This guide outlines the essential sections for creating detailed and well-organized entries for the Serial Killer Database. These sections will be automatically generated if you use the box at the top right of the Home page (only works on desktop and laptop computers due to the layout and functionality restrictions on mobile devices).
Naming Conventions
Profile Pages should be written: LAST (in capital letters) First Middle Suffix, e.g., "BUNDY Theodore Robert", PRINCE Cleophus Jr. or KEMPER Edmund Emil III.
Infobox
- Usually use the
{{Serial Killer Infobox}}template, see other Infoboxes below. - Include key details such as name, birth date, death date, aliases, criminal status, known number of victims, crime span, and the country or countries where the crimes were committed.
Infobox Templates
This guide provides instructions for using various infobox templates for entries in the Serial Killer Database. Properly formatted infoboxes ensure consistency and provide essential details at a glance.
Choosing the Correct Infobox
- Use the Serial Killer Infobox if the individual is already known to be a murderer and is additionally suspected by law enforcement or media of having committed serial killings.
- Suspect Infobox if the individual is an ordinary person who has been, or still is, suspected of being a serial killer, but there is not enough evidence to categorize them as such.
- Use the Victim Infobox for victims.
Technical Details
The color of the template is dependent on the profile type of the individual:
Serial Killer Infobox
{{Serial Killer Infobox
| Alias = Media-given name (most known), optional.
| Name =
| LangName = How the individual natively would write their name. DO NOT use without Name or Alias.
| Image = If no profile pic, use Male.png or Female.png.
| Caption =
| SK Status = Identified or Unidentified.
| Criminal status = Arrested, Incarcerated, Executed, Deceased, Released, Unknown.
| Status = Alive or Dead. DO NOT use both "Status" and "Criminal Status".
| Full Name =
| Birth Name =
| Born = Use {{Birth|year=####|month=##|day=##}} if alive. {{Birth2|year=####|month=##|day=##}} for no links.
| Birth Place =
| Died = Use {{Death|birthYear=####|deathYear=####|deathMonth=##|deathDay=##}} or {{DeathAge|deathYear=####|deathMonth=##|deathDay=##|ageRange=##}}
| Death Place =
| Other Names = Other names used by the individual.
| Cause of Death =
| Killed by =
| Height = Use both imperial and metric units
| Weight = Use both imperial and metric units
| Shoe size =
| Characteristics = Scars, extreme tattoos, or a lazy eye, for example
| Gender =
| Race =
| Nationality =
| Occupation/s =
| Political affiliation =
| Religion =
| Parent/s =
| Sibling/s =
| Spouse/s =
| Child/ren =
| Relative/s =
| AKA = Media-given name again, not optional if it exists. If multiple, type them all here.
| Offender Type = Serial Killer, Suspected Serial Killer, or Would-Be Serial Killer.
| Motivation = Visionary, Mission-oriented, Hedonistic, or Power/control.
| Organized Type = Organized/Disorganized/Mixed.
| Motive =
| Classification =
| Method of Killing =
| Method of Attack = Only used on Surviving victims.
| Weapon/s =
| Modus Operandi =
| Signature =
| Staging =
| Posing =
| Trophy/ies =
| Victim Type =
| Accomplice/s =
| Conviction/s =
| Criminal penalty/ies =
| Victims =
| Span of crimes =
| Country/ies =
| Location = Change to either; State/s, Region/s, Province/s, Parish/es, Department/s, Township/s, County/ies, City/Cities, Town/s and/or Location/s
| Date/s apprehended =
| Imprisoned at =
| Signature1 = Signature image
| Signature2 = Signature caption
}}
Sections Overview
Biography
- Provide a comprehensive overview of the individual's life.
- Include sections on Early Life, Criminal Activities, Investigation, and Imprisonment. If the individual is deceased, also include a section on Death.
Victims
- Confirmed victims: List all confirmed victims with relevant details.
- Survivors: Include any known survivors of attacks.
- Suspected victims: List victims who are suspected but not confirmed.
- Disproven victims: List victims who have been proven to have been killed by another perpetrator.
Timeline
- Create a chronological timeline of significant events in the individual's life and criminal activities, including date, age at the time, and event.
