what makes a serial killer in their brain

What makes a serial killer in their brain serial#
What makes a serial killer in their brain trial#

The court’s decision - still months away - could accelerate a trend in the criminal justice system: the use of behavioral genetics and other neuroscience research, including the analysis of tumors and chemical imbalances, to explain why criminals break the law. But Yepez took it to the New Mexico Supreme Court, which agreed to consider it. Rather, we are suggesting that there may be a subgroup of individuals within these groups who may be more likely to commit serious crimes when exposed to certain psychosocial stressors.The claim seemed like a stretch to the judge, prosecutors and some scientists.

What makes a serial killer in their brain serial#

‘It is crucial to note that we are not trying to suggest that individuals with ASD or previous head trauma are more likely to be serial killers or commit a serious crime. However, Dr Allely does stress that the presence of any of these disorders in an individual did not imply they were killers or were going to become one. The report clarifies that while Dahmer ‘was not clinically assessed and diagnosed with an ASD, there is overwhelming evidence (both peer-reviewed and in a plethora of books specifically about this serial killer) to suggest that he displayed numerous indications of Asperger syndrome.’ At a young age, Dahmer experienced many psychosocial stressors - a dysfunctional family as well as undergoing a traumatic surgery at the age of three. Many of those murders involved necrophilia and cannibalism. Spanning some 13 years, Jeffrey Dahmer raped, murdered and dismembered 17 men and boys. Some serial killers are attacked by family members, the public or fellow prisoners who think their prison sentence doesn’t accurately reflect their crimes. Ramirez would go on to become ‘The Night Stalker’ and be convicted of 13 counts of murder committed during the mid-1980s. A young Ramirez had also suffered physical abuse at the hands of his father, been exposed to ‘sexual sadism’ by his older cousin who’d served in Vietnam and at the age of 12, had witnessed that very same cousin shooting his wife in the face.

At five years old he was again knocked unconscious by a swing in a park being used by his sister, he received a laceration on his head. He was knocked unconscious and suffered a severe gash on his head. Richard RamirezĪt the age of two, a dresser fell on top of Ramirez and nearly killed him.

What makes a serial killer in their brain trial#

A professor of Psychiatry testified during his trial that Breivik suffered from Asperger syndrome, a form of ASD. Anders Breivik:Ĭommitted the 2011 Norway attacks, which saw him kill 77 people by shooting and explosion. Fred, along with wife Rosemary West would go on to commit at least 12 murders between the 1960-80s. Two years later he groped a girl on a fire escape, she subsequently punched him causing him to fall two floors and suffer further injuries to his head. Having such knowledge could lead to preventative measures to help stop mass killings.įred West suffered a fractured skull after a motorcycle accident at age 17, which left him unconscious for seven days. ‘The report, which is the first of its kind to look at all the available material around serial and mass killers, identified that a complex interplay between neurodevelopmental problems and psychosocial factors are most likely to lead to incidences of this kind.’ The suggestion being that if this combination of characteristics is discovered within an individual, that person could be predisposed to developing into a serial killer. violent or sexual abuse, death of a close family member, parental divorce etc).ĭr Clare Allely from the Institute of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow led the study and explains the significance of these findings. Out of the 239 ‘eligible’ killers used in the study, 28% were found to have had ‘definite, highly probable or possible‘ ASD (to compare, 1 in 100 people in the UK have ASD), 21% had suffered a ‘definite or suspected’ head injury, whilst 55% of those with ASD and/or a head injury had experienced psychosocial stressors such as significant traumatic events during childhood (i.e.

‘Potentially, a significant proportion of mass or serial killers may have had neurodevelopmental disorders such as ASD (autism spectrum disorder) or head injury.’ ‘Our findings tentatively indicate that these extreme forms of violence may be a result of a highly complex interaction of biological, psychological and sociological factors,’ the report reads. It was the first-ever analysis of all available literature (books, journals, legal files, news reports, electronic documents) about serial killers and mass murderers. A recent study conducted by the University of Glasgow and published in the Journal of Violent and Aggressive Behaviour looked into the ‘Neurodevelopmental and psychosocial risk factors in serial killers and mass murderers'.