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 attacks and degradations by these monsters.

Serial murder is undoubtedly one of the most terrifying and fascinating phenomena of modern-day violent crime. It is also one of the most sensationalized areas of research within the fields of criminology, psychology, and sociology. Philip Jenkins (1994), in his book Using Murder: The Social Construction of Serial Murder, provides a scholarly examination of how serial killing has been handled by the media, law enforcement, and the public. His findings are consistent with other writers: Much of what we “know” about serial murder is based on misinformation and myth construction. As a result of the sensational nature of this form of murder, the aura surrounding it has assumed a life of its own as it filters throughout both the public and private sectors of society.

In the summer of 1981, Wayne Williams, a young African American male believed to be one of the nation's more prolific serial killers, was arrested in the Atlanta area. This case brought to the forefront the fact that not all serial killers are white, nor are the victims. Technology, specifically hair and fiber evidence, became a critical factor in convicting Williams, and forensic science became prominent in explaining why such evidence ultimately played a key role in linking Williams to the crimes. More than 20 homicides were attributed to Williams, most of them children, although he was actually convicted of murdering just 2 victims. The horror and fascination of this case focused media attention on Atlanta both during the homicides and after Williams's capture.

Within the next 3 years, several more accounts of similar cases appeared in newspapers around the country. The American public had been invaded by a new criminal type: the serial murderer. Lurking in our communities and preying on hapless victims, serial murderers had suddenly emerged from the criminal underground, possibly a by-product of technology and the moral decay of our society. Most citizens simply assumed that serial killers must be insane, but no one knew for sure. The cases of serial murder increased, as did the body counts. Eventually, the growing reality of multiple murders began to obtrude on public awareness: Something had to be done to stem the tide of homicides with no apparent motive.

By the mid-1980s, no one knew how many serial killers actually existed at any one time, but certainly the number of victims killed by such offenders did not even begin to approach 5,000, a number promoted by the media. Where that inflated figure originated is a mystery. Perhaps a piece of information exchanged during an interview between the media and law enforcement had been misinterpreted. In any event, the number appeared and immediately sparked attention. As a result, some researchers began questioning the actual extent of serial murder.

...