Bittersweet End

When I first heard we had to create a blog this semester I was pretty excited. Creating a blog in class was a first for me, although I have made a blog in the past about my personal life. What made this class assignment even more exciting is that the topic of the blog was our choice. At first, I was overwhelmed by trying to find the perfect topic for my blog. I was looking for a topic that would be keep me intrigued and inspired throughout the semester. Right away I thought of two potential topics that would fit criminal justice and cooking. I have always loved cooking as a hobby. I enjoy making classic dishes to trying exotic dishes. My idea for my blog based on the cooking topic, would have been to post a different dish in each blog post. My other idea was to focus on criminal justice in my blog. I would focus on a certain part of criminal justice in my blog since criminal justice is such a large topic. Some topics I was considering was serial killers, female serial killers, child killers, and prisons. In the end, I decided to pick criminal justice focusing on female serial killers.  

Why female serial killers?

Ultimately I picked female serial killers because It was a topic that I had brushed on, but was yearning to learn more about. What really got me interested in female serial killers or female killers in general was the show "Deadly Women". This show focused on telling the stories of women that murdered. I enjoyed it so much because most murder based shows are about males. The show really changed my perspective on females and made me realize that I was yet another person in society that under estimated females. I wanted to not only educate society about female killers, but even educate myself.

The End to This Blog?

As of now, I'm not in any rush to continue writing in this blog weekly. I would like to reflect on what I have learned over the semester and visit back. It would be interesting to see how my writing style will have changed and to see my blog views. I'm curious to see if people will continue to visit my blog. In the next couple months I would actually like to start a food blog. The sole purpose of the blog would be for personal use. It would be a great way for me to store all my recipes electronically. If I did have people viewing or commenting I wouldn't mind. I would actually be quite surprised since my goal isn't to reach out to a community of people.

My Thoughts on Blogging

I believe blogging is an electronic journal that is made public. It's a great way to express your thoughts to whomever stumbles upon your blog. Unlike a traditional journal though you can add media to your entries. For example, hyper linking and videos can be used in your blog. Adding touches like media, color, and organization to your blog will draw the readers in. Whether your writing for yourself or for an entire community it still will make an impact on at least one person. Even if that person is just yourself or maybe someone you inspired that you will never meet.You will never know the impact until you make the commitment to a create a blog and continue it.

Analysis Paper Part 2

This post, I decided to go a bit more in depth with my outline for the analysis paper. Now that I have the sources I want to use I need to organize how I will present them. This post will be beneficial to me because it will map out each part of my paper. The peer analysis paper review we had in class on monday really made me realize how I wanted to write my paper. At first, I was a bit confused how to put my opinions and resources to use in my paper. After class I had a better understanding of how to write this paper.

For my introduction, I wanted to first give a little background on female serial killers to draw the reader in. I will include a fascinating fact that I will consider the hook in my paper. After background information on my topic I want to focus on why I picked this topic.

My body paragraphs will include insight on my community blogs. At this point, I have narrowed down two options for how I want to write my body paragraphs. My first option is focusing on one community blog for each body paragraph. I would write three body paragraphs each focusing on three community blogs. Option two was to focus on three different issues in each body paragraphs. These issues would be ones that I found within my blog community that, not only I have discussed but others had to.

The conclusion will include any ending thoughts I have on this topic. I will also add how I have grown as a blogger overtime. After I will answer if i believe I feel apart of this topics blogging community or not, and adding my reasons why. My closing sentences will give advice to other new bloggers on how to approach this topic.

I am most comfortable with using MLA format when writing papers. I had never explored any other formats before. After class on monday I realized that my topic, which has to do with my major in criminology, uses APA format. I would like to attempt APA format for my first rough draft that is due next monday.

Analysis Paper

For this post, we were asked to discuss potential sources for the final analysis paper. I was pleased to have the opportunity to use a post for this, because I want to make sure my potential sources will work for my analysis paper. In addition, I believe this post could almost be compared to an outline for the paper, which always helps to get a reader organized.

Source One:
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/index.html

When i first used the google blog search i typed "serial killers" and was the first thing that popped up. Since then, it has proven to be my number source for almost every single one of my posts on my blog. It has wonderful facts, quotes, and pictures for almost anything to do with serial killers and criminal justice in general. provides detailed background information of each serial killer which is important for my blog. I now know this is a valid source that will be beneficial, not only for this class but future classes. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if is a blog or not? I'd love some feedback on if i could use this in my analysis paper or not. 

Source two:
women serial killers blog

This blog is located on blogger and is exactly the same topic as my blog. Like me, the author of this blog is a student majoring in criminal justice. I enjoyed this blog most because of all the similarities between us authors. We kept the same outline for our blog by added a picture of each female serial killer we discussed in each post. The majority of our blog posts were the same female serial killer and that was interesting to compare. Sadly, this blog doesn't have a ton of analysis in each post it's more just the stories repeated. Although one piece of analysis i was able to spot was that the author pointed out the recurring problem that many people don't suspect females of such crimes. This is a piece of analysis I to have discussed in at least one of my posts. I believe this would be a great source for my analysis paper since it's the closest comparison to my blog.


Source 3:
diary of a serial killer

This blog is another one that i found on blogger. Although, the author has only written in it a few times i enjoyed reading them all. In one of my blog posts i talked about toxicology reports, which still involved my topic, but wasn't like my typical posts. This blog relates to that post it doesn't talk about each individual serial killer like my typical posts. It goes a little deeper by discussing genes, pychological aspects, and more about serial killers. This information is vital in understanding the whole story of why each serial killer did what they did. I enjoyed reading all the information this blog provided and would consider it being one of my potential sources.

