"A madman is waiting for you outside," a lyric from a popular song that can scare people at the same time. The psychology of serial killers is an incompletely understood and disturbing phenomenon. What causes the development of this mental illness, what is a madman, and most importantly - how to recognize them.
Andre Chikatilo
Now we have to disappoint everyone who believes that children are a priori innocent. Not so. In moral terms, children are as "evil" and "guiltless" as any animal. His actions begin to take on a moral color (in fact, and often legally), and as he ages and grows up, his actions begin to acquire a moral color.
It is therefore not surprising that the process of forming serial killers and sex maniacs begins in early childhood and then "fixes" in young adulthood. The late world-renowned expert on serial killers, psychiatrist Aleksandr Bukhanovsky, also talked about this (he managed to talk to Chikatilo, thus bringing immeasurable benefits to the investigation): It all started with "innocent" pranks in childhood (we will talk about them later), and in youth he could turn to realizing completely bloody fantasies.
Born in childhood
"It has been established that as early as early childhood, two contradictory tendencies can be distinguished in the criminal's way of behaving, his attitude towards himself, conflict situations and consequences. On the one hand, it is an external, aggressive behavioral activity (the desire for obedience to others, with the offensiveness of "offender fixation"), and on the other hand, it is an experience and emotion that compensates or isolates the shyness, sense of humiliation and heightened personal vulnerability inherent in these people. In this regard In this regard, it is reasonable that criminals form an "opposition reaction" in teenagers, which is a way of expressing dominant social relations. Tatiana Butkova, senior lecturer at the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Rostov Law Academy, Russian Federation.
By the way, Bukhanovsky, who coined the scientific term "Chikatilo phenomenon," believed that the desire to kill was just as addictive as drugs or alcohol, only the consequences were more dire. Tatiana Butkova Butkova writes: "In order to eliminate this syndrome (withdrawal), a person prepares to commit a crime. The "sweetness" of murder is delayed, but at first the would-be criminal just fantasizes about murdering someone. "In the second stage, physical dependence is active and control over the situation is lost. The criminal's behavior is completely subordinated to obsessive impulses, in which motives conflict between the necessity of murder and the fear of punishment, but the pathological impulse wins. (…) In this stage, the scope of personal motivations narrows, all interests are subordinated to the "hunting of the victim," who for the criminal begins to be anonymous and impersonal," Butkova continues.
In most cases, sex maniacs choose their victims from strangers, therefore "anonymous" people. A familiar person is not interested in them. Because such a murderer thinks that another person's body is just an "accessory" to the sexual organs. Therefore, if you suddenly find yourself in the situation of an unexpected "acquaintance" with a madman, criminologists recommend insisting on repeating his name and telling elements of his biography. Unfortunately, this doesn't always work (criminals can kill just to escape suspicion because the surviving victim can report and some "intellectuals" in hats drag her into the forest). In addition, madmen often choose "passionate" and acquaintances, but not close people - such people are more likely to attract themselves and stay away from the eyes of outsiders.
Alcoholics, drug addicts, madmen
The roots of any addiction, if you believe in-depth psychologists (and Bukhanovsky himself), can be traced back to very early childhood and hidden in the close relationship between mother and baby. Bukhanovsky identified three main causes of serial killers. The first two are a difficult childhood (psychologically traumatic situations, child abuse, emotionally divided family) and an adverse social environment (the same "bad company" or hunger, Chikatilo experienced in childhood).Another factor is physiological problems related to the brain (bad genetics, pathological pregnancy of the mother, childhood blows to the head, brain tumors).
For example, there are studies showing that sadistic tendencies are genetically determined. Most importantly, the Maoa genome encodes monoamine oxidase A, an enzyme that plays an important role in regulating , dopamine, , and serotonin levels in the brain. Scientists at the University of Rome (Italy), publishing in the journal PLOS One in 2007, found that a lack or weakening of the MAOA gene leads to an increased risk of physical attacks in adulthood. Interestingly, the gene locates on the X chromosome . So women have two copies, one of which can "compensate" for the other, while men only have one. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why there are so many more male serial killers than female serial killers.
Peeing, setting fires, animal cruelty
However, we won't get into the chaos of psychoanalysis because someone with a history of such issues is more likely to be just a quiet gambler than someone who would kill someone. In the practice of global forensics and psychiatry, there is a theory according to which future serial killers can identify three characteristics simultaneously - the so-called Macdonald Triad (the idea was proposed by the American psychiatrist John Macdonald in a 1963 article entitled "The Threat of Death", in a study of 100 of his patients): Late Enureze (five years later). Pyromania (setting fires with passion) and animal cruelty (the infamous inflatable frogs passing through straws can also be attributed here, but special attention is paid to the bullying of puppies and kittens). These three things
are not a child; they are a child, a child. There was even a special clinic where such children and their parents were received - the treatment and rehabilitation center "Phoenix", created by Alexander Bukhanovsky. Of course, it is guaranteed that such a "child" will become a human being, alas, not. In fact, Bukhanovsky's greatest success was the "Foreground Portrait" of Chikatilo, and the greatest failure was the novel of Emeliantsev (also known by the fictitious name and surname Igor Yelizarov), whose mother brought him to the "Phoenix" center as a child and learned that the boy cleverly laughed at animals. Bukhanovsky almost certainly knew he was a future madman and tried to help him. For years, Emelantsev shared his feelings and fantasies with psychiatrists, but unfortunately, as soon as he came of age and gave up treatment, he immediately "exploded": he raped and killed several women and children. People who look like this are destined for lifelong treatment.
