From Ted Bundy to Jeffrey Dahmer to the Green River Killer, one thing the United States has in spades is serial killers. Not only is the U.S. home to an estimated 2,000 active serial killers, but according to recent research from Dr. Mike Aamodt, forensic psychology professor at Radford University, there are more serial killers here than anywhere else in the world.
A&E Crime + Investigation spoke with Aamodt about why female serial killers have declined over the years, why there was a big jump in serial killings between the 1960s and 1980s and his most surprising finding.
Tell us a little about your research on serial killers.
We found over 5,000 people so far [around the world] who were confirmed serial killers and who committed two or more homicides on two or more separate occasions. We've looked at them in terms of race, gender, methods and the country where they committed their murders.
In your research, you found that the U.S. produces the most serial killers worldwide. Why is that?
My theory is the U.S. really doesn't have a disproportionate number of serial killers. Instead, it's just much easier to find serial killers here than it is in other countries.
First, law enforcement has to discover the murders and link them back to the same killer. That means you need competent law-enforcement agencies, which the U.S. has. The second part of being able to track serial killers is once the killer is identified, it has to be announced by law enforcement and made available in prison records. The information has to be available to the public.
In the United States, we have much more open records than other countries do. If the U.S. had a higher murder rate than the rest of the world, I would be more likely to believe that we have more serial killers, too. But compared to other countries in terms of the murder rate we're right around the middle.
You also found that women are killing less. In the 1900s, almost 38 percent of serial killers were women, compared to only seven percent today. Why?
You have to look at the reasons why men and women typically kill. Women are more likely to kill spouses and family members to get insurance or for financial gain. But changes in technology have reduced the opportunity for women to be serial killers as opposed to men.
