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Is the South Carolina serial killer like the Son of Sam?
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Police sketch of suspect
South Carolina is now dealing with what New York dealt with a few decades ago: a serial killer hunt. David Berkowitz a/k/a the Son of Sam, confessed to killing at least six people in the late 1970s. San Francisco's Zodiac Killer, who killed four people and is suspected of more deaths, has yet to be found.South Carolina’s killer, who may have been shot and killed by police as of press time, has killed at least five people according to police. What possible qualities could he, the Son of Sam, and other serial killers have in common? Serial killers can fit a number of different profiles and aspects. Most may have undiagnosed, untreated serious mental health disorders like schizophrenia, while some may have a record of diagnosed disorders that are revealed once caught. Others have difficulty socializing with people due to a traumatic childhood, while some killers are as charming as the man next door. In some cases, serial killers do not act alone.This isn't to say that all people with mental health disorders can be serial killers, or that difficulty socializing and bad childhoods will make a serial killer. But those are factors that can affect one's judgement, as it did with these other high-profile killers.
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Berkowitz as of 2009
Sociopaths. Some serial killers can be classified sociopaths. They can get along with people socially, but honestly feel that they are better than others and have little to no emotional attachment or respect to people that they harm. Not all sociopaths are violent, but some of the ones who are can be very extreme, like Jon Wayne Gacy. He was convicted and executed of raping and murdering 33 men and boys. He often attracted his victims because he also acted as a neighborhood clown for parties. Gacy’s father, an alcoholic, physically abused him as a child. Gacy reportedly had no remorse for his murders, referring to his victims as “worthless little queers and punks.”
Charm. Ted Bundy was considered a handsome, charming individual to some people. He was also a serial killer that used his looks and personal affect to lure his victims, often brunette-haired women. Bundy would attract them by faking an injury or asking if they needed help loading groceries into their cars. When the opportunity arose, Bundy would bludgeon his victim and rape her, sometimes even after she was dead. His charm extended to uber-confidence in the courtroom, often smiling for the cameras and becoming grossly animated during questioning. Bundy’s childhood consisted of an activity associated with sociopaths: torture of animals. He was also diagnosed 10 years after his last murder as bipolar or manic depressive, often killing while in a depressive state.
Deadly Duo. The “Son of Sam” murders are sometimes believed to have been done by more than one person. Berkowitz claimed that he was a member of a Satanic cult that had several killers out there performing the same murders. The Washington, D.C. snipers proved that serial killers can sometimes act in pairs. In 2002, John Allen Muhammed recruited a 17 year-old Lee Boyd Malvo and taught him how to shoot like a sniper. Both Muhammed and Malvo then plotted to snipe unsuspecting victims by shooting them from a vehicle trunk. The pair, who are black, were not suspects at first because police used a stereotypical profile to find these killers: possible white male traveling in a white, unmarked van. They killed 10 people and wounded three out of a blue Chevy Caprice.
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