Personality characteristics of the female serial murderer
| Published date | 02 February 2015 |
| Pages | 34-50 |
| Date | 02 February 2015 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JCP-04-2014-0007 |
| Author | Meagen M. Hildebrand,Scott E. Culhane |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Criminal psychology |
Personality characteristics of the female
serial murderer
Meagen M. Hildebrand and Scott E. Culhane
Meagen M. Hildebrand is a
Graduate Student, based at
School of Criminal Justice,
University at Albany, State
University of New York, Albany,
New York, USA.
Dr Scott E. Culhane is an
Associate Professor, based at
Department of Criminal
Justice, University of Wyoming,
Laramie, Wyoming, USA.
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review and compare information obtained for four female serial
murder perpetrators, exploring possible personality features that make the female serial killer unique. As this
is the first project to explore the personalities of female serial murderers through data collected from the
offenders themselves, it is primarily an exploratory study.
Design/methodology/approach – The data presented were collected as part of a larger project, which
solicited participation from incarcerated, suspected serial murderers. Upon agreeing to participate, each
potential participant’s background was searched to ensure they met the definition of a serial murderer.
The participants were sent a survey packet containing measures related to demographics,
psychopathology, psychopathy, and personality features. These packets were sent to participants at their
respective prisons, with a return envelope provided. Upon return, surveys were scored and analyzed to
create a comprehensive profile of each offender.
Findings – The subjects of this study each presented a unique personality profile as measured by the
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 and Millon Clinical Multiaxial Invetory-III. Three of the four
participants did not appear to by psychopathic, which is not surprising given the low incidence of
psychopathy in women.
Originality/value – This study, while limited by the small sample size, provides the first data set of valid
psychological measures collected through first-hand accounts with female serial murderers. Although the
data presented did not display a single comprehensive profile indicative of a female serial murderer,it does
provide a foundation for further research.
Keywords Homicide, Psychopathy, Female, MCMI-III, MMPI-2, Serial murder
Paper type Research paper
Media portrayals of women who kill family members for profit and healthcare workers who kill
patients have led to the increasing scholarly focus on female serial murderers (Hickey, 2010;
Kelleher and Kelleher, 1998). Traditionally, research on multiple murderers has focused nearly
exclusively on males (Thompson and Ricard, 2009); however, this trend neglects the increasing
number of active female serial killers. Vronsky (2007) estimates that women comprised
approximately one-fifth of all active serial murderers between 1800 and 1995. Despite this
assertion, little empirical research has been completed focusing exclusively on female serial
killers. To date, the majority of conclusions have been drawn from anecdotal case studies
(Farrell et al., 2011; Gurian, 2011). Due to the smaller proportion of female serial killers, previous
studies have been completed using only a few cases with secondary sources of criminal history
for analysis (Keeney and Heide, 1994; White and Lester, 2012).
Although serial murder remains one of the most captivating crimes in popular media today,
few projects to date have examined the serial killer directly. Instead, most have relied on
autobiographical data, public records, police records, FBI case files, or a combination of the
above methods (Culhane et al., 2011). Skrapec (2001) argues that we cannot fully understand
This research was supported in
part by the Arts and Sciences
Dean’s Office at the University of
Wyoming, President Tom
Buchanan’s Foundation Fund at
the University of Wyoming, and the
Department of Criminal Justice at
the University of Wyoming. Thanks
are extended to Matt J. Gray for his
assistance in clinical data
interpretation.
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VOL. 5 NO. 1 2015, pp. 34-50, CEmerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2009-3829 DOI 10.1108/JCP-04-2014-0007
the serial offender using the traditional methods used to study crimes. Rather than focusing on
data collected through crime scene analysis and incidents, researchers should strive to examine
killings from the perspective of the serial murderer (Culhane et al., 2011). Previously, Beasley
(2004) presented seven case histories of male serial murderers, which included both first hand
interview accounts and results of psychological testing. Although unable to draw conclusions
about the population of male serial offenders as a whole, Beasley’s work reflects the value in
studying this subpopulation in-depth.
Using public records to help develop the social history of the offender, this project mimics that of
the procedure set forth by Culhane et al. (2011). Their work was the first to establish a method
for collecting lengthy measures from the first-hand perspective of a serial murderer, resulting in
an in-depth evaluation of a single serial murderer’s scored and interpreted psychological tests.
Culhane et al. assert that psychological assessments are important for understanding the “mind
of a killer” (2011, p. 3).
Prior research has explored characteristics of the crimes committed by female serial murderers (e.g.
years of active murdering, method of killing, solo vs partner killing, and number of victims) or features
of the killer herself (e.g. age, occupation, and previous criminal record) (Farrell et al., 2011; Gurian,
2011; Hickey, 2010; Scott, 2005). This project reviewed and compared information obtained from
four female serial murder perpetrators, exploring possible personality features that make the female
serial killer unique. Kelleher and Kelleher (1998) developed a widely used classification system for
understanding the motivations of female serial murderers, and an attempt will be made to classify
participants into one of the nine categories (e.g. Angel of Death, Black Widow, Revenge Killer, etc.)
provided by Kelleher and Kelleher.These nine categories are design ed to reflect the motivations of the
female serial murderer, and contain information reflective of the typical offender in each category.
This project is distinctive in that it is the first to explore the personalities of female serial homicide
offenders through data collected from the offenders themselves, in addition to a battery of
psychometrically sound measures. Because only four perpetrators are examined, the work here
was treated as a series of case studies and any conclusions drawn should be noted as
exploratory research only.
Method
Participants
The data presented were collected as part of a larger project that solicited participation from over
550 incarcerated suspected serial murderers from across the USA. Of those murderers
identified, 49 females met the criteria for inclusion in the initial solicitation pool. The FBI’sNational
Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime uses the following definition of serial murder: “the
unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events” (Morton and
Hilts, 2008, p. 9), which concurs with the work of Gurian (2011) and Schurman-Kauflin (2000),
and is utilized in classifying potential subjects as serial murderers for this study. We received
response letters from 20 incarcerated females, with four declining to participate and the
remaining 16 agreeing to take part in the research. Unfortunately, 11 of those 16 who agreedto
participate were not able to do so because their respective state Department of Corrections’ review
boards either did not approve the research proposal outright, or were waiting for further information
prior to making a final decision[1]. Of the remaining five packets sent, one individual did not
complete the survey measures and did not respond to a follow-up letter. The final data set
consisted of four female serial murderers confirmed through searches of criminal justice records,
serial killer fan web sites, Newton’s The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers (2000), and news reports.
Materials
The survey packet contained measures related to demographics, psychopathology,
psychopathy, and personality features. These packets were sent to participants to be filled
out individually at their respective prisons. Inmates were not monitored while filling out these
surveys for reasons of confidentiality. The following measures were included:
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2; Butcher et al., 1989) is comprised
of 567 true-false items written at a fifth grade reading level. The MMPI-2 is one of the
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