Psychopathy, Perversion, and Lust Homicide: Recognizing the Mental Disorders That Power Serial Killers

by Duane L. Dobbert

In this pointed study of serial killers, internationally known Forensic Psychologist Duane Dobbert shows us how - even years before the crimes were commmitted- the perpetrators of lust homicides exhibited behaviors showing certain mental and sexual disorders which grew to fuel the horiffic murders. Dobbert's analysis, covering 13 killers from Herman Mudgett, who confessed to 27 murders in the late 1800s, to Jeffrey Dahmer, who killed 17 young men and boys between 1978 and 1991 - looks at their early lives and development of Antisocial Personality Disorder, as well as sexual disorders including sexual sadism and necrophilia. Special attention is paid to early signs of these disorders that were missed, mishandled, minimized or ignored by professionals in law enforcement, education, health care and criminal justice. The author demonstrates how and why most serial murders are sexually motivated, and fueled by this combination of psychopathy and sexual disorder. Having a clear understanding of the precursor behaviors could benefit us by enabling prediction and prevention of such crimes, says Dobbert. He also addresses signs of psychopathy and sexual disorders that should send red flags up to any adult or parent looking to protect their loved ones from harm.

Dobbert offers psychological and social history of each killer, from early life on, which molded each into an ultimate monster. Lucas, for example, was born to a prostitute and an alcoholic father who lost his legs in a train accident. He was forced to watch his mother perform sexual acts with clients, regularly beaten and one head injury from a beating put him into a coma. His mother curled his hair into ringlets and dressed him as a girl, sending him to school like that. Lucas showed all the signs of Conduct Disorder by the time he was 10 and already an alcoholic. He was obsessed with sex by the time he was 13, and had sex with his half-brother, as well as animals he would trap, torture and kill in sexual rituals. Lucas was convicted as a teenager of a burglary, and sent to a training school, where he was disruptive and attempted several escapes, but released a year later. He confessed later to raping his 12-year-old niece the next day. Each of these killers have a unique psychological development, but all demonstrated early the patterned behavior of psychopathy and sexual disorder, explains Dobbert.

Genres: Psychology, True Crime, Nonfiction

204 pages, Hardcover

First published June 8, 2009

Reviews

[Molly Hayter]

Read this for PSY 479: the psychology of serial killers. Very fascinating to see the commonalities between serial killers

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of repetition in terms and phrases, but fascinating short profiles on the serial killers.