Unleashing the monster within

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Serial killers evoke a kind of dreadful fascination. Whether it is India or the United States, a deranged person stalking the alleys and killing off innocents is “spicy” news for the media and its millions of greedy consumers. Even those who are terrified out of their wits by macabre stories of murderers cannot but lap them up

, with furtive glances behind their shoulders. Needless to say, films about serial killers are usually huge hits everywhere.

The truth is that all of us are equally obsessed with crime. Those of us who are not direct or indirect victims of the killer’s murder spree love to experience the cheap thrills at a safe distance, but for the person who is picked to be the next victim, it’s a different matter altogether.

The desi versions
India has had its own fair share of serial killers. Historians recall Thug Behram of the 19th century. He was a cult member and his killings were motivated by robbery and religious fanaticism.
Fast-forward to 2005-2006 and we witnessed how the nation lapped up news of the Noida serial murders by Surender Koli, who sexually assaulted his victims. Koli has been convicted for murders of four of the 17 victims that were uncovered during the investigations, most of whom were young girls. For his crimes, Koli has received the death sentence.
Most recently, Mahanand Naik from Goa lured young women promising them marriage and then murdered them by strangling them with their own dupattas.

The hidden motive
The most intriguing aspect of a serial killer is the motivation. But to get to the bottom of this we have to start at the beginning.
The Oxford dictionary defines murder as “the unlawful killing of a human being by another”. However, the definition of serial killing is different. Serial killing happens in different forms and the killers can be in many different states of minds.
Perhaps we can generally say that a serial murderer carries out repetitive killings which almost always involve killing one person at a time. However, the motivation is what is less understood. But the motivations are not necessarily lacking, they are often simply shrouded.
“A person becomes a criminal due to multiple factors and these vary from criminal to criminal,” says Dr Lakkaraju Jayasree, a criminologist and professor in criminal law. “Even factors such as hereditary and physical features or economic background, home and education can play a role in turning a person into a criminal.”
Studies have also proved that serial killers rarely murder for money, instead they kill people for a certain thrill or dominance and/or sexual satisfaction. Also, something unique about serial killers is that they go through a “cooling off” period before they strike again.
Police officers vouch that their victims usually follow a pattern having very similar characteristics such as race, age and gender.
Psychologists say that sex murders are often a realisation of a fantasy where the killers are in control and live in their teenage dreams. And as the killer experiences each murder he can be disappointed by the fantasy and therefore act it out again trying to achieve satisfaction.

Making of a serial killer
What leads a person to perform such repetitive and violent acts? There isn’t really a clear explanation for the psychology of a serial killer but what is intriguing is the urge behind the killings.
Where does is it come from, why is it so uncontrollably powerful and impossible to resist? Does it come down to the killer’s genetics, hormonal imbalances, biology, environment, cultural conditioning? Why can’t they control these horrid desires?
Everyone experiences rage and forbidden sexual instincts but most people have the ability to diffuse these desires. Is it simply that these blockades do not exist for a serial killer? It seems they let out their inner monster and become completely controlled by that monster.
Dr Anita Evangelina, a lie-detector expert and psychologist at AP Forensic Science Laboratory, says that no person is born a criminal, but genetic reasons often lead to hormonal imbalance triggering criminal behaviour. For instance, in rapists the hormonal secretions have often been found to be more and this makes them more aggressive.
“Crime and genes are interconnected,” says Dr Kumaraswamy Thangaraj, a senior scientist at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology. In her studies she found that the CAG repeats on chromosomes are relatively shorter in persons with criminal behaviour than in normal people. Dr Thangaraj’s lab has found that a gene called AR controls the function of the central and peripheral nervous system and this gene can play a role in shaping the behaviour of people. Thus, genetic abnormalities can cause certain criminal traits.
From their side, serial killers give their own bizarre reasons for their behaviours ranging from blaming their upbringing to feeling like a “part” of them was missing. The dreaded killer Ted Bundy said that pornography made him a serial killer. Still others have said it was the voices in their heads compelling them or a traumatic incident that turned them into killers.
Many others feel that their victims simply deserved what came to them. Although their actual act seems insane, the fact is that serial killers are actually very rational and calculating.

Alarming symptoms
Experts say that serial killers carrying out their vicious crimes do not experience any negative consequences or often are not even bothered by any of the prohibitions against their actions.
They also tend to isolate themselves so that their actions are not challenged by someone else. It is often noted that they torture animals and set fires as children which eventually spiral into larger crimes against humans. Animals are often like a “practice” material for killing humans later on.
Serial killers often see humans and inanimate objects at the same level, so making the switch isn’t a big deal for them.
Some statistics have stated that up to 60 percent of serial killers wet their beds even in their post-adolescence years. But this does not mean that all bed-wetters end up as serial killers!
There are several mathematical explanations that explore and try to explain this phenomenon by looking at the distribution and variation of the crimes between blacks and whites. Perhaps if mathematicians and geneticists were to sit down with the criminologists, psychologists and the police force, the combined knowledge and understanding might give us better insight into the individual psyche of a serial killer. Such a brainstorming might also provide an understanding of these crimes on a larger scale, whether based on society, race, age, education or any other factor that might in fact play a direct role in creating serial killers.
In the end, even a serial killer has to be understood and not condemned outright. Only such an understanding will give us the key to lock up the monster alive in him.