In combining the various ideas put forth at the 2005 FBI Serial Murder Symposium, the following definition was crafted:
Serial Murder: The unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events.
FBI SERIAL MURDER
https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder
Behavioral Analysis Unit-2
National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime
Critical Incident Response Group
Federal Bureau of Investigation
<snipped & BBM for Focus>
The different discussion groups at the Symposium agreed on a number of similar factors to be included in a definition. These included:
one or more offenders
two or more murdered victims
incidents should be occurring in separate events, at different times
the time period between murders separates serial murder from mass murder
In combining the various ideas put forth at the 2005 Serial Murder Symposium, the following definition was crafted:
Serial Murder: The unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events.