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Connor Anderson
Mr. Michael Henriksen
English 1010, Period 7
14 December 2016
Are Serial Killers Born or Made?
November 8, 1974, started off like any other day in Murray, Utah. High school student
Carol DaRonch and some of her friends were craving some retail therapy, so they had planned to
go shopping after school. The recently opened Fashion Place Mall in Murray was unlike
anything Utah had ever seen before; it was trendy and included more high-end options than were
offered in the state prior to its opening. This atmosphere made the Fashion Place Mall the new
teenage hangout in Salt Lake County.
Carol and her friends arrived at the mall shortly after school got out. It had been a tougher
week at school and they needed something to help clear their minds. Clothes were purchased,
laughs were shared, and a good time was had by all. Such a good time, in fact, that Carol was
caught off guard when a stranger approached her and told her that someone had attempted to
steal her car. Since the mall was in a nice area, this just didnt seem like something that would
happen in this part of town; Carol was shocked and asked for more information.
The stranger soon identified himself as Officer Roseland of the Murray Police
Department. He told Carol that they had already apprehended the suspect and needed her to file a
police report. Upon inspection of her car, Carol noticed that nothing was broken/missing, but
Officer Roseland insisted that she ride with him to the police station to file a report. A hesitant

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Carol decided to go with him and file the report after he showed her his police badge and verified
that he was being serious about the situation.
Carol was led to the policemans car to go with him to the police station to file the report.
Already hesitant, she was caught off guard by Officer Roselands car: an unkempt Volkswagen.
Finding it extremely suspicious that the officer wasnt driving a police car, Carol tried to leave
the situation again. The officer assured her that he wasnt driving a police car because he was
off-duty at the time. Reluctantly, Carol decided to get in his car and go to the police station with
him but refused to wear her seatbelt in case the situation became even more ominous.
Once in the car, Carol could smell alcohol on the officers breath. This was a
confirmation to her that something wasnt quite right about the situation. She eventually noticed
that the car wasnt even heading in the direction of the Murray Police Department. The situation
was becoming increasingly direful and Carol soon became grateful that she had refused to buckle
her seatbelt; if something bad happened, at least shed be able to move away and not be
restrained down. They drove for a short while before Officer Roseland decided to pull over and
stop. As the car drew to a stop, Carol knew that she needed to get out of there. Ready to jump
out, she proceeded to open her car door. Officer Roseland saw the door opening and slapped one
loop of his handcuffs to her right wrist. The frantic scene caused the officer to end up putting
both loops on her right wrist. One hand was still free. Officer Roseland couldnt let Carol escape
or his plan would be foiled. In a panic, he pulled his gun on her. She continuously scratched and
screamed at him, causing him to drop the gun. Without a gun, Officer Roseland had to find
something else to use against her, so he picked up a crowbar with the intent to crack her skull.
Carol managed to grab the crowbar mid-air and protect herself from what couldve been a deadly

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hit. After she caught the crowbar, she finally felt for the door handle and fell out on the highway.
Distressed, she ran into oncoming traffic in search of help. A car picked her up as soon as Officer
Roseland drove off.
Carol was able to get away from her would-be killer, but not everyone would be as lucky.
Her story was later used to help identify a serial killer, since she was one of the few who
survived his torture. As it turns out, her kidnapper wasnt really named Officer Roseland; he was
really the notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy.
What was it about Ted that allowed Carol to go with him on that terrorizing ride? The
signs were all wrong but she still went. Carols mindset that night shows what many other
victims of Ted thought: being with him didnt feel right, but there was something that attracted
them to him. This is what allowed Ted to gather up an alarming amount of victims; he played
with their emotions and acted normal.
Serial killers have many tactics as to how they get their victims. The question is, how?
How can serial killers seem so good but be so bad at the same time? Are they born like that or do
they become that way through their life experiences? Although some may say that serial killers
are born and some may say that they are made, I will argue that serial killers can be both born
and made.
Many people ask how a serial killer can be born, and the answer is actually quite simple.
In the majority of serial killing cases, the serial killer was found to have some sort of a mental
disorder. Mental disorders are often genetic, and therefore passed down at conception. Saying
that someone was born a serial killer obviously doesnt mean that they were a serial killer when
they were born. Rather, it means that their family has had a history of mental disorders that were

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also passed down to them. Mental disorders typically have a huge influence on the type of person
they will become some day. In Female Serial Killers in the United States: Means, Motives, and
Makings, Marissa A. Harrison states that many cases included mental and severe physical
illness among family members of the serial killer (391). Most serial killers have poor mental
health, which sometimes blurs the line between right and wrong. Even if a killer can decipher
right from wrong, their mental health still contributes to other factors, such as whether or not
they feel remorse.
For instance, if a serial killer doesnt feel remorseful for what they have done, they are
much more likely to keep doing it. If the serial killer actually enjoys killing, they are obviously
going to keep it up. The majority of the world would feel guilty for killing someone, causing
them to never kill again. Many serial killers either enjoy or feel no remorse for killing, which can
be attributed to mental health traits passed down from their parents. In Health Care Serial
Killers as Confidence Men, it is stated that serial killers con people because they like tricking
and playing with others emotions. That is a trait that was most likely passed down to them from
their parents (Lubaszka et al. 4). Many researchers support the claim that most of the things an
individual likes they get from their parents/family. This can either be because they were born
with the same mental disorder as their parents, or because they learn by watching their families
and dont know any different. Either way, the parents of serial killers typically have a lot to do
with how/why their child became a killer.
Conversely, the other theory behind why people are serial killers is that they are made
that way through their life experiences. In Some Thoughts on the Psychological Roots of the
Behavior of Serial Killers as Narcissists: An Object Relations Perspective, Zelda G. Knight

