Was Charles Whitman considered a serial killer?

Answer 1

Whitman falls into the group called spree killers. They are a completely different breed of killer. They are usually motivated by anger and revenge on a world that does not understand them and has treated them poorly. These types of killers a lot of times plan on suicide or death by police gunfire. They don't want to be taken alive. They want to 'get back' and then 'check out'. And usually these crimes have nothing to do with sex or sexual fantasies, which is the driving force with most serial killers.

Answer 2

Although some aspects of his crimes resemble serial patterns Starkweather is considered a 'spree killer'. He killed on different days which looks like the serial killer cooling off period. Starkweather never cooled off. He and girlfriend Carol Fugate were on a roll. The motivation for these crimes are not the same as a serial killer.