Criminologists list the 5 Key Traits in Serial Killers

Criminologists have used science and modern technology to understand why certain people can murder others time after time. According to Real Crime magazine and Dr. Elizabeth Yardley, the Director of the Center for Applied Criminology at Birmingham City University, serial killers have five distinctive traits.

1. Power

Serial killers are more likely to be people who have a need for power. Just knowing that they have control over others can be very satisfying.

"Serial killers typically have a real affinity with power, even when they've been caught and know the game is up," the experts said. "Intent on exerting some kind of control over the people around them, they often hold back bits of crucial information in a bid to maintain power over the situation, gain attention and assert a warped sense of authority."

2. Manipulation

Serial killers also like to use their status/ knowledge to manipulate those who are vulnerable. Some of these killers will appear very social and friendly on the outside.

"Apparent vulnerability and the need to please have been used effectively time and time again by serial killers as a way of hiding a sinister personality," the experts explained. "Some of the world's best known serial killers have a frightening ability to manipulate those around them, pressing the right buttons in order to present themselves in a false light."

3. Ego

Serial killers tend to like to brag about their work in some way. For example, some killers will keep something as a trophy.

"Egoistical serial killers often can't help but brag about the atrocities they've committed, whether it's aimed at their accomplices, the next victim, law enforcement, or just themselves," the experts continued. "Take Brady and Hindley for example. They revisited the burial sites on Saddleworth Moor often, taking ghoulish trophy shots of the desolate landscape as a memento of their horrendous crimes. Of course, these helped incriminate the pair and lead the police to the three bodies eventually found on the Moor."

4. Charm

Although serial killers are not empathetic people, they can understand how to charm people's emotions. These killers use their charisma to trick others to trust them.

"They'll get others on side and take charge of a situation with a mix of compliments and common sense," Yardley said. "They'll get others on side and take charge of a situation with a mix of compliments and common sense."

5. The Average Joe

More often than not serial killers are described as normal. Some serial killers have the ability to blend right into a community and even take on a leadership role, making them seem like the average Joe.

"Possibly the scariest trait of all, many serial killers look like a pillar of the community on first sight," the experts said. "However it's a way of gaining trust, only to abuse it in the most appalling ways. This tactic has enabled many to get away with a lot of deviant stuff behind closed doors."

These are just five traits that the experts were able to pinpoint. However, other studies into serial killers have found a link between serial killers and childhood abuse.

*This article was adopted from Dailymail.co.uk.