Bibliography
- Literature: List books written about the individual.
- Articles: Include biographical articles. Add news articles under the Links section.
Documentaries
- Television: List television documentaries about the individual, by release date or year.
- YouTube Documentaries: Include relevant YouTube documentaries.
- Podcasts: Mention any podcasts that discuss the individual.
Self-promotion by linking your own YouTube video or podcast is allowed, provided it offers a comprehensive overview of the individual's life and/or crimes.
In Popular Culture
- Film adaptation: List films and TV shows based on the individual's life. This section can be renamed to Film adaptations, Film/TV adaptations, TV adaptation, or TV adaptations, depending on the context.
- Music: Include any songs that reference the individual (remove if unused).
- Legacy: Discuss the individual's impact and legacy (remove if unused).
- Trivia: Include interesting facts (remove if unused).
Related Articles
- Internal links to other profiles or teams directly related to the individual in question.
See Also
- Links to other pages not directly related but with similar relevance.
Links
- External links to websites, articles, and other relevant resources.
Notes
- Any additional notes or clarifications. Use the tag
{{Refn}}and display them using {{Reflist|group=note}}.
References
- Cite all sources used for factual claims. Use reliable and verifiable sources. Insert inline citations with <ref></ref> and display them using {{Reflist}}.
- Main articles: Help:Citing sources, Help:When to Cite
Example Article Structure
Below is an example structure for an entry:
{{Serial Killer Infobox
| Alias = Media-given name (most known), optional.
| Name =
| LangName = How the indivitual natively would write their name, DO NOT use without Name or Alias.
| Image = If no profile pic, use Male.png or Female.png.
| Caption =
| SK Status = Identified or Unidentified.
| Criminal status = Arrested, Incarcerated, Executed, Deceased, Released, Unknown.
| Status = Alive or Dead. DO NOT use both "Status" and "Criminal Status".
| Full Name =
| Birth Name =
| Born = Use {{Birth|year=####|month=##|day=##}} if alive. {{Birth2|year=####|month=##|day=##}} for no links.
| Birth Place =
| Died = Use {{Death|birthYear=####|deathYear=####|deathMonth=##|deathDay=##}} or {{DeathAge|deathYear=####|deathMonth=##|deathDay=##|ageRange=##}}
| Death Place =
| Other Names = Other names used by the individual.
| Cause of Death =
| Killed by =
| Height = Use both imperial and metric units
| Weight = Use both imperial and metric units
| Shoe size =
| Characteristics = Scars, extreme tattoos or a lazy eye for example
| Gender =
| Race =
| Nationality =
| Occupation/s =
| Political affiliation =
| Religion =
| Parent/s =
| Sibling/s =
| Spouse/s =
| Child/ren =
| Relative/s =
| AKA = Media-given name again, not optional if it exist. If multiple, type them all here.
| Offender Type = Serial Killer, Suspected Serial Killer or Would-Be Serial Killer.
| Motivation = Visionary, Mission-oriented, Hedonistic or Power/control.
| Organized Type = Organized/Disorganized/Mixed.
| Motive =
| Classification =
| Method of Killing =
| Method of Attack = Only used on Surviving victims.
