Psychopathic Serial Killers

            Psychopathic serial killers suffer from traits of personality characteristics. Some of the common ones are antisocial personality disorder and dissocial personality disorder. They lack guilt and empathy and they have a strong ego. They only follow the rules that they have set for themselves. Most of the time, they appear to be normal and charming.

            One of the most famous psychopathic serial killers is Charles Milles Maddox aka Charles Manson. At one time Manson was only a small time perpetrator going to jail for stealing cars and burglary. In 1956, Manson was again sent to jail for stealing checks and cars. His wife eventually left him and they were divorced in 1957. Manson spent the next 6 years in prison, where he decided to work on his music. It became an obsession for him. Manson believed he would become famous once he was released from prison.

            Once released, he moved to San Francisco with his guitar and drugs. He began to develop a following and they all eventually moved into the Spahn Ranch. This area was a popular spot for the filming of western movies in the 1940s-50s. Once Manson and his “family” took over, it became the compound for his cult. Manson was extremely talented at manipulating his followers. He had his own philosophy that he would grind into their heads. Manson believed that the Beatles White Album song “Helter Skelter” predicted a race war was going to happen in the summer of 1969. He manipulated his followers into believing the blacks were going to slaughter all of the whites. Manson told them that if they followed him he would lead them into a city of gold located in Death Valley. This “Helter Skelter” never occurred, but Manson made it his own mission to start the slaughter. He said to his followers that “he and his followers must show the blacks how to do it.”

            Four of Manson’s followers murdered an actress named Sharon Tate along with her unborn baby. Among her, 4 others we murdered who were there visiting Tate. The following night, Manson’s followers killed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in their home.

            It took the police several months to find the ones responsible for these despicable crimes. In December of 1969, Manson and several followers were arrested. On January 25^th, Manson was found guilty of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Manson was sentenced to death in 1971, but was reprieved in 1972. He is now serving a life sentence and every now and again he comes up for parole. Manson has been in prison for over 3 decades and he is still receiving the most mail out of all the prisoners in the United States. He currently is being held in California’s Corcoran Prison.

http://www.answers.com/topic/serial-killer#Comfort_.28profit.29

http://history1900s.about.com/od/1960s/p/charlesmanson.htm

Psychotic Serial Killers

            Psychotic serial killers are the ones who are legally insane. They do not know right from wrong. Some claim to hear voices, hallucinate, and see visions before they commit their murders. “The Son of Sam” aka David Berkowitz is a psychotic serial killer.

            It has been debated whether or not a person born this way or if they are a product of their environment. Most serial killers do show signs of being psychotic. In 1989, one psychotic serial killer who was convicted on 43 counts, including 13 murders is Richard Ramirez aka “The Night Stalker.”  He was a strong believer in the devil and at times referred to himself as Satan. Starting in the spring of 1985, the city of Los Angeles lived in fear of Ramirez. They added locks to their doors and windows, and many people invested in security systems. He was dubbed “The Night Stalker” because he only killed at night. Ramirez would break in to peoples’ bedrooms and kill them while they slept. Some people believed he snapped due to seeing his cousin murder his wife. Ramirez’s first victim was a 79 year old woman named Jennie Vincow. She was stabbed repeatedly with her throat slashed so deep she was nearly decapitated. Eight months later, Ramirez would strike again.

            On October 3, 1989 the jury had voted for the death penalty. This only took 4 days of deliberations. Once sentenced, Ramirez left smiling and saying “Big deal, death always went with the territory.” Once he was in shackles he turned to reporters and said “I’ll see you in Disney Land.” On November 9^th, he was officially sentenced to 19 death sentences. After sentencing, Ramirez said to the court “You do not understand me. I do not expect you to. You are not capable of it. I am beyond your experience. I am beyond good and evil. Legions of the night, night breed, repeat not the errors of night prowler and show no mercy. I will be avenged. Lucifer dwells within us all." He always argued that he was just misunderstood.

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/ramirez/trial_9.html

http://scienceray.com/physics/serial-killer-psychopathic-or-psychotic/

Comfort Killers

            Comfort killers kill because they enjoy material gain and comfortable lifestyles. Most of the time, the victims are family members and close friends. Most comfort killers use some type of poison, mostly arsenic. Females are common as comfort killers, but there are many men as well. Most comfort killers have been convicted previously for fraud, theft, non payment of debts, and embezzlement.

            Dorothea Helen Puente was female comfort killer. Born January 9^th, 1929 in Redlands, California Puente ran a boarding house in Sacramento, California. There she would cash the social security checks of her elderly and mentally disabled guests. If anyone complained they were killed and buried in her yard. Most people who stayed there had mixed feelings about how she ran the place. Her motives for killing her victims were plain and simply for financial gain. She was making more than $5,000 a month from the victims she killed. When police began investing, seven bodies were discovered. Ultimately, Puente was charged with 9 murders. She was only convicted of 3; however, she was sentenced to two life sentences. On March 27^th, 2011 Puente died in prison of natural causes. She was 82 years old.

            Another comfort serial killer is Richard Leonard “The Iceman” Kulkinski. Born April 11^th, 1935 Kulkinski was a mobster and a contract killer. He was 6’5” and 300 lbs. He claimed to have killed over 250 men between 1948 and 1986. He also claims to have made his first kill when he was only 13.  His older brother was a convicted child rapist and murderer. On December 17, 1986 Kulkinski was arrested by a federal agent on a sting operation to sell Kulkinski cyanide for a planned murder. A gun was later found in his car. Kulkinski was charged with five counts of murder and six weapons violations. He was also charged with attempted murder, robbery and attempted robbery. In 1988, Kulkinski was convicted of five murders and he was sentenced to consecutive life sentences. He will be able for parole at the age of 110. In 2003, he pled guilty to a 1980 murder of an NYPD detective and had another 30 years added to his sentence. On March 5^th, 2006 Kulkinski died at the age of 70. His death was considered suspicious because he was supposed to testify against different crime bosses.

http://www.answers.com/topic/serial-killer#Comfort_.28profit.29

http://www.answers.com/topic/dorothea-puente

http://www.answers.com/topic/richard-kuklinski