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Science is unraveling the twisted minds of serial killers, looking to nature versus nurture to find the core of evil.  If the source of evil can be identified, diagnosed like a disease, perhaps there is a cure.  Investigating the most notorious serial killers has revealed three common components.

1. Abuse                                          

Children who are abused, who also suffer brain damage or mental illness will be unable to cope with trauma.  The abuse germinates a seed of rage, which grows into violent behaviors.

Tommy Lynn Sells claims he was sexually abused by a neighbor.  He is on death row for murdering 13 year old Katy Harris and slitting the throat of 10 year old Krystal Surles. Krystal survived the attack and was able to identify her attacker.

Ilene Warnos also claims she was sexually abused by her family. She worked as a prostitute and killed eight men who solicited her. 

2. Brian Damage

On August 1^st, 1966 Charles Whitman climbed a clock tower and randomly shot innocent people, killing 15 and injuring many others. Whitman said in his suicide note “I don’t really understand myself these days…I have been a victim of many unusual and irrational thoughts” He also requested his brain be studied.  A tumor was discovered, which have impaired Whitman’s ability to control impulses and violent tendencies.  

John Wayne Gacy was struck in the head with swing as a child and suffered a series of blackouts. At the age of 16 a blood clot was found in his frontal lobe.

Arthur Shawcross claims to have had numerous brain injuries growing up and a brain scan revealed a cyst in the frontal lobe.

3. Mental Illness

In 1975, Joseph Kallinger heard God’s voice telling him to kill his own son and then brutally tortured 12 others.

In 1993, Ed Kingerage claimed to be possessed by the Devil when he beat and disemboweled his wife.

Ed Gein is one of the most notorious serial killers, who has inspired fictional characters such as Hannibal Lector and Jaime Gumm.  He suffered hallucinations and was delusional, believing he was an instrument of God.  He was obsessed with the task of bringing his mother back from death and robbed graves to harvest bodies, collecting bones, skulls and skin.

The psychotic patient is not always violent; however, mental illness may lead to violent reactions due to paranoia or delusions.

In 1987, Gary Heidnik kept several women prisoner in a basement, where he repeatedly raped, tortured and sadistically abused them. 

Heidnik has all the requisite elements in his past to be a serial killer.  At the age of 6, he fell from a tree and sustained neurological damage.  He is schizophrenic, with a history of delusions and paranoia.  He had a genius intellect and was a shrewd investor. He was abused as a child, hung by his feet as punishment. 

Serial killers like Ted Bundy, the BTK Killer or Ian Brady do not fit the standard profile. Each had seemingly normal, uneventful upbringings and displayed no mental illness. These killers may be psychopaths, possessing a personality disorder that 1 in every 100 people may possess. Psychopaths are typically charming, persuasive, intelligent, egocentric, grandiose and callous without empathy.

The most distinctive trait of psychopaths is the absence of fear. There is no fear of consequence to inhibit their behaviors.

Understanding the elements required for creating a serial killer should help scientist find a way to treat such individuals.