Psychologists
are deeply fascinated by serial killers as they get to view a completely
disoriented and unnatural aspect of human psyche, which is unapologetically
immoral. There have been several psychopaths in the past who’ve long demanded
the attention of psychologists.
Richard
Ramirez, The Night Stalker, dominated the streets of Los Angeles in the 80s.
His reign of terror lasted from June 1984 till August 1985 and, during this
time, he would break into the homes of the residents living in the Bay Area of
California. He would brutally murder his male victims whereas rape and torture
his female victims.
Related: THE FINAL WORDS BETWEEN RICHARD RAMIREZ AND ANASTASIA HRONAS (NIGHT STALKER)!
Of
course, his killing sprees were driven by psychological motives that can be understood
in light of theories of psychosexual development, sexual pleasure derived from
violence, and social learning.
Related: FIVE SHOCKING FACTS ABOUT DIANNE FEINSTEIN, NIGHT STALKER!
One
observation that stands out is that he had no demographic preference. He raped
and murdered individuals between the ages of 9 and 79. The most elderly victim
of his was sexually assaulted, brutally stabbed numerous times, and almost
decapitated. This was the level of insanity that he possessed—rather suffered
from.
He
was finally caught by getting chased down by a bunch of bystanders and declared
guilty of 13 murders, five attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults, and 14
burglaries.
Related: NIGHT STALKER: THE UNKNOWN TRUTH ABOUT RICHARD RAMIREZ, ANASTASIA HRONAS AND DOREEN LIOY!
When
you study the crimes committed by Richard Ramirez, you’d come to realize a set
pattern: they’re all entirely sexual in nature. He was known for raping and
torturing women before ultimately ending their lives. He would also force his
victims to swear upon Satan, which was strange considering he did it all before
committing violent acts of crimes.
He
had actually earned a reputation for mutilating the bodies of his victims – a
troubling sign indicating psychological corruption.
Related: 5 FACTS ABOUT NIGHT STALKER SURVIVOR, ANASTASIA HRONAS!
According to the
Psychodynamic theory of sexual pleasure, some people find pleasure by indulging
in serious acts of violence. They become predatory because of a paraphilic
response they develop in their childhood during the psychosexual stages of
development.
Paraphilia
can be described as a disorder comprised of a number of strange symptoms like
formation of bizarre fantasies and sexual excitement caused by unusual
behavior. A person suffering from this disorder tends to gain sexual pleasure
by imposing physical and psychological violence on a victim.
Related: NIGHT STALKER: WHERE’S ANASTASIA HRONAS NOW AND HOW SHE CAUGHT RICHARD RAMIREZ.
How
can we understand Paraphilic individuals? According to research, sexual murders
are essentially provoked by sadistic behavior, and are a result of personal
fantasies and classical conditioning. These fantasies basically provide relief
from a traumatic reality and offer you protection from the hovering past caused
by perpetrators during the crucial developmental period.
These
haunting truths of the past are dominated by humiliation, molestation, and
revenge.
When
it comes to Richard Ramirez, the role of his cousin, Miguel Ramirez cannot be
neglected. When the psychopath was only 12 years old, his cousin had returned
from war in Vietnam. As a young boy, Richard used to listen to Miguel’s stories
of him raping and murdering Vietnamese women. He used to provide graphic
details, that too, for the sake of entertainment. He often used to draw out the
imagined crimes as a way to escape from his tragic reality.
One
of the photos discovered has him holding in his hand the head of his rape
victim. The head was placed in a way that the victim’s mouth was positioned
near his penis. When Richard found these pictures, it awakened his deepest
sexual desires as he often masturbated while looking at these drawings. A lot is already visible in Richard Ramirez teeth.
You
can tell that this sadistic glorification of sexual behavior impacted Richard
and catalyzed the deviant tendencies that already existed in some deep corner his
mind. Naturally, the obscene images were not enough for him, and he started his
hunt for his own set of victims.
When
you view his actions in light of the Social Learning Theory, you begin to
realize how his formative years impacted him, as that’s when he picked up
habits from the people around him. According to this theory, your personality
and behaviors are shaped by psychological processes when you are young. That is exactly what happened before Richard Ramirez death.
