From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishserial killer/murderer etcserial killer/murderer etcSCCsomeone who commits the same crime several times a serial rapist → serial
Examples from the Corpus
serial killer/murderer etc• Ex-Ornette Coleman sideman Ronald Shannon Jackson was on drums, occasionally adding creepy blues vocals worthy of a serial killer.• She enlists the help of psychiatrist / author Sigourney Weaver, an expert on serial killers.• She escapes and later discovers that her attacker is a suspected serial killer.• Read the February issue of eve to find out, and discuss whether serial killers are born that way below.• There are a lot of courtroom drama books and serial killer tales about, but this one is special.• She is a serial killer who picks up men in the Métro. 