Lesson 8: Jack the Ripper: A Comparison to Contemporary Serial Killers and Course Wrapup
In this final lesson the profile of a serial killer will be applied to Jack the Ripper and a comparison will be made between his crimes and those of contemporary serial killers Ted Bundy and the Zodiac Killer. The course will end with final thoughts and conclusions about the Jack the Ripper case.
The Profile of a Serial Killer
"One day men will look back and say I gave birth to the 20th Century", reads a quote attributed to Jack the Ripper.
The Profile of a Serial Killer
According to former FBI agent and serial killer expert Robert K. Ressler, the "typical" serial killer is usually a Caucasian male in their twenties or thirties. They often come from dysfunctional families in which there is an absentee father. They are smart and may be employed beneath their capacity. Many have some kind of physical ailment that sets them off. Their impulse to kill may be triggered by some event such as the loss of a job or the breakup of a relationship. While the majority of serial killers fit this general profile, there are always exceptions to the rules.
According to current research, a psychopath, also called a sociopath, can be either male or female. Though not always killers, they are dangerous because they have no respect for rules or regard for people other than themselves. They only fear getting caught. Despite this fear, they often enjoy playing cat-and-mouse games with the police, taunting them with clues and challenging them to catch them if they can. It is believed that serial killers are unable to stop killing on their own volition even if they wanted to.
For Further Reading: I Have Lived with the Monster: Inside the Minds of the World's Most Notorious Serial Killers, Resler, Robert K. and Tom Shachtman, St. Martin's Press, (reissue) 1998