Stay tuned to Hayvine to know more about when did Richard Ramirez die and how old was Richard Ramirez when he got caught.
The story of Richard Ramirez also appeared in American Horror Story especial halloween episode. Type ‘Richard Ramirez ahs’ and watch it.
Hence,
he picked up many things in his childhood. His cousin, Mike was the most
important figure in his life, as he learned from him how to shoot a gun and
wield a knife. Mike had already damaged the impressionable mind of Richard by
encouraging sadistic behavior – a behavior that molded his future killings.
Related: FIVE FRIGHTENING SIMILARITIES BETWEEN RICHARD RAMIREZ, BONNIE & CLYDE AND JACK THE RIPPER
When
he moved in with his married sister, he used to lurk in the backyard and watch
random couples while having sex. He would get excited by catching the glimpse
of a nude woman. This practice of voyeurism was later caught and disapproved by
his elder sister.
Thus,
no one can tell what kind of person Richard Ramirez would’ve become had he not
experienced such instances in his life. He was largely influenced by the male
individuals around him. His pervasive mindset was further corrupted by his
cousin to induce a sense of euphoria and instant yet temporary fulfillment.
Jack
Unterweger was one of the most infamous serial killers who terrified half of
Europe if you haven’t watched Jack Unterweger movie; his name has most recently been attached to the killing and death of Elisa Lam if you are wondering who killed Elisa Lam (Crime
Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, true crime documentary series).
The
Austrian serial killer has murdered people in West Germany, Austria,
Czechoslovakia and the United States. He started his reign of terror in the
1950s and got convicted for the first time in 1974. He was extremely creative,
as he wrote a lot during his time in prison – it even gained critical acclaim
at the time.
Related: EXCLUSIVE: THE ACTUAL FOOTAGE OF ELISA LAM INSIDE CECIL HOTEL IN L.A.!
The
serial killer was eventually released on parole in 1990 after severe lobbying.
He soon turned into a celebrity for writing as a playwright as well as a
journalist. However, he couldn’t get rid of the most repulsive and triggering
voice in his mind, and ended up going on a murder spree yet again. By 1994, he
got caught again, and this time for nine murders. He ended up hanging himself
in prison.
Related: EXCLUSIVE: JACK UNTERWEGER, RICHARD RAMIREZ, CECIL HOTEL, ELISA LAM AND EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW!
It
comes as no surprise that his mother was a sex worker who had been jailed when
she was pregnant. She, too, was involved in severely demented and deviant
behavior. In 1953, he was sent to live with his grandfather – the latter had already
been accused him of being a “rough fellow” by someone. The grandfather and
grandson duo ended up stealing animals at the farm.
He,
too, was obsessed with sexually driven murders. He strangled one of his victims
with her own bra. In fact, this was his trademark as he killed almost every
victim across borders using the same technique. He certainly seemed obsessed
with the life of sex workers and often took out his anger on them.
Related: 5 SHOCKING FACTS OF JACK UNTERWEGER’S DARK HISTORY OF GRISLY MURDERS AND CRIMES!
Clearly,
his experiences during his early childhood along with the observation of
deviant behavior in family are to be held accountable for his pathology.
Widely
known in the pop culture, Jack the Ripper has been the inspiration behind many
Hollywood features. He terrorized the city of London in the late 19th
century and specifically targeted the working class. His case is still a
mystery, as he was never really caught. He was responsible for killing five
prostitutes during the months of August, September and November. He, in fact,
mocked the police several times at the time.
Although
five is the general number given, there are speculations that he actually
murdered 13 women. Apparently, these women were all sex workers who had sold
their bodies to the sailors arriving in East London. The area is now known as
Whitechapel. His intentions were similar to the other two serial killers we
discussed before.
Although
we don’t know much about his past, we’re sure that he was also influenced by
sadistic behavior in his childhood.
Hence,
the combination of Psychodynamic theory of sexual desires, theory of
psychosexual stages of development, and Social
observation theory can be used to understand the vulgar and inhumane behavior
of these serial killers.
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