" God, I've never done anything. Help me, help me, help me! God, why is this happening? Help Me!" Robert Violante screamed as the Son of Sam's .44 caliber bullet tore through his temple (Mitchell p.15). At this moment Robert Violante must have asking himself why this was happening, what could cause someone to do something so atrocious? This paper examines issues related to the definition and study of serial murder. It probes the minds of some of the world's most infamous killers all the while asking the question WHY. It examines methodological issues such as problems with the FBI's so called serial murder profiling system: the fact that the

Jack the Ripper is undoubtedly the most infamous serial killer of all. No other evokes such vivid images, the shrill cry of newsboys "Whitechapel! Another 'orrible murder! Mutilation!" The fear struck into the hearts of everyone at the sight of a shadowed figure (Bardsley p. 1). Jack the Ripper murdered and raped five prostitutes in back alleys, lurking in the shadows. But in retrospect, compared to today, the murders of five prostitutes by Jack would barely make it to the head lines. However, there are more books written on Jack than all the American presidents combined. Given the murders of modern society, we must ask ourself why we are obsessed with Jack. We are obsessed because this represents the classic "whodunit." "He comes from out of the fog, kills violently and quickly, and disappears without a trace. Then for no apparent reason, he satisfies his blood lust with ever increasing ferocity, culminating in a near destruction of his final victim, and then vanishes from the scene forever" (Bardsley p. 1). The perfect ingredients for a blockbuster thriller.

5. Revenge-" If you prick us do we bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge? (William Shakespeare)

No one can pin-point exactly what drives a person to kill, but one thing stands out against all, and that is that little Charlie suffered a terribly traumatizing childhood and seemed to have an intense need to call attention to himself. We must ask ourselves what caused this. Was there some thing we could have done to stop it? As we look at the past of killers such as Manson, we can see that there are many factors that play a role in the genesis of a serial killer. For poor Charlie, it seems it may have been the environment in which he grew up. That lack of attention that he strived to gain in childhood continued into his adult years through his terrible crimes.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2554
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)