Female Murderers and Serial Killers by Category

Black Widows, Angel of Mercy, Team Sex Crime Murderers

Oct 23, 2009

Aileen Wuornos was recognized by the media as the first female serial killer, but she was not by any means the first woman to kill multiple victims.

Until recent times, most of the research on sfemale murderers and serial killers has been devoted to men This is because women make up a much smaller percentage of killers than males. In the United States, only about 1.5 percent of Death Row inmates are female.

Female murderers and serial killers are often viewed as compliant victims, passive women who are driven to violence by the influence of a dominant male partner. This is true in a number of cases. Many female serial killers come from abusive or unstable homes and suffer from poor self-esteem, which makes them highly susceptible to threats from a lover that he will leave or abuse them if they do not cooperate in sex crimes such as abduction and rape. But this does not explain the motive of every woman serial killer. There have also been many female serial killers who have either worked alone to commit murder for revenge or financial gain, or were from the outset wiling participants in the sex crimes of their partners.

Categories of Female Murderers and Serial Killers

As holds true for male serial killers, women may kill for the basic motives of love, money or revenge.However, in the case of female killers, other factors may also be present.

In the 1999 book titled Murder Most Rare, Michael and C. L. Kelleher sorted female murderers and serial killers and their crimes into several specific categories.

Temporary Insanity Due to Hormonal Imbalance and Postpartum Depression

Temporary insanity related to hormonal imbalance or recent childbirth is one factor that is considered in cases where a woman commits a sudden, violent crime. PMS and postpartum depression is sometimes used as a defense if it can be proven the woman was not in her right state of mind when the murder or murders were committed.

One well-known example of a woman driven to kill involves the case of Andrea Yates, who drowned her five children in a bathtub while suffering postpartum depression and severe psychosis after recent childbirth.

Black Widow Serial Killers

Black widows are women who, like the spider for which they are named, kill off their mates. Black widows may not stop at husbands but murder other family members as well for financial gain.

The black widow's murders often involve poisonings, falls or car wrecks made to look like accidents. Tip-offs are often multiple marriages where the husbands die mysterious deaths, and large payoffs on insurance policies on spouses and children. Serial killer Lydia Catherine Ambrose killed five husbands and lovers for their insurance money.

Female Revenge Killers

Many female murderers fall into the revenge category. These women usually lack self-esteem and become obsessed over a lover. They may begin by killing or wanting to kill someone who they perceived has betrayed them, such as a husband or lover, and their motive is to get even.

Also in this category are women who kill their children to spite the lover, husband or boyfriend who has betrayed them. Women who fit into this category include Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute who murdered the Johns she picked up because of pent-up resentment from suffering years of abuse from men.

Angel of Death Mercy Killers

Angel of mercy serial killers are some of the most difficult to spot because their crimes hide behind the mask of caring and compassion for the sick and weak.

These killers are usually employed in a caring occupation such as a nurse at a hospital or care center. They may either see themselves as mercy killers who relieve suffering, or kill for the thrill and the attention of almost saving a victim, then letting the victim die.

Genene Jones, while working as a pediatric nurse, is believed to have killed between 11 and 46 infants and children in her care.

Male and Female Team Sex Crime Serial Killers

Team killers are influenced by a dominant partner. The woman is usually not the lead partner but often participates in the abduction of victims and the crime, such as in the case of Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo. Karla Homolka helped Paul Bernardo subdue and rape victims — even her own sister — and was believed to have participated in several of the murders of young women for which the pair were convicted.

Other categories of women serial killers include sexual predators and thrill killers. Women sexual predators are rare, and female thrill killer are usually part of a team. Other murders committed by women may be either unexplained or remain unsolved.

The copyright of the article Female Murderers and Serial Killers by Category in Clinical Psychology is owned by Vickie Britton. Permission to republish Female Murderers and Serial Killers by Category in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.