A question about the definition of a serial killer. (serial killers, deaths, examples)

[PeaceAndLove42]

I realize that a serial killer is one who kills multiple people, but what I don't understand why some that do aren't. For example, say some gangster kills 5-6 people he won't be considered a serial killer, or say a nurse intentionally injects multiple infants with lethal doses of something and they die, why isn't she considered a serial killer?

[Unsettomati]

Originally Posted by PeaceAndLove42

I realize that a serial killer is one who kills multiple people, but what I don't understand why some that do aren't. For example, say some gangster kills 5-6 people he won't be considered a serial killer, or say a nurse intentionally injects multiple infants with lethal doses of something and they die, why isn't she considered a serial killer?

The gangster is typically not considered a serial killer because part of the definition of 'serial killer' is that the killings themselves are an end - the killer derives pleasure from committing them - whereas a gangster, though he may well incidentally enjoy killing, kills not for the purpose of enjoyment but as a means to an end.

Medical professionals who kill in the manner you describe above are considered serial killers, though it should be noted that you cannot always rely on a non-expert source to use a clinically correct term. Regardless, they often do. Examples:
10 Serial-Killing Nurses - Listverse
Is Italy's 'Angel of Death' Daniela Poggiali the world's worst serial killer nurse? | Daily Mail Online

Other elements of serial killers include, as you note, multiple murders and that they be committed in multiple events significantly separated in time.

[TheDusty]

It's my understanding that serial killers follow some kind of pattern. It's usually multiple killings over period of time for the same reason. If someone doesn't like a certain personally trait, they kill that person. Or sometimes it's just the person doing the killing who enjoys killing.

But killing many people won't make you a serial killer (that's not advice, by the way ). For example, if a bus driver and you drive it off the road and kill 7 people, that's just multiple counts of murder/manslaughter but would not make you a serial killer.

[Pennies4Penny]

Yeah, I think a serial killer kills for enjoyment and ritual. Watch 'Dexter' ha ha. They have a NEED to kill (much like a person with OCD NEEDS to scrub their floors or obsessively brush theur teeth) whereas a gangster kills people to solve a problem or prove a point. I would consider the nurse a serial killer as well. He/she gets pleasure in not only killing, but getting away with it as well.

I think 'serial' also means repetitive? Killing ten people at once is a singular incident, while killing 10 people over the course of six months is a repetitive cycle.

[Cape Cod Todd]

A serial killer is a person who murders three or more people for psychological gratification.

They often use the same type or way to kill their victims such as with a knife. Their plans are often well thought out and their motives is primarily for a psychological or sexual gratification. It is like pennies wrote it is a "repetitive cycle"


A gangster kills for business and is not a serial killer. A mother in a fit who drives the mini van of a cliff killing her kids is not a serial killer but A nurse that murders babies under her care would be a serial killer in my book.