| Weapon/s =
| Modus Operandi =
| Signature =
| Staging =
| Posing =
| Trophy/ies =
| Victim Type =
| Accomplice/s =
| Conviction/s =
| Criminal penalty/ies =
| Victims =
| Span of crimes =
| Country/ies =
| Location = Change to either; State/s, Region/s, Province/s, Parish/es, Department/s, Township/s, County/ies, City/Cities, Town/s and/or Location/s
| Date/s apprehended =
| Imprisoned at =
| Signature1 = Signature image
| Signature2 = Signature caption
}}
==Biography==
==Victims==
===Confirmed victims===
<!--Preloaded Template Notice: "{{Victims Missing}}" if Victim list is not present. Use "{{Victims Incomplete}}" if present but incomplete-->
<small><small>
{| class="article-table"
! Name !! Age !! Disappeared !! Body Found !! Cause of Death
|-
| <!--Victims' Name, use link [[LAST First Middle|Name]]-->
| <!--Victims' Age-->
| <!--Victim Disappeared-->
| <!--Body Found-->
| <!--Cause of Death-->
|}
</small></small>
===Survivors===
<!--Preloaded Template Notice: "{{Victims Missing}}" if Victim list is not present. Use "{{Victims Incomplete}}" if present but incomplete-->
<small><small>
{| class="article-table"
! Name !! Age !! Date of Attack !! Method of Attack
|-
| <!--Victims' Name, use link [[LAST First Middle|Name]]-->
| <!--Victims' Age-->
| <!--Date of Attack-->
| <!--Method of Attack-->
|}
</small></small>
===Suspected victims===
<!--Preloaded Template Notice: "{{Victims Missing}}" if Victim list is not present. Use "{{Victims Incomplete}}" if present but incomplete-->
<small><small>
{| class="article-table"
! Name !! Age !! Disappeared !! Body Found !! Cause of Death
|-
| <!--Victims' Name, use link [[LAST First Middle|Name]]-->
| <!--Victims' Age-->
| <!--Victim Disappeared-->
| <!--Body Found-->
| <!--Cause of Death-->
|}
</small></small>
==Timeline==
==Bibliography==
===Literature===
<!--*{{book|first=|last=|title=|date=|year=|publisher=|isbn=|coauthors=|language=|authorlink=|work=|archiveurl=|archivedate=}}-->
===Articles===<!--Biographical articles only. Add news articles under Links.-->
<!--*{{web|url=|title=|author=|first=|last=|coauthors=|date=|year=|publisher=|accessdate=|accessmonthday=|accessdaymonth=|accessyear=|authorlink=|format=|work=|language=|archiveurl=|archivedate=}}-->
==Documentaries==
===Television===
<!--*{{imdb|name|*articleID*|*Name*}}-->
===YouTube Documentaries===
<!--*{{yt|*ID*|*title*|channel=|yt=hide}}-->
===Podcasts===
<!--*{{web|url=|title=|date=|publisher=|language=|archiveurl=|archivedate=}}-->
==In popular culture==
===Film adaptation===
<!--*{{imdb|title|*articleID*|*title*}}, description.-->
<!--Remove if unused-->===Music===<!--Remove if unused-->
<!--Remove if unused-->===Legacy===<!--Remove if unused-->
<!--Remove if unused-->===Trivia===<!--Remove if unused-->
==Related Articles==<!--Internal links to individuals, teams, or events directly related to the profile in question.-->
==See also==<!--Pages not directly related to the profile in question, e.g. Profiles with something similar to the one you're writing.-->
==Links==
<!--*{{WP|}}-->
<!--*{{imdb|name|*articleID*|*Name*}}-->
<!--*{{FindAGrave|*ID*|*Name*}}-->
<!--*{{yt|*ID*|*title*|channel=|yt=hide}}-->
==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
<!--Add Categories not generated by template below-->
Victim Infobox
{{Victim Infobox
| Alias =
| Name =
| Image =
| Vic Status = {{IdentifiedVic}}, {{UnidentifiedVic}} or {{SuspectedVic}}
| Status = Deceased or {{SurvivedVic}}
| Full Name = If victim is unknown, use {{UnknownVic}} as Vic Status
| Birth Name =
| Other Names =
| AKA = Media or Police-given name
| Born =
| Birth Place =
| Died =
| Death Place =
| Date of Disappearance =
| Place of Disappearance =
| Date of Body Discovered =
| Place of Body Discovered =
| Identified =
| Date of Attack = Use if victim survived
| Place of Attack = Use if victim survived
| Cause of Death =
| Height =
| Gender =
| Race =
| Nationality =
| Occupation =
| Parent(s) =
| Sibling(s) =
| Spouse(s) =
| Children =
| Killed By =
| Attacked By = Use if victim survived
| Weapon Used =
| Previous/Next =
}}
Sections Overview
Biography
- Provide a comprehensive overview of the individual's life.
Recommended Reading
- Literature: List books written about the individual.
- Articles: Include biographical articles. Add news articles under the Links section.
Related Articles
- Internal links to other profiles or teams directly related to the individual in question.
See Also
- Links to other pages not directly related but with similar relevance.
Links
- External links to websites, articles, and other relevant resources.
