Southern New Hampshire University PSY 310 Criminal Psychology Alexis Elliott
Summary Born in 1964, Frank Timmons is the youngest of 13 children. His father, Billy, worked a blue-collar job and his mother, Loretta, who passed when he was 12, worked as a maid (Southern New Hampshire University, 2017). Billy abused alcohol and was verbally abusive to his children. Loretta, when she was alive, wasn't very involved in her younger children's lives. This left the older siblings, specifically Margaret, in charge of caring for her siblings (Southern New Hampshire University, 2017). Unfortunately, Margaret had struggles of her own. She had unaddressed mental health issues. She was believed to abused alcohol like her father, and there is a possibility that she sexually abused her younger siblings, as well (Southern New Hampshire University, 2017). All things considered, Frank, who is a light-skinned black man, would have had multiple risk factors growing up (e.g., inconsistency within the household, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, neglectful parents, a deceased parent, living in poverty), with very little protective factors (e.g., playing on his school's football team) (Bartol & Bartol, 2020). The crimes we are addressing today include multiple robberies, sexual assaults, and 8 murders, all within less than a year. Before these coinciding crimes began, Frank had already been alleged to have raped a young girl with his brother, although charges were never filled for this crime. Frank did serve time, however, in jail in his late 20's for abducting, violently raping, and bludgeoning a woman (Southern New Hampshire University, 2017). He was sentenced to 15 years for the abduction and 21 years for the robbery but was released after only serving 13 years due to model behavior. Frank was paroled and moved into a house with his wife, Jenny Nelson, close to the four-mile radius of where the serial murders happened. The first crime connected to the Serial Murderer, a.k.a. Frank Timmons, is the assault of three teenaged girls. He forced them behind a church and assaulted two of the girls (Southern New Hampshire University, 2017).
About 1 month later, he committed his first murder. Frank then went on to commit his other crimes (Southern New Hampshire University, 2017). At first glance, it may be difficult to see a motive for these crimes. Frank doesn't know these women, and he has fostered relationships in his community that make him appear to be an upstanding citizen. However, recall the abuse from his childhood. His sister Margaret was accused of sexually assaulting her younger siblings. Frank was most likely one of her victims. This type of abuse would play a huge part in Frank's mental development and how he views himself and the world around him. My initial hypothesis is that he is seeking revenge for himself and possibly his other siblings. His rape and murder victims most likely look similar to or remind him of Margaret in some way. It's not about sexual gratification for him, but the control and power he gains over his victims. I imagine