In the modern world, we have fewer serial killers (SK) and more mass murderers. It is not unusual for people to mistake the two, and this is problematic because the methodology, victimology, and motivations are quite different. Why does it matter? In the world of criminology, you have to know what and who you’re up against to understand how to combat violent crime. Repeated patterns in people who share the same traits allow us to better perceive criminals we encounter in the future.
Their Victimology
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People who take their lives in mass are often looking to end the lives of anyone they find. They are not particular. For example, when Darrell Brooks was driving his car through a parade, he wasn’t particularly concerned with who he ran over. They may have one person in mind for a reason like revenge, but anyone else they can get in addition is satisfactory.
SKs are extremely detailed in their selection of victims. They almost always target people of their own race (some exceptions to that rule are Jeffrey Dahmer and Gary Ridgeway). Victims often have certain physical and personal characteristics. For example, Ted Bundy liked women and girls who had dark hair parted down the middle.
What Motivates A Serial Killer VS A Mass Murderer
The motivation behind murder in mass can vary, but typically it is done for the purpose of revenge, grandiosity, attention-seeking, or by a person experiencing psychosis. SKs can also commit their crimes to get attention, but more often than not, the motive is sex-based. A SK is not going to want too much attention or they’ll get caught, although at some point their narcissism can get in the way, like BTK, who had his weird media letter-sending thing (all psychopaths are narcistic, although all narcists are not psychopaths).
Some other common motives are anger (usually against their moms), thrill-seeking (psychopaths have to do more to experience thrills like we do), and financial gain. The serpent, Charles Sobhraj, would steal money and passports from his victims. Dorothea Puente took the lives of her tenants and kept having their social security checks sent to her before she was caught.
A serial killer will never be a mass murderer because they must kill two or more people, with a mandatory cool-down period. The cool-down period can be anywhere between years, months, days, and maybe even several hours, but they have to ‘cool down.’ Taking life in mass does not allow for a cool-down period in between events. Very few people would have the opportunity to take a mass taking of lives twice because the events are so public and attention-grabbing that they will almost always be arrested.
The Methods Utilized
Mass murderers are often looking for weapons that will work quickly and efficiently (semi-automatic firearms or vehicles, for example). SKs sometimes will grab a pair of victims at one time (Ed Kemper, for example, grabbed two co-eds and brought them both to the woods one time), but they tend to be more focused and enjoy the process carefully with each victim. They may enjoy the idea of taking the lives of many victims, but it’s over time and not all at once.
The choice of weaponry is impacted by both victimology and motivation. Serial killers can use literally anything under the sun (and have) to accomplish the end of a life. Even a bow and arrow like in the photo above.
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