Psychological Analysis (Cause)
Many factors throughout Andrei Chikatilo's childhood and early adult life may have been the reason why this man became such a vicious killer. Chikatilo had an awful childhood since day one. When analyzing Chikatilo one must start at his birth. He was born with water on his brain automatically setting him back in life not allowing him to maintain an erection and also caused him to wet the bed into his adolescence. Not being able to maintain an erection for any man would be extremely embarrassing and would make anyone feel very alone. On top of his automatic set backs in life, his dad was nearly non-existent and his mom often abused him. Young Chikatlio must of felt very alone. Obviously not having the support one would need to get through these troubled times he became very isolated within himself. His home life and school life was a very unsafe atmosphere where he was a target for bullying. This made Chikatilo very shy and insecure, only contributing to all his problems. Chikatilo like any teenage boy felt a sexual desire for girls, because he was so insecure and shy he probably felt more comfortable with younger girls, which makes sense. At an early age Chikatilo felt power over younger girls ranging between age eight and age sixteen. His first sexual encounter at age fifteen was a forced interaction, when Chikatilo could not get an erection it caused him anger and frustration. The rumors got out about Chikatilo problems making him the laughing stock of his school and an even larger target for bullying. When one looks at all the horrific events of Chikatilo's childhood one would have to assume that he would be traumatized and a product of all these events in his later years. Going through these events alone would make anyone evil.
Hoping for a new start once graduating from high school, Chikatilo wanted to get into the University of Moscow. He failed his entrance exam not allowing him to enter the school and Chikatilo was let down once again. Chikatilo got married and had two kids striving for a normal life (as normal of a life as possible). He became a schoolteacher, which was not surprising because Chikatilo always felt empowered over kids because he was so insecure around people his own age. He admitted that he would picture his students naked and often had sexual desires towards them. It was noted that he would often molest his students, which would cause him to get fired continuously, not being able to keep a job only caused him more distress and anger.
Hoping for a new start once graduating from high school, Chikatilo wanted to get into the University of Moscow. He failed his entrance exam not allowing him to enter the school and Chikatilo was let down once again. Chikatilo got married and had two kids striving for a normal life (as normal of a life as possible). He became a schoolteacher, which was not surprising because Chikatilo always felt empowered over kids because he was so insecure around people his own age. He admitted that he would picture his students naked and often had sexual desires towards them. It was noted that he would often molest his students, which would cause him to get fired continuously, not being able to keep a job only caused him more distress and anger.
Psychological Analysis (Affect)
From the start Chikatilo was viewed as being very different by society because of his setbacks. His horrible childhood and abnormal young adulthood produced a mad man within Chikatilo. One could only expect Chikatilo to be fueled with rage when analyzing his early life. Anyone who knew anything about how awful Chikatilo's childhood was could easily assume he was a product of those rough times. Being a teacher was probably not the best job for Chikatilo considering this is the time in his life where everything went evil. Chikatilo liked younger girls and boys, feeling empowered over them. This empowerment translated to a sexual desire and Chikatilo began to fantasize about young kids. One can conclude the reason Chikatilo had sexual desires for young children was because he did not feel empowered enough or comfortable enough around people his own age.
When Chikatilo began to rape Yelena Zakotnova a young girl who was nine years old he could not get an erection and became very angry and frustrated. To cope with his erectial disfunction he would pull out his knife and use that to rape Yelena Zakotnova. One can assume that this was Chikatilos way of dealing with his erectial disfunction, because it brought him the sexual sensation that he had been longing for. Yelena Zakotnova was just the beginning of Chikatilo's killing spree. Chikatilo began to fantasize about young girls and boys after Yelena Zakotnova, wanting to feel that sensation he felt when murdering her. Chikatilo finally found what made him feel good for once in his life, which was killing people in sexual manners. Chikatilo's victims were all murdered in very similar ways. He would first cut their eyeballs out. This would take the guilt away from Chikatilo. He believed that if his victims did not see what was going his crime was not as bad because they would not die to the visual image of him killing them. Also he probably did not want his victim to see his own face because he was so insecure. After cutting out his victim's eyeballs out he would most likely of started "raping" them which would consist of taking his knife and inserting it into the crevices of the body. This was when Chikatilo's needs would be met, he would fulfill his sexual desires by fantasizing with his victim's sexual organs. Chikatilo would always ejaculate when committing his crimes because he needed to fulfill his sexual desires. One could come to two conclusions of why Chikatilo would fulfill this sexual desire in such a brutal manner. The first reason one could assume, is that when Chikatilo was performing this horrible act, in his mind he was so engulfed in this fantasy he truly believed he was having sex. The second reason could be that he feels so victimized by his deformity that he mutates his victims genital. Therefore creating an illusion in his mind that if he destroys their genitals that makes them a victim just like him. It was also believed that Chikatilo would eat his victims genitals and sexual organs. He most likely did this because one he was raised during the famine and two he may have been so caught up in this fantasy, that he could not help himself. Chikatilo's mother often told him that if he left the yard he would get eaten just like his older brother did. This fear got trapped in young Chikatilo's mind and possibly stayed with him for many years. This fear could have lead him to extreme paranoia and possibly made him feel very powerless. Since he identified cannibalism with power at a young age, he later started to empower himself through fantasies of cannibalism. Another explanation could be that he would get so engulfed in this fantasy, that he removed the genitals to eat them to reach his max sensation, which would fulfill his fantasy.
