# How come serial killers in USA kill so many people **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 19, 2016, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161 "2016-05-19T15:06:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2016, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/21 "2016-05-19T20:03:31Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > You didn’t mention where you read that analysis, but it’s considered to be incorrect by the FBI and the [National Center For The Analysis Of Violent Crime.](https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder) I got the impression it was more about the Columbine/Sandy Hook type of killer… Of course, those have better body counts in the USA because firearms are easier to come by. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2016, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/22 "2016-05-19T20:37:19Z")
> [@Enola\_Gay](#): > > I’m a little ashamed that our US Serial killers are such underachievers. South America, China and India are all outperforming us :mad: In American culture, firearms are the default first-resort weapon of choice. But few, if any, serial killers are unimaginative enough to use guns, and probably have an aversion to them, preferring to savor the death of their victim, rather than quick hollow points. Guns are inconsistent with the panache of serial killing. Except in the USA, the sound of a gunshot attracts too much attention and thereby militates against the serial killer, whose most positive attribute is patience… ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2016, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/23 "2016-05-19T21:03:22Z")
Not sure why people are bringing up Columbine and Sandy Hook, those are categorized as spree killers, this thread is about serial killers, there is a difference. Obviously there is some overlap in personality traits and mental disorders, but they usually fulfill different types of motivations. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2016, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/24 "2016-05-19T21:06:32Z")
A mass murderer isn’t necessarily a serial killer. But there are no specific, identifying features or commonalities among either one that anyone can look out for. Tendency to violence in general is higher among those who had an abusive home life. Substance abuse is frequently a factor. But at the end of the day a lot of people come from abusive homes and abuse substances and still don’t make the decision to murder anyone. It’s a complex set of experiences, environment, psychology, possibly biology, but finally, a decision to kill that is just that - a decision. And we don’t know what leads to that decision. ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2016, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/25 "2016-05-19T23:49:39Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > They wouldn’t be much of a serial killer if they only knocked off one or two, now would they? > > 😛 That’s what I was thinking; it’s sort of in the job description. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/26 "2016-05-20T00:13:17Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Yeah, but do you really want to dig up 500-year-old cases? One reason I never became a forensic anthropologist is that I prefer my dead folk long dead. And dry. Maybe smelling a bit musty, but no Stiff Whiff. Five hundred years sounds about right. ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/27 "2016-05-20T00:20:49Z")
According to this [Why Mass Murder and Serial Murder are Not the Same | Psychology Today](https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wicked-deeds/201502/how-mass-murder-and-serial-murder-differ) there’s a big difference between spree/mass murders and serial killers. Serial killers usually appear perfectly normal between their kills, which seem to be motivated by sexual or other psychological urges, while mass murders are often psychologically troubled and are motivated by revenge and/or a psychotic break from reality. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/28 "2016-05-20T04:30:04Z")
[Alexander Picushkin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pichushkin) might rival Ridgway in body count and he’s Russian. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/29 "2016-05-20T05:44:10Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > [Alexander Picushkin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pichushkin) might rival Ridgway in body count and he’s Russian. [Andrei Chikatilo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Chikatilo)’s got them both beat, at 53 he was convicted of, 3 others possible but not proven (even by Soviet “standards”). ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/30 "2016-05-20T06:12:34Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > Yeah, but when the difference is only 10, it’s easier to dismiss for reasons like the US has more than 10 times the population of Australia. Excellent point. The greater Los Angeles area alone has almost as large a population as Australia, with a population of 18.68 million vs Australia’s 23.13 million. And given the overall U.S. population of 318 million, you could multiply each Australian serial killer by almost 14 to arrive at the number of serial killers Australia might have if it’s population were as large as that of the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/31 "2016-05-20T12:26:32Z")
Just because there’s a new serial killer on \*\*\*Criminal Minds \*\*\*every week, it doesn’t follow that the USA is filled with serial killers in real life. I assure you, nobody here goes through life terrified of a serial killer around the corner. Such criminals just aren’t very common. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/32 "2016-05-20T17:21:18Z")
I don’t know how true this is but: French: Giles de Rais “hundreds killed” Hungarian: Elizabeth Bathory “hundreds killed” Cite: Wikipedia ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/33 "2016-05-20T17:56:35Z")
Isn’t Australia’s population also more concentrated into the coastal areas, vs. how spread-out the US population is? Makes it a lot easier to keep killing without the crimes being linked if you can easily find prey in a variety of places, instead of having to be limited to a small area. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/34 "2016-05-20T18:04:03Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Isn’t Australia’s population also more concentrated into the coastal areas, vs. how spread-out the US population is? Makes it a lot easier to keep killing without the crimes being linked if you can easily find prey in a variety of places, instead of having to be limited to a small area. Australia is almost the size of the lower 48 states, with less than one tenth the population, so it’s much more sparsely inhabited. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/35 "2016-05-20T18:41:09Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Australia is almost the size of the lower 48 states, with less than one tenth the population, so it’s much more sparsely inhabited. But doesn’t that population cluster around the coastal areas, with lots of uninhabited territory? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/36 "2016-05-20T19:51:15Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > But doesn’t that population cluster around the coastal areas, with lots of uninhabited territory? True. That makes the interior even emptier. However, the two cases mentioned in the OP are not very far from the coasts. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/37 "2016-05-20T23:35:37Z")
> [@NeonMadman](#): > > That’s what I was thinking; it’s sort of in the job description. I’ve killed at least a dozen boxes of Cocoa Puffs. what? ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/38 "2016-05-21T04:54:30Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > I’ve killed at least a dozen boxes of Cocoa Puffs. > what? I heard there was a cereal killer in my hometown; they found the mutilated bodies of Tony the Tiger and Captain Crunch in a dumpster behind the local movie theater. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/39 "2016-05-21T07:43:41Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Just because there’s a new serial killer on \*\*\*Criminal Minds \*\*\*every week, it doesn’t follow that the USA is filled with serial killers in real life. > > I assure you, nobody here goes through life terrified of a serial killer around the corner. Such criminals just aren’t very common. Up here in Washington State we seem to keep producing them (Ted Bundy, Gary Ridgway, even the Beltway Sniper). I grew up in a time when the Green River Killer was active, nobody knew who he was, and he was something of a bogeyman. It’s unreal to me now to have him caught and behind bars, I still remember him as something almost mythical and terrifying. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161/40 "2016-05-21T13:23:34Z")
> [@NeonMadman](#): > > I heard there was a cereal killer in my hometown; they found the mutilated bodies of Tony the Tiger and Captain Crunch in a dumpster behind the local movie theater. > > :rolleyes: It was the rabbit. All those years of kids tormenting him and denying him Trix sent him over the edge. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-serial-killers-in-usa-kill-so-many-people/755161.md?page=3)