Posted: August 1st, 2023

Final Project Milestone Two

Final Project Milestone Two
Name
Institution

Final Project Milestone Two
Demographic Summary
The case of Frank Timmons describes a serial murder case, which incorporates robberies, sexual assaults, and several murders. Timmons, an African American born in 1964 to Billy and Loretta, was the second youngest among thirteen children. Timmons was raised by his older sister Margaret, as his mother did not take responsibility for raising him. In his childhood, Timmons underwent negligence and abuse, including reports of being abused verbally and sexually by Margaret. Alcoholism was an issue in his family, with his sister and father being alcoholics, which also influenced Timmons resulting in an alcoholic charge with a DUI. Timmons’s history of sexual assault dates back to when he was in high school, although at this time, he was never charged. After conducting a series of murders, abducting women, and brutally raping and bludgeoning them, he was arrested and charged. After serving thirteen years in prison, a series of murders resumed a year after his release. According to the evidence of sexual assaults that had been committed within a four-mile radius from Timmons’ home, DNA evidence linked Timmons to one of the sexual assaults (Case Study Two).
Biological Factors
Based on the case study, Timmons’s biological factors can be associated with his family’s alcoholism problem. Various studies have concluded that drug and alcohol abuse can be heredity, which defines Timmons’s family where his father and sister were alcoholic, something that Timmons also struggled with. The alcoholic abuse of the three creates a cycle of abuse that can be considered as biological. Although Timmons exhibits behavior that can be linked to the mental disorder, lack of sufficient provision of Timmons’ mental history and that of his family members offer less information to conclude that mental disorder and other genetic factors as biological factors that contributed to his criminal behavior.
Development Factors
The development of Timmons is considered one of the major aspects that contribute to his murderous tendencies. It is reported that in Timmons’s childhood, he lacked motherly love that is essential for children’s development. As per Vronsky (2004), provided that infancy is a critical stage of child development, where a child develops emotions such as remorse and affection. Another development factor associated with Timmons’s behavior is physical attention. During Timmons’s childhood, his mother was always absent, denying him the opportunity to enjoy physical attention essential in child development. Timmons is considered to have developed childhood trauma after failing to reach autonomy with his mother, and the death of his mother, later on, may have contributed to his aggressive nature (Sharma, 2018). It is considered that childhood trauma is linked to serial killers. McClellan (2008) provides that 74% of serial killers suffered psychological abuse, with 43% having been sexually abused. The statistics reflect Timmons’ childhood, which involved both psychological and sexual abuse.
Environmental Factors
The environment that Timmons grew is associated with various environmental hardships. For instance, his family had thirteen children, which made it hard for his father, an alcoholic, to feed them. The alcohol abuse in the family also contributed to environmental hardship, which strained the family’s income. The home-based environmental hardship also influenced his education, with Timmons failing to graduate from high school, which left him under-educated.
Apply Theories
Based on Timmons’s case and other serial killers such as Jack the Ripper, Dennis Rader, and Ted Bundy, it becomes hard to conclude a concrete theory that describes what motivates and drives their behavior. Various criminology theories can be applied to Timmons’s behavior, including social control, behavioral, cognitive, and mental disorder theory. A combination of such theories makes it challenging to determine if the availability of missing factors in Timmons’s life would have made him less of a monster or influenced his personal choices.

References
McClellan, J. (2008). Case Study. Journal of Security Education, 2(1):19-37. doi: 10.1300/J460v02n01_03
Sharma, M. (2018). The Development of Serial Killers: A Grounded Theory Study. Masters Theses. 3720. https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/3720
Vronsky, P. (2004). Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters. Berkley Books

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Tags: Masters Essays, PSY Papers, PSYC, Psychology Assignment, Psychology Dissertations