Myths About Serial Killers

There are several myths about serial killers that most people don't know.

Myth: Serial killers are all dysfunctional and loners

A lot of serial killers can hide in plain sight and look like everyone else with a job, a nice home, and family. The FBI report gives excellent examples to cases that you wouldn't even think would be a serial killer.

The BTK Killer- Dennis Rader, killed ten people in Wichita, Kansas over a 30 year period. He was married with two children, a Boy Scout leader, working for the local government and was the president of his church congregation.

Robert Yates- Killed seventeen prostitutes in the 1990's in Spokane, Washington. He was married, had five children, lived in a middle-class neighborhood and was U.S. Army National Guard pilot.

Myth: Serial killers are all white males

No, not all serial killers are white. 

Charles Ng- A native of Hong Kong, China, tortured and killed 25 people with his partner, Robert Lake

Coral Watts- A black man from Michigan, known as the "Sunday Morning Slasher," killed 17 people in Michigan and Texas

Myth: Serial killers are only motivated by sex

Some serial killers are motivated by sex, but many others have different motivations for their murders, like anger, thrill-seeking, finical gain, and attention seeking

Dr. Michael Swango- Convicted for four murders in the U.S. but have poisoned as many as 50 people in the U.S. and in Africa.

Paul Reid- Killed seven people during robberies of fast-food restaurants in Tenn. His motive for the robberies for for finical gain. 

Myth: Serial killers want to get caught

Most serial killers develop a feeling that they will never be identified or caught. They gain confidence in the process where they begin to make mistakes. The mistakes lead them to being identified by law enforcement, not because they want to.

Myth: Serial killers cannot stop killing

Something will change in a serial killers life that will cause them to stop killing before they get caught. The FBI report said the circumstances can include increased participation in family activities, sexual substitution, and other diversions.

Dennis Radar- The BTK killer murdered 10 people from 1974-1991 and did not kill again until he was caught in 2005.

Jeffrey Gorton- Killed his first victim in 1986 and his second in 1991. He did not kill again until 2002 when he was caught.

Brown, Pat. (2011). Serial killer myths exposed. Retrieved from http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/profiling/s_k_myths/6.html

Montaldo, Charles. (2008, July 8). Report dispells myths about serial killers. Retrieved from http://crime.about.com/b/2008/07/08/report-dispells-myths-about-serial-killers.htm

Montaldo, Charles. (2011). The myth about serial killers. Retrieved from http://crime.about.com/od/serial/a/serial_myths.htm

Carl Eugene Watts

Carl Watts is also known as "Coral" and "The Sunday Morning Slasher."

Watts was born on November 7, 1953 in Killeen, Texas. His father was a private first class in the Army, and his mother was a kindergarten teacher. When watts was less than two years old his parents separated, and was raised by his mother. As a child Watts was described as "strange." Around the age of 12, Watts claimed that this was when he started to fantasize about torturing and killing girls/young women. During his teen years, Watts began to stalk girls and have believed to killed his first victim before the age of 15.
School was hard for Watts. He was held back in the eighth grade due to meningitis. He would receive failing grades, and was reading at a third grade level by the age of 16. He also was bullied very severe at school.

On June 29, 1969, Watts was arrested for sexually assaulting a 26 year old women. When Watts was tried he was sentenced to the Lafayette Clinic, a mental hospital. From a psychiatric assessment, Watts was revealed to have suffered from mild mental retardation. He would often have delusional thought process but very good memory. He was released from the Clinic on November 9, 1969.

Watts graduated in 1973 with a football scholarship to Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee. He was expelled from Lane College because he was accused of stalking and assaulting women. He was also expelled because a lot of people thought he was the suspect of the murder of a female student, but there was no evidence to convict him.

Watt's serial killing began when he was 20 years old in 1974. He would kidnap his victims from their homes, torture them, and murder them. He would almost always kill white women (Watts was black.) He would kill females between the ages of 14 and 44 using methods like strangulation, stabbing, bludgeoning, and drowning. Between 1974-1982 Watts had murdered dozens of women.

