Question

Ted Bundy was a serial killer that was active from 1974-1978. He confessed to approximately 30 murders although the actual toll is unknown. Bundy targeted woman and was involved in kidnapping, rape, murder and necrophilia. He completed law school, worked on political campaigns, and outwardly appeared to many to be “normal”. When we thinking about profiling, can we see the signs for a future serial killer?   This week, we’ll explore the best ways to react to serial killers. Address the following prompts:


•   What is criminal profiling? How was it used in the Bundy case?
•   Discuss a few problems with profiling serial killers. Why are they hard to identify?
•   We see that they are many crimes that go unsolved (some suspected to be the work of serial killers). What challenges might investigators face in finding who committed a crime?
•   What are some treatment options for serial killers? In your opinion, do they work? (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12613432)

Answer 1

• Criminal profiling (also known as offender profiling and specific profile analysis) is to create a psychological and not only psychological portrait, determine location of the offenders by gathering their personal attributes from crime scene behavior in order to assist in detection of them.
• Criminal profiling is typically used when offender’s identity is unknown and with serious criminal offences such as murder, sexual assault. Profilers also work on crime series, where is considered, that the crime is committed by the same offender.
• The offender had psychological behavior which correlates similarly with psychopathy. Antisocial personality disorder could relate to Ted Bundy and how he developed into a serial killer. Usually this type of disorder originates from environmental factors such as family and if there was neglect and abuse. The coping mechanisms for a child after having to deal with neglect and abuse eventually numb or displace the emotions or feelings they have and there is lack of expression of all emotions. As the child grows into adolescence they may act out displacing those emotions into the form of vandalism, theft, and or violence which can lead to criminal behaviors and criminal acts.
• The cognitive deficit relating to euthymic bipolar disorder affect the pre-frontal areas with processing information and discerning wrong from right. Its possible in Ted Bundy’s case that his chemical imbalance is not related to a use of drugs or brain damage but, to genetics.
• Analyzing the mind of Ted Bundy and why he turned out to become a mass murderer is questionable since he fit the profile personality type of a serial killer which does relate to psychopathy but, something is different in the mannerisms of his personality with committing mass murders. It is possible that the influence and strategy of Bundy’s killing actually is related to a chemical imbalance in his brain which affected the way he handled his emotional problems and not discerning logically what was wrong or right in the process of the multiple homicides.
• In conclusion, it was believe the offender Ted Bundy was a serial killer and not a mass murderer as he is currently listed as and his killings were motivated by environmental factors from his childhood growing up along with a genetic abnormality and chemical imbalance in the brain which also contributed to the euthymic bipolar disorder and preventing the discernment from wrong or right. With the repetitive trauma or abuse Bundy experienced it grew into a fixated ideology of wanting power that was taken from him and revenge.
• His sole objective for the power and revenge was not observed from a moral or ethical standpoint due to the cognitive impairments in his brain which gave him the ability to not have a conscience while seeking revenge on multiple innocent people and killing them.
• There are two primary problems encountered in investigating and profiling serial murders. The first is that the murderer and the victim are complete strangers. Whereas in a “typical” murder, the murderer is well known to the victim, in the majority of serial murder cases, there is no previous association between the two, which complicates locating the murderer. The second problem is that the majority of serial murderers are seemingly normal people; they have jobs, they are well-known neighbors, some even have families. Therefore, the likelihood that they would be suspected of criminal behavior is rather low.
• To find a serial killer among millions of other people, you would need a profile that includes the killer and none or nearly none of the other people. DNA evidence is that kind of magnet, or getting caught in possession of a trophy from the victim. Profiling patterns are not since they are vague and meaningless.
• Due to time limit only some questions could be answered,the remaining can be asked as another question,they will be answered,thankyou for your cooperation