Overall, I believe I have some great blogs picked out for my analysis paper. Sadly, it's hard to find a blog about serial killers online. I'm happy i found ones that discuss my topic and were helpful. Not only did each one provide useful information, but they also had a works cited which really confirms that it's a reliable source. Currently I am still looking for other blogs that fit my community that i could possibly use for my paper.

Forensic Toxicology

The most popular choice of weapon for a female serial killer is poison. At least 45 percent of female serial killers used poison on some of their victims. 35 percent of female serial killers only used poison on their victims (Vronsky, 43). So why is this method of killing so popular? The first reason is because most natural substances in the correct amount can be poisonous to humans. The second reason is that many poisons can copy common life threatening diseases, which leave physicians to assume that the victims died from natural causes (Ramsland, 2). To prevent this possible assumption from happening Forensic Toxicology was invented. 

What is Forensic Toxicology?

"Technically speaking, John Brenners Forensic Science Glossary defines toxicology as the study of poisons, but it also covers the detection of foreign substances in the body that can have a toxic effect, such as alcohol, industrial chemicals, poisonous gas, illegal drugs, or drug overdoses"(Ramsland, 2).  

The toxicology tests that are performed on a person that has passed away is called forensic toxicology or postmortem drug testing (Doheny, 1). Forensic toxicology isn't just important in determining if a case is foul play. Just as important it determines if a case is the result of suicide or accidental deaths (Ramsland, 2). 

How Forensic Toxicology Works: 

Getting a complete toxicology report can take time, in some cases four to six weeks, and in others even longer. The reason it can take a lengthy amount of time is because there may be a lot of specimens that need to be tested. During this process the toxicologist waits for information on the victims history and symptoms in hopes of narrowing down the testing of specimens (Ramsland, 2). The specimens could be blood, urine, tissue, or even stomach contents. If any specimens are positive it then has to be tested again in a more specialized test (Doheny, 3). An example of a specialized test is mass spectrometry, which can identify chemicals in substances by their mass and charge (Doheny, 2). Experts have to determine if in fact the drug or substance in the specimens are a therapeutic dose, a toxic dose, or a lethal dose. Lastly, this will answer the question if the certain doses contributed to the death or caused the death (Doheny, 3). 

Considering that a huge percentage of female serial killers use poison, it seems imperative to have forensic toxicology. This could be the evidence that will make or break a case that has not yet been solved. Advances in technology have proven helpful in the field of forensic toxicology. For example, you can now get hand held breathalyzers  to measure alcohol levels instead of testing the persons blood. As a result, in shorter time spans a case can be one step closer to finding an answer. As time goes by my hopes are that the field of forensic toxicology continues to grow. Even more so in the results of the tests. In some cases time is of the essence and the answers can't wait for weeks. Thankfully, in some cases the toxicology report solved the case. Proving to be beneficial to police and a curse to female serial killers. 

Works cited:

Doheny, Kathleen. "The Truth About Toxicology Test." WedMD. N.p. n.d. Web. 25 Mar.       2013.

Ramsland, Katherine. "Forensic Toxicology." . N.p. n.d. Web. 25 Mar.       2013.

Vronsky, Peter. "Female Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters." N.p. n.d. Web. 25 Mar.  

Faye Copeland: Oldest aged Female Serial Killer?

(Lohr, 1). 

Faye Copeland along with her husband, Ray Copeland, became the oldest couple to be sentenced to death in American history (Lohr, 7). The Copeland's were convicted of killing five men in the early 1990's.  They were husband and wife killers who were known to be the most bizarre. Not only were they eligible for social security at the time of their crimes, but none of the crimes seemed to based off of passion (Lohr, 1). It's hard to tell the motive of the crimes the Copeland's committed. Even more inconvenient, there is very little information on and studies done on perpetrators over the age of sixty (Lohr, 1). "According to the 2000 Russian Journal of Psychiatry, by L. K. Khokhlov, E. A Grigoryeva., and M. M. Rozum, most elderly murderers demonstrate a close relationship between pre-senile, senile disorders and social-psychological factors and more than half demonstrate clear evidence of psychopathology" (Lohr, 1). Could insanity be the motive for the elderly couple to start committing crimes?


The Nebraska Crime Stoppers hotline logged a call from Jack McCormick, on August 20, 1989. McCormick had recently moved from Missouri, where he worked on a farm for an elderly couple. He began to explain, that the couple used drifters to commit crimes involving livestock. In the beginning, McCormick stated he was unaware of the criminal activity. Although, when Mr. Copeland found out about his suspicions he tried to kill McCormick. Luckily, McCormick escaped and fled to Nebraska (Lohr, 2). Before closing up the phone call with the Crime Stoppers, he mentioned he had seen some human bones on their property (Lohr, 2). When Missouri police received this tip they took it very seriously, considering Copeland had a long arrest record for forgery and cattle theft (Lohr, 2). 

(Lohr, 3). 

On October 9, 1989 over forty officers showed up on the Copeland's property with a search warrant (Lohr, 2). Five days passed, with no evidence of human remains found on the farm land. Finally, on October 17, 1989 police discovered three bodies in a local barn on their property (Lorh, 2). Each body was buried in a separate grave, with a single gunshot wound to the back of the skull (Lorh, 2). Later, police found two more bodies on the Copeland's property. One body was found in another barn the Copeland's used, the last body was found in an old well that police were searching (Lorth, 3). As with the others, both of these bodies had one gunshot in the back of the skull (Lorth, 3). 

