BOOK REVIEW: DAVID WILSON'S A HISTORY OF BRITISH SERIAL KILLING

In 2011 Professor David Wilson published an intriguing book titled- ‘A history of British Serial Killing’. This book is a fascinating read for any Criminologist and social scientist because it focuses on key serial killings in Britain from the epicentre of when the phenomenon of serial killing became a concept. Whitechapel in 1888 saw some of the most horrific murders committed by an unknown assailant. His name became identified as Jack the Ripper. At the start of the book, Wilson talks about how as a Criminologist, it is more relevant to look at the victims themselves as opposed to the serial killer. This is for several reasons. Firstly, so that we are not glorifying the serial killers. As Wilson said in his conclusion, many serial killers have killed because they wanted to be famous. Wilson feels and indeed so do I that by focusing on the killers themselves we are putting them into the public light and giving them the internal gratification and sense of accomplishment for their unthinkable acts. Secondly because if we look at the victims themselves, we are putting them into perspective so that people know they were human beings who tragically fell victim to acts so horrific, but also because it allows us to configure patterns and trends which in the eyes of the serial killer makes them desirable to target, exploit and murder. David Wilson who is the UK’s leading expert on serial killings and mass murderers has focused upon the victims and the types of victims which has helped us to identify patterns on serial killing. One observation which can be made is that it is often society’s most vulnerable types of people who have fallen victim to serial killers. These identities include- the elderly, children, prostitutes and the homeless. My question is simply, why are these 4 groups commonly targeted? Research has suggested that these 4 groups are more idealistic to target In the eyes of a serial killer because of their open vulnerability, also because of the fact that prostitutes and the homeless in particular are often seen as the forgotten members of society and consequently this allows them to become less likely to be noticed as missing. However, this is not always the case.

To move onto the structure of this blog post, I will first identify what the academic definition of a serial killer is, why their targets are so consistent, and from here I will look at the 4 types of serial killings and refer to a sample case study. Further reading on case studies will be explored in future blog posts.

The academic definition to what a serial killer is, is someone who kills 2 or more people within the time frame of 30 days and crucially has a cooling off period in-between. It is the cooling off period which differentiates the spree killer from the serial killer.  However, this definition is often debated and challenged amongst Criminologists. This is because there is often debate as to what category a mass murder, spree killer and serial killer will go under.  So, I will make clear the definitions. A mass murderer is someone who kills several people in one simple hit. A classic example is a terrorist attack such as 7/7. A spree killer is someone who has a multitude of victims, but the deaths are taking place consecutively with no cooling off period.

As Wilson says on p5, there are 4 types of serial killers with 4 different modus operandi. These categories are Visionary, mission, hedonistic, and power/control.

According to Holmes R and Holmes S (2009), visionary serial killing means for someone to kill because they have been told to murder often by ‘spirits’, ‘demons’ or another type of supernatural phenomena for example, an imaginary person who the killer believes to be real. The thoughts are in the killer’s head and this obviously means that they are suffering from mental disorders such as psychopathy and are mentally disconnected from reality.

A mission serial killer is an individual who has thoughts about who is and who is not worthy to live amongst mainstream society. This type of killer will often possess idealistic and martyrdom trains of thoughts. They will kill anyone who they themselves deem to be undesirable and not worthy to live in society. From an empirical study, these categories can and have involved excluded groups such as prostitutes and the homeless, as well as ethnic groups, religious groups, and even the disabled.

The term ‘Hedonistic’ means to self-indulge and embrace personal pleasures. In a lighter context, this could be drug taking. In the case of serial killing, a hedonistic serial killer would kill their victim simply for fun. It is a pleasurable sight in the eyes of the serial killer for them to see their victim helpless and dying before their eyes. This makes me wonder how, factors such as personal insecurities and the theory of the state of human nature, developed by Thomas Hobbes which theorises that humans are naturally wired to dominate and conquer over others, how far do these theories go in explaining the rationale behind the motives of a hedonistic serial killer? It has been observed by researchers that sex and lust often play a leading role as a motivational factor for Hedonistic serial killing.

Lastly, a power/control serial killer would kill because, like hedonistic, they find it desirable to hold a sphere of power and domination over their victims. In these cases, a power/control serial killer would often choose victims deemed to be most vulnerable such as the elderly and children. Case studies I will reflect on later will display these typical traits amongst the serial killer and their victim.

John Edward Robinson became known as the first cyber serial killer. This meant he found his victims on online chat rooms. He admitted to the murder of 8 women during a 15-year time frame. From a Criminological perspective, it is relevant to explore the early stages of a serial killer’s life, what their background was like, how structured their home life was. This can help to determine questions such as, was the killer exercising free will and rational choice (known as a Criminological theory called Classicism) or did the individual become a serial killer due to exterior factors such as immediately environmental, Biological or even hereditary factors which can help distinguish key traits between criminals and non-criminals. So, looking at his early life, Robinson was born in Illinois 1943. He was a middle child with 4 siblings. His father was an alcoholic and his mother took a very disciplinarian approach to parenting.

Already this highlights concerns. A lack of a farther figure which Murray C later argued would be a prone factor to rising rates in criminality. Also, an oppressive/strict mother. This displays a sense that he was not guided as a child and would often not have his own voice/ individual freedom.

His life of criminality began at an early age. In 1969 he was first arrested in Kansas for embezzling a recorded $33,000 from a medical practise. Robinson pulled this embezzlement off through working at the medical practise as an X-Ray technician. From here he was put on probation which he violated and was put through the system repeatley.

However, despite this, he was seen later to be a respected member of the community. He became a baseball coach, a Sunday school teacher and a scout master. All these roles would have put him at the forefront of his local community. This gave the false impression that he was somehow innocent and uncapable of doing wrong, despite his controversial past.

All the previously cited information about john Edward Robinson and his motivations to become a serial killer all spark interest. I am however more interested in Robinsons relationship with his mother. This is because he specifically targeted women to be his victims. This makes me wonder if he had an initial fear or even hatred of women, to be able to kill them.

After having watched a documentary about John Edward Robinson being a cybersex killer. Someone jumped to me which really helped with my earlier question of his fear or hatred towards mothers fuelled by his upbringing. On January 11^th, 1985, a call came into 911 from a concerned woman, whose stepsister – Lisa Staci had gone missing for a few days as well as her 4-month-old baby Tiffany. It was later discovered that they had been approached by John Robison who gave himself a false identification as John Osbourne. He met them at a battered woman’s shelter in Kansas. He said he ran a programme called Kansas outreach programme which aimed to help vulnerable and single mothers. Robinson from here promised her a job in Chicago, an apartment and daily child care. This gained her trust. From here he coerced her into signing false documentation which would see her baby Tiffany taken away from her and Tiffany would be put up for adoption. From here, Lisa was killed by John Robinson. This case study shows the defining features of a missionary serial killer. The idea of deeming who should and shouldn’t be allowed to live, lied in the hands of John Robinson. Going back to his upbringing, Robinson didn’t seem to have the most nurtured relationship with his mother, as he grew older, the fear or even hatred towards women, particularly mother figures which could be a significant reason as to why Robinson targeted single, alone and vulnerable mothers.

This Is an example of a case study relating to serial killing. I hope to explore further examples in the future. To summarise, I would recommend David Wilson’s book on the History of British Serial Killing. It provides a fascinating insight into the origins of the phenomenon of serial killing as well as looking at all angles, from the intended motivations, method of killing and indeed the aftermath.

My next book which will be explored is gangs of London- 100 years of mob warfare- written by Brian McDonald.