While each of these types and their crimes have distinguishing characteristics, a general profile of serial killers indicates they are generally white males from 25 to 34 years old.
In the United States, the majority of reported and investigated serial killers are white males, from a lower-to-middle-class background, usually in their late 20s to early 30s.
Amarjeet Sada: The Eight-Year-Old 'Sadist' Who Became The World's Youngest Serial Killer.
H.H. Holmes, byname of Herman Mudgett, (born May 16, 1861?, Gilmanton, New Hampshire, U.S.—died May 7, 1896, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), American swindler and confidence trickster who is widely considered the country's first known serial killer.
Aileen Wuornos, America's first female serial killer.
The most common myths about serial killers encompass such factors as their race, gender, intelligence, living conditions and victim characteristics. Myth #1: All Serial Killers Are Men. Reality: This is simply not true but it is understandable why the public would hold this erroneous belief.
Jeffrey Dahmer, a serial killer living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, murdered 17 young men and boys between 1978 and 1991. Following his arrest, he told police that he had cut up the thighs, biceps, and internal organs of three of his victims and cooked them in a stovetop skillet before consuming them.
Amarjeet Sada, an eight-year-old alleged serial killer, was labeled a sadist by psychologists. Amarjeet Sada, the enigmatic figure shrouded in darkness and mystery, emerged from the quaint village of Mushahar in Bihar, India.
Serial killers with the highest known victim count. The most prolific modern serial killer is arguably doctor Harold Shipman, with 218 probable murders and possibly as many as 250 (see "Medical professionals", below). However, he was actually convicted of a sample of 15 murders.
Charles Manson experienced several periods of abandonment as a child. How might his mother's repeated abandonment have contributed to his later criminal activities and establishment of a cult?
What Percent of Serial Killers Had a Bad Childhood? According to a child abuse and serial murder study by Mitchell and Aamodt, 74% of serial killers suffered from psychological abuse as a child and 42% suffered from physical abuse from a young age.
Four types of serial murderers are identified: the 'visionary,' the 'mission-oriented,' 'hedonistic,' and 'power/control-oriented.
While the origin of the term "serial killer" may be slightly ambiguous, it is quite clear which country is home to the highest number of serial killers. The United States is the runaway leader in this category, with more documented serial killers in its history than the next ten closest countries combined.
1: Pedro Alonso Lopez. In 2002, Pedro Alonso Lopez received 14 years in prison in Ecuador for killing mostly young girls. He claimed to have killed over 300 people. The "Monster of the Andes" just might be the world's most prolific serial killer.
On 25 May 1968, the day before her 11th birthday, Bell strangled four-year-old Martin Brown in an upstairs bedroom of a derelict house located at 85 St. Margaret's Road. She is believed to have committed this crime alone.
But both Hitler and Stalin were outdone by Mao Zedong. From 1958 to 1962, his Great Leap Forward policy led to the deaths of up to 45 million people—easily making it the biggest episode of mass murder ever recorded.
1. Amarjeet Sada, Age: 8. Born in Musahahar village of Bihar, India, eight-year-old Sada, in 2006, confessed to killing six infants, including his own sister and cousin.
Many serial killers have a type of victim that they seek out, says Dr. Mary Ellen O'Toole, a retired FBI profiler who specializes in psychopathy and has worked on hundreds of serial-murder cases.
Female serial killers are a rare but real phenomenon. While they account for only 15% of all serial killers in the United States, their impact is far-reaching and often devastating. From 1800 to 2015, 599 known American female serial killers have been identified; 64% were involved in the healthcare industry.