Both Copeland's were to be charged with five counts of first-degree murder. Faye Copeland had her trial first, on November 1, 1990. During her trial Faye was an astonishing 69 years old (Lohr, 7). Faye's defense was that she was unaware of her husband's actions and was a victim of Battered Women Syndrome. The jury found Faye guilty of five counts of first-degree murder. The Judge sentenced her to death by lethal injection for the four counts and one count life without parole (Lohr, 7). 

The very next day after Faye's trial, Ray Copeland was informed about Faye's trial. 

 "You hear about the verdict Ray?

Nah ...what happened?

Well, they found her guilty and recommended execution for her, Ray.

Well, those things happen to some you know, he responded" (Lohr, 7).  Ray never asked about Faye after being informed on her sentence (Lohr, 7).

On March 7, 1991 Ray Copeland went to trial. Copeland was 76 years old during his trial (Lohr, 7). After weeks of testimonies the jury came to a verdict, Ray Copeland was found guilty of five counts of first-degree murder (Lohr, 7). He was sentenced to death by lethal  injection. After hearing the verdict, Ray simply mumbled, Im OK (Lohr, 7). 

Two years later, Ray Copeland died while awaiting execution. He died at the Potosi Correctional Center at age 78 (Lohr, 8). While in prison Faye Copeland will go to trials and her sentence will be lowered to life in prison (Lohr, 8). In the early 2000's an attorney was in the process of appealing the judges ruling. The attorney wanted to reinstate the death sentence on Faye Copeland (Lohr, 7). Before any more progress could be made on the appeal, Faye Copeland suffered a stroke, which left her partially paralyzed and unable to speak (Lohr, 8). She was then paroled to a nursing home in her hometown. Not even a year later, at age 82 Faye Copeland died from natural causes at the nursing home (Lohr, 8). 

 To this day, investigators still believe the couple committed more than five murders. The biggest piece of evidence to back this up was a handwritten list. During the searching of the Copeland's house they discovered a handwritten list written by Faye (Lohr, 3). It had names on it, all farm helpers on the property. Twelve of the names had X's by them. All five bodies found had a X by their name. The rest of the names with the X were all missing and presumed dead (Lohr, 3). After reading this evidence I completely agree with investigators. It's sad that the Copeland's weren't charged with all the murders they convicted. The motive is hard to determine, and as a result it's another case that is a bit of a mystery. In the end, if it wasn't for McCormick we may have never known about this couple's dark secrets. Just like female serial killers, senior serial killers are just as rare. Sadly, no one would assume an elderly person could commit such a crime, which is how they, like females, can get away with murder. 

 
Works Cited: 

Lohr, David. "The True Story of Ray and Faye Copeland". <Crimelibrary>. Web. 6 Mar. 2013.

Female Serial Killing Categories

In 1991 Eric Hickey split up female serial killers into two categories Black Widows and Angles of Death. When female serial killers popped up more and more it showed assorted types of deepened psychoses (Geringer, 2 ). In addition, the reason why they killed became more evident. During the 1990's Hickey's successors added to the list of categories. By 1998, Michael D. and C.Lc Kelleher authors of Murder Most Rare, published their book that contained nine different categories for female serial killers (Geringer, 2 ). The categories are: 

1. Black Widows 
2. Angels of Death 
3. Sexual Predators
4. Revenge Killers
5. Profit Killers
6. Team Killers
7. Killers Whose Sanity is in Question 
8. Killers Whose Motives Defy Explanation, 
9. Unsolved Crimes
(Geringer, 2 ). 



Black Widows:
In my last blog post i briefly talked about female serial killers being labeled as Black Widows. A huge portion of Black Widows began killing in their mid-thirties, but some started their killing career earlier. Based on cases on record, the average number of victims for a Black Widow was between six and thirteen (Geringer, 3 ). The average span of when the murders occurred was eleven years. The main motive for the Black Widow is profit, and on some rare cases they murder someone they believe learned the truth about them (Geringer, 3 ). For most Black Widows after one husband dies it isn't rare to see them relocated to another part of the country. They will then changed their name and created a completely fabricated background (Geringer, 3 ). They put up an easily act of being a faithful wife and good mom, because society assumes almost all women are. The Kelleher's state in their book also that "Because she will deliberately target those who have come to trust her, the crimes of this type of serial murderer violate our basic assumptions about love, loyalty, guardianship and friendship" (Geringer, 3 ). One example of a Black widow is Judias V. Buenoano who poisoned her husband, son, an attempted to poison her new fiance.

Angels of Death: 
A female serial killer that is categorized as an Angel of Death sets herself up as God (Geringer, 2 ). The reason being is that they prey mainly on victims that they believe are already marked for natural death. Sick patients at hospitals and caregivers for the elderly fit under people marked for natural death (Geringer, 2 ).  There weapon is either something chemical, like lethal injection of Potassium, or suffocation with a pillow. Both of these means are hard to trace which is why their the most popular for Angels of death (Geringer, 2 ). An example of an Angel of Death serial killer is Jane Toppan. Jane Toppan was a nurse that killed her patients using injections. For more information on Toppan one of my previous blogs is solely dedicated to her.

Sexual Predators: 
  This means that the female serial killer was driven to kill by some type of sexual fantasy (Geringer, 2 ). This category of female serial killer is quite rare compared to the rest. This tends to be more common in male serial killers. Jane Toppan could also be under this category, because at one point she stated that she derived sexual pleasure from killing her victims (Adams, 1 ). Another debatable one is Alieen Wuornos, some say debatable whether sexual fantasy had any part with her motivation to kill (Geringer, 2 ). 