Roman Emelantsev talks to Alexander Bukhanovsky
Normal Hero
The question CSI may have been asking about how to identify potential killers in a crowd. For example, in the 18th and 19th centuries, people tried to guess it from skulls. The Austrian doctor Franz Joseph Gall even created a doctrine - the famous Buddhism , which became one of the earliest pseudosciences. Her main argument is that there is a connection between the mind and the structure of the skull. However, Fronology failed to prove itself as a method of identifying particularly dangerous criminals, and then neurophysiology and pseudoscience emerged.
How to identify a madman on the street or among acquaintances? Unfortunately, this is almost impossible. Criminologists and psychiatrists (following Hervey Cleckley, M.D., who published a 1941 paper on psychopaths, "The Mask of Conscience") agree that these people often look like other people. That means their lives are no different than the lives of millions of others: coffee in the morning, then taking the subway to work, eating macaroni meatloaf in the evening, and attending class with their kids. They were very law-abiding and let grandma ride the bus and say hello to the neighbors. They are also silent, quite ascetic and generally give the impression of very ordinary "gray" people (think of Chikatilo or Mihasevich, a raiding supply worker and a model family man, who was elected as a representative of the Party of Regions ).These people often have families, wives and children.
Their victims are often the same age as their own offspring. They realize from an early age that they are not like other people. Their main difference is their lack of empathy and empathy for those around them. It is difficult for them to understand what warmth and love are, and their emotional range is often limited to emotions such as rage, anger, pain, and anxiety. In addition, they always need stimulation (for the same reason that their range of emotional states is limited) - they cannot enjoy a good book or a walk in the autumn park - they always need "warmth", a stormy feeling, to eliminate their boredom. This feeling can be mountaineering and sadistic towards living things.
The "core" of a madman and serial killer is psychosis. In psychiatry, however, this diagnosis does not exist - the vast majority of people do not have thought disorders or hallucinations (although schizophrenia serial killers sometimes do). 85% of those forensically found guilty of insanity were never documented by a psychiatrist, and 25% were not found to have any insanity (excluding so-called pedophilia, necrophilia, gerontology, fetishism, sadism and masochism forms of sexual behavior). Many people are not harmonious in their sexual lives.
Andre Chikatilo and the knife he used to kill his victims
At the same time, like all psychopaths, they knew exactly what they were doing and many of them planned their crimes carefully, being very good at obfuscating investigations and covering up their tracks. There is a term for such people - "moral lunatics": their ideas are good, but with moral ideals - a huge strain. They lack emotional empathy but develop cognitive empathy - they spend their lives observing "normal" people and are good at portraying the "right" emotions and feelings. For example, they can easily cry in a chair at school or show distress while watching a melodrama.
plus self esteem issues. Bukhanovsky believes that these people have a notorious inferiority complex . In their "outer" lives they are often filled, modest and austere, but in their inner world passions rage - blood, thirst for revenge and enjoyment. Some did it simply to enjoy the pain of their victims (e.g., the murderous madman Pichushkin), while for some the pain had sexual connotations (Chikatilo, who may have been imitating sexual behavior to compensate for his sexual impotence).
Power, sex, murder
Therefore, criminologists distinguish several types of serial killers. The first goal is to possess the victim. They are no different from sexual rapists except for one thing - they always end up killing their victims. They do this not because they enjoy the process, but to cover up evidence or retaliate against resistance. The second category is the true sex maniac. Murder is not merely an attempt to cover up evidence - without such conduct, sexual mitigation is impossible. First, they enjoy the pain of their helpless victims (compensating for their inferiority complex). Second, after losing consciousness, the victim becomes "submissive", which excites the criminal so much that he ultimately feels like a powerful "master" and the decider of his fate. This is the most widespread and researched category of serial sex maniacs, also known as "hedonists." They often exhibit various forms of sexual perversion, such as necrophilia or cannibalism.
Alexander Pichushkin
Category 3 criminals do not sexually molest their victims - there is usually no rape. In most cases, men do not take off their clothes. Kill for the sake of killing. For example, "missionaries" or "visionaries" are seen as criminals who believe killing people will bring good to the world. They tend to target mild-mannered women, women in general, the elderly and people of certain nationalities. These killers are often believers who commit their crimes under the influence of visual and audio hallucinations (for example, hearing a "voice" of God or the devil commanding them to kill). This group of madmen is considered to be the youngest of the serial killers.
Occupation and age
A reasonable question is, what occupation would the murderer choose? The answer is: anyone. Despite the stereotype of a highly intellectual madman .Of course, this is also common, but more common is the average alcoholic who, once killed once, gets into the "taste". They often do not even have a higher education and work in low-skilled jobs, such as porters, or as middle-level workers (such as Chikatilo's supply clerks). The age range is also wide, ranging from 18 to 55 years old. "Criminals aged 26-35 are particularly active. More than 50% of murders occur at this age," Oleg Yevsutkin wrote in his article "Criminological characteristics of serial killers and their victims."
According to statistics, 60% of serial killers have received secondary professional education, 10% of serial killers have received higher education, the same number of serial killers have graduated from high school, and 10% of serial killers have received junior high school education. 80% work, 50% are married with children, 5% suffer from mental illness, and 4% are homeless. These lunatics are drivers, educators, coaches, doctors, veterinarians, and law enforcement officers. It can be seen that counting and capturing these individuals is very difficult. Just one thing, don't lose your guard!
