Criminal and Psychological Characteristics of an Intentional Serial Killer

Abstract

The article deals with the problem of criminal psychological characteristics of intentional murderer, which involves the study of psychological mechanisms of illegal behavior, motivation of violent crimes, individual psychological and social factors and situational reactions of a criminal. Generalized typology should be based on three main characteristics: motivation, modus operandi, the number of malicious attempts on the life. Important psychological and legal characteristics of a serial killer are usually the similarity of motives and methods of committing crimes. Personalities of serial killer tend to be cautious, minimize risk, usually are able to role transformation, have well-developed anticipation (the ability to foresee the consequences), self-control, imagination and fantasy. They are also good at watchful planning of criminal actions and emotional indifference towards victims. In this article, the following characteristics of serial murders are described: periodic updating of criminal aggression (the killer never stops on what he has committed on his own initiative); redundancy of criminal aggression (murder is necessarily accompanied by acts of violence, humiliating the victim); high mobility after committing the murder (killer quickly disappears from the crime scene as far as possible); singularity of victim («one episode» – «one victim»), committing of murder without co-participants (except the couples which has family or sexual relationships), absence of witnesses. Thus, in the basis of the criminal-psychological classification of personality of offender there are such characteristics as dominant personality, his motives, goals and modus operandi, the degree of antisocial personality and the character of antisocial orientation.