Revenge Killers:
Revenge female serial killers tend to be obsession-driven (Geringer, 2 ). Whether it be by love, hate or jealousy which are the most common factors. They are just as rare as Sexual Predators, but when pushed just enough they will come back for vengeance. The average age for Revenge Killers are between mid 20's to early 30's (Geringer, 2 ). Martha Wise is a perfect example she was told she could not marry a much younger man from her family and minister. To lash back at them she poisoned three family members and burned down the church (Geringer, 2 ). 

Profit Killers:
These killers strictly kill for monetary gain. They hire themselves out as "hit women" to mainly jealous wives that want their husband killed because they cheated or are abusive (Geringer, 2 ). The wives don't want to do the dirty work so they hire a Profit Killer. This differs from the Black Widow because the Black Widow chooses their victims, while Profit Killers will commit murder for others (Geringer, 2 ). Because they are considered "silent witnesses" their killing career could last for many years. Madame Alexe Popova is a prime example of a Profit Killer (Geringer, 2 ). She poisoned some three-hundred husbands and boyfriends for different women. She was finally caught in 1909 and executed by a firing squad (Geringer, 2 ).

Team Killers: 

(Geringer, 2 ).

Female Team serial Killers can really come in many shapes and sizes. This one category comprises two-thirds of the female serial killer rank and file (Geringer, 2 ). This category consists of three types of Team Killers groups. The most infamous one is the "male/female" duo, which consists of one male and one female partnered together. In most of the cases they are just thrill-seeking lovers (Geringer, 2 ). The second most common Team Killers isthe "female/female" duo. Most of the time these two women agree together to commit the murders as a team (Geringer, 2 ). Although in some cases one female may force the other to be part of the deadly team. The last group is called "killing family" when three or more people come together as a team to commit multiple murders (Geringer, 2 ). The most infamous example of the "killing family" group is Charles Manson. He led sixteen people to commit over dozens of murders back in the late 1900's. Shockingly ten of the sixteen apart of the "killing family" were females (Geringer, 2 ). 

The last three categories aren't as closely defined as the others (Geringer, 2 ).  

Killers whose sanity is in Question: 
This category of females usually have gone to trial and plead not guilty because of reason of insanity. There are very few women that have gotten away with murder using this defense and instead of going to prison they go to a mental hospital.  Jeanne Weber got out of being hung in 1908 after killing her children. She convinced the jury that she was insane and was sent to an institution instead of prison (Geringer, 2 ). 

Killers Whose Motives Defy Explanation:

 (Geringer, 2 ).

This category of women are found guilty of their crimes, but they remained unlabeled, The reason being because, there is no clear motives present (Geringer, 2 ). Audrey Marie Hilley is the most famous case for this category (Geringer, 2 ).  If there was clear motives she would have been placed in the Black Widow category. From all the evidence collected there was no tangible gain or monetary profit for Hilley (Geringer, 2 ). For some unknown reason, Hilley went on a four year killing spree killing three of her family members (Geringer, 2 ).  

Unsolved Crimes: 
These are crimes that are suspected to be committed by a women but there was no confirmed suspect or motive behind it (Geringer, 2 ).  A eerie example of one close by are the murders at Maryland's Prince George's County Hospital during 1984 and 1985 (Geringer, 2 ).  Someone killed seventeen patients instantly, by injecting potassium into their IV tubes. When they suspected it was a female, the DA's office believed she was innocent and let her go (Geringer, 2 ). 


Works Cited: 

Geringer, Joseph. "Black Widow: Veiled in Their Own Web of Darkness." .N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. 

Adams, Nicole. " Ten American Female Serial Killers." Listverse.  29. Dec. 2012. Web. 4 Feb. 2013.

Female vs. Male Serial Killers

Recently, a peer suggested that one of my blogs should be written on the differences of female and male serial killers. I felt it was necessary to do so, and I'm apologetic for not doing it before. I believe it's very important to understand characteristics and motives of serial killers. Most certainly, before going in depth in cases like I have in my past posts. That being said, I'm dedicating this whole post to spread awareness of not only the differences of male and female serial killers, but also the similarities. 

Execution of Murders

The first huge difference between male and female serial killers is the way they execute their murders. Almost all female serial killers tend to be very sly and attentive when planning and executing a murder (Geringer, 2). Often they lean towards a more untraceable and non-aggressive way of killing their victim (Geringer, 2). "The Electronic Journal of Sociology, published by the University of Guelph, Ontario, estimates that 80 percent of female serialists have employed poison by itself or with other means" (Geringer, 2). While on the other hand male serial killers tend to be more physical and face to face. It is more common for a male serial killer to shoot, stab, or strangle their victims (Geringer, 2). The way male serial murders carry out their murders are almost always a cruel, violent, and bloodbath of an act (Geringer, 2). 

Demeanor  

Overall female serial killers are much more subtle, unlike male serial killers who are very aggressive and tend to be over the top. As a result, male serial killers killing careers usually only range from a few months to the longest four years (Geringer, 2). Recorded lengths of female serial killing careers range from six to eight years. In some cases females have gone undetected for three decades (Geringer, 2). As rare as female serial killers can be compared to males, perhaps females could give the males pointers on how to go undetected for a longer period?

Victims

Another big difference between female and male serial killers is their victims. Females largely tend to kill victims that they know and are close to (Geringer, 2). This could range from family members to someone they provide care for, like a nurse or caregiver. Males for the most part don't have a relationship with their victims(Geringer, 2). They will pick out a stranger and stalk them until they are ready to carry out their crime (Geringer, 2). This being said, you'd think it would be harder to detect males since the victims are random, but the extent of their crimes give them away easily. 

