In an examination of severe head injuries and serial Killers…
Imaging of the brain of sample serial murderers showed brain defects, including:
*reduced amygdala tissue
*reducted and frontal cortex interconnection [the brain behind your forehead]
*decreased grey matter neurons
High-profile serial killers who had documented head injuries: Richard Ramirez, Glen Edward Rogers, and John Wayne Gacy. Arthur Shawcross, Fred West.
1. Richard Ramirez, aged 2; a dresser fell on him and aged 5 was knocked out by a swing in the park [both may have] caused him to have epileptic seizures throughout his childhood (temporal lobe epilepsy).
2. Glen Edward Rogers, aged 1–2, would rock back and forth, continually banging his forehead against hard surfaces.
3. Arthur Shawcross, aged 16, was hit in the head with a sports throwing discus. At 19, he fell off a ladder, and experienced a concussion.
4. Fred West, aged 17, had a motorcycle accident, and aged 19, was punched in the face, which led him to fall two floors, causing him to black out. And it appears after these he had violent rages.
Brain injuries before the age of 5 permanently disrupt the growth and health of critical brain areas. And similar trauma in teenages alters existing behaviour. [I am not going to discuss character or poor selves, but only that it is important that research and use of neuron repair approaches grow and have availability to societies].
What are these alterations after brain trauma in some people?
*emotional instability
*social withdrawal
*impulsiveness
*impaired judgement and decision making
*sexual aggression
80% of the most high-profile serial killers have had significant brain injuries.
Source ideas: Miss Melissa Nwako Trakia Medical University, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria doi: 10.1192/bjp.2025.10206. [Dr. Schaller rewrote select sentences above].