Articulo Mataviejitas

CASE REPORT

J Forensic Sci, September 2008, Vol. 53, No. 5 doi: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2008.00803.x Available online at: www.blackwell-synergy.com

Feggy Ostrosky-Solís,1 Ph.D.; Alicia VØlez-García,1 Ph.D.; Daniel Santana-Vargas,1 B.A.; Martha PØrez, 1Biomed.Eng.; and Alfredo Ardila,2 Ph.D.

A Middle-Aged Female Serial Killer

ABSTRACT: The case of a 48-year-old woman accused of killing atleast 12 elderly women and attempting to kill another one during the last
3 years is presented. Extensive neuropsychological, electrophysiological, and neuropsychiatric testing showed no evidence of a DSM-IV-TR Axis I diagnosis, but a decrease in executive functions and abnormalities in the processing of affective stimuli were found. Behavioral and psychophysiological studies revealeddissociation between knowing how to behave and actually behaving in socially acceptable ways. According to the woman, killing was just her response to ‘‘humiliating situations.’’ Two potentially significant conditions in her past history are found: (i) childhood abuse; and (ii) multiple head injuries. It is conjectured that the nature of her crimes, paranoid and personality traits, a probable frontal braindysfunction, as well as a specific demographic and social context represent unusual factors accounting for her violent behavior.

KEYWORDS: forensic science, serial killer, neuropsychological test, event-related potentials, EEG

Serial killing represents a most intriguing type of murder not only from a legal standpoint but also from a psychological one. Currently, there is no consensusregarding the definition of a serial killer in the psychiatric or criminological literature. Nonetheless, serial homicides are committed as a result of a compulsion that in many, but not all cases, have roots in the killer’s often dysfunctional youth, as opposed to those motivated by financial profit (e.g., contract killers, burglary) or ideological ⁄ political motivations (e.g., terrorism, genocide).According to Kraemer et al. (1) the definition of a serial killer should include three elements: (i) the number of victims must be at least three, (ii) the killings occurred at different times and locations, and (iii) typically, the motivation is either sexual or an internal psychological gratification. Furthermore, several characteristics of serial killers are frequently mentioned in the literature,including a psychopathic personality (2–4), a history of abuse during childhood (5), sexual sadism, and autism spectrum psychopathology (6–8). A significant variability is observed not only with regard to personal history and the individual sexual interests, but also with respect to age, alcohol ⁄ substance abuse, ethnicity, gender, circumstances of the murders, and the victim’s distinctivecharacteristics. It is often assumed that serial killing is a manifestation of an antisocial personality disorder (9), a mental disorder associated with a group of personality traits that predispose affected individuals to crime. The fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder of the American Psychiatric Association, text revision (DSM-IV-TR) (10), defines antisocialpersonality disorder as a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of
1 Laboratory of Neuropsychology and Psychophysiology, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico D. F., Mexico. 2 College of Health Sciences, University Graduate School, Florida International University, Miami, FL. Received 15 Jan. 2007; and in revised form 4 June 2007; accepted 27 Jan. 2008.

othersoccurring since 15 years of age, associated with various antisocial traits that persist after adolescence. An association between serial killing and psychopathic behavior has been proposed. Stone (11) reviewed 279 biographies of different types of murderers; out of 63 biographies involving serial killers, 61 fulfilled the clinical criteria for psychopathy. Psychopathy represents a personality...