How do you know if your a serial killer?

Answer 1

You would know because of the signs they show in early life such as the remorseless murder of animals and also you would know because serial killers have absolutely no sense of sympathy and they find killing anything deeply satisfying within themselves. Another sign is that if when younger they have abusive parents or have psychological problems such as chemical imbalances of their brain. I hope this answers your question.

Answer 2

If only it were that simple. You can't tell just by looking at a person if they are a serial killer. In fact, the opposite seems to be true. Many killers look very average and benign. Many are well-read and soft spoken, some are described as charming.

What is also a fact, common among these killers is a Jekle/Hide facade. This mask they wear hides the evil beneath. It is usually only their victims that see them for what they really are. By then it is too late.

But there are red flags, behaviors that the individual displays, even as far back as early childhood. These include bed wetting, fire starting, lying, stealing, disreguard for law/authority, torturing animals. The killer may have exhibited any number of these behaviors. Of course many children may be a bed wetter who lies or starts fires or any combination of behaviors and they grow into normal law abiding citizens. Very few become killers. These killers are now studied, their brains scanned, catagorized in the hope that someday serial murder can be prevented.

Answer 3

According to the FBI there are certain criteria that must be present before a suspect can be considered a serial killer. Simply put, 3 or more kills with a 'cooling off' period between kills. This cooling off time is important and is what differs from 'mass or spree' killers.

The fantasies take over, the tension builds over time, and eventually the urge to kill must be satisfied. Once the kill takes place, the urge to kill abates (this is the cooling off period) only to build again over time in the same pattern. It is common with this type of killer to accelerate the crime's 'in between' time whereas the time between kills may get shorter, while the killing evolves and can almost seem frenzied.

(A perfect example of this is with London's Jack The Ripper. With each murder the mutilations got much worse. Until the Mary Kelly murder where the wounds were beyond anything seen before or since.)

If a suspect meets this criteria they may be looking for a serial killer. But to identify a serial killer just by looking at a person is almost impossible. If they looked like a dangerous killer it would be very hard for them to find victims.

These types of personalities have 2 sides. The side that they show the world and the true side of them that is violent, in thought and deed. They usually have personality disorders which happens early in life. They have years to perfect the mask that they show the world. These killers are very good at it. There closest family and friends are usually so shocked when they find out their loved one is a killer. So this mask that they wear fools most of the world, and it would be very hard to see past this. This is why it is so hard to pick one out. They look and sound and have lives just like everybody else. Until their victim gets too close and finds out too late that this person was a Jekyl and Hyde.

Footnote:I have read in a couple of places that the FBI may change the 3 kills to 2 kills, all other criteria still applies. I'm not sure this will change or when, just thought I'd pass it on.

Answer 4

If you've killed multiple people at different points in time, then you would be classed as a serial killer.