When the issue of “nature versus nurture” comes into play, there are people who answer, resoundingly, with “nature” and people who answer, equally, with “nurture”. Those people aren’t Jeffrey Kluger or Evan Sycamnias, both of whom wrote astoundingly thorough and influential essays exploring the psychology of serial killers through the lens of “nature versus nurture”. What they found, and I’ll gladly agree with and add to, is that a serial killer’s nature is found securely on the divider between nature and nurture. The predictors start early in a serial murderer’s life, showing signs of sociopathic behavior as early as elementary school. Their actions and behaviors, though, aren’t lone predictors. Take into account family and social interaction, as well as certain cranial and emotional “deformities” which can show the way a killer’s brain functions. So, given that information, and the blurred line between nature and nurture, can we accurately predict who will kill and who will not?

            Some may say yes.

            In Sycamnias’ essay Evaluating the Psychological Profile of a Serial Killer, he alludes to the importance of monitoring a child’s behavior for signs of future-killer activity. “To discover what makes a serial killer function,” explains Sycamnias, “it is necessary to look back into their past, particularly their adolescent life.”  A future serial murderer may exhibit signs of aggression, not toward peers or even humans, but mostly toward animals. The mutilation of, or extreme cruelty toward, animals which are considerably smaller than the child is a marquee sign of a future murderer. The inability to interact socially may be a warning sign as well. It’s important to observe a child’s behavior in a social setting, as in at a playground or in a school environment. Being very removed and aggressively separating oneself are both signs that murderers typically showed in childhood, as well as excessive daydreaming and compulsive and public masturbation. Finally, the indicative lack of love between a child and his parents is key. Very infrequently have serial killers come from loving, warm homes.