Running head: CREATING A SERIAL KILLER

Creating a Serial Killer

CREATING A SERIAL KILLER

2
Creating a Serial Killer

There is an age old question that still has little to no chance of being answered accurately.
Are serial killer born or are they made? There are several theories that attempt to answer this
question by analyzing and interviewing serial killers. Two of the most popular theories are
nature versus nurture. The debate of nature versus nurture has been at the heart of determining
what makes a serial killer. Assisting each side of this debate are varying causes, motivations, and
traits that a serial killer may exhibit.
The nature theory argues that the genetic makeup of a person determines who they are
and what they will become. These theorists believe that all things are inherited (Harris 15). The
nature theory also argues that intelligence is largely determined by genetics, and that low
intelligence is linked to criminal behavior (Siegel 163). Can this one theory explain whether or
not a serial killer is born? The implication of this theory is that people have no choice in who
they are or what they will become.
The nurture theory argues that a persons environmental factors determine who they are
and what they will become. These factors include stimulation from parents, relatives, social
interactions, and countless others that can create a childs intelligence level. Low intelligence
levels are a result of these environmental factors and encourage delinquent and criminal
behaviors (Siegel 163). The implication of this theory is that people are the product of their
upbringing and their genetic makeup plays no part.
The problem with both these theories is that they are absolute. There is no middle ground
or room for other factors. Is it possible that a killer could be the product of both genetics as well
as their upbringing? In order to help answer this question it is best to analyze some of the
worlds most renowned serial killers. Analysis of their upbringings and their genetic makeups is

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a vital part in understanding the inner workings of a killer. While it is harder to actually analyze
a persons genetic makeup, it is easy to get a decent idea of what their parents may have passed
onto them by looking at the parents themselves.
Before examining the cases, it is important to understand and know the definition of
serial murder. Serial murder has been defined as two or more separate murders where an
individual, acting alone or with another commits multiple homicides over a distinct time period,
with time breaks between each murder event (Schurman-Kauflin 7).
Theodore Bundy was born in November of 1946 as Theodore Cowell. He spent the first
four years of his life living with his grandparents pretending that his mother was his sister. When
Ted was three years old his aunt woke up to him lifting her blankets and slopping butcher knives
onto the bed beside her (Newton 24). In 1951 Teds mother married John Bundy who adopted
Ted.
Teds school file was filled with notes from his teachers regarding his explosive and
unpredictable temper. By the time Ted graduated high school he was a night prowler and
compulsive masturbator, and had been arrested twice for suspicion of burglary and auto theft
(Newton 24).
On January 31, 1974 Linda Healy vanished from her Seattle home leaving nothing behind
but bloody sheets (Newton 24); this was believed to be Teds first murder. He continued on his
killing spree, killing eight women in Washington, and four in Utah by the end of 1974 (Newton
24); and in 1975 Ted killed four more women in Colorado (Newton 25).
In January 1977 Ted was caught and faced extradition to Colorado, and in December
1977 he escaped and fled to Tallahassee, Florida. During this time Ted had killed five more
women, and it wasnt until February 15, 1978 that Pensacola Police captured Ted, and this time

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for good (Newton 25). On January 24, 1989 Ted was executed in Florida. Before his death Ted
confessed to 20 or 30 murders (published reports vary) (Newton 25). During Teds confessions
he admitted that Linda Healy was not the first victim, he confessed to killing an unknown
hitchhiker in May 1973 (Newton 25).
In looking at the nature versus nurture theories Ted Bundy appears to be the product of
his genetic makeup, since there is no real evidence to point to having a negative environment.
However it is not so easy to say that this is truly the case. Although we do not know much about
Teds biological father, it is easy to say to the best of public knowledge that neither of Teds
parents were killers. Does that matter in the genetic theory?
Jeffrey Dahmer was born in Milwaukee in 1960. When Jeffrey was only eight years old
he was sexually molested by a neighbor boy. During this time Jeffreys parents were fighting at
home, leaving Jeffrey with no safe haven (Newton 46). By the time Jeffrey was just ten years
old he was already experimenting with dead animals. It wasnt until June of 1978 that Jeffrey
made the leap from morbid experimentation to killer (Newton 46). Jeffrey did not kill again until
September 1987 while living with his grandmother.
By September 1988 Jeffrey had killed and dismembered four young men in his
grandmothers home, after which she asked him to leave and he moved back to Milwaukee.
Between September 1988 and August 1991 Jeffrey had killed, raped, sodomized, and
dismembered an additional fourteen boys and men (Newton 47). Jeffrey was charged and
convicted of fifteen counts of murder.
When looking at Jeffrey Dahmer it is east to say that he was the product of his
environment, the nurture theory. He grew up in a dysfunctional home and was sexually abused.
However if he grew up in a dysfunctional home one would have to ask what created this

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environment. Couldnt one argue that there are some obvious signs of bad genes here as well?
Can one theory explain the actions of Jeffrey Dahmer?
Pedro Lopez was the seventh of thirteen children born to a Columbian prostitute. When
he was eight years old he was banished from his family for fondling his younger sister (Newton
141). During the time that he was homeless Pedro was raped by a pedophile, which left him
terrified of strangers. He was taken in by an American family who sent him to school, fed him,
and cared for him for four years.
When Pedro was twelve years old, he ran away after a teacher made sexual advances
towards him. When he was eighteen, Pedro went to prison for auto theft, where he was gang
raped by four inmates after only two days. Instead of reporting this incident Pedro killed three of
the four inmates over the next two weeks (Newton 141). He was released after serving an
additional two years for the self-defense killings.
At the age of 31 Pedro was again arrested and became known as the Monster of the
Andes. It has been estimated that he was responsible for raping and killing at least 110 girls in
then look them in the eye while strangling them to death. Pedro told interrogators I lost my
innocence at age eight, so I decided to do the same to as many young girls as I could (Newton
142).
In taking a look at Pedro it is easy to say that he was clearly the product of bad nurturing.
His mother was a prostitute, and he had been sexually abused more than once in his life.
However he had also fondled his sister at a young age, and was kicked out of his home. Could
that be the product of bad genes, or the exposure to his mothers way of life?
In examining both the nature and nurture theories only one real conclusion can be drawn.
Both the Nature theory and the Nurture theory are flawed because there is no way to separate the

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effects of heredity and the environment (Harris 21). Perhaps a combination of both theories
more accurately explains who we are. Those examining serial killers may classify the behaviors
and motivations into three general areas: sociological, psychological, and cultural (Egger 88).
They attempt to use data and empirical evidence from a large group of subjects to explain what
these subjects are like (Egger 88).
With all the research that has been conducted about serial killers, there are still many
questions that are left unanswered. If a rough or abusive childhood creates a killer, why arent
there more killers among us? If killers are the product of their DNA then how are there people
born to killers who do not carry on the actions of their parents?
Numerous motives, causes, and theories can be applied to different serial killers, yet there
is no absolute method that can be applied unanimously. While current evidence leads to the
conclusion that serial killers are made, one cannot rule out the influence DNA has on a person.
Theories must be able to adapt to any information that may be discovered.

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Work Cited
Egger, Steven A., et. al. Serial Killers. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 2000.
Harris, Judith Rich.. The Nurture Assumption. New York, NY: The free Press 1998.
Newton, Michael. The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. New York, NY: Checkmark Books
2000.
Schurman-Kauflin, Deborah S.. The New Predator: Women Who Kill. New York, NY:
Algora Publishing 2000.
Siegel, Larry J.. Criminology. 8th Ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learing 2003.