Title: Differences Between Mass, Spree and Serial Killers
Headings: Mass Murderers, Spree and Serial Killers
Mass Murderers, Spree and Serial Killers
Mass Murderers
Spree Killers
Serial Killers

Content: Robert Polin is an example of a spree killer. In October 1975 he killed one student and wounded five others at an Ottawa high school after earlier raping and stabbing a 17-year-old friend to death. Charles Starkweather was a spree killer. Between December 1957 and January 1958, Starkweather, with his 14-year-old girlfriend by his side, killed 11 people in Nebraska and Wyoming. Starkweather was executed by electrocution 17 months after his conviction. William Balfour, known for the Jennifer Hudson family murders, also fits the spree killer pattern. Serial Killers
Serial killers murder three or more victims, but each victim is killed on separate occasions. Unlike mass murderers and spree killers, serial killers usually select their victims, have cooling-off periods between murders, and plan their crimes carefully. Some serial killers travel widely to find their victims, such as Ted Bundy and Israel Keyes, but others remain in the same general geographic area. Serial killers often demonstrate specific patterns that can be easily identified by police investigators.