Outline

A-The purpose of this presentation is to inform my fellow classmates about the different aspects of murder. I would also like to relate my topic to their every day lives and suggest ways to prevent it in Lebanon. I chose this topic because it is an interesting one that many people do not feel comfortable talking about. 

B-Introduction:

1-Murder, by definition, is the crime of unlawfully killing a person brutally. 

2-Murder occurs all around the world by cruel, psychologically challenged people.

3-There are many types of murder, and each has its own consequence.

4-The main murder categories include mass murder, serial killing, honor killing, and child murder.

C-Facts:

1-Mass Murder

a-Definition: Mass murder is the act of killing a large amount of people by the same person, or group of people.

b-Types of Mass Murder: There are two types of mass murderers, which include family annihilators, and disgruntled workers. These two types all have one thing in common; the killers committing these crimes are declared legally insane.

c-Common reasons: common reasons for mass murderers to attack are unemployment, loneliness, family breakup, and low self-esteem. 

d-Mass murderers usually attack schools, universities and restaurants believing them to be ideal places to kill many people at once.

e-Most mass murderers commit suicide after their first attack.

f-Example: An example of a mass murderer is Belle Gunness, who is famous for slaying fourteen men who wanted to marry her. She then faked her own death and disappeared in 1908.

2-Serial Killing

a-Definition: Serial killing is the act of murdering a selected victim, and continuing through a series of murders of the same type of person, in the same way.

b-Types of Serial Killing: There are three types of serial killers, including the Visionary Motive Type, Mission-Oriented Type and Thrill-Oriented Type. 

c-Visionary Motive Type: The visionary motive type is considered insane or psychotic. They often hear voices in their head telling them to commit a crime. They may also dream or fantasize about murdering.

d-Mission-Oriented Type: The mission-oriented type displays no insaneness to the outside world, while on the inside the killer has a need to get rid of people he hates.

e-Thrill-Oriented Type: The thrill-oriented type is in it just for fun. The killer gets his excitement from killing.

f-Characteristics: The most common characteristics of a serial killer include having low self confidence, experiencing feelings of excitement when thinking of murder, extreme hate for a person or group of people, aggressiveness and discreetness. 

g-Example: An example of a serial killer is Robert Hansen, who moved to Anchorage from Idaho from a childhood of shyness and indifference. He began a career in the murder of prostitutes and exotic dancers. His method of murdering was very unique. He would lure victims into joining him on a private plane trip, where he would transport the victims by air to a deserted lot, where they were raped and murdered. It took three years for authorities to capture the slayer, when he confessed to seventeen murders. He was sentenced to 461 years in prison.

3-Honor Killing:

a-Definition: Honor killing is the murdering of Arab women by male family members who believe they has brought shame into the family. Although it is not common in all Arab countries, there have been many of them.

b-It is said that honor killing is done as a tribal tradition, and not as an Islamic one. It is not mentioned anywhere in the Islamic religion and is considered a crime.

c-Many men believe that if a woman has done anything sexual, she must be killed by a member of her family to regain the honor of the family.

d-Example: An example of honor killing is one that occurred in Israel, where a woman named Ibtihaz Hasoun was accused of shaming her family by coming home pregnant, and was stabbed to death by her brother. 

e-Although the punishment of these murderers has not been harsh enough, the awareness of honor killing is increasing and more people are interested in it, therefore consequences are becoming stricter.

4-Child Murder:

a-Definition: Child murder is the murder of a young person between the age of infantile and teen. 

b-Reasons: There are many reasons for child murder, each one separately unique. However, most child murderers find pleasure in killing young, helpless kids. 

c-Example: An example of child murder is that of JonBenet Ramsey, who was murdered in her own home by an unknown killer. Many people believed the murderer was one of her parents, but no evidence could support that theory. 

D-Analysis: 

1-Lebanese Murders

a-One case of murder that happened in Lebanon was that of Catholic Maronite nun Antoinette Zeidan, who was found strangled on a roadside. The murder increased Christian-Muslim tensions in the country. 

b-Another case of murder was that of Aisha Aisha, who was murdered by Fadi Maraash, her neighbor, who murdered her by strangulation after persuading her to go for a walk with him. Although Maraash was found mentally ill, he was still sentenced to life in prison.

c-A murderer known as Khaled Shayeb was sentenced to death after being charged with the kidnapping and murder of Mahmoud Dimasi and Baria Halabi, and the murder of Kamal Shayeb in Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp. He was also convicted of kidnapping Jihad Ashqar.

