Case Analysis: 2014 Isla Vista Killings Part 1

Case Overview 

The case of Elliot Rodger (2014 Isla Vista Killings) illustrates how Social Media may shed light on the motive and premonition of murder. In the town of Isla Vista near Santa Barbara, Rodger, a 22-year-old student at Santa Barbara City College, went on a killing spree of roommates and students at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and ultimately killed himself (Woolf). With a history of mental illness, he posted a Manifesto describing his frustrations, namely his inability to find a sexual partner, and he blamed women in society. He also uploaded YouTube videos regarding his loneliness and even posted his views of anti-feminism in online forums (Woolf). CNN reported that he had a twisted view of life and that he aimed to kill women if he did not win the lottery. The authorities were warned by a mental health worker who saw his YouTube videos and felt he was a danger to others (BBC). As a result, the parents of the victims filed a civil lawsuit against the county, the Sheriff’s department, and property management. The district judge released the county and Sheriff from the suit, but the property company settled out of court.

Social Media Impact:

There are multiple theories on how social media has negatively impacted the youth of today and possibly encouraged killing sprees and school shootings. 

Surrogate PARENT: Social media can present unfiltered, non-moderated content that provides falsehoods and bad advice based more on Entertainment and AD revenue (radical ideas, eye candy, extreme violence, dehumanizing victims of crime, using humor to justify crime) than true parenting. In the Isla Vista Killings, the criminal was fixated on presenting his lavish lifestyle on social media and shared his opinion about why women hated him. The viewership possibly gave him the false sense that violence against women was justified.  Unfortunately, social media failed to intervene despite “cries for help,” as this perpetrator shared his potential suicide.

Surrogate FRIEND: Real friends can warn a teen about the consequences of their behavior, even though a teen may not want to hear it.  They can provide compassion and empathy while Social Media may be a fake version.  They may even seek professional help.  On the other hand, Social Media is designed to interact casually with the audience with little to no input from moderators (because the comment section is mostly anonymous, there is no accountability for bad advice).  Because the audience wants entertainment, the advice may be radical and even encourage crime.  The recipient may get the wrong sense of reality: more encouragement to perform crimes rather than heed the warnings of society.

SOURCES: 

White, Stephen G. "Case study: The Isla Vista campus community mass murder." Journal of Threat Assessment and Management 4.1 (2017): 20.

Woolf, Nicky. “Chilling Report Details How Elliot Rodger Executed Murderous Rampage.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 20 Feb. 2015, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/20/mass-shooter-elliot-rodger-isla-vista-killings-report. 

"Elliot Rodger: How Misogynist Killer Became 'Incel Hero.'" BBC News, BBC, 25 Apr. 2018,

www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43892189.