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states that there was no or little responsive caretaking--caretakers did not promote or encourage
the child to establish his or her own psychological organization (1194). This quote is trying to
say that whoever raised the serial killers didnt do their job properly. They didnt try to get them
to think for themselves or be their own person. Further reading into Knights article provides you
with more information. She states that not encouraging children to be themselves will make them
socially awkward. If a child doesnt feel like they fit in, the chances for them to have depression
are even higher. Socially awkward, depressed children are more likely to become serial killers
than children who fit in and love their lives. Knights article is putting the majority of the blame
on the people who raised the killer.
Another source of support for the theory that serial killers are made is found in
Self-Reported Psychopathology in a Convicted Serial Killer by Scott E. Culhane, Sage M.
Hilstad, Adrienne Freng, and Matt J. Gray. This article states that the inventory (studies of
serial killers and their relationships) studied also indicates that marriages may have been
unhappy and [the serial killer] may have been abused as a child (11). The authors of this article
reviewed many studies on serial killers to help find factual evidence supporting their claim that
serial killers are made. One of the alarming statistics was that the majority of serial killers
reported having been abused in their childhood. When children are raised in violence, that is all
they know. Such situations can cause a childs judgment to become a little hazy because they
dont understand just how bad violence really is. A childhood like this is likely to impact ones
mental health for the rest of their life, even if they werent born with a mental disorder. A
childhood is a life experience that really defines who you will become.

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A different defining life experience that can create serial killers is their occupation.
Healthcare, business, public and personal service, and driving and transient dependent work are
the four main fields of work for a British serial killer (1), according to Adam Lynes and David
Wilson in Driven to Kill: British Serial Killers and their Occupations. This study may have
only been conducted around British serial killers, but it really applies to all serial killers in those
professions. The reasoning behind it? Those professions allow for a better chance of not getting
caught if you kill someone. Most of the jobs in those fields include working one-on-one with a
client, which provides an atmosphere where no one is around and watching. Killers believe this
means that they wont be caught as long as they act normal. These types of professions can also
stir the thought of death around in the mind of a person, for most of these fields deal with death
in some way or another. Thinking about death often can cause people to become consumed with
the idea to the point where they will kill to satisfy their obsession. Thinking about death often,
being around very few people at a time, and fantasizing about getting away with something so
devious can all contribute to someone becoming a serial killer.
Authors Scott E. Culhane, Sage M. Hilstad, Adrienne Freng, and Matt J. Gray have also
written about how occupation can contribute to someone becoming a serial killer. Their writing,
Self-Reported Psychopathology in a Convicted Serial Killer, states that many [serial killers]
were without jobs or had jobs related to low-income salaries (14). They go on to say that the
motive for many serial killers is money. A person who wouldve never killed before may be
persuaded to if a terrible financial struggle hit them. There are many motives to serial killing, but
this is a huge one. People like the infamous Blanche Taylor Moore (also known as: The Black
Widow of North Carolina) have become serial killers from this motive alone.

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Through extensive amounts of research, a conclusion can be drawn about how serial
killers come to be: serial killers can be born, made, or both. If they inherit a mental health
disorder that makes them more prone to violence, they can be born. If they are a product of their
experiences (occupation, people they meet, places they go, etc.), they can be made. If they are
born with a mental disorder and become more violent because of their experiences, they can
definitely be both born and made. Every serial killer is different, but in the end it all comes down
to why the became the way they did.

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Works Cited
Blanco, Juan Ignacio. "Ted Bundy | Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers." Ted Bundy |
Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2016.
Culhane, Scott E., et al. "Self-Reported Psychopathology In A Convicted Serial Killer." Journal
Of Investigative Psychology & Offender Profiling 8.1 (2011): 1-21. Psychology and
Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.
Harrison, Marissa A., et al. "Female Serial Killers In The United States: Means, Motives, And
Makings." Journal Of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology 26.3 (2015): 383-406.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
Knight, Zelda G. "Some Thoughts On The Psychological Roots Of The Behavior Of Serial
Killers As Narcissists: An Object Relations Perspective." Social Behavior & Personality:
An International Journal 34.10 (2006): 1189-1206. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
Collection. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.
Lubaszka, Christine Katherine, et al. "Healthcare Serial Killers As Confidence Men." Journal Of
Investigative Psychology & Offender Profiling 11.1 (2014): 1-28. Academic Search
Premier. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
Lynes, Adam, and David Wilson. "Driven To Kill: British Serial Killers And Their
Occupations." Howard Journal Of Criminal Justice54.5 (2015): 413-433. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 30 Nov. 2016.
"Ted Bundy Botches an Abduction Attempt." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web.
20 Dec. 2016

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"The Full Wiki." Carol DaRonch - The Full Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2016.