2-Reasons for Murder

a-Mental Problems: There may be many reasons that a person might have for murdering people. Usually, the killer suffers from psychotic or mental illnesses. At other times, the killer may have a rough background.

b-Childhood Problems:Perhaps the reasons for committing such horrible crimes date back to problems during childhood, or certain events that happened that brought hatred to their hearts and evil to their brains.

c-Bad Parenting: It has been statistically proven that most murderers have a cruel past in which the parents were divorced, faced drug problems, abused their children or left the family, which may lead to psychological problems in the child’s mind.

d-Self-esteem: Other reasons may be lack of self-esteem and love for life. A numerous amount of murderers are suffering from depression and anxiety. 

3-Preventing Murder in Lebanon

a-Parents: Parents should educate their children on being responsible and they should teach them beliefs and moral values of life.

b-Schooling: School and education allows children to make social contact with others and gives them a sense of belonging and boosts their self-esteem. 

c-Punishment: Severe punishment of murder crimes can cause the murderer to realize how serious the crime is and how severe the consequences are. 

E-Conclusion: 

1-The topic “Murder” is subdivided into several categories, which include serial killing, mass murders, honor killing, and child murder. 

2-Murder occurs all around the world, and there are few ways to stop it. 

3-Murder is a horrible, cruel crime that should be terminated, despite the time it will take. 

4-To stop acts of murder once and for all, I think parents should educate their children well and teach them values as well as beliefs, which will give them the sense of what is right and wrong, and thus they will turn out to be sophisticated, successful leaders instead of low-esteemed murderers with mental problems. 

The purpose of choosing “Murder” as my topic is to promote public awareness to fellow classmates. Another reason is to analyze all aspects of murder and share my research with others who may be interested in the topic. Murder is not always talked about openly with young students, however my goal is to educate Lebanese children about the topic while they are at an early age. This will hopefully teach them to be better people and to realize how cruel murder can be.

Murder, by definition, is the crime of unlawfully and brutally killing a person. Many may not realize how serious murder can be, or how often it occurs in the world. However, murder can be found everywhere, from the safest neighborhood to the busiest city. Killing an innocent, or a guilty person for that matter, without having the right to, is plain murder. Although it may seem difficult, there are ways to prevent murder. Good parenting, schooling and strict consequences are only three of the many ways to stop murder. There are many types of murder, and each has its own consequences. However, the main murder categories that are popular nowadays include mass murder, serial killing, honor killing, and child murder.

Mass Murder: The first type of murder is mass murder, which is common all over the world and is known to most people. 

Definition: Mass murder is the act of killing a large amount of people by the same person, or group of people. 

Types of Mass Murder: There are two main kinds of mass murderers. The first is the family annihilators, which are people who believe that murdering both their family and themselves will make them better parents or family members in heaven. The second type is the disgruntled workers, who are workers and employers who are not satisfied with their jobs and co-workers or bosses, and decide to murder them. 

Common Reasons: The reasons for mass murderers to attack have been researched over a long period of time. Finally, law officials have come up with common reasons for such murders, which include unemployment, loneliness, family breakup, and low self-esteem. Mass murderers usually attack schools, universities and restaurants, believing them to be ideal places to kill many people at once. Most mass murderers commit suicide after their first attack. 

Example: A famous example of a mass murderer is Belle Gunness, who is famous for slaying fourteen men who wanted to marry her. She then faked her own death and disappeared in 1908, a long time ago. Mass murdering is one important type of murder, of many others.

Serial Killing: The second type of murder is serial killing, which is common in many countries, including America, Australia, France, and London. 

Definition: Serial killing is defined as the act of murdering a selected victim, and continuing through a series of murders of the same type of person, in the same way. 