Motives 

In addition to their victims, motives are also very different. There are many different types of female serial killers. The most notorious type being the Black Widows (Geringer, 2). The term black widow comes from a toxic spider that kills it's mate when there usefulness is over. These female serial killers portray a perfect housewife to cover their true colors (Geringer, 2). Seventy- five percent of female serial killers kill for only a profit, or any asset gained from a "sudden" death (Geringer, 2).The only way they would obtain this profit or asset is by killing a family member like husbands, parents, and even their own children. Thirteen percent will kill for control and following very close behind twelve percent will kill for revenge (Geringer, 2). Male serial killers motives on the other hand can be very fuzzy for a bunch of reasons. Although when men kill repetitively half the time the motive is sexually driven. Which explains why most of the time victims of male serial killers will not have clothes on. 

Similarities 

Although male and female serial killers seem very different there are three major similarities. The first one is their ability to portray themselves as normal looking citizens. Most of society is under the assumption that all serial killers look like Hannibal Lecter (Geringer, 2). 
 In reality most serial killers could be your neighbor, friend, and even your own family. The second is that they may be psychopaths, but psychopaths aren't insane. The Third is that as psychopaths they lack a conscience.(Geringer, 2). Co-author of The A-Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, Harold Schecter said "Serial killers are psychopathic personalities...lacking in certain basic human emotions, including remorse. Other human beings are just objects they use for their own gratification"(Geringer, 2).

 I believe that people need to start opening their eyes and realizing that at this day and age anyone could be a serial killer. Society needs to stop labeling a serial killer as only a male figure, and accept the fact that women also can and have been serial killers. As of now male and female serial killers are quite different, but over time i think they will become more similar. Male serial killers will become more sly and undetectable like women serial killers, and women will become more violent and random like male serial killers. For example, Aileen Wuornos killed all her victims face to face every time with a gun. This type of serial killing fits that of a male serial killer. Perhaps that's why she may have gotten away with murder for a longer period of time?  

Works Cited: 

Geringer, Joseph. "Black Widow: Veiled in Their Own Web of Darkness." .N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. 

Andrea Yates

Andrea Yates ( Top Ten, 1)

Andrea Yates is a prime example of a serial killer with mental illnesses. Almost every serial killer suffers from a psychological disorder. In some occasions it can be more than one psychological disorder (Saxean, Chaitra Suraj). Symptoms can be related to each other and in most cases, one condition leads to the other (Saxean, Chaitra Suraj). A few known serial killer psychological disorders are: 

 

Schizophrenia

Multiple personality disorder

Antisocial personality disorder

Anxiety disorder

Bipolar disorder

Borderline personality disorder

Childhood antisocial disorder

Delusional disorder

Depression

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

Obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD)

Physical abuse

Panic attack

Pedophilia

Personality disorder

Psychotic disorder

Sexual sadism

(Saxean, Chaitra Suraj).

 Andrea Yates and Rusty Yates met when they were 25 years old. Three years later, In 1993 they got married and one year later had their first child Noah ( Ramsland, 5). The Yates told friends and family They were planning on having as many children as came along, whatever God wanted for them ( Ramsland, 5). Soon after Noah was born Andrea began to have violent visions. They ranged from seeing someone get sabbed to her believing satan spoke to her. She kept the dreams secret, because her and her husband had idealistic, Bible-notions about motherhood and family ( Ramsland, 5). Little did Andrea Yates just how much mental illness ran in her family's history. It ranged from depression to bipolar disorder, which can contribute to postpartum psychosis. In the beginning stages of signs of mental illness she was undiagnosed and untreated. She kept the secrets she knew unknown ( Ramsland, 5). Soon after she had more kids totaling to four kids. Pressure starting buliding as she tried to be a good mother and care for her father with Alzheimers. She began to feel lonely and depressed. This was the beginning of her being admitted to hospitals mutilple times and many visits to therapy and a psychiatrists. She was taken on and off of multiple medications like Zoloft, Zyprexa, and Haldo. During this she was admitting to those observing her that she was hearing voices and afraid she might hurt someone ( Ramsland, 6). Almost every medication she was prescribed she refused to take. To make matters worse in 2000 she had a fifth child, which was their first girl. At this point in her life she had sereval episodes of psychotic hallucinations, survived two suicides, and been diagnosed in many institutions with major depression ( Ramsland, 6) She was now taking care of five children with three still in diapers. Soon after her father passed away she was so upset she had to be hospitalized because she couldn't function ( Ramsland, 6). On June 20, 2001 the worst would happen, Andrea Yates will one by one drowned all her five children in the bathtub ( Ramsland, 1). After she will call her husband and police to inform them of what she had done. ( Ramsland, 1). When she was taken to police headquarters she was questioned by police ( Ramsland, 3).

"Who killed your children?" the officer asked.

"I killed my children."  Her eyes were blank.

"Why did you kill your children?"

"Because I'm a bad mother."

( Ramsland, 3).

Andrea Yates was sentenced to life in prison after her trials were postponed cause of her mental illnesses ( Ramsland, 7). Today she is still in prison getting help with her mental illnesses. She is working on hopefully leaving the prison and getting into a mental health facility for better help ( Ramsland, 7).

