Serial murder revisited : a psychological exploration of two South African cases

Abstract

The phenomenon of serial murder has fascinated people for many years. Despite this fascination, the body of scientific knowledge surrounding this topic seems quire limited. Research is often based on second-hand and anecdotal sources of information and not on direct contact with the individuals who commit these crimes. Based on this information, assumptions are made about these individual’s mental state and personality. This research which was undertaken is unique in that it is an in-depth look at two individuals who committed serial murder. The research design, grounded in interactional theory, makes use of unstructured interviews, an interactional analysis, and psychological tests such as the South African Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Thematic Apperception Test, Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory IIIed, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2nd Edition, and 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire in an attempt to try and come to a psychological understanding and interactional description of these two individuals’ behaviour. In doing so it revisits what has already been said about this phenomenon, makes comparisons, and provides a brief theoretical view of the phenomenon as part of man’s social order.