2. Definition of a Serial Killer
The term serial killer, coined by Special Agent Robert Ressler, is defined as, “someone who kills
3 or more people with sufficient time intervals between each, known as a “cooling off period”
The basic profile of a serial killer is; white male, between the ages of 18-32, with a history of
child abuse resulting in animal abuse.
Males brutally kill their victims and desecrate the bodies, usually sexual predators who rape
their victims dead or alive.
Women are less visible as killers as their methods tend be more discrete to avoid being
detected.
Eric Hickey (1991) describes female serial killers as, “These are the quiet killers, every bit as
lethal as male serial murderers, but we are seldom aware of one in our midst because of their
low visibility.”
3. Methods and motives Male vs
Female
Methods Male
Male Motives
Female
Female
90% 80%
80% 70%
70% 60%
60%
50%
50%
40%
40%
30% 30%
20% 20%
10% 10%
0% 0%
Firearms
Poison
Drowning
Stabbing
Bludgeoning
Suffocation
Money
Sex
Control
Enjoyment
Other
Above the chart explains the motives and methods used by both male and female. As you can clearly see from the
information women seem have a definite preferred method and motive, being poison as their favourite way to kill topping
at a huge 80%, and money as a motive towering at a massive 72%. Men on the other hand tend to have a more varied
preference of method, with stabbing, shooting, and suffocating with very close results. As you can see it is a different
story with the motive with men as sex tops in at 55%.
From these results alone it is obvious how different the two sexes are, females prefer to be discrete but appear to have a
money driven mind, whereas men seem to enjoy “the bloodier the better” method and a perverted sexual motive.
4. Frequency of Serial Killers Gender
by Decade
Male vs Female frequency by Decade
100.00%
90.00%
80.00%
70.00% 1946-1989
60.00%
Men
50.00%
Women
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Aileen Wuornos
As shown in the table above you may notice that at the
1956-2002
beginning of the century the numbers between male and
female were much closer together but vastly grew apart over
time.
5. Kelleher Typology
Women Male killer groups
Killer Groups
Black Widows
Kills husband, lover Visionaries
Psychotic-
Told to kill
Angels of death
Kills patients Profile; Demographics-Average age is 29.1
Missionaries
Male; 28.9 is a average age at first kill Kill to “clean up”
world
Sexual Predators
Systematically kills
9 is the youngest (Robert Dale Segee)
in clear acts of sexual
homicide 72 is the oldest (Ray Copeland)
Hedonists
Revenge Killers Kill for fun or profit
Kills out of hate or Female; 30.3 is the average age at first kill
jealousy
11 is the youngest (Mary Flora Bell)
Profit Killers 66 is the oldest (Faye Copeland) Power seekers
Kills for profit or in Kill to exert power
course of committing Over strangers
another crime
6. Britain Infamous Serial Killers Male
& Female
Name D.O.B No. of victims Convicted
Dr. Harold Shipman 19/01/1946 215-260 patients 15 life sentences
January 2000
Beverly Allitt 4/10/1968 13 children Minimum of 3o years
1993
Dennis Nilsen 23/11/1945 16 men Life imprisonment
1983
Here is a Peter Sutcliffe 2/06/1946 13 women Life imprisonment in
table of a list of 1941
names
Ian Brady & 2/01/1938 5 children Indefinite life
selected off the Myra Hindley 23/07/1942 imprisonment 1996
BBC News
website. Mary Ann Cotton 1/10/1832 21 people including Death by hanging
her own children 1873
John George Haigh 24/07/1909 6-9 people Executed 1949
