Moderate Brain Damage Common But Not Universal In Serial Killers

Most serial killers have brain damage, but several prominent ones (e.g. Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and John Grady) did not. Those that do have brain damage do not have the most severe cases of brain damage, probably because that would critically impair their ability to plan and execute complex behavior.

We know that traumatic brain injury (TBI) is extremely common in the most difficult inmates. My guess is that those serial killers who do not show signs of brain damage are individuals who were born psychopaths, but who have escaped brain damage from trauma.