Types of Serial Killers: As such in mass murders, there are three types of serial killers. These include the Visionary Motive Type, the Mission-Oriented Type, and the Thrill-Oriented Type. The first type, the visionary motive type, is considered insane or psychotic. These people often hear voices in their heads telling them to commit a crime. They may also dream or fantasize about murder. The second kind of serial murder is the mission-oriented type, which displays no insaneness to the outside world, while on the inside the killer has a need to get rid of people he hates. The last type, called the thrill-oriented type, is when the killer murders just for fun. In this case, the murderer gets an excitement from killing. 

Common Characteristics: The most common characteristics of a serial killer include having low self confidence, experiencing feelings of excitement when thinking of murder, having extreme hate for a person or group of people, aggressiveness and discreetness. These characteristics have been thoroughly studied and proven. 

Example: An example of a serial killer is Robert Hansen, who moved from his home in Idaho to Anchorage, hoping to leave behind a childhood of shyness and indifference. He began a career in the murder of prostitutes and exotic dancers. His method of murdering was quite unique, compared to others. He would lure victims into joining him on a private plane trip, where they were raped and murdered. It took three years for authorities to capture the slayer, when he confessed to seventeen murders. He was sentenced to 461 years in prison. Serial killing is the most common type of killing known around the world. 

Honor Killing: A third important aspect of murder is honor killing, which is unknown to many people. Honor killing, unfortunately, occurs mostly in Arab countries. 

Definition: It is the murder of Arab women by male family members who believe she has brought shame into the family. Although it is not common in all Arab countries, there have been many of them. It is said that honor killing is don’t as a tribal tradition, and not as an Islamic one, although some may disagree. It is not, however, mentioned anywhere in the Islamic religion and is considered a crime. Many Arab men believe that if a woman has done anything sexual without the permission of her male family members, she must be killed by one of the members to regain the honor of the family. 

Example: An example of honor killing is one that occurred in Israel, where a woman named Ibtihaz Hasoun was accused of shaming her family by coming home pregnant, and was stabbed to death by her brother. Although punishment of these murderers has not been harsh enough, the awareness of honor killing is increasing and more people are interested in it, therefore consequences are being enhanced in countries such as Jordan, Palestine and Israel. Honor killing, although relatively rare, has occurred in many Arab countries. 

Child Murder: Child Murder is yet another kind of murder that has increased in number over the last decade. 

Definition: Child murder is the murder of a young person between the age of infantile and adolescence. 

Reasons: There are many reasons for child murder, each one separately unique. The most common, however, are jealousy, failure to pay ransom, psychological problems, detest for children, publicity and attention seeking murderers. However, most child murderers just simply find pleasure in killing young, helpless kids who are not likely able to fight back or understand what is happening around them. 

Example: An example of child murder is that of JonBenet Ramsey, a six-year-old girl who was murdered in her own home by an unknown killer. The case remains unsolved due to a lack of evidence, however, many people believe the murderer was one of her parents, but no evidence can support this theory. Punishment of child murderers varies according to the severity of the crime. However, most murders result to life in prison and hard labor. Child murder is a horrible crime categorized under murder. 

To analyze the topic “Murder”, I have related it to the murders in Lebanon, I have come up with possible reasons for murder, and finally, I have created a list of ways to prevent murder. 

Murder in Lebanon: Although not very common, there have been several cases of murder in Lebanon. One case was that of Catholic Maronite nun Antoinette Zeidan, who was found strangled on a roadside. The murder increased Christian and Muslim tensions in the country. A second case of murder was that of Aisha Aisha, who was murdered by Fadi Maraash, her neighbor, and strangled after being persuaded to go for a walk with him. Although Maraash was found mentally ill, he was still sentenced to life in prison. A serial killer known as Khaled Shayeb was sentenced to death after being charged with the kidnapping and murder of Mahmoud Dimasi and Baria Halabi, and the murder of Kamal Shayeb in Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp. He was also convicted of kidnapping Jihad Ashqar. In Fadi Mraash’s case, the reason behind his criminal record was found to be hi mental illness. However, Khaled Shayeb murdered because of his hatred and jealousy towards the victims. As for the case of the nun, it is obvious that the murderer did it for religious reasons. Although the punishment of murderers in Lebanon may not always be severe enough, the government has increased awareness of the topic and is working on harsher consequences for attempted and actual murder. 

