Copycat crimes aren’t a 21st-century phenomena. Some of the first ones were documented during the late 19th century, when cases like Jack the Ripper held the world’s attention. What’s new is the inordinate media attention. Does it change the game?
The mass media establishes the ‘serial killer’ as a dominant cultural category. One upshot is that, whereas in antiquity killing sequentially may have been something that someone did, today a serial killer is something someone can be.
The social study of serial killers | Centre for Crime and Justice Studies
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This article is from a reporter at Sandy Hook. It seems you can only blame the media so far.
The mass media establishes the ‘serial killer’ as a dominant cultural category. One upshot is that, whereas in antiquity killing sequentially may have been something that someone did, today a serial killer is something someone can be.