Sunday Morning Slasher,” and “The Boston Strangler.” The media focus not only on how many victims were killed but also on how they died. Thus, they feed morbid curiosity and at the same time create a stereotype of the typical serial killer: Ted Bundy, Ed Kemper, Albert DeSalvo, and a host of other young [Page 412]white males, attacking unsuspecting women powerless to defend themselves from the savage sexual ...