On May 23, 1982 Watts was arrested for breaking into the home of two young women in Houston, attempting to kill them. While in custody, police began to link Watts with recent murders of women. Watts confessed and they gave him immunity from the murder charges and would instead face just a charge of burglary with intent to murder. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison.

Watts later confessed that their were a total of 80 victims he killed. Police still think that Watts is a suspect in the 90 unsolved murders.


Bell, Rachel. "Coral Eugene Watts: "The Sunday Morning Slasher"." n. pag. Web. 4 Apr 2011. <http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/coral_watts/index.html>.


Coral eugene watts: "the sunday morning slasher". (2011). Retrieved from http://www.nndb.com/people/608/000071395/


Montaldo, Charles. "Carl Eugene Watts-The Sunday Morning Slasher." n. pag. Web. 4 Apr 2011. <http://crime.about.com/od/serial/p/watts.htm>.

David Berkowitz: The Son of Sam

David Berkowitz is known as "The Son of Sam." He is known for the 1970's New York City serial killer, killing six people and wounding others. His crimes became legendary because of his bizarre letters that he wrote to police and the media for his reasons of committing these horrible attacks. With the police trying to catch the killer, "Operation Omega" was formed, with 200 detectives working together to find the Son of Sam before he would kill again.

Berkowitz was born on June 1, 1953, and was the adopted son of Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz. The family lived in a middle-class home in the Bronx. The couple loved their son very much, but Berkowitz felt rejected and not accepted because he was adopted. Berkowitz was a very large kid (larger than a lot of kids his own age) and not very much attracted. His parents were not social people and Berkowitz followed in the same path, developing the same reputation of being a loner. Berkowitz was an average student, and was a decent baseball player, which was his main outside activity. Around his neighborhood he became known as very hyper and a bully. When his mom (Pearl Berkowitz) died in 1967 of breast cancer, Berkowitz became really depressed. He became to fail in school, and spent a lot of his time alone. When his father remarried in 1971, his new wife and young Berkowitz did not get along. The new couple moved to Florida leaving their son/step son behind.

Berkowitz joined the army and after a rough three years he left the service. During that time he had his one and only sexual experience with a prostitute and caught a venereal disease. When he returned home from the army he found out his real mother was alive and that he also had a sister. Berkowitz would visit sometimes but later the visiting stopped. His isolation and delusions were not coming together.

On Christmas Eve in 1975, Berkowitz's "demons" drove him out into the streets with a hunting knife trying to find a victim to kill. He later confessed in killing two women, one which is not confirmed. The second victim 15 year old Michelle Forman, survived the attack and was treated for the six knife wounds. Later that year, Berkowitz moved out of the Bronx to a family home in the Yonkers where his Son of Sam would be created.

He shot two girls while they were sitting in a parking lot only one survived. Two others were shot while sitting in a car but both survived. Two 18 year old girls were shot they both survived but one is paralyzed. A couple was shot and only one survived. A honor student was shot while walking home from class, he died. Another couple were shot twice and both died, two other girls were shot leaving a disco they both survived even though one was shot three times. Another couple were shot in their car but only one survived and can only see from one eye. Berkowitz was finally caught after getting a parking ticket near the place of the murder. He immediately surrendered to police and identified himself as Sam. After he was evaluated, he was capable to stand trail. He pled not guilty and was received a 365 year sentence.


Allen Howard, A. (1996-2011). Notorious crime files. Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/notorious/crimefiles.do?action=view&profileId=262883&catId=259456

Bardsley, Marylin. "Son of Sam." N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar 2011. <http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/berkowitz/letter_1.html>.


Rowlett, Curt. "David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz." N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar 2011. <http://www.angelfire.com/oh/yodaspage3/>.