Reasons for Murder: There may be many reasons that a person might have for murdering people. 

Mental Problems: Most of the time, the killers suffer from psychotic or mental illnesses. They usually also have no control over themselves and suffer from anxiety and depression. 

Childhood Problems: At other times, the killers may have rough backgrounds. Perhaps the reasons for committing such horrible crimes date back to problems during childhood, or certain times that could have brought hatred to their hearts and evil to their brains. Also, indifference and shyness as well as no sense of belonging have been found to be other problems.

Bad Parenting: It has been statistically proven that most murderers have had a cruel past in which their parents were divorced, faced drug problems, abused their children or left the family, which may have lead to psychological problems in the child’s mind, that would soon lead to something more serious. I think the most logical reason for all this could be the parents, for when a child is raised properly into a descent family, where parents teach their children values of life, the children grow to be responsible, successful people, far away from murder. Alternately, however, if a child is brought up by parents who do not devote their time towards their children and show care and affection, the children will most probably turn out to lead cruel lives in hatred for themselves, which might lead to murder and other terrifying crimes. 

Self-Esteem: Other reasons may include lack of self-esteem and love for life. A numerous amount of murderers suffer from depression and anxiety. Although there are different reasons for each murderer, many may agree that having problems during childhood is a main one. 

Preventing Murder: Although it may be hard to believe, there are ways to prevent murder. 

Parents: It all begins with the parents. Good parenting is one way to stop it. Parents should teach their children about the right and the wrong, and educate them on responsibility as well as belief and religion. Children with problems should be helped and recognized. 

Schools: Another way to stop murder is in schools. Schooling and education are vital in a child’s life. They teach him values and essentials in life. They also give them a sense of belonging and promote social contact. 

Punishment: A third way to prevent murder and other dangerous crimes is to create strict laws and punishment to those who murder. If a murderer-to-be realizes the harsh consequences of the crime, he may back off and become afraid of getting caught, or being punished. As you can see, there are many ways to help prevent murder in the world. 

In conclusion, the topic “Murder” is subdivided into many categories that occur today, such as serial killing, mass murder, honor killing, and child murder. Murder occurs everywhere and although it may seem hard to stop it, there are ways that may help. Education, good parenting and crucial punishment are all ways that can help prevent killers from murdering innocent people. Murder is a horrible, and cruel crime that should be terminated, despite the time it will take. To stop acts of murder once and for all, I think parents should educate their children well and teach them values as well as beliefs, which will give them a sense of what is right and what is wrong, and thus they will turn out to be sophisticated, successful leaders instead of low-esteemed murderers with mental problems. Also, parents should always make sure their child knows that he is loved and cared for. 

1-Online Material:

a-The Daily Star (online), www.dailystar.com.lb, 1997-2001 The Daily Star (ISSN 1564-0310), archive, accessed 20/11/2001.

b-Catholic World News, www.cwnews.com, Domus Enterprises, News Brief, accessed 20/11/2001.

c-CNN News, www.cnn.com/world/9512/honor_killings/,1995 Cable News Network, Inc, accessed 20/11/2001.

d-The Mass Murder Website, www.fortunecity.com/roswell/hammer/73/gunness.html, Hiperaktiv (©Copyright 1998), accessed 20/11/2001

e-Serial Killers Exposed, https://members.tripod.com/~SerialKillr/SerialKillersExposed/type.html, Serial Killer (c) 1999, accessed 20/11/2001.

f-Serial Killers A-Z, http://darkday.tripod.com/a-h/hansen.html, author unknown, accessed 20/11/2001.

g-Crime Library,www.crimelibrary.com, 2001 Courtroom Television Network LLC, accessed 18/11/2001.

h-Crime Magazine, www.crimemagazine.com/jonbenet.htm, Pat O’Connor, accessed 19/11/2001.

2-Books:

a-Guinness Publishing Ltd (1998), Guinness Book of Records 1999 (S.A, Barcelona)

b-Guinness Publishing Ltd (1997), Guinness Book of Records 1998 (S.A,Barcelona)

3-Encyclopedias

a-Murder (2000) In World Book Encyclopedia, (Vol.13, p.930), (Chicago, North Michigan)

Appendix