Female Sex Killers: The Devious Predators

April 30, 2009

As an expert criminal profiler who has studied and investigated serial killers for over 20 years, Dr. Deborah Schurman-Kauflin has had contact with some of the world's most elusive hunters. Dr. Schurman-Kauflin is also the only profiler who has ever interviewed and profiled a large group of female serial killers. As a result of her first-hand experience, Dr. Schurman-Kauflin has come away with a vast knowledge of female predators - a knowledge that gives her unique insight into the Sandra Cantu murder case.

"Though rare, such predators are more common than the general public knows," Dr. Schurman-Kauflin told Investigation Discovery. "Why? In most instances, when a female rapes and kills a victim, the act is done in conjunction with a male partner. As such, when caught, the females play innocent and blame the male. This strategy has proven highly effective over the years because people are hesitant to believe that a woman could rape and murder. But it does happen, and sometimes, the female will act alone."

Of the many interviews that she has conducted, Dr. Schurman-Kauflin said that the only offender who ever made her feel uncomfortable was a female sex killer who bragged about the pleasure she felt whenever she drew blood with a knife. That same offender also told Dr. Schurman-Kauflin that given the opportunity, she would kill again.

"These offenders are a unique breed in that they have a real taste for hurting helpless victims," Dr. Schurman-Kauflin said. "They enjoy the feeling they get when using objects to rape. In fact, female rape killers will often use jagged instruments when they attack. These women are especially brutal with female victims, and will almost always mutilate the genitalia. Such women have told me that they chose to hurt their victims so viciously because it turned them on. Like their male counterparts, it was sexually exciting."

According to Dr. Schurman-Kauflin, it is the gender of these "super predators" that allows them access to almost any type of victim.

"To capture their prey, these women use a rouse to trick their victims who are always smaller in size," Dr. Schurman-Kauflin said. "They use their gender as a cover for their evil intentions because most people find it hard to believe that the fairer sex could rape and kill a child. However, children are not their only victims. Such offenders have been known to target adults since everyone is less wary of a woman."

Through her studies, Dr. Schurman-Kauflin has learned that female killers are drawn to traditionally feminine jobs, such as nursing, care giving, teaching and the sex trade.

"These fields give them natural cover to get close to victims," she said. "Like their male counterparts, female sex killers fantasize about rape and murder. However, unlike men, women tend to be less selective about the type of victims they choose. For instance, male sex killers typically prefer certain types of victim such as twenty-year-old blondes. But for the women, victim age and gender are less important than opportunity. Female predators search for that which is easy to get. If she works in a nursing home, she may go after the elderly and rape them in their beds. If the woman works as a prostitute, she will target customers. If she teaches, she often sets her sights on students. These women crave what is familiar to them, and they watch their prey over time to assess how easy it would be to attack. The killers tend to have spotty work histories as well as a string of failed relationships. They dabble in sexual relationships and will try everything from lesbianism to child molestation.  Emotionally they find it hard to be centered, and family will cover for the women when they engage in strange behavior."

By looking at the predators backgrounds, Dr. Schurman-Kauflin has found that their life patterns tend to include:

• Loneliness
• Child abuse (victim of)
• Fantasy; Acting out (violent against animals & other children)
• Sexually promiscuous
• Psychopathic behavior (stealing, fire setting, lying)
• Attaching to steady figure (older male)
• Increased time alone
• Practicing violence
• Kidnap; and Kill

"The interesting part of this pattern is that when looking back, it is easy to see how the women progressed," Dr. Schurman-Kauflin said. "And there is almost always someone who knew about the increasingly dangerous behavior but did nothing to stop it. There is a tendency in families to hide problems, and those that produce female rape murderers are no exception. The crimes are so aberrant that even those close to these women find it hard to believe that their child/friend/spouse could do such things. The women are well aware of this and use it to their advantage. At every turn, they will plant doubt into the minds of those who question. They will act strange on purpose to try to confuse people.  Then they turn on the water works and cry to appear innocent. The thing that tends to be consistent with these killers is that people around them will say that the women were strange or unusual. Others will even say that the women made them feel uncomfortable at times, but again, because of their gender, people are reluctant to be suspicious."

According to Dr. Schurman-Kauflin, the female predator will go to emotional extremes when they are caught and will do anything from attempting to seduce an investigator, to acting out in an almost psychotic way. While they will be more receptive when talking to other female killers, they will lie and give self-serving confessions.

"They will be flamboyant and spin tales of their own horrific abuse in order to garner sympathy," Dr. Schurman-Kauflin said. "However, make no mistake, such women are devious and know exactly what they are doing. They use the rarity of their crimes to hide the truth of what lies beneath their façades. These types of crimes are actually becoming more common, so parents must become educated about this newer predator that is stalking their children. As awareness grows, expect to see the discovery of more of these types of crimes. When society realizes what has been hiding in its midst, an innocence will be lost, but protection will be gained."

In regard to the Sandra Cantu murder case, Dr. Schurman-Kauflin said that while people will be "shocked" when they discover what happened, the horror of the case will provide the necessary wake-up call that parents need, so that they can be forearmed in the future.

For more information on Deborah Schurman-Kauflin, Ph.D., please visit the Violent Crimes Institute, LLC Website, at www.drdsk.com.

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Photo Credits: Deborah Schurman-Kauflin, Ph.D: Contributed; Woman in window: Getty Images

Comments

[helenhudson]

>>when they discover what happened, the horror of the case will provide the necessary wake-up call that parents need, so that they can be forearmed in the future.

From her lips to God's ear.

Thanks for the great article.

[crowhawk]

But, there are many people who have the list and don't commit heinious acts like the Cantu case. What makes the few cross the line and other not cross the line. My history is most of the list above and I never have fantasys about raping, especially a child for Gods sake, there has to be more to it.

[Joe]

I guess women can be just as sick and twisted as men.

[Ella]

Crowhawk:

You said "My history is most of the list above" Did you kill animals for fun when you were growing up? You said you didn't have rape fantasies like the list says, but did you have violent fantasies? I have to say, your post is a little scary.