 Postpartum depression occurs in up to twenty percent of women who have children ( Ramsland, 3).  Psychotic manifestations are so much more rare, which makes it much more unlikley to understand. "Only one in five hundred births result in the mother's postpartum psychosis, says forensic psychiatrist Michael Welner" ( Ramsland, 3). In Britain, the mental health system watches mothers for months afterward for signs of depression and mood swings. While people in America have a hard time understanding how hormonal shifts can actually cause violent hallucinations and thoughts ( Ramsland, 3). These women can become incoherent, paranoid, irrational, and delusional.  They could  have outright hallucinations, and may be at risk of committing suicide or harming their child, particularly "for the child's own good" ( Ramsland, 3) The countries that follow up on mothers after birth do so, because the women themself will not recongnize it as an illness ( Ramsland, 3).

How do you feel about Britian and other countries keeping an eye on new mothers and not the United States? It surprises me to see this because it could save a childs' life if a mother is diagnosed as soon as possible. I feel as though the United States haven't not only because they dont understand hormonal shifts, but assume that the number of mothers with postpartum psychosis is so low, there's no need for a nation wide health check. I believe the United States needs to adopt this system that watches new mothers, even if it saved one life it would be worth it. We don't need anymore Andrea Yates in this world, but unfortnately there will be more like her untreated and undiagnosed until its to late. The public needs to be more aware of this system used in other countries and fight for it to be brought to the United States no matter the cost of tax payers money. A childs life is priceless and deserves the best care.

Sources:

Ramsland, Katherine. " Andrea Yates: Ill or Evil?." . Web. 11, Feb. 2013.

Saxean, Chaitra Suraj. " Serial Killers' Psychology." Buzzle.com. Web. 11, Feb. 2013.

" Top Ten Deadliest Female Killers." TopTenz.net. Web. 4 Feb. 2013.

Jane Toppan



Jane Toppan

Jane Toppan was a very interesting female serial killer compared to others. Although she killed her victims in a stereotypical feminine method of murder (Adams, 1). Her motive wasn't typical for a female serial, but that of a male. Most female serial murderers murder for some type of material gain. Jane Toppan during her arrest admitted that she derived sexual pleasure from watching her victims die (Adams, 1). Like most female serial killers Jane Toppan was a nurse ( Adams, 1).  In 1885, Toppan began working at Cambridge Hospital in Massachusetts ( Adams, 1). While employed at the hospital she experimented on her patients for her own amusement. After a period of time her experimentation's turned into murder. Jane Toppan's number of victims reached a chilling thirty- one victims (Adams). Toppan would simply give her victims an injection of morphine and astropine ( Axelrod, 1).These two injections would then offset each others symptoms and become a silent killer ( Axelrod, 1). Jane Toppan began killing her land lords in 1895, and in 1899 she even killed her sister Elizabeth. Jane Toppan was getting away with murder until one of her victimes, Alden Davis, family requested a toxicology test  ( Adams, 1).  In 1901 Toppan was brought to trial, but was convicted not guilty by reason of insanity ( Axelrod, 1). Toppan was proud of her crimes stating that she wanted to go down in history as the person who “killed more people — helpless people — than any other man or woman who ever lived" ( Top Ten, 56). She was then committed to Taunton Insane Hospital after the trial. Taunton Insane Hospital is where Toppan spent the rest of her days when she passed in 1938 ( Adams, 1).  

How shocking is it to hear that most of female serial killers are nurses? The very women that are suppose to have a positive effect on your heath, end up being the cause of your death. Unfortunately health care serial killers have become more prominent in the media over the past decade ( Ramsland, 12). In an attempt to prevent hospitals from having a health care nurse in there facility, some professionals put together a list on red flags in a nursers actions or behaviors ( Ramsland, 12)

•  Statistically, there is a higher death rate when the suspected person is on shift
• The suspect deaths were unexpected
• The death symptoms were also not expected, given the patient's illness or procedure
• The suspected person is always available to help
• He or she is often the last one seen with the victim
• The suspected person has moved around from one facility to another
• Other staff members give that person nicknames like "death angel"
• The person is overly interested in the death
• Other patients have complained about the person's treatment of them
• The person is secretive or has a difficult time with personal relationships
• The person has a history of some form of mental instability or depression

(Ramsland, 12)



It deems necessary that you need to have a sharp eye and awareness of the signs of a health care serial killer. The means to kill a patient is readily available to any nurse. In addition to the fact that medical murders can be hard to detect ( Ramsland, 12) It's hard to accept the fact that really any health care facility is vulnerable. In my opinion this is a frightening statement. It's sad to see any type of murders happen, yet alone in facilities with sick and innocent victims. My hopes are that the health care system is learning from the past and becoming more precatious. This issue is something that could be prevented, but just needs the extra effort to make it happen.

Sources:

Adams, Nicole. " Ten American Female Serial Killers." Listverse.  29. Dec. 2012. Web. 4 Feb. 2013.

Axelrod, Lauren. " Serial Killer Jane Toppan." Friends Revolution. 1 Aug. 2009. Web. 4 Feb. 2013

" Top Ten Deadlist Female Killers." TopTenz.net. Web. 4 Feb. 2013.

Ramsland, Katherine. "Angels of Death: The Female Nurses." . Web. 4 Feb. 2013

Aileen Wuornos

                                            

                                                 Aileen Wuornos

Aileen Wuornos was born on February 29, 1956 in Rochester, Michigan. Growing up Aileen had a very troubled childhood. Aileen's father, a child molester and a psychopath, died in prison by hanging himself (Aileen Wuornos). Her mother abandoned Aileen and her brother soon after. As a result they were forced to lived with their grandmother. Throughout Aileen's childhood she claims sexual abuse from her father and brother. Aileen left her grandmothers to hitchhike America while prostituting to have an income.

