Theses and dissertations

This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students. 

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The Effects of Serial Killers on FBI Policies & Investigations By: Joseph Muzupappa

Description
Serial killers have had a profound impact on the United States' most powerful law enforcement agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Through a brief history of the FBI, the birth of the Behavioral Analysis Unit is highlighted and criminal profiling is realized as a tool to apprehend these serial killers.…

Serial killers have had a profound impact on the United States' most powerful law enforcement agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Through a brief history of the FBI, the birth of the Behavioral Analysis Unit is highlighted and criminal profiling is realized as a tool to apprehend these serial killers. Four serial killer cases are presented as important representations to illustrate the contributions that were made to the FBI's investigatory procedure. As serial killings make up only one percent of the murders in the U.S. each year, it is still evident that these cases have had a profound impact on the U.S.'s top law enforcement agency. The FBI has been able to react to each case more effectively than the last. Constant learning on the job, as each impactful case happens within a short time span from the last, has been a necessity for investigators and has been a prime strength of the FBI. There is no way to tell when an individual will begin to commit serial murder, so while the FBI's methods are not perfect, the Bureau has been able to respond in full to each challenge a new serial killer case has presented and arrest the guilty party. Through an analysis of the criminal profile, stereotypes attributed to serial killers, and the application of forensic evidence to serial killer investigations, the impact of the investigations of these cases by the FBI is examined. A real world application of the FBI's recommended procedure for a serial killer investigation is spotlighted and analyzed to determine its practicality in modern-day investigations.
ContributorsMuzupappa, Joseph Raymond (Author) / Kobojek, Kimberly (Thesis director) / De Alcaraz Fossoul, Josep (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05

Antisocial Personality Disorder, Schizophrenia, and the Link to Today’s Serial Killer

Description

This thesis aims to interpret, analyze, and bring forward the connections between psychological disorders and serial murder. As part of that, the essay will be emphasizing specific diagnoses such as antisocial personality disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and delusional disorder while profiling serial killers throughout history known to suffer from these…

This thesis aims to interpret, analyze, and bring forward the connections between psychological disorders and serial murder. As part of that, the essay will be emphasizing specific diagnoses such as antisocial personality disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and delusional disorder while profiling serial killers throughout history known to suffer from these mental illnesses. Using the accounts and known diagnoses of serial killers such as Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, and others, this thesis will further reflect the psychological history and evolution of these mental health disorders. To do that, this thesis will also show the romanticization of serial killers in popular culture. Utilizing the scholarly research made available in the psychological and criminal justice literature, this thesis will further the conclusion that psychological disorders are the root of serial murder and explore the possibility that continued advances in the study of psychological disorders are the primary cause of serial murder and that criminal profiling may have the potential to reduce the incidents of murder that we do see in serial killer tendencies. We are further exploring the possibility that continued advances in the study of psychological disorders and criminal profiling can reduce the incidents we do see.
ContributorsProchaska, Remington (Author) / Niebuhr, Robert (Thesis director) / Barratt, T.M. (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor)
Created2023-05
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Analysis of Serial Killer Characterization in Films 1990-2019

Description
Serial killers make up a small amount of crime yet are seen in hundreds if not thousands of movies. The way they have been presented and the films in which they are presented have evolved in the past three decades. Looking at six movies from this thirty year period,…

Serial killers make up a small amount of crime yet are seen in hundreds if not thousands of movies. The way they have been presented and the films in which they are presented have evolved in the past three decades. Looking at six movies from this thirty year period, analysis of the evolution of serial killers in films will be discussed. There has been an increase in the levels of violence in these films as well as a more relatable, three-dimensional serial killer. There has also been a disproportionate amount of attention given to the serial killer rather than the victims.
ContributorsHeninger, Jake (Author) / Gordon, Karen (Thesis director) / Brehman, Brian (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor)
Created2022-05