Introduction

Research has been repeated on the brains and thinking of serial killers for many years, with most researchers coming to the conclusion that serial killer and killers in general have a certain portion of their brain missing or has a none functional percentage of their brain. The question has been posed by researchers alluding to the fact that serial killing is in fact a mental disorder while some researchers may disagree with this statement there are others that couldn’t agree more. However additional important questions such as what drive a serial killers ambition? What can be done early in life to prevent people with all components of a serial from killing? In this literature review we will explore the minds of those who kill, the reasons the kill, the controversies behind medical intervention of those possessing all components as well as what the three components of a serial killer are.

Summary

Murder is nothing new and has been well known to take a certain toll on our society, as time goes on it seems that murders and serial killers are being glorified in their own respect. Shows swarm our everyday lives and in today’s society we seem to be wrapped in the phenomenon. Shows such as criminal minds, the perfect murder, wives that kill and let’s not forget the channel dedicated specifically to those who kill investigational discovery channel better known as the ID channel. With these shows in play we all become somewhat captivated by the ways in which serial killers get the job done and choose their victims. Defining violence can be difficult in today’s society with so many things changing and so many social and cultural norms, but murder is a never changing act of violence. “The phrase, “serial killer,” was first used in a book, The Complete Detective, in 1950, while serienmörder was coined in 1931 in Germany in reference to Peter Kürten.” (Ramsland, K 2013). An early edition of the FBI’s crime manual defined a serial killer as “at least three different murder events at three different locations, with a cooling off period between events”. While a mass murder is not defined much differently The FBI defines mass murder as “murdering four or more persons during an event with no cooling-off period between the murders. A mass murder typically occurs