JACOB - THE CASE OF A SERIAL KILLER

This paper describes a rare forensic psychiatric syndrome which has be en the subject of massive publicity in the last decade. Despite the wi despread interest, the psychodynamic process whereby a person becomes a serial murderer remains largely unknown. ''Jacob'' was convicted of a series of murders that he carried out over a decade. The case materi al is based on the psychiatric reports that were presented to the cour t and the many articles published in the local press at the time. Desp ite the limitations imposed by the material, the available information on ''Jacob'' bears some similarity to the phenomenological and psycho dynamic models described in the literature. An attempt is made to unde rstand the transformation of a person into a serial killer considering the life events, psychopathology and stressors that lead to the emerg ence from the world of imagination and fantasy of a potential murderer to the deeds that comprise the syndrome.