Richard The King: The Iceman As A Serial Killer

Sometimes considered disgusting, cruel, terrible, or unforgivable, serial killers could arguably have a reason for their madness. Beaten as a child, raped, or even for left to die could spark what could soon become disastrous. Some serial killers do it for the fun of it, but for the most part they do it because of a poor childhood and upbringing. This is what some believe to be the reasons for the killings done by The Coed Killer, Edmond Kemper. After his conviction of killing ten people, prosecutors then found the real reason of the horrific murders. Seen as a gentle giant by some, Kemper was all but that.

In the biography “The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer” By Philip Carlo, Richard Kuklinski can be considered a man-made psychopath, as there are thoughts that he was made to be who he was through nurture; such as his family, rather than being born this way. It was often thought Richard could be two different people, the “good Richard” and “bad Richard”. The book explains how Richard lived his life as a contract killer that could be hired for many different Mafia families, as he was not Italian.

Even though he is classified serial killer and contract killer he differs from typical serial killers. Unlike your typical serial killer who targets victims with a specific profile and will only target victims with the same specific profile, Mr. Kuklinski did the opposite and his victims were chosen at random. For Kuklinski, killings were only considered business for him and way for him to make money. At no time did he commit murder purposely to seek some type of sexual arousal. Also, he did not kill because he suffered from any psychological dysfunction. Although someone of his kills did occur during the heat of passion, but for the majority of kills that he has accumulated were all hits. In the documentary called The Iceman Confession peers into the life of Richard "the Iceman" Kuklinski. In the HBO documentary on the Kuklinski, the assistant attorney general who prosecuted the

In his early life Ramirez was influenced into becoming a killer by his cousin Mike, his cousin Mike was a Vietnam war veteran who boasted of killing and torturing all of his Vietnamese enemies. Mike showed Ramirez polaroid pictures of his victims. Another big influence may have been that Ramirez was present the day his cousin Mike shot and killed his wife, all of her blood splattered on Richard’s face.

In determining, Robert Pickton's mental capacity during his crimes, his defense attorneys argued that he possessed a limited intelligence. This statement would differ from the prosecutions position, as they believed his IQ surpassed that of mental retardation. In all actuality, Pickton had spent many years in special education and only managed to finish parts of high school. Thus, affirming that he was by no means a wise man. However, without any kind of strong formal education, the simple-minded pig farmer was able avoid arrest, for one of Canada’s largest killing sprees to date. This is largely because Pickton's choice of victims, as well as the Vancouver police departments reluctance to investigate, aided in concealing his identity. Contrary to public belief, the behavior illustrated by Robert Pickton was not eccentric or unheard of, as when placed with the profile of a serial killer, he is an identical match. His history of social isolation, drug use, and record of violent offenses, are further commonalities in which serial killers share. Similarly to most serial killers, Pickton choose his victims based on their vulnerability. By deciding to murder easily available prostitutes, Pickton was targeting people that were likely to be the forgotten members of society. This strategical method of crime

DeMeo was sent to “talk” to Kuklinski and beat him with a pistol. Although Kuklinski was carrying a pistol himself, he decided not to use it, earning him DeMeo’s respect. After paying back the money he owed, Kuklinski began carrying out varied tasks for DeMeo and the Gambino family. One day DeMeo took Richard out to his car and parked on a city street. DeMeo then selected a random target and ordered Kuklinski to kill him. Without hesitating, Kuklinski got out, walked towards the man, and shot him in the back of the head as he passed by. From then on, Kuklinski was DeMeo's favorite enforcer. Over the next thirty years Kuklinski killed numerous people. The police force wasn’t expecting all these murders to be from one man because he used so many different methods of murder. These include guns, knives, explosives, tire irons, fire, poison, asphyxiation, and even bare handed beatings. He favored the use of cyanide since it killed quickly and was hard to detect in a toxicology test. “He would variously administer it by injection, putting it on a person's food, by aerosol spray, or by simply spilling it on the victim's skin. One of his favorite methods of disposing of a body was to place it in an oil drum. His other disposal methods included dismemberment, burial, or placing the body in the trunk of a car and having it crushed in a junkyard.” (Blanco). Kuklinski earned the nickname "Iceman" after he disguised the time of death of his victims by freezing them in

Over the years Richard mastered his skills when it came to killing. He used guns, knives, poison, strangulation, ice picks, screwdrivers, hand grenades and would even at times burn his victims if asked by his clients to do so to ensure that they suffered before they left this world. Within himself Richard developed a cold inner self for his victims. When asked how he felt when he killed someone he would reply “I feel nothing inside for any of the victims I’ve killed. They didn’t mean anything to me and they had it coming and I was the one to give them Just Deserts for what they did to my clients”. Nothing was personal for Mr. Kuklinski just business and he took pride in pleasing his clients. The only people that he truly cared for was his family and he was very regretful that he hurt them the way he hurt them because they found out what he did for a living in an unexpected way.

