Argumentative Essay: Influence of Childhood on the Development of Serial Killers

Serial killers are a profound population of individuals who struggle with numerous mental and physical issues, which lead them to a life of murder. Many of these issues result from experiences in childhood, take Pogo the Clown, for example. In his essay on the Criminological Dissection of Pogo the Clown, Brandon Rodriguez writes how Pogo, formerly known as John Wayne Gacy Jr., experienced an abusive relationship with his father. Gacy Jr. suffered from both physical and mental abuse since his alcoholic father became increasingly “disappointed in his son for his lack of masculinity”.(Rodriguez par. 2) The emotional trauma he received from this abuse was directly linked to the reasoning behind why he began killing others. Rodriguez discusses the development of his antisocial personality disorder, more commonly known as ASPD, which also resulted from his childhood abuse. ASPD also led him to have little to no regard for the value of fragile human life. John Wayne Gacy Jr. was forced to repress his aggression and emotional responses as a child and after his wife divorced him, he was unable to control his aggressive outbursts of violence. (5) The trauma that occurs in childhood as well as other emotionally and physically damaging experiences starts the gradual development of serial killers. Serial killers are not naturally occurring, but rather are created through experiences of trauma and developmental voids stemming from their childhood.

How serial killers generally think is an important key component in understanding how they come to be the murderers they are.  The FBI explains how one murderer, particularly, Samuel Little, has confessed to strangling 93 victims in 35 years, although only 50 of them are confirmed by officials. (par.2) The analysis of Samuel Little continues in an episode of 60 minutes with the host Sharyn Alfonsi interviewing James Holland, the Texas Ranger who persuaded Little to confess to his many murders. James Holland tells Alfonsi in an interview, “And then you could see in his(Little’s) eyes as he is looking away, and he follows back as I say the word, “killer.” And that appealed to him. That’s how he defines himself.”(8:58). Samuel Little’s identity was being a serial killer. A common misconception is that they kill on the side as a hobby, but, through the example of Little, it becomes evident that killing is their sole identity. Samuel Little, in an interview with Holland, as recollect by Holland when he spoke with Alfonsi, confesses, “I don’t think there was another person that did what I liked to do. I think I'm the only one in the world. And that’s not an honor. That is a curse.”(12:46) The isolation and loneliness that Little expresses reworks society's definition of a serial killer. Most individuals see killers as mainly those who enjoy killing, but rather some killers themselves see themselves not as happy and blessed but as lonely and cursed.

The personalities of serial killers differ significantly from average adults. Common characteristics include their lack of empathy and defensive attitudes towards others. In the Dominion Post, in an article called “What made Dahmer a Killer?”, it claims, “...they(serial killers) act out extreme sadistic urges and lack any ability to empathize with the suffering of their victims.” The very lack of empathy that most, if not all, killers possess, prevents any feeling of remorse or guilt. Without any guilt or remorse, killing innocent people leads to ideas regarding human life as trivial. Commonly a lack of empathy begins with experiencing damaging trauma. In a daily newspaper known as The Guardian, J Oliver Conroy writes, “One common explanation is that psychopaths experience some kind of trauma in early childhood – perhaps as early as their infant state – and as a consequence suppress their emotional response. They never learn the appropriate responses to trauma, and never develop other emotions, which is why they find it difficult to empathize with others.”(par.17) Their lack of empathy is a result of trauma and abuse. The inability to properly develop normal human emotions creates a bridge to an abnormal lifestyle, one usually consisting of danger.

Childhood development or lack thereof determines the trajectory of someone’s adult life. A study by Leon Feinstein and John Bynner was conducted to emphasize the importance of cognitive development from childhood to adulthood. The authors stated, “The interactions between children and their social and physical environments continue to support developmental progress or to impede it…”(par.3) Child development is the source of a multitude of problems or successes that may come in the later stages of a lifetime. Abuse experienced as a child significantly damages children mentally, physically, and emotionally. In their detailed essay, Meher Sharma paraphrases a section of Eric W. Hickey’s novel saying, “Hickey(2002) stated that childhood traumatization tends to manifest as rejection, mistrust, anxiety, confusion, and results in loss of self-esteem.”(52) These specific effects of childhood traumatic experiences create social issues as well as a struggle to make and maintain relationships. Abuse in childhood prevents the victims from experiencing community and relationships as they were originally meant to. The connection between childhood trauma and emotional detachment contributes to the idea that serial killing begins with childhood trauma.

The presence of abuse, specifically neglect and physical abuse, leads to the aggression and violence portrayed by serial killers. On their website, the FBI explains, “Neglect and abuse in childhood have been shown to contribute to an increased risk of future violence.” The direct connection between violence and childhood trauma becomes much more evident, as does the connection between the risk of violence and the risk of becoming a killer. Meher Sharma, in her theory study, continues, “Researchers have focused on how neglect, early adoptions, and abandonment contribute to the lack of emotional attachments in early childhood relationships directly leading to serial killing.”(34) Sharma’s grounded study focused solely on the lives of three serial killers and answering why serial killers decide to commit murder and what are the true motivations as to why they kill. (5) Relationships serve as a foundation for social interaction and emotional development, if childhood relationships fail from a child’s inability to attach themselves to another emotionally, the ability for them to create relationships as they grow up is severely damaged. Relationships provide the emotional and mental stability in life that benefits both parties, if healthy, the inability to form relationships also leaves one lonely and socially unstable. An article published in the National Library of Medicine, Biopsychosocial Characteristics of Children Who Later Murder: A Prospective Study, reads, “The presence of repeated violence and abuse in the environment led Pfeffer(25) to view much of the adolescent’s assaultive and homicidal behavior as an attempt to master the trauma he has experienced by controlling and victimizing others.” Victims suffering from abuse struggle to develop coping mechanisms for how to cope with the severe trauma they endured in their early life. Unfortunately, the only coping mechanism they develop is dealing with themselves being a victim by forcing others to become the victim to establish the control that they lost. Continuing on the website of the FBI, they emphasize how impactful a lack of coping mechanisms can be, claiming, “The development of social coping mechanisms begins early in life and continues to progress as children learn to interact, negotiate, and compromise with their peers. In some individuals, the failure to develop adequate coping mechanisms results in violent behavior.” Certain coping mechanisms that are commonly developed at a young age can influence if an individual resorts to violence or a healthier alternative.