Chikatilo was arrested on November 20, 1990 for suspicious behavior that had been observed by undercover police. Chikatilo was interrogated multiple times but would not confess to the murders. Chikatilo finally opened up to a psychiatrist admitting to killing 56 people. The reason he confessed could have been because of the attention the psychiatrist was giving him, which made him comfortable around an adult. This comforting atmosphere was a new feeling for Chikatilo and, being foreign to this emotion, he told the truth.
All in all it could be assumed that Chikatilo is a complete product of his childhood. His childhood filled him with frustration and anger which translated into his adulthood. Chikatilo had it bad from the start and the circumstances he was born into only hurt him more. There is no way to justify killing innocent people, but if one were to try and justify it, Chikatilo's story would make a decent case.
When Chikatilo began to rape Yelena Zakotnova a young girl who was nine years old he could not get an erection and became very angry and frustrated. To cope with his erectial disfunction he would pull out his knife and use that to rape Yelena Zakotnova. One can assume that this was Chikatilos way of dealing with his erectial disfunction, because it brought him the sexual sensation that he had been longing for. Yelena Zakotnova was just the beginning of Chikatilo's killing spree. Chikatilo began to fantasize about young girls and boys after Yelena Zakotnova, wanting to feel that sensation he felt when murdering her. Chikatilo finally found what made him feel good for once in his life, which was killing people in sexual manners. Chikatilo's victims were all murdered in very similar ways. He would first cut their eyeballs out. This would take the guilt away from Chikatilo. He believed that if his victims did not see what was going his crime was not as bad because they would not die to the visual image of him killing them. Also he probably did not want his victim to see his own face because he was so insecure. After cutting out his victim's eyeballs out he would most likely of started "raping" them which would consist of taking his knife and inserting it into the crevices of the body. This was when Chikatilo's needs would be met, he would fulfill his sexual desires by fantasizing with his victim's sexual organs. Chikatilo would always ejaculate when committing his crimes because he needed to fulfill his sexual desires. One could come to two conclusions of why Chikatilo would fulfill this sexual desire in such a brutal manner. The first reason one could assume, is that when Chikatilo was performing this horrible act, in his mind he was so engulfed in this fantasy he truly believed he was having sex. The second reason could be that he feels so victimized by his deformity that he mutates his victims genital. Therefore creating an illusion in his mind that if he destroys their genitals that makes them a victim just like him. It was also believed that Chikatilo would eat his victims genitals and sexual organs. He most likely did this because one he was raised during the famine and two he may have been so caught up in this fantasy, that he could not help himself. Chikatilo's mother often told him that if he left the yard he would get eaten just like his older brother did. This fear got trapped in young Chikatilo's mind and possibly stayed with him for many years. This fear could have lead him to extreme paranoia and possibly made him feel very powerless. Since he identified cannibalism with power at a young age, he later started to empower himself through fantasies of cannibalism. Another explanation could be that he would get so engulfed in this fantasy, that he removed the genitals to eat them to reach his max sensation, which would fulfill his fantasy.
Chikatilo was arrested on November 20, 1990 for suspicious behavior that had been observed by undercover police. Chikatilo was interrogated multiple times but would not confess to the murders. Chikatilo finally opened up to a psychiatrist admitting to killing 56 people. The reason he confessed could have been because of the attention the psychiatrist was giving him, which made him comfortable around an adult. This comforting atmosphere was a new feeling for Chikatilo and, being foreign to this emotion, he told the truth.
All in all it could be assumed that Chikatilo is a complete product of his childhood. His childhood filled him with frustration and anger which translated into his adulthood. Chikatilo had it bad from the start and the circumstances he was born into only hurt him more. There is no way to justify killing innocent people, but if one were to try and justify it, Chikatilo's story would make a decent case.
Work Cited
http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Tšikatilo
http://www.executedtoday.com/2012/01/
http://www.biography.com/people/andrei-chikatilo-17169648?page=3
http://www.executedtoday.com/2012/01/
http://www.biography.com/people/andrei-chikatilo-17169648?page=3