In the story, Richard had mentioned about the loss of his identity, his speaks of language and his family. We can see that when he said, “I did not know that I had a family, a history, a culture, a source of spirituality, a cosmology, or a traditional way of living. I had no awareness that I belonged somewhere. I grew up ashamed of my Native identity and the fact that I knew nothing about it”. This shows he was angry that there was no one tell him about where he belonged and his culture.

On December 6th, 1941 the world welcomed Richard Benjamin Speck, who would become a well-known mass murderer. Speck, having a rather rough childhood, had an extensive criminal background before committing the unspeakable murders that made him famous. After being found guilty, Speck spent his remaining days in Chicago’s Stateville Penitentiary. One can look at Richard’s personal history, crime and criminal history to try and pin him to one criminological theory, when in reality, none will really fit him to a “T”. He was a psychopath who was in great need of psychological help, among other things.

His mother says … Shame serves thy life and doth thy death attend… (Act IV, Scene 4, l.2986); even though she is his mother, she sees what Richard has done and does not approve of it. She is a character that reminds Richard that he is constantly wrong and he came … on earth to make the earth my hell… (Act IV, Scene 4, l.15). She has very strong feelings of revenge towards Richard, like most of the females in the play, but is powerless in front of him.

Richard elects for a physical death as a means to free himself and Clarissa from his illness. Like Laura, he views the sum of his life's work as completely unsuccessful. He feels as if he has wasted precious time writing about things that are not important to his society. Suicide is never far from his mind, because for him death represents the chance to finally make a decision that will have the significant benefit of ending both his and Clarissa's suffering. Really, his suicide signifies an end to a death that has been occurring for along period time. In his death, Richard finds ultimate freedom: "He seems so certain, so serene . . . . He lies where he fell, face down, the robe thrown up over his head and his bare legs exposed, white against the dark concrete" (200). Finally, Richard exposes all of his inner feelings and thoughts through this act; he no longer masquerades them in the guise of a literary work. Now, others can understand the magnitude of his interior conflicts, and that he does not

Richard then gloats over his success in a soliloquy stating how he has won her heart even though he is regarded by her as the devil with dissembling looks and he stabbed Edward her love just 3 months earlier. This highlights how he thinks of himself as the best as he brags about his misdeeds as though he is immortal.

He had different methods of killing but he almost always froze the bodies of his victims, earning him the nick name “The Ice Man”. For many years he was a top mafia hit man, murderer and torturer. At the age of 10, Richard began killing cats, stabbing them, making them fight each other and even burning them alive. He committed his first murder at 14 by killing the leader of a small neighborhood hang that had bullied him.

Scientific investigation has been a powerful tool in discovering the truth about the Iceman, especially with the advancements of technology, which have proved to be significant in developing our understanding of theories, both old and new, and allowing a reinterpretation of different aspects of the Otzi’s life. In particular, the extensive studies that have been conducted on the Iceman’s health have considerably shed light on the state of his well-being. This has led to the discussion of the nature of the Iceman’s occupation, which is an aspect that has been driven by the research conducted on his lifestyle. The mystery surrounding Otzi’s death has been explored, transforming theories over time, allowing us an insight on his demise. As society has been renovated by the improvements of technology, the tools used through scientific investigations applied to Otzi have provided more accuracy, allowing us to uncover the truths about the ins and outs of his health, lifestyle and death.

Since Richard cannot do anything about his deformity and ugliness he turns his bitterness to ambition and lays the groundwork for his plan to betray King Edward IV. Richard tells the audience, “plots have I laid, inductions dangerous, by drunken prophecies, libels and dreams, to set my brother Clarence and the King in deadly hate against the other; and if King Edward be as true and just as I am subtle, false, and treacherous, this day should Clarence closely be mewed up, about a prophecy, which says that G OF Edward’s heirs the murderer shall be” (1.1.32-40). In these lines, Richard reveals his plan that he will turn Clarence and King Edward against each other so Edward will banish Clarence to the tower because he believes Clarence will be his murderer. Richard will do this through declaring a prophecy that this will be so. Richard explains that this will work because King Edward is as just as Richard is treacherous and Richard will use that against King Edward to cause his and Clarence’s demise. It is not known whether the character Richard would have revealed more about his plan this early in the play because he is interrupted by Clarence. Richard ends the speech with the lines, “dive thoughts down to my soul, here Clarence comes” (1.1.41), which basically means that he better keep