73: What Happens Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer? | Case Notes

What really happens inside the mind of a serial killer? What drives sexual sadism, violent fantasies, and the desire to inflict suffering on another human being?

In this episode of UNMARKED: Case Notes, I'm joined by Matt Murphy, a former Orange County homicide prosecutor who spent nearly three decades prosecuting some of California's most violent offenders.

Together, we take a deep dive into the psychology of serial killers, psychopathy, and sexual sadism, exploring more than a century of research into the darkest aspects of human behaviour.

From Richard von Krafft-Ebing's groundbreaking 1886 work Psychopathia Sexualis to modern theories of psychopathy and sexual homicide, we examine how violent sexual fantasies develop, why some offenders derive pleasure from suffering, and what separates sadistic killers from other violent criminals.

Drawing on Matt's firsthand experience prosecuting murder cases, we explore the relationship between psychology and criminal behaviour—and confront one of the most disturbing questions in forensic psychology: Can we ever truly understand what motivates a sadistic serial killer?

#SerialKillers #Psychopathy #MattMurphy #TrueCrime #ForensicPsychology #UNMARKED