Ed Gein

Ed Gein was an American murderer and grave robber. He committed all these crimes around his hometown in Plainfield, Wisconsin. After the police found all kinds of body parts in his house in 1957, Gein confessed to killing two women-Mary Hogan a tavern owner in 1954, and a Plainfield hardware store owner, Bernice Worden in 1957. He was at unfit to stand trial, but later he was tried in 1968 for the murder of Worden and was sentenced to life imprisonment, where he spent the rest of his life in a mental hospital. The body of Bernice Worden was found in Gein's shed. Her head and the head of Mary Hogan were found inside his house.

When Gein's mother died on December 29, 1954, it was very hard for Gein to get over her death. He boarded up rooms used by his mother which was the upstairs, downstairs parlor, and living room, leaving them all untouched and neat. He became very interested in reading death-cult magazines and adventure stores. I believe that the death of Gein's mother really changed Gein into a whole different type of person. He wasn't like himself. Shorty after his mothers death, Gein decided he wanted a sex change and began to create a "women suit" so he could pretend to be female.

When searching the house authorities found
-Four noses
-Whole human bones and fragments
-Nine masks of human skin
-Bowls made from human skulls
-Ten female heads with the tops sawn off
-Human skin covering several chair seats
-Mary Hogan's head in a paper bag
-Bernice Worden's head in a burlap sack
-Nine vulvas in a shoe box
-Skulls on his bedposts
-A belt made from human female nipples

When questioned for his actions, Gein told investigators that between 1947-1952 he made as many as 40 visits to three local graveyards. He would dig up middle aged women who he thought resembled his mother and took the bodies home, where he tanned their skins to make paraphernalia.

Ed Gein had a lasting impact of western popular culture. Gein's story was adapted into a number of movies Psycho, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Both these movies show some type of Gein's odd behavior.




Case files ed gein: the butcher of plainfield . (2010). Retrieved from http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/streiber/273/gein_cf.htm

Fisher, Mark. "Ed Gein." 2011. Web. 22 Mar 2011. <http://carpenoctem.tv/killers/gein.html>.

Montaldo, Charles. "Ed Gein." 2011. Web. 22 Mar 2011. <http://crime.about.com/od/murder/p/gein.htm>.

Difference Between Mass Murderers & Serial Killers

The difference between mass murderers and serial killers are that mass murderers are generally apprehended or killed by police, commit suicide, or turn themselves in. Serial killers make huge efforts to keep themselves hidden. They may continue to kill for weeks, months, or even years before they are stopped or found. Both types of killers evoke to fear and stress in the community, but the reaction to mass murderers are more focused and limited than to serial killing. Mass killer is one suffering from a mental illness, and goes crazy or insane. Mass murderer is viewed as a deranged soul, a product of a stressful environment who is just going to "explode" now and then. A serial killer is seen as much more of a sinister and is more capable of producing fear.

Mass Murderers kill groups of people at once whereas serial killer individualizes his/her murders. The serial killer continues to hurt and murder victims, whereas mass murderers make his/her own "final statement" before they end their violence. Mass murderer has some ultimate goal to achieve and kills large numbers of people while serial killers enjoy killing specific groups of people for personal reasons. Another difference between a mass murderer and serial killer is that a mass murderer will kill large groups of people at the SAME time, while serial killers have a "cool down" period that can last weeks or months and then they kill again.

Mass murderers and serial killers are very different. But i do believe that any type of killer is crazy and has mental problems. Examples of mass murderers is the Columbine Shooting were two boys went on a rampage and killed 13 of their classmates. An example of a Serial Killer would be Ted Bundy who killed over 30 people in a period of years. Serial Killers are more aggressive in their killings where they will strangle, rape, stab, ect. their victims while mass murderers are more likely to shoot their victims. Serial killers like to watch their victims have a slow painful death, while mass murderers kill their victims quickly and move on.




Harrison, Jon. (2011). Criminal justice resources: serial or mass murder. Retrieved from http://staff.lib.msu.edu/harris23/crimjust/serial.htm


Hickey, Eric. "Serial Killers:Defining Serial Murder." N.p., 2007. Web. 14 Mar 2011. <http://www.serialhomicide.com/serial-killers.htm>.


