Sexual assault/rape and serial sexual homicide: Clinical and investigative considerations.

The frequent absence of a documented history of sexual assault/rape in the prior research on serial sexual murderers is curious. In order to address several methodological problems in prior research, a closed-case archival review of a nonrandom national sample of 53 serial sexual homicide cases was conducted which identified 14 offenders with a history of sexual assault/rape for an overall prevalence rate of 26.4%. Of the 14 offenders with a prior known history of sexual assault/rape, 11 (78.6%) sexually penetrated at least one of their homicide victims at the crime scene. Implications for investigation of serial sexual homicide as well as for further understanding of this exceptionally rare crime are presented.

Foreign Object Insertions in Sexual Homicide.

A nonrandom national sample of 260 sexual homicides (207 nonserial and 53 serial) disclosed 50 cases in which an offender (45 nonserial and 10 serial) inserted a foreign object into a victim's orifice. The prevalence of foreign object insertion, as well as the types and shapes of inserted objects, where the objects were obtained, the bodily location of insertions, the visibility of inserted objects at the scene, and whether the insertions were pre- or post-mortem are all reported. The foreign object insertion prevalence rate for the sexual homicide sample of cases is 19.2%. Nonserial offenders engaged in foreign object insertion at about the same rate (21.7%) as the serial offenders (18.8%). Our findings do not support the largely held notions-based mainly on case reports-that most offenders who engage in foreign object insertion are psychotic and that the insertion behavior is always post-mortem. The insertion behavior of the nonserial offenders reflects a level of sadism and deviancy comparable with the serial offenders, an unexpected finding with possible prognostic implications.

"Undoing" (or Symbolic Reversal) at Homicide Crime Scenes.

A closed case file review of a nonrandom national sample of 975 homicides disclosed 11 cases (1.13%) of undoing, wherein offenders engaged in crime scene behavior that has been considered an attempt to symbolically reverse the murder. The frequency of the various methods of undoing involved the use of blankets to cover the victim's body (55%), positioning the body (55%), use of a bed or couch (42%), washing the body (36%), using pillows (36%), as well as removing clothing and adding other types of adornments (27%). Ten of the 11 offenders were male, and one was female; all 12 victims were female. Ten of the 12 victims were family members or relationship intimates. These findings are consistent with prior reports which concluded that the motivation for undoing behavior is an attempt to compensate for guilt or remorse for having committed the homicide.

Rapid-Sequence Serial Sexual Homicides.

Serial sexual murderers have been described as committing homicides in a methodical manner, taking substantial time between offenses to elude the authorities. The results of our study of the temporal patterns (i.e., the length of time between homicides) of a nonrandom national sample of 44 serial sexual murderers and their 201 victims indicate that this representation may not always be accurate. Although 25 offenders (56.8%) killed with longer than a 14-day period between homicides, a sizeable subgroup was identified: 19 offenders (43.2%) who committed homicides in rapid-sequence fashion, with fewer than 14 days between all or some of the murders. Six offenders (13.6%) killed all their victims in one rapid-sequence, spree-like episode, with homicides just days apart or sometimes two murders in the same day. Thirteen offenders (29.5%) killed in one or two rapid-sequence clusters (i.e., more than one murder within a 14-day period, as well as additional homicides with greater than 14 days between each). The purpose of our study was to describe this subgroup of rapid-sequence offenders who have not been identified until now. These findings argue for accelerated forensic assessments of dangerousness and public safety when a sexual murder is detected. Psychiatric disorders with rapidly occurring symptom patterns, or even atypical mania or mood dysregulation, may serve as exemplars for understanding this extraordinary group of offenders.

Suicide by cop: clinical risks and subtypes.

This study examines whether clinical classification schemes from general suicide research are applicable for cases of suicide by cop (SbC) and whether there are indicators as to why the police might be engaged in the suicide. Using archival law enforcement data, 13 clinical risks were examined among 68 cases of SbC using exploratory factor analysis and k-means cluster analysis. Three subtypes of SbC cases emerged: Mental Illness, Criminality, and Not Otherwise Specified. The subtypes varied significantly on their levels of mental illness, substance use, and criminal activity. Findings suggest that reducing fragmentation between law enforcement and mental health service providers might be a crucial goal for suicide intervention and prevention, at least among cases of SbC.

Ritual and signature in serial sexual homicide.

Ritual and signature are fantasy-driven, repetitive crime scene behaviors that have been found to occur in serial sexual homicide. Notwithstanding numerous anecdotal case reports, ritual and signature have rarely been studied empirically. In a national sample of 38 offenders and their 162 victims, we examined behavioral and thematic consistency, as well as the evolution and uniqueness of these crime scene actions. The notion that serial sexual murderers engage in the same rituals and leave unique signatures at every scene was not supported by our data. In fact, the results suggest that the crime scene conduct of this group of offenders is fairly complex and varied. Implications of these findings for forensic assessments and criminal investigations are discussed.

Necrophilia and sexual homicide.

A closed case-file review of 211 sexual homicides identified 16 cases of necrophilia. The results of this unique descriptive study of necrophilia associated with sexual homicide provide information on crime-scene locations, methods of killing, body disposition, premortem sexual assault, specifics of the necrophilic acts, methods of victim abduction, and motivational dynamics. The findings suggest that the most common explanation for necrophilia-the offender's desire to have an unresisting partner-may not always be applicable in cases where this rare paraphilia is connected to sexual murder. The possibility of using crime-scene behaviors in these cases to investigate serial sexual murders is offered.

Police officers who commit suicide by cop: a clinical study with analysis.

Suicide by cop has become a familiar topic among members of law enforcement, mental health professionals, and the general public. This paper presents two cases where police officers chose to commit suicide by getting other police officers to kill them. The two police officers studied, by examination of closed case files, were found to be similar to civilians who committed suicide by cop on several demographic (gender, age, history of mