Serial Killers; Youngest, Middle, Oldest or an Only Child?

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Siblings: me, my bro, my sis and mum. But which is the serial killer?

A lot is often said about the difference in personality traits between siblings, whether they are the first born, middle child, last out, or an only child. Some may be moody, brooding and insular, and others energetic, hyperactive and attention-seeking, with each child's dominant characteristics (based on their birth order) being conveniently labelled by parent's groups and - some - medical professionals as a "syndrome". In 1927, psychologist Alfred Adler wrote about his theory that birth order predicted the following behaviour in children, which concluded. * to read more, click on the red links. 

Youngest Child Syndrome: characterised as "highly social, confident, creative, a problem solver, charming, funny, but also spoiled, a risk-taker, and adept at getting others to do things for them". 

Middle Child Syndrome: characterised as "unremarkable, moody, feels left out and neglected but is often the hardest to label as they desperately seek to be the exact opposite of their older sibling, with middle children are more prone to depression but have stronger immune systems". 

Eldest Child Syndrome: characteristics are dictated by how they react to the arrival of the second born who usurps their place as the only child, so their traits swings wildly between "an achiever or perfectionist, natural leader or bossy, strong-willed or sullen and serious or solitary". 

Only Child Syndrome: characterised by a "high level of confidence, a need for privacy and independence, a higher academic ability, but an inability to share, over-sensitivity and unable to accept criticism". 

So what I want to uncover with this blog is whether the personality traits of serial killers and mass-murderers are determined by their birth-order, as a first born, middle kid, eldest sibling or only child. As always I've started this blog with no prior evidence or opinion, and have based this on a random selection of 29 British serial killers. 

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A simple list of Serial Killers and their Siblings

​What follows is a simple list of serial killers and the number of siblings they had, if any and where possibly I have listed the genders of their siblings (just in case it becomes relevant). 

• Beverley Allitt "The Angel of Death" - middle child, second of four, two elder sisters and one younger brother
• Levi Bellfield "The Bus Stop Killer" - youngest of five, two brothers and two sisters, plus ten step-siblings (family were Romany travellers)
• Ian Brady "Moors Murderer" - only child (was put up for adoption)
• Myra Hindley "Moors Murderer" - eldest child, one younger sister
• John Reginald Christie - middle child of seven siblings, he was second youngest
• Thomas Neill Cream "Lambest Poisoner" - eldest child of eight brothers and sisters
• Joanna Dennehy "Peterborough Ditch Murderer" - eldest of two, one younger sister
• Kenneth Erskine "The Stockwell Strangler" - middle child of three brothers (abandoned)
• Stephen Griffiths "The Sunderland Strangler" - eldest child of three
• John George Haigh "Acid Bath Murderer" - only child
• Trevor Hardy "The Beast of Manchester" - youngest child of four
• Colin Ireland "The Gay Slayer" - eldest child with one half-sibling (abandoned by father)
• Patrick Mackay – eldest of three, two younger sisters
• Robert Maudsley incorrectly labelled "Hannibal the Cannibal" by the tabloid press – youngest child of four, with two brothers and one sister, before they were all orphaned, although his parents later went on to have a total of 12 children
• Raymond Morris "The A34 Killer" – youngest of two, one older brother
• Donald Neilson "Black Panther" – only child
• Dennis Nilsen "Kindly Killer" – middle child of three, one older brother and a younger sister
• Harold Shipman "Dr Death" – middle child, second of four, two brothers and one sister
• John Straffen – youngest of three, one older sister and brother
• Peter Sutcliffe "Yorkshire Ripper" – eldest of six, two younger brothers and three sisters
• Fred West - eldest of six, two others having died in infancy
• Rosemary West – eldest of two, with one younger brother
• Steve Wright "The Suffolk Strangler" – middle child, second of four, one older brother and two younger sisters
• Graham Young "The Teacup Poisoner" – youngest of two, with one older sister
• Robert Black - only child, born illgitimate, later fostered
• Peter Manuel – middle child of three, with one brother and one sister
• Peter Tobin "Bible John" - middle child, second eldest of eight children
• Michael Robert Ryan "Hungerford Massacre" – only child
• Derrick Bird "Cumbria KIller" – one of twins with an older brother 

So, if we split these into groups of youngest, middle, eldest and only child:

• Only Child: total of 5 of 29, Ian Brady, John George Haigh, Donald Neilson, Robert Black and Michael Ryan. 
• Youngest Child: total of 6 of 29, Levi Bellfield, Trevor Hardy, Robert Maudsley, Raymond Morris, John Straffen and Graham Young.  
• Middle Child: total of 9 of 29; Beverley Allitt, John Reginald Christie, Kenneth Erskine, Dennis Nilsen, Harold Shipman, Steve Wright, Peter Manuel and Peter Tobin, with one anomaly being Derrick Bird - who was a twin - so was technically a middle child. 
• Eldest Child: total of 9 of 29; Myra Hindley, Thomas Neill Cream, Joanna Dennehy, Stephen Griffiths, Colin Ireland, Patrick Mackay, Peter Sutcliffe, Fred West and Rosemary West. 

So - according to this data - you are statistically twice as likely to be a serial killer is you are the middle or eldest child than if you were an only child ir youngest child. And as we've seen above, the personality traits of the middle child is often determined by the traits of the eldest child. Where-as if this data is broken down into older and younger siblings, or both: 

• Older Sister(s): total of 1 of 29; Graham Young "The Teacup Poisoner"
• Younger Sister(s): total of 3 of 29; Myra Hindley**, Joanna Dennehy** and Patrick Mackay
• Older Brother(s): total of 3 of 29; Kenneth Erskine*, Raymond Morris and Derrick Bird*
• Younger Brother(s): total 4 of 29; Kenneth Erskine*, Rosemary West and Derrick Bird* *  Erskine & Bird were of single gender siblings (all brothers), hence they appear on the list twice
• Siblings of a Single Sex: total 4 of 29; Myra Hindley**, Joanna Dennehy**, Kenneth Erskine* and Derrick Bird*. **  Hindley & Dennehy were of single gender siblings (all sisters), hence they appear on the list twice
• Siblings of Mixed Gender & Ages: total 14 of 29; Beverley Allitt, Levi Bellfield, John Reginald Christie, Thomas Neill Cream, Robert Maudsley, Dennis Nilsen, Harold Shipman, John Straffen, Fred West, Steve Wright, Peter Sutcliffe, Peter Manuel and Peter Tobin

At least half of all the serial killers - in the data supplied - came from a family where there was a mixture of genders and ages amongst the siblings, as opposed to having a single sibling of either gender, or single-sex siblings. I guess the conclusion we can make it that, you are more likely to be a serial killer if there is a conflict over "who is the first born"? But obviously, that's not the only reason people become serial killers. Next week, I shall look at serial killers and their motives.

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If you "enjoyed" this blog post, why not take a peek at; Serial Killers & Murderers Who Were Never Caught, London's Deadliest & Often Forgotten Disasters, Are More Serial KIllers Born During a Full Moon, Killer's Birthdays / Star Signs, Serial Killers Who Were On TV, Celebrities Who Have Killed, London's Railway of Death, Serial Killers as Kids and the World's Weirdest Death Rituals. ​

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Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten quirky & unusual things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.