What are some examples of organized to disorganized escalation of crime and why does it happen?

Answer 1

Ted Bundy is a perfect example of an intelligent, organized offender more or less self-destructing in disorganized escalation of his crimes. For years Bundy was careful, he planned his crimes, thought out all scenarios that could come up, and that is why he went undetected for so long.

But after escaping from a jail holding cell and fleeing across the country to Florida, he more or less fell apart. The murders at the sorority house deviated from his usual careful crimes of before. He was completely disorganized with the random choice of victims, weapon, crime scene, not to mention there were witnesses that were only a few feet from him as he made his way in and out of the sorority house. His last victim was not much better. 12 year old Kimberly Leach was abducted by Bundy and was soon found stuffed under an abandoned pig barn. He was arrested a short time later.

Many times with serial criminals there will be an escalation of the crimes. Killers may need more violence and thrills just like a drug addict needs a larger dose of drugs to acheive the same high. This is a lot of times their undoing. They get a little careless or may get the feeling that they are so clever that police will never catch them.

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Some more comments on the topic.

For the purpose of behavioral analysis, there are two distinct types of crime scenes: organized and disorganized. Occasionally, a crime scene will present elements of both.

Organized offenders are psychopathic and antisocial, irrational but sane. There will always be a specific stressor in the offender's life that precipitates the beginning of his murderous career. These can be related to finances, employment, a marriage, or any close relationship. Disorganized offender is psychotic with non-existent social skills. He works from a spontaneous fury sparked by either anger or passion, drugs or alcohol. If he remains uncaught, he may evolve into an organized offender through experience. Disorganization may arise from the youth of the offender, his lack of criminal sophistication, drug or alcohol abuse, or mental deficiency.

Organized Killers

Edmund Kemper, John Wayne Gacy, Bob Berdella, Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono, Gerard John Schaefer, John Joubert, Monte Rissell, David Meierhofer, John Brennan Crutchley.

Disorganized Killers

Richard Trenton Chase, Herbert Mullin, Juan Corona, John Frazier.

Mixed Presentation Killers

Duane Samples, Ted Bundy who was organized until his Florida murders.