The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the demographic, behavioral, and background characteristics of female serial murderers. A series of postulates about male serial murderers were developed after an extensive literature review. Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources on 14 female serial murderers in the United States. A preliminary profile of female serial murderers was then compared to the current knowledge of male serial murderers. Overall, there were generally more differences than similarities between male and female serial murderers. Results suggested differences in nine areas: victim damage, victim torture, weapon/method, stalking versus luring behaviors, crime scene organization, reasons for the murders, substance abuse history, psychiatric diagnosis, and household composition. Similarities appeared in five areas: broken homes, childhood abuse, race, educational level, and occupation.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Biggers, T. A. (1979). Death by murder: A study of women murderers.Death Education, 3, 1-9.
2.
Blum, A. , & Fisher, G. (1978). Women who kill. In I. L. Kutash, S. B. Kutash, & L. B. Schlesinger (Eds.), Violence: Perspectives on murder and aggression (pp. 187-197). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
3.
Cole, K. , Fisher, G., & Cole, S. (1968). Women who kill: A sociopsychological study.Archives of General Psychiatry, 19, 1-8.
4.
Crump, A. (1986). Women and crime: A contemporary controversy.International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 30, 31-39.
5.
Egger, S. (1985). Serial murder and the law enforcement response.Dissertation Abstracts International, 47, 1069A.
6.
Egger, S. (1990). Serial murder: An elusive phenomenon.New York: Praeger.
7.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (1965-1991). Crime in the United States. In Uniform Crime Reports.Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
8.
Fromm, E. (1973). The anatomy of human destructiveness.New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
9.
Goetting, A. (1988). Patterns of homicide among women.Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 3, 3-19.
10.
Guttmacher, M. (1960). The mind of the murderer.New York: Grove Press.
11.
Heide, K. M. (1986, May). Testimony during trial of serial murderer Bobby Joe Long.State of Florida v. Robert J. Long.
12.
Heide, K. M. (1992). Why kids kill parents.Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
13.
Hickey, E. (1991). Serial murderers and their victims.Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
14.
Holmes, R. (1994). Murder in America.Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
15.
Holmes, R. , & DeBurger, J. (1988). Serial murder.Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
16.
Keeney, B. (1992). Gender differences in serial murderers. Unpublished masters thesis, University of South Florida, Tampa.
17.
Ketner, L. , & Humphrey, J. (1980). Homicide, sex role differences and role relationships.Journal of Death and Dying, 20, 379-386.
18.
Lester, D. (1991). Questions and answers about murder.Philadelphia: Charles Press.
19.
Levin, J. , & Fox, J. (1985). Mass murder: America's growing menace.New York: Plenum.
20.
Leyton, E. (1986). Compulsive killers: The story of modern multiple murder.New York: New York University Press.
21.
Linedecker, C. (1990). Serial thrill killers.New York: Knightsbridge.
22.
MacDonald, J. (1963). The threat to kill.American Journal of Psychiatry, 120, 125-130.
23.
Magid, K. , & McKelvey, C. (1987). High risk.Delta, CO: M & M.
24.
Manthei, D. (1988). Munchausen syndrome by proxy: Covert child abuse.Journal of Family Violence, 3, 131-140.
25.
McClain, P. (1981). Social and environmental characteristics of Black female homicide offenders.Western Journal of Black Studies, 5, 224-230.
26.
Norris, J. (1988). Serial killers: The growing menace.New York: Doubleday.
27.
Ressler, R. (1985). Crime scene and profile characteristics of organized and disorganized murders.FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 54, 18-25.
28.
Ressler, R. (1992). Whoever fights monsters.New York: St. Martin's.
29.
Ressler, R. , Burgess, A., & Douglas, J. (1988). Sexual homicide.Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
30.
Ritter, B. (1988). Multiple murderers: The characteristics of the persons and the nature of their crimes.Dissertation Abstracts International, 49, 1971A.
31.
Rosenberg, D. (1987). Web of deceit: A literature review of Munchausen syndrome by proxy.Child Abuse & Neglect, 11, 547-563.
32.
Rule, A. (1980). The stranger beside me.New York: Norton.
33.
Schorr, L. (1988). Within our reach.New York: Anchor Books.
34.
Sears, D. (1991). To kill again.Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources.
35.
Suval, E. , & Brisson, R. (1974). Neither beauty nor beast: Female criminal homicide offenders.Interpersonal Journal of Crime and Penology, 2, 23-34.
36.
Weisheit, R. (1984). Female homicide offenders: Trends over time in an institutionalized population.Justice Quarterly, 1, 471-489.
37.
Wilbanks, W. (1980). Female homicide offenders in the U.S.International Journal of Women's Studies, 6, 302-310.
38.
Wolfgang, M. E. (1958). Patterns of criminal homicide.Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
39.
Wolfgang, M. E. , & Ferracuti, F. (1967). The subculture of violence.Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
