What are the most common traits in serial killers? This says an expert

Throughout history, specialists from different fields devoted themselves to studying the behavior and behavior of the criminals more dangerous.

Jeffrey Dahmer (also nicknamed “The Milwaukee Cannibal”), John Wayne Gacy (or “The Killer Clown”), Robert Hansen (“Baker Butcher”) and Joe Metheny (“The Hamburger Man”) are just a few. names that have starred in gruesome serial murders.

AND in some of these cases police The exact death toll is still unknown. years, if not decades, after carrying out their attacks.

More recently, Just weeks ago British nurse Lucy Letby was sentenced to life in prison for killing at least seven babies. and for trying to do it with six others.

These attacks made her the most prolific child serial killer in modern UK history .

Although this is understood as a premise that there is no specific sequence of events that triggers a person to become a criminal with these characteristics, yes there are some common trends that experts have identified after studying several cases.

In conversation with La Tercera, curator Gonzalo Luján of the PDI Institute of Criminology deciphers what are .

First of all, the specialist points out that “When we speak of a serial killer, we must understand that we are referring to a subject, to a way of being in the world, to a developing subjectivity” .

“It’s not something reactive to a specific life situation. It is not that a person goes through an adverse situation and becomes one. (automatically)”, adds Luján.

In this sense, he explains to LT that when each case is studied retrospectively, factors such as childhood, adolescence and relationships —both in the near spheres and in the outermost spheres— have a crucial role In the analysis.

“They’re going to give us a glimpse of who that person might be as an adult.” .

That being said, a common factor in many criminal situations is that in their childhood, they used to do harmful acts to animals .

“In childhood, the subject of animal abuse is an indicator of danger for later personalities in adulthood. It is a fact which is not minor, which must be considered in a relevant way” emphasizes the curator of the Institute of Criminology of the PDI.

On another side, Despite the fact that a high percentage of serial killers typically exhibit psychopathic traits, it is important to point out that not everyone who has them will necessarily commit crimes. . This is due to what the expert said at the beginning.

“When we analyze human behavior and in the social sciences, we cannot have definitive categorical answers. We always talk about probabilities on more indicative subjects”, specifies Luján.

One of the most common points among identified serial killers is that “Since childhood we already have a significant deficit in the development of empathy” .

It can be defined as “a psychological function that somehow allows us to live in society and regulate ourselves in relation to norms and authority” .

That’s why both in primary socialization (one that occurs in a closer and more lasting circle, as is usually the case with the family) like in high school (e.g. the one that happens in school and later) It is essential that children and adolescents have “figures that can set limits” says the expert.

“Because deep down, these psychological characteristics develop . SO, if we have (in the future) a subject who has not developed enough empathy, very egocentric, with narcissistic traits, who cannot manage to adapt with his peers in terms of interpersonal relationships and in different areas of your life (…) we can think that this individual enters a process of self-absorption, which leads to fantasies that begin to appear where you can end up engaging in this type of criminal behavior.

In this context, This same lack of empathy undermines their ability to adapt to regulations. social.

In addition, says the commissioner, that “in most cases we can identify that they had a traumatic life family members from infancy and throughout childhood and adolescent development.

this last This can cause them to develop “a kind of thirst for revenge against society” .

“If we add all these condiments, we arrive at an increase in the probability that the subject has frankly maladaptive behaviors as marked as, for example, committing homicides. violations or crimes of this magnitude”.

It is usual that many of them seem to lead a life together and without arousing further suspicion. This happens, according to the expert, because “We are talking about personalities who have a preserved judgment of reality” .

The concept refers to they are aware of reality and social norms, so they know that certain actions can have consequences .

“They know how to avoid or manage – in the vast majority of cases – these circumstances so as not to be detected and to commit illegal acts or antisocial behavior in a silent and hidden way. Often they even have a family, a wife, children, a job, etc. However, behind that there is another life, like a parallel life, where they release that darker side. personality”.

This leads to some of the other most common characteristics: they tend to be manipulative with their environment and “use lies as a fundamental tool” to convince .

However, There have also been cases of serial murderers who at some point seek to make their crimes transparent to others. what they did

Although the situations vary according to each scenario, Luján comments that this can be linked to “a search for recognition”, since “they are basically quite narcissistic, egocentric subjects”. and so from their point of view, the fact that they are recognized for these facts somehow makes them feel a slightly more valued self-esteem”.

“But there are other psychopaths who will never own up to their actions, because deep down they always project the blame onto those on the outside. . In this direction, It’s a bad symptom when we have these individuals, when the obvious facts are in front of the table and they don’t recognize them”.

At the same time, it happens that these criminals—in general— “They seek to impose themselves and to demonstrate a power, an ability to control the other” .

That This is a key point that distinguishes them from other types of homicides, such as those that kill for money in hitman rings. .

Contrary to the latter, the commissioner underlines that “they do it for a question of power, to impose themselves, because they also It must be taken into account that these subjects, stemming from this traumatic childhood or adolescence that we mentioned (…) later, they enter into interchangeable roles, that is to say from the status of victim to that of perpetrator of the crime. “.

Consequently, they tend to carry out “revenge” attacks (from their look) but not strictly against any individual or group they know, but rather also towards people with whom they have not had a previous relationship which reaffirms the presence of said vision, “but already towards society”.

Along the same lines, the commissioner of the Institute of Criminology of the PDI insists on the fact that “we cannot know with certainty to what extent the environment or heredity influences, but clearly there is a succession of risk factors in the life history of a subject, through which one can think that he will be more vulnerable exhibit inappropriate behaviors.

“And that’s also why it’s very important to point out that, for every human being, it is necessary to have a minimally adequate environment in order to develop adaptively . Otherwise, we could all develop in more maladaptive ways. without being able to know a priori what consequences can we have,” says Luján.