Exploring the Motives of Notorious Killers: Andrew Cunanan, Adam Lanza, and Jeffrey Dahmer

Abstract

Module 3 Discussion: Spree, Mass and Serial Killer Andrew Cunanan (Spree killer) born on August 31st 1968 in National City California grew up in San Diego. Cunanan was the youngest of four children with an IQ of 147 at the age of three making him incredibly bright for his age. Cunanan experienced traumatic upbringing, rejection by loved ones (gay lover), and hatred towards the gay community (after losing gay lover and thinking they infected him with HIV) shaping his killer character (Crime & Investigation. 2009). His father abandoned the family when Cunanan was 19 years after continuous verbal abuse to the mother exposing her to chronic depression shattering their world. After the father left them, Cunanan started spending most of his time in gay club regardless of his mothers’ disapproval and the behavior deteriorated after dropping from school in 1989 moving to Castro District of San Francisco which was a centre for LGBTQ culture (Soar, 2000). Before leaving, he expressed violent behavior towards his mother which one can associate with social learning theory through observations from his father’s abusive nature towards his mother. He started murder acts in April 1997 after a failed re-union with two of his gay lovers that he killed on April 27th and May 3rd 1997. Other killings followed on may 4th, may 9th, July 15th and July 23rd defining him as a spree killer (Crime & Investigation. 2009). Adam Lanza (mass killer) was born in [City, State] on April 22nd 1992. Born of a former stockbroker and longtime gun enthusiast named Nancy, Lanza grew up exposed to gun range as the mother did not want to leave him alone. Described as fidgety and deeply troubled by his classmates, Lanza was also a victim of Asperger’s syndrome. However due to his frequent exposure to firearms and his introverted nature, Lanza diverted his attention on them and generated special attention towards their application. At the age of 20 years on the fateful morning of Dec 14th 2012, Lanza shot his mother before heading to a nearby school (Sandy Hook Elementary) shooting 20 children aged between 5 and 10 and six adult workers (Langman, 2015). It is believed that Lanza fired between 154 rounds in less than five minutes; Lanza turned the gun on himself and fatally shot himself in the head before responders began to arrive on scene. After the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings, police released a report citing that there were ammunition and numerous weapon at Lanza’s home as well as a number...