While on her journey she fell in love with a woman named Tyria Moore (Aileen Wuornos). The couple will stay together for four years and during their relationship Aileen will commit all her murders. The income Aileen was making from prostitution was not enough to support her and Tyria. The solution to their problem was Aileen had to start robbing and shooting her clients. Between December 1989 to September 1990 the bodies of seven men were found murdered along the highways in northern and central Florida. Aileen's victims names are Richard Mallory, David Spears, Charles Carskaddon, Troy Burress, Charles "Dick" Humphreys, Walter Jeno Antonio, and Peter Siems. Peter Siems was the only victim that they did not recover the body and it's location is still unknown (Aileen Wuornos). For the rest of the victims all their bodies were found shot multiple times.

 The police received four phone calls all identifying Wuornos and Moore as the murderers (Aileen Wuornos). Aileen confessed to six of the murders and claimed self defense for every conviction. After a very lengthy trial she was finally found guilty and sentenced to death. On October 9, 2002 she was put to death by lethal injection (Aileen Wuornos). Her last words were  "I'd just like to say I'm sailing with the Rock and I'll be back like Independence Day with Jesus, June 6, like the movie, big mothership and all. I'll be back" (Famous last words).  

How do you feel about the death penalty? Do you think it should be applied to women and men? What do you believe is the best way to administer the death penalty?

I believe wholeheartedly in the phrase "eye for an eye" when it comes to murder. If your willing to kill a human being, yet alone seven, then you should have the same courage to accept a similar fate. Although I do agree they should sit on death row for at least a quarter of their prison sentence. They deserve to sit in prison everyday knowing their one day closer to their death. I believe lethal injection is the best way to go about the death penalty, because it's a painless death. I don't believe the convicted should die a cruel or unusually punishment. That being said, I'm glad they have weaved out the electric chair and hangings. It will be interesting to see if they change the chemicals administered in a lethal injection. Even more drastic inventing a new way to administer the death penalty.



Work Citied:

"Aileen Wuornos. biography." bio, True Story. Web. 4 Feb. 2013.

"Famous Last Words". Daily News. 14 May. 2012. Web. 4 Feb. 2013.

  

Dorothea Puente: Looks can be Deceiving

Dorothea Puente

(Nicole, 1)

Dorothea Puente is the perfect definition of the phrase "looks can be deceiving." The sole reason she got away with murder was because she worked hard to keep a certain image. Dorothea Puente looked grandmotherly,sweet, and portrayed herself as an upstanding member of Sacramento society. Dorothea lived in a two-story pale blue Victorian house in a quiet neighborhood (Scheeres,1,2). The first level was treated as a boarding house for elderly or alcoholic persons. The second level was Dorothea's living quarters (Scheeres, 5).

 Although Dorothea seemed like a sweet old lady to the neighborhood there was one compliant, the stench that came from her house. When neighbors complained to Dorothea she explained that " The sewers backed up." or that there were rats rotting underneath her house (Scheeres, 1). No one would have ever guessed what was really going on behind those Victorian house walls.To every one's dismay Dorothea Puente had never told anyone about her five felony convictions. Years before, she owned a halfway house and was convicted of larceny along with drugging and robbing the elderly. Social workers failed to do a background check and claimed she was the "best the system had to offer" (Scheeres, 12). Dorothea went to great lengths to cover up her tracks even involving a resident named Donald Anthony. She paid Anthony to call a social worker and act as his victims brother-in-law. Telling the social worker that the victim, Alvaro Montoya, was with family out of state (Scheeres, 15). Unfortunately for Dorothea, Anthony used his name in the message instead of the brother-in-laws. This huge mistake is what made the social worker feel bewildered and contact the police (Scheeres, 15). The next morning detectives visited Dorothea's house to look for the missing man the social worker reported. When they walked into the house they didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Until they reached the back yard. In a section of her yard there looked like some dirt that was disturbed. Right away they got shovels and began digging (Scheeres, 2). By the next day the police unearthed a total of seven bodies in her back yard (Scheeres, 4). Dorothea was feeding her victims sleeping pills known from toxicology tests. What she did after is unknown because when the bodies were found they were badly decayed (Scheeres, 15).

 Dorothea went to trial and on December 10, 1993 was found guilty of three murder charges. There is no explanation why the jury didn't find her guilty for the other four murders (Scheeres, 17). With tons of mounting evidence against Dorothea I'm shocked to see she wasn't charged with all murders. In the end,  the victims did get some justice by her spending the rest of her life in prison. Just recently in 2011 Dorothea passed away in the Central California Women's Facility  in California (Adams, 1).

A very controversial subject that has been arising is the selling of serial killers items and merchandise for profit. Whether the serial killer is getting the profit, or a random person, or both. This market got so well known it was on the television show Taboo. The reason it is so controversial is because the victim's relatives feel offended. The relatives would never want to hear about their relatives killer getting a profit from their crime. Not only that, if they don't get a profit they could still get a self-esteem boost. This is just one website that sells serial killer merchandise on the Internet Serial Killers Ink. Dorothea's story ties in with this because I read an article on a online magazine called "Midtown". The article talked about a guy that lived in the same neighborhood as Dorothea and saw the diggings happen. Oddly enough when Dorothea was brought to jail the guy's roommate ended up taking her Christmas lights off her house. The roommate hung the Christmas lights up every year. 