Notes
- Any additional notes or clarifications. Use the tag
{{Refn}}and display them using {{Reflist|group=note}}.
References
- Cite all sources used for factual claims. Use reliable and verifiable sources. Insert inline citations with <ref></ref> and display them using {{Reflist}}.
- Main articles: Help:Citing sources, Help:When to Cite
Example Article Structure
Below is an example structure for an entry:
{{Victim Infobox
| Alias =
| Name =
| Image =
| Vic Status = {{IdentifiedVic}}, {{UnidentifiedVic}} or {{SuspectedVic}}
| Status = Deceased or {{SurvivedVic}}
| Full Name = If victim is unknown, use {{UnknownVic}} as Vic Status
| Birth Name =
| Other Names =
| AKA = Media or Police-given name
| Born =
| Birth Place =
| Died =
| Death Place =
| Date of Disappearance =
| Place of Disappearance =
| Date of Body Discovered =
| Place of Body Discovered =
| Identified =
| Date of Attack = Use if victim survived
| Place of Attack = Use if victim survived
| Cause of Death =
| Height =
| Gender =
| Race =
| Nationality =
| Occupation =
| Parent(s) =
| Sibling(s) =
| Spouse(s) =
| Children =
| Killed By =
| Attacked By = Use if victim survived
| Weapon Used =
| Previous = Previous victim in the crime spree
| Concurrent = In two or more victims were killed at the same time
| Next = Next victim in the crime spree
}}
==Biography==
==Timeline==
==Recommended Reading==
===Literature===
<!--*{{book|first=|last=|title=|date=|year=|publisher=|isbn=|coauthors=|language=|authorlink=|work=|archiveurl=|archivedate=}}-->
===Articles===<!--Biographical articles only. Add news articles under Links.-->
<!--*{{web|url=|title=|author=|first=|last=|coauthors=|date=|year=|publisher=|accessdate=|accessmonthday=|accessdaymonth=|accessyear=|authorlink=|format=|work=|language=|archiveurl=|archivedate=}}-->
==Related Articles==<!--Internal links to individuals, teams, or events directly related to the profile in question.-->
==See also==<!--Pages not directly related to the profile in question, e.g. Profiles with something similar to the one you're writing.-->
==Links==
<!--*{{WP|}}-->
<!--*{{imdb|name|*articleID*|*Name*}}-->
<!--*{{FindAGrave|*ID*|*Name*}}-->
<!--*{{yt|*ID*|*title*|channel=|yt=hide}}-->
==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
<!--Add Categories not generated by template below-->
Suspect Infobox
{{Suspect Infobox
| Alias =
| Name =
| Image =
| Caption =
| Suspect Status =
| Living Status = or...
| Criminal status =
| Full Name =
| Birth Name =
| Born =
| Birth Place =
| Died =
| Death Place =
| Cause of Death =
| Killed by =
| Height = Use both imperial and metric units
| Weight = Use both imperial and metric units
| Shoe size =
| Characteristics = Scars, extreme tattoos, or a lazy eye, for example
| Gender =
| Race =
| Nationality =
| Occupation =
| Parents =
| Siblings =
| Spouse =
| Children =
| AKA =
| Other Names =
| Offender Type =
| Motivation Type =
| Organized Type =
| Motive =
| Classification =
| Modus Operandi =
| Signature =
| Staging =
| Posing =
| Victim Type =
| Accomplice =
| Method of Killing =
| Method of Attack =
| Weapons =
| Suspected = Suspected to be...
| Convictions =
| Criminal penalty =
| Victims =
| Span of crimes =
| Country =
| States =
| Location =
| City =
| Date apprehended =
| Imprisoned at =
}}
Additional Formatting Tips
- If you link dates, also add them to their respective pages. For example: July 22, 1991 consists of three pages, July 22, July, and 1991.
- If a list is longer than 4 lines or a text is longer than 2 lines, please use {{cl|text}}.
Notices, Message Boxes and Tags
Notices and Message Boxes only work on desktop and laptop computers due to layout and functionality restrictions on mobile devices. See full list here.
Additional Resources
By following these guidelines, you can help maintain the integrity and accuracy of SKdb.