Peter Kurten was a serial killer in Dusseldorf, Germany. Also know as the "Dusseldorf Vampire," Kurten terrified civilians from the late 1800's until in the early 1900's when he was captured. He was born may 26th, 1883. His first murder occurred in 1892 when Peter was only five years old. His rein of terror ended in May of 1930, when police finally captured him. He confessed to sixty-eight murders in the thirty-seven years he remained at large (Schechter & Everitt, 1997). Peter Kurten was labeled the "Dusseldorf Vampire or Monster" because of the sadistic manner of his crimes.
             This serial killer is especially interesting because Peter's methods of operation did not comply with the original profile of a serial killer (Schechter & Everitt, 1997). There was no efficient, systematic approach used to target his victims. The majority of serial killers have a certain profile that their victims fit into, Peter's victims did not show any relation in race, sex or other physical characteristics (Sutherland, Luckenbill & Cressey, 1992). Unusually, his victims were not all women, since his motivation was not always for self-sexual gratification. Kurten did not have a preferred method to kill or torture his victims. He used a series of methods such as drowning, stabbing, strangulation and attacks with hammers and an axe. In the murders committed by Peter Kurten, there was no pattern to the sequential timing of his killings. The most compelling factor about Peter Kurten is that after his conviction he became the first serial killer to ever be interviewed, !
             in-depth, by a psychiatrist (Citolie, 1997).
             Peter Kurten's childhood assisted him in the development of the basic instincts of a serial killer. He had committed many acts of arson before he began murdering women. Arson is a crime that that frequently precedes even more violent and personal crimes and it has definite sexual o...