 Grant it I would read books and look at original items from the serial killers. It's very intriguing to me and you don't see items like this everyday. I wouldn't on the other hand want to own original copies or buy merchandise. I can understand where the families are coming from I would be offended also. Like some relatives, I would also try to start some type of lawsuit. If I were in this situation my mission would be to make sure my relatives killer would never make a profit or get some type of self-esteem booster. It seems as though that's how most other victims relatives feel. I look forward to the future and seeing what law suits come up. I think there should be some type of ban on buying the merchandise. Would you on a religious holiday want to hang up Christmas lights that were last on a murderers house? Would you own any type of merchandise from a serial killer?

Work Citied: 

Scheeres, Julia. " Dorothea Puente." . Web. 30. Jan. 2013.

Adams, Nicole. " Ten American Female Serial Killers." Listverse.  29. Dec. 2012. Web. 30 Janurary 2013.

"Midtown Murderess Dorothea Puente Dead at 82." Midtown. 27. Mar. 2011. Web. 30. Jan. 2013.

Lavinia Fisher: The First Female Serial Killer

                                                                     Lavinia Fisher

It seemed fitting to start my first blog post with Lavinia Fisher the woman known as the first recognized serial killer. Lavinia Fisher was born in 1793, although her origins are unknown. Lavinia grew up and married John Fisher. They resided near Charleston, South Carolina making a profit from owning a hotel, the Six Mile Wayfarer House, in the beginning of the 1800's (Weiser,1). Mysteriously, men started disappearing in Charleston and when it was brought to the authorities attention they started to investigate. It was then determined that most of the men were last seen at the Six Mile Wayfarer House. Although the authorities did start an investigation, unfortunately it was dropped due to no evidence and the Fisher's being well known in the town. As time passed by more men still were disappearing in Charleston. Rumors were flying around town and locals still believed the Fisher's had something to do with all the disappearances. The locals decided to take the matter into their own hands and have a man named David Ross stand watch in the area. While on watch David Ross was attacked and dragged before Lavinia Fisher (Weiser,1). Expecting her to help him she did the quite opposite by choking him and smashing his head through a window. Miraculously Ross escaped and alerted authorities right away. Around the same time a man was traveling and wanted to stay at the Six Mile Wayfarer House. Before retiring for the night the man was questioned profusely by Lavinia.When the man got to his room he realized how suspicious it was that he was questioned so much and believed he was going to be robbed. Instead of sleeping in the bed he fell asleep on a chair in the room. In the middle of the night he awoke a loud crash and noticed his bed had disappeared into a black hole beneath the floor. The traveler then jumped out of the window and fled to the police. Lavinia and her husband were both found guilty and were hung on the gallows in 1820 (Weiser,1). Lavinia Fisher wasn't so compliant when being hung she requested to wear her wedding dress, and she had to be carried while screaming and ranting. Right before she was executed she yelled to the crowd " If any of you have a message for the Devil, give it to me, for I am about to meet him!"(Weiser,1).
This case is so interesting because it's almost considered a myth. There's no records on Lavinia's childhood and on till she resided in Charleston. Many people argue about many aspects of this case. For example, some people believe they gave their victims tea with poison in it, then finished them off when they slept. Others believe they used the tea with poison then had a mechanism flip the bed underneath the floor so they could kill them. Even Lavinia's last words aren't completely known overtime different variations were suggested, although almost all are the same in context. Lastly to this day it's still argued if Lavinia is even a serial killer, yet alone the first female one in America.

If that isn't enough people believe the jail she stayed at ,the Charleston Jail, is haunted by her spirit. It is said that Lavinia roams the halls and occasional peaks out a window in the jail. In 2011 the hit show Ghost Adventures took a trip to the Charleston Jail to investigate. Below is the whole episode on the Charleston Jail and Lavinia.

Personally, I believe Lavinia Fisher is a serial killer and I do believe her ghost haunts the Charleston Jail. Common in most serial killers their are many factors from their past that explains their actions, but in this case their is no past history that is known. There is so many unknown answers it is almost amusing, because you can create your own version of how you portray Lavinia Fisher.

So how do you portray Lavinia Fisher? Innocent and wrongfully committed? or a coldblooded female serial killer?

Work Citied:

Weiser, Kathy."Lavinia Fisher." Legends of America.Web. 13 Jan. 2013.           <http://www.legendsofamerica.com/sc-laviniafisher2.html>.

Introduction to my Blog Topic: Women Serial Killers

After much thought and consideration I decided the topic for my blog will be about American women serial killers. I have been intrigued by serial killers for quite some time now, and I catch myself yearning to learn more about them. Having said that, this blog would be an excellent way to record more research and be one step closer to understanding serial killers. When you hear the words "serial killer" most people imagine a male right away. Which is why I'm not only blogging about serial killers, but specifically women serial killers. I believe society really down plays women serial killers because there rare. Most people assume all women are compassionate and wouldn't commit murder ever. Perhaps for most this blog will be a rude awakening to the chilling statistic that is, over fifteen percent of known serial killers have been women. A recent study found that women serial killers killing careers last much longer than the men. The women killing careers ranged between eight and eleven years and men being only two years, with an average of nine victims. The reason for the huge difference in killing careers is that the females tend to operate under the radar. Most of the women didn't have any prior criminal history, killed those closest to them, and most importantly used quieter methods of elimination (Johnston, 1). The most common method of elimination among the women was to poison their victim. In the end the only reason men serial killers were getting more media attention was simply because their murders were much more vicious acts. As a result, I hope I can convince my readers that women serial killers are in fact out there, and more dangerous than male serial killers. Word to the wise "Don't underestimate a dangerous woman. And don't judge by appearances; evil can be pleasant and pretty on the outside. Just like poisoned candy" (Johnston, 1).