PSY 310 milestone one PDF

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Milestone One Victoria Hackett Criminal Psychology Southern New Hampshire University

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For the final project, the case I have chosen to research is the Frank Timmons case. Frank Timmons is serial murderer who has murdered at least eight women. Frank grew up in a very hostile household. He was the second youngest of thirteen children. His parents also divorced while he was young. After this his mother became an absentee parent and was rarely there to care for Frank or his siblings. She then died when Frank was twelve before they ever had the chance to repair their relationship. Frank’s father was described as a verbally abusive alcoholic by some of Frank’s siblings. He had no nurturing or stable parent figure in his life and was left to be parented primarily by his old sister. It was said that she was following in her father’s footsteps and was also abusive to her siblings and became an alcoholic. There has been suspicion that she was not only verbally abusive toward them but also sexually abusive. Frank also played football in high school but had a reputation for being excessively rough with the opposing teams. He ultimately did not end up graduating from high school because of insufficient credits. His siblings said this was due to him having to work to provide for the household. In addition to Frank Timmons being a serial killer, he has also committed multiple other crimes. He has been charged for trespassing, driving under the influence, abduction, sexual assault, rape, and murder. During his senior year of high school, he was arrested for raping a young woman along one of his brothers. However, the first crime that put him his jail was when he was charged with abducting a woman, brutally raping, and bludgeoning her. He was to 15 years for the abduction and 21 years for a robbery but only served 13 years in prison before being granted parole for good behavior. After being released from prison he forced three teenagers behind a church where he continued to molest two of them. Before he was caught, he committed several more robberies, sexual assaults, and eight murders. The crime that got him caught once again was the sexual assault of two sisters that they then tied to the murders.

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His crimes were intentionally seen as having no apparent motive. However, even if the motive is unclear at first there is also motive behind a crime. Since his father and sister were both verbally abusive alcoholics, his aggressive and abusive tendencies could be biological motivations that lead to his crimes. Since these traits were present in both himself and his sister it is likely they were passed down from their father who behaves the same way. Living in such a hostile environment and lacking any real parental connection or guidance were also likely environmental and situational factors that motived his crime. He received a significant lack of comfort, support, or nurture which likely had a detrimental impact on his development, making him lack sympathy or compassion for others. Timmons also exclusively chose women as the victims for his crimes. This could have derived from the poor relationship he had with his mother. She had little part in raising her youngest children and made no effort to maintain a close bond with them. This could have led to feelings of abandonment and loneliness for Timmons. Children naturally development attachments to their parents and feeling unwanted or unlived by his mother could have caused him to develop a negative view on women. His mother also died before they ever had the chance to reconnect which would cause most kids to be left with confusion and devastation. Attachment issues are the core consequence of childhood maltreatment and are what comorbidities tend to stem from in this situation. Victims will typically develop insecure attachment issues and as a result have a hard time processing their emotions and understanding how and why they feel a certain way (Toth & manly, 2017). His older sister was also alleged to be very abusive towards him. “Research indicates strongly that any form of sexual abuse in childhood produces long-term interpersonal, social, and psychological problems in many children, adolescents, and adults”

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(Bartol, 2017). These negative relationships with the women in his life could have motivated his fixation on women victims. Another serial killer who crimes and motivations are similar to Frank’s is Ted Bundy. Ted Bundy is known for the brutal murders of at least 26 women. Both of these men lured their victims from public places close to their own homes and would then rape and murder them. However, Bundy was known for enjoying torturing his victims and then murdering them which was a much more slow and painful death than Timmons approach to shoot his victims in the head. It is likely both of these men committed their crimes to feel a sense of power. They thrived on having complete control over somebody else. These men also experienced similar abuse growing up. Ted Bundy was raised by his biological grandparents and believed his mother was actually his sister. It has been alleged that his grandfather was physically and sexually abuse to him, similar to Timmons upbringing (History collection). He also formed resentment toward his mother for lying about who his parents were. These abusive and confusing relationships likely motivated Bundy and Timmons in the same way. They both fixated on women victims because of their poor relationships with their mothers. They became aggressive due to genetic factors and environmental factors. Another thing that both these men had in common is that even after being found guilty of these crimes they both had people who refuse to believe their guilt. Ted Bundy had massive support during his trial of people defending his innocence. His former wife continues to defend his innocence. Similar to Timmons, his family, friends, and neighbors firmly believe he could never commit these crimes. So, while they are multiples women’s and families worst nightmare they were loved by others.

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References Bartol, C., & Bartol, A. (2016). Criminal Behavior A Psychological Approach (11th ed.). Pearson. History Collection. (n.d.). 40 Disturbing facts about Ted Bundy. Retrieved from: https://historycollection.com/40-disturbing-facts-about-ted-bundy/39/ Toth, S. and Manly, J., 2019. Developmental Consequences Of Child Abuse And Neglect: Implications For Intervention. [online] CHILD DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES. Available at: [Accessed 18 January 2021]....