Article

Mot ivat ion
In contrast to what many of
us believed, serial killers on
certain occasions have a
lack of meaning or
motivation at the moment of
the murder. The reality is that
there is a big diversity in
needs and desires that
makes then decided on
ending somebody live. A
specific aspect or belief that
most people maintain, is that
serial murderers gain great
satisfaction from killing.
However, the motivation of
this action is difficult to
determinate as each serial
killer may have multiples and
different motivations for
committing these crimes.
A report made by the FBI in 2005 (Morton et al., 2005), shows a
category of motivation, which is used as a guideline in the
investigations:
·Anger may be considered as a motivation, as the convict display
rage toward a certain group.
·Another one is Criminal Enterprise, which is when the offender
gets a benefit in status or monetary by committed murder.
·Ideology, is a different motivation as the offender takes the action
in order to follow the ideas of a specific group or individual.
·Power/thrill, is when the convict feels empowered or excited when
he kills his victim.
·Psychosis this occurs when the offender suffers from a severe
mental illness and it kills because of this.
·Sexually based, this motivation is only based on the killer sexual
needs or desires.