O PERFIL DOS SERIAL KILLERS: ESTUDO DE CASOS (TED BUNDY E PEDRINHO MATADOR)

Abstract

The present paper, entitled 'The profile of serial killers: a case study', aims to understand the main types and phases of the serial killer cycle, based on studies in the areas of forensic psychopathology, criminology and forensic psychology, and from this understanding, to identify the behavior of such agents, why they kill, and the characteristics in common, as well as to profile these people with mental pathology during the criminal investigation phase. The methods used for the development of the research were: (i) the bibliographical, consisting of the consultation and analysis of articles, books and specialized magazines on the subject and, (ii) the case study that was used to analyze real events that had repercussions in the national and international media, with the purpose of portraying and, more than that, profiling serial killers: how they choose their victims, what their tastes are, what they seek and why they kill. The results achieved, notably through the study of real cases, consisted in the practical understanding of the four main types of serial killers, namely: visionary, missionary, emotional, and libertine; as well as in the application of specialized techniques and methods, such as the guided interview and the use of appropriate means of evidence to discover the authorship and materiality of the crime. In the end, it was concluded that the profiling technique, commonly used in the United States, together with the interview and other means of evidence, work adequately during the investigations and point sufficiently to the elucidation of the facts (authorship and materiality), as demonstrated in the cases of Ted Bundy and Pedrinho Matador.