Arthur Shawcross: Portrait of a Killer and Pathological Liar
Arthur Shawcross:
Portrait of a Killer and Pathological Liar
Mark O 'Brien
Serial Killers
Professor
Jim Reynolds
Florida Institute of Technology
June 16, 2012
Abstract
Serial killer Arthur John Shawcross, also called the Rochester Strangler or the Genesee River Killer, was prolific in the short time that he was an active killer. From March 1988 to December 1989, Shawcross is believed to have killed 12 women, mostly prostitutes in the Rochester, New York, area and then dumping most of the bodies nearby in areas where he liked to hunt and fish. Interestingly, the initial profile of the killer was extremely accurate once compared to Shawcross, but police were stymied in finding him because of bureaucratic snafus that hid the fact that they had a convicted violent sex offender living in the neighborhood where the attacks occurred. This discussion is intended to look at the psychology of the serial killer, focusing on Shawcross in particular, and evaluate how well various media relayed his story after the fact. Furthermore, this paper will look at the traits of male killers and how they relate to Shawcross ' case, as well as typology; biological and/or environmental factors may have contributed to this individual’s behavior; psychogenetics; as well as paraphilia’s and victimology he exhibited.
It is hoped, that this writing will give the reader some insight to the life of this monster as well as the realization that these killers walk and live among us, possibly right next door or working beside you, or teaching your children.
Introduction
One of the reasons for psychologists to study Arthur Shawcross is that they did everything right in profiling and identifying this serial killer, but he eluded police for a year, hunting and killing almost literally right under their noses, because of a flawed judicial/prison system. Perhaps the best understanding of Shawcross comes from the true crime novel The Misbegotten Son by
Portrait of a Killer and Pathological Liar
Mark O 'Brien
Serial Killers
Professor
Jim Reynolds
Florida Institute of Technology
June 16, 2012
Abstract
Serial killer Arthur John Shawcross, also called the Rochester Strangler or the Genesee River Killer, was prolific in the short time that he was an active killer. From March 1988 to December 1989, Shawcross is believed to have killed 12 women, mostly prostitutes in the Rochester, New York, area and then dumping most of the bodies nearby in areas where he liked to hunt and fish. Interestingly, the initial profile of the killer was extremely accurate once compared to Shawcross, but police were stymied in finding him because of bureaucratic snafus that hid the fact that they had a convicted violent sex offender living in the neighborhood where the attacks occurred. This discussion is intended to look at the psychology of the serial killer, focusing on Shawcross in particular, and evaluate how well various media relayed his story after the fact. Furthermore, this paper will look at the traits of male killers and how they relate to Shawcross ' case, as well as typology; biological and/or environmental factors may have contributed to this individual’s behavior; psychogenetics; as well as paraphilia’s and victimology he exhibited.
It is hoped, that this writing will give the reader some insight to the life of this monster as well as the realization that these killers walk and live among us, possibly right next door or working beside you, or teaching your children.
Introduction
One of the reasons for psychologists to study Arthur Shawcross is that they did everything right in profiling and identifying this serial killer, but he eluded police for a year, hunting and killing almost literally right under their noses, because of a flawed judicial/prison system. Perhaps the best understanding of Shawcross comes from the true crime novel The Misbegotten Son by
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