Question

A serial killer who kills because he has heard voices or visions demanding that he kill people. He/she is usually suffering from some form of psychosis. The killer has severe break with reality and would probably most likely to be found insane in the legal sense. In the Holmes and DeBurger typologies this would be called a visionary. This type of serial killer is known as a ___________________ under the Holmes and Holmes Integrated Approach categories.

Answer 1

In the Holmes typology, a serial killer influenced by psychotic episodes to commit murder is known as a visionary type serial killer. These killers have a severe break from reality, often due to mental disorders such as schizophrenia, and would likely be found legally insane.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the Holmes and Holmes Integrated Approach categories, a serial killer who kills due to auditory hallucinations or visions is referred to as a visionary type serial killer. This categorization emphasizes the psychological aspect where the killer experiences a severe break with reality, typically as a result of a form of psychosis such as schizophrenia. The visionary type is one of the four categories in the Holmes typology of serial killers, the others being mission-oriented, hedonistic, and power/control oriented.

Within the legal system, individuals like Scott Falater, who presented a sleepwalking defense, illuminated the complexities of differentiating between mental disorders and premeditated criminal behavior. While Falater did not claim to be a visionary type as he did not hear voices or have visions, psychological evaluations and evidence for mental disturbances are critical in determining the legal sanity of a defendant. Similarly, historical figures in psychiatry such as Esquirol and Georget pioneered the study of mental disorders, laying groundwork for the understanding of psychological conditions that might drive one to commit criminal acts under altered states of consciousness.