- For act-focused killers, killing is simply about the act itself. Within this group, there are two different types: the visionary and the missionary. The visionary murders because he hears voices or has visions that direct him to do so. The missionary murders because he believes that he is meant to get rid of a particular group of people.
- 'serial killer' (Lefebvre, 2005). Holmes and Holmes (2010) defined a serial killer as an individual killing three or more people, while Dyer (1997) emphasized the serial nature of the killings: 'Serial killers kill serially: one murder after another, each a variation and continuation of those before, each an episode in a serial' (p.
- David Berkowitz or “Son of Sam” is a classic example of a visionary demon-mandated serial killer. He believed a demon spoke through his neighbor’s dog and ordered him to kill. Mission-oriented serial killers- Mission-oriented serial killers target people they deem undesirable and feel it’s their justifiable duty to.
- What Is A Visionary Serial Killer
- Visionary Serial Killers Examples
- Visionary Serial Killer Examples
- Mission Oriented Serial Killer Examples
Richard Chase is an example of a disorganized serial killer. Motives edit edit source The motives of serial killers are generally placed into four categories: 'visionary', 'mission-oriented', 'hedonistic' and 'power or control'; however, the motives of any given killer.
In my Emily Stone Thriller Series, Emily Stone goes up against a ruthless, diabolical and somewhat eccentric serial killer in my thriller Dead Game. This serial killer “Samuel” uses his unique signature as a “voyeuristic” serial killer to commit his crimes. I created Samuel to be a “power and control” and perhaps a bit of “hedonistic” type of serial killer. In Dark Mind, the serial killer known to readers as “Keo” has a much different approach that would be considered to be a “mission” or “visionary” type of killer.
Serial killer is defined by the act either of two or more separate murders, acting alone or with another, during a period of time with breaks in between each murder or what has been referred to as a cooling off period. They are a unique breed of individuals that make special efforts to elude detection of being caught from law enforcement.
It is not exactly known how many are practicing at any given time across the US. The FBI has given an estimate of 200 serial killers roaming in the US, but according Joel Norris, author of Serial Killers, he suggests that there are three to four times more. We do not really know the exact count with any certainty until we catch these elusive killers.
These are the four basic types of serial killers:
1. Power & Control
This type of serial killer experiences complete sexual gratification from the domination and humiliation of the victim. This killer is a true sociopath and lives by his own personal set of rules and guidelines. Many of the famous serial killers we have seen in history would fall under his type of serial killer.
2. Visionary
This type of serial killer is compelled by voices or visions they experience and are considered psychotic. These voices and visions compel them to kill certain kinds of people.
3. Mission
This type of serial killer feels a “need” or duty to kill certain types of people or “class” of people such as religious or racial groups or prostitutes. This type of serial killer is not considered psychotic.
4. Hedonistic
This type of serial killer makes a strong connection between personal violence and sexual gratification. This type of killer can also be described as a “lust” or “thrill” killer. This killer receives pleasure from the act and has eroticized the experience. They generally take the time to torture or mutilate their victims.
I feel that these descriptions are a fair assessment of the types of serial killers. It gives us a reasonable description that begins to help law enforcement investigators to piece together the motivations and clues of serial killings.
Recently, I have found some honest, thought-provoking comments made by professionals from:
Behavioral Analysis Unit-2
National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime
Critical Incident Response Group
Federal Bureau of Investigation
There were several additional observations made by the attendees regarding causality of serial killers:
What Is A Visionary Serial Killer
• Predisposition toserialkilling, much like other violentoffenses, is biological, social, and psychological in nature, and it is not limited to any specific characteristic or trait.
• The developmentofaserialkiller involves a combinationofthese factors, which exist together in a rare confluence in certain individuals. They have the appropriate biological predisposition, molded by their psychological makeup, which is present at a critical time in their social development.
• There are no specific combinationsoftraits or characteristics shown to differentiateserial
killers from other violent offenders.
• There is no generic template for aserialkiller.
•Serialkillersare driven by their own unique motives or reasons.
•Serialkillersare not limited to any specific demographic group, such as their sex,
age, race, or religion.
• The majorityofserialkillerswho are sexually motivated erotized violence during development. For them, violence and sexual gratification are inexplicably intertwined
in their psyche.
• More research is needed to identify specific pathwaysofdevelopment that produceserialkillers.
I have also thought that perhaps these four basic types of serial killers could also benefit from “degrees” similar to how we define many of our laws, such as 1st degree, 2nd degree, etc. In other words, the level of violence, locations, and frequency should be documented into subgroups for further study in each of these types. By separating some of these cases into subgroups, we can begin to see subtle details in each of the cases that might prove to be helpful in future investigations.
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Last week in my blog, I talked about how serial killer characteristics can start to emerge as early as two years old. Wow, that’s a crazy thought. This week in my blog post, I will talk about the four types of serial killers; Hedonistic, mission-oriented, visionary, and power serial killers and control killers. “Warning some disturbing facts.”
Visionary Serial Killers Examples
Hedonistic or thrill killers are like the label suggests in it for fun or the rush they get when they kill. Often engage in rape, sex being the biggest motivation. Some of the more well-known examples of hedonistic or thrill killer included Jeffery Dahmer. Jeffery, aka “The Milwaukee Monster stalked bus stops, malls and gay bars seeking out his targets. His target was black, gay men. He ended up killing 17 of these individuals before he was caught and taken into custody. After leaving in his victim by drugging them, he would then commit acts of necrophilia (sexual intercourse with or attraction towards corpses). His thought behind this was that he was trying to turn them into a zombie by giving them a “chemical lobotomy.” And if you do not know what that is, it is a procedure where you drill a hole into someone’s head in this care his victims, and he would take it a step further and pour acid into, hoping he would reach his end goal of them being zombies.
The second type of serial killer is the visionary serial killer. In comparison, quite similar to the hedonistic or thrill killers mentioned above lay in one single difference. Those who fit this type of serial killing are generally psychotic or schizophrenic, so there is something neurologically wrong with the brain. Vision or hallucinations motivate them to kill random victims, commonly coming from God or the devil. You may have heard of Vince Li, a schizophrenia killer who believed he was being called to behead a fellow passenger on the bus as a higher calling from Jesus. This happened on July 30, 2008, near Portage la Prairie Manitoba. These individuals often time in a trial are found not criminally responsible because of insanity.
The third type of serial killer is power and control killers. These individuals are motivated by power and control. They thrive on the feeling of domination of their victims. These killings often take a considerable amount of time and have sexual components as well. Other characteristics of these serial killers are that they are highly organized, preventing them from being easily caught. They are often deemed charming and intelligent by those closest to them, sometimes even giving these people trophies from their victims. One example of this type of killer is John Wayne Gacy, who told his family the reason for the smell in their home was moisture. In actuality, it was the smell of 29 out of 33 of his victims buried within their home and property. The others were found in the nearby Des Plains River.
Visionary Serial Killer Examples
The fourth and final type of serial killer I am going to address is mission-oriented killers. These killers are motivated by the desire to eliminate a specific kind of person to make the world a better place. Not often psychotic, these killers are well organized and quite to jump on the prey they find undesirable. For example, the commonly known serial killer nicknamed Jack the Ripper was convicted he was doing the world right by targeting and getting rid of sex workers. By killing certain groups of people, they believe they cleanse them of whatever the “bad” is about them.
Mission Oriented Serial Killer Examples
Overall serial killers fascinate me. I love to learn how they think and act. It is a fascinating topic, and I have enjoyed the last two weeks delving deeper into this content. I hope you enjoyed it as well. Thanks.