For those of us who have never committed a violent .
crime against another human being, or another living .
being .
for that matter, cannot imagine what actually makes a .
person kill. That is exactly why I would like to take you .
into the mind of a serial killer. I will examine closely: .
the mind-set of a killer prior to his first murder (Are .
they psychotic? Is the murder premeditated?), their mental .
state during the heinous crime, and their frame of mind .
after the killing. I will take a look at the fantasies of .
a serial killer. Then look through the four phases of .
murder for a serial killer. Faze One: Antecedent Behavior .
and Planning .
The first phase of the murder, the initial planning .
is influenced by the murderer's pre-crime stress factors .
and frame of mind; these factors lead to the behavior .
expressed by the murderer at this particular time in the .
vicious murder cycle. There is also pre-crime stress .
factors. The killer's mental and emotional state before he .
murders are influenced in varying degrees, by his .
environment and actions that are taking place. Murderers .
often express the fact that there are overbearing stress .
factors, or stress factors, that cause their behavior; .
although they are not always aware of the issues behind the .
stress factors, that actually in turn play a key part in .
their motivational processes. Lethal stress factors .
include: conflict with females, parental conflict, .
financial stress, marital problems, conflict with males, .
birth of a child, physical injury, legal problems, .
employment problems, and stress related to a death. .
About 50% of murders by sexual serial killers are due to .
some form of conflict with females. However, some murderers .
reveal that although their immediate stressor was due to a .
woman, there were often times other factors underlying the .
matter, as described by a serial killer: .
"I had broken up with my girlfriend three days before, .
and I was feeling a lot of anxiety and pressure.