Mass murderers . (2011). Retrieved from http://www.allserialkillers.com/mass_murderers.htm

Types of Serial Killers

For today's blog, I thought it would be a good idea to explain types of Serial Killers since i have been blogging about Serial Killers and what they were like.

3 Types of Serial Killers

Thrill Seekers- See outsmarting law enforcement as a game, enjoy media attention, police pursuit, and evading the authorities. They send messages, and keep records

Mission Oriented- Feel they are doing society a favor by eliminating certain people like prostitutes.

Power and Control- Enjoy the victim's terror, suffering, and screaming

Souvenirs and Serial Killers- Serial Killers often keep mementoes of their victims. 

                 Souvenirs: Personal items allow the killer to enjoy the memories of the crime

                 A trophy can become something of  shrine

Serial Killers who fall in that category I mentioned above

Jeffrey Dahmer kept photos in his apartment. He had skulls of his victims in his closet, refrigerator, and freezer

Eddie Gein made a bowl from human skull, and a chair and suit made from human skin

Most Serial Killers have a motive that is deep and personal. They feel no guilt, no remorse and have an attitude of total disdain towards their victims. They show no sympathy what so ever. I just finished reading In Cold Blood and that is a book about two men (Perry & Dick) who kill and robbed the Clutter family ( 2 children 2 parents). They showed no remorse what so ever. They joked and laughed about their killings right after it happened. I don't understand what goes through killers minds? Do they think something is wrong with them? It is very interesting to me.

Crime Library, . (2008). Types of serial killers. Retrieved from http://www.crimemuseum.org/library/serialKillers/typesOfSerialKillers.html

Sable, Kari. (1994). Types of serial killers. Retrieved from http://karisable.com/crserial1.htm


Types of serial killers. (2010). Retrieved from http://serialkillr.tripod.com/SerialKillersExposed/types.html

Henry Lee Lucas

Henery Lee Lucas was born on August 23, 1936 to an alcoholic couple. His mother would work as the neighborhood prostitute to run the house while his father (who had no legs due to a train accident) would just drink all day. The Lucas family had nine children, out of which some were given away to relatives, foster homes, and institutions. But Henry was lucky enough to stay with his parents. Henry and his father were witnesses to his mother's beatings, violent outbursts, and a bunch of men who shared her bed. After his father's death, Henry would always be the subject to his mother's cruelty and beatings. Henry was introduced to bestiality by his mother's live-in lover, "Uncle Bernie." He wanted to know what sex with a human would be like, so at age 15, Henry picked a girl near Lynchburg, strangled and buried her body in the woods when she tried to get away.

Henry had confessed to almost 3,000 murders, one of which was his mother as well. After killing his mother with a kitchen knife, five days later he was arrested and boasted about raping his mother's corpse. Henry had an accomplice, Ottis Toole, who helped in over 100 murders with him. in 1989, Henry was sentenced to death. Henry died in 2001 while he was in prison due to heart failure.

After talking about Nature and Nurture in class i think this is a very good example of both. Since he was born to an alcoholic couple he could have been messed up from day one from his mother drinking while pregnant. Also his home life wasn't the best. He was raised poorly and saw how violent his mother would act, and didn't think anything of it. He never new wrong from right and his parents set a horrible example for him since day one of his life.


"Sex is one of my downfalls. I get sex any way i can get it. If i have to force somebody to do it, i do..I rape them; I've done that. I've killed animals to have sex with them, and i've had sex..While they're alive." -Henry Lee Lucas




CC big country, . (2011). Henry lee lucas- a gruesome tale of murder. Retrieved from http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Infamous--Famous-Henry-Lee-Lucas


Fisher, Mark. (2000). Henry lee lucas. Retrieved from http://www.carpenoctem.tv/killers/lucas.html


Schechter, H, & Everitt, D. (1997-2011). Henry lee lucas: portrait of a serial killer. Retrieved from http://www.houseofhorrors.com/lucas.htm