street at night is less vulnerable to attack if she is accompanied by a large dog. Desirability is highly subjective and is described as the attractiveness or appeal of the victim to the offender. Victim desirability involves numerous factors related to the motivation of the offender and may include characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, age, body type, or other specific criteria established by the serial killer.
The FBI Perspective on Serial Killer Motivations
At its symposium on serial homicide in 2005, the FBI and other experts in criminology and forensic psychology had an in-depth discussion about the motivations of serial killers. The attendees made a number of observations and recommendations for serial homicide investigations related to these motivations. As presented by the FBI in their report entitled Serial Murder: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for Investigators , the specific observations made by attendees at the symposium were: 50
• The motive can be very difficult to determine in a serial murder investigation.
• A serial murderer can have multiple motives for committing his or her crimes.
• A serial killer’s motive(s) can evolve both within a single murder and throughout the series of murders.
• The classification of motivations should be limited to observable behavior and conditions at the scenes of the murders.
• Even if a motive can be identified, it may not be helpful in identifying a serial murderer.
• Utilizing investigative resources to discern the motive instead of identifying the offender can derail or bog down an investigation.
• Investigators should not necessarily equate a serial murderer’s motivation(s) with the level of injury.
Finally, regardless of the specific motive(s), most serial killers commit their crimes because they want to. The exception to this would be those few serial killers suffering from a severe mental illness for whom no coherent motive exists.
Categories of Motivation Defined by the FBI
The attendees at the 2005 FBI symposium on serial murder suggested that broad, non-inclusive categories of motivation be utilized asguidelines for criminal investigation. They argued that such categories can assist law enforcement authorities in narrowing the pool of suspects in a serial homicide case. The attendees at the symposium identified seven general categories of motivation to be used as guidelines for investigative purposes. The categories are not intended to be a complete measure of serial offenders, nor are they intended to comprise a theory of their motivation. As concisely reported by the FBI in 2005, they are: 51
• Anger is a powerful motivation in which the offender displays rage or hostility toward either a certain subgroup of the population such as the homeless or society as a whole.
• Criminal enterprise is a motivation in which the offender benefits in status or monetary reward by committing murder that is drug, gang, or organized crime related. For example, murder may be perpetrated by a drug gang in order to eliminate its competition.
• Financial gain is a motivation in which the offender benefits monetarily from killing that is not drug, gang, or organized crime related. A few examples of these types of crimes are “black widow” killings (explained in the next section), robbery homicide, or multiple killings involving insurance or welfare fraud.
• Ideology is a motivation to commit murder in order to further the goals and ideas of a specific individual or group. Examples of these include terrorist groups or individuals who attack a specific racial, gender or ethnic group out of sheer hatred for the group.
• Power/thrill is a motivation in which the offender feels empowered and/or exhilarated when he kills his victims. The act of killing is an end in itself.
• Psychosis is a rare situation in which the offender is suffering from a severe mental illness and is
The FBI Perspective on Serial Killer Motivations
At its symposium on serial homicide in 2005, the FBI and other experts in criminology and forensic psychology had an in-depth discussion about the motivations of serial killers. The attendees made a number of observations and recommendations for serial homicide investigations related to these motivations. As presented by the FBI in their report entitled Serial Murder: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for Investigators , the specific observations made by attendees at the symposium were: 50
• The motive can be very difficult to determine in a serial murder investigation.
• A serial murderer can have multiple motives for committing his or her crimes.
• A serial killer’s motive(s) can evolve both within a single murder and throughout the series of murders.
• The classification of motivations should be limited to observable behavior and conditions at the scenes of the murders.
• Even if a motive can be identified, it may not be helpful in identifying a serial murderer.
• Utilizing investigative resources to discern the motive instead of identifying the offender can derail or bog down an investigation.
• Investigators should not necessarily equate a serial murderer’s motivation(s) with the level of injury.
Finally, regardless of the specific motive(s), most serial killers commit their crimes because they want to. The exception to this would be those few serial killers suffering from a severe mental illness for whom no coherent motive exists.
Categories of Motivation Defined by the FBI
The attendees at the 2005 FBI symposium on serial murder suggested that broad, non-inclusive categories of motivation be utilized asguidelines for criminal investigation. They argued that such categories can assist law enforcement authorities in narrowing the pool of suspects in a serial homicide case. The attendees at the symposium identified seven general categories of motivation to be used as guidelines for investigative purposes. The categories are not intended to be a complete measure of serial offenders, nor are they intended to comprise a theory of their motivation. As concisely reported by the FBI in 2005, they are: 51
• Anger is a powerful motivation in which the offender displays rage or hostility toward either a certain subgroup of the population such as the homeless or society as a whole.
• Criminal enterprise is a motivation in which the offender benefits in status or monetary reward by committing murder that is drug, gang, or organized crime related. For example, murder may be perpetrated by a drug gang in order to eliminate its competition.
• Financial gain is a motivation in which the offender benefits monetarily from killing that is not drug, gang, or organized crime related. A few examples of these types of crimes are “black widow” killings (explained in the next section), robbery homicide, or multiple killings involving insurance or welfare fraud.
• Ideology is a motivation to commit murder in order to further the goals and ideas of a specific individual or group. Examples of these include terrorist groups or individuals who attack a specific racial, gender or ethnic group out of sheer hatred for the group.
• Power/thrill is a motivation in which the offender feels empowered and/or exhilarated when he kills his victims. The act of killing is an end in itself.
• Psychosis is a rare situation in which the offender is suffering from a severe mental illness and is
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