Female Serial Murderesses: Constructing Differentiating Typologies

• Author: Eric Hickey,Stephen T. Holmes,Ronald M. Holmes
• DOI: 10.1177/104398629100700405
• Published date: 01 December 1991
• Date: 01 December 1991
• publishedBy: Sage Publications, Inc.

Female

Serial

Murderesses:

Constructing

Differentiating

Typologies

Stephen

T.

Holmes

Eric

Hickey

and

Ronald

M.

Holmes

Abstract

Despite

the

claims of

several

researchers

in

the

examina-

tion

of

serial

murder

that

there

are

no

female

serial

killers,

the

authors

have

researched

the

serial

murders

which

have

occurred

during

the

past

fifty

years

and

discovered

a

large

number

of

female

serial

murderesses.

There

is

an

attempt

to

establish

a

typology

of

females

who

killed

serially

in

the

same

fashion

which

has

been

already

formed

with

male

serial

killers.

With

this

typology

discussed,

homicidal

behavioral

traits

are

also

discussed.

Introduction

Serial

murder

is

probably

the

most

disturbing

crime

of

the

1990s

(Holmes

and

DeBurger,

1988).

Research

on

the

subject

appears

both

on

an

academic

level

(Hickey, 1991;

Holmes

and

DeBurger, 1985,1988 :

Jenkins,

1987;

Levin

and

Fox,

1985;

Leyton,

1985;

Ressler

et

al,

1988)

and

other

more

narrative

formats

which

tend

to

be

deficient

in

documentation.

Both

types

of

research

and

writings,

however,

indicate

that

the

overwhelming

number

of

serial

killers

are

men.

For

example,

in

a

listing

of

forty-seven

serial

killers

by

Holmes

and

DeBurger

(22-23;

1988),

only

three

were

females.

Of

the

three

female

serialists,

two

killed

family

members

and

the

other

murdered

with

her

male

lovers.

Hickey

(1991),

in

his

study

of

203

serial

killers,

identified

16

percent

as

female

offenders.

None

is

examined

by

any

of

the

previously

cited

researchers.

Given

the

apparent

scarcity

of

females

involved

as

multiple

homicide

offenders,

sources

are

few

which

address

their

incidence

and

etiology.

By

contrast,

homicide

is

one

of

the

most

carefully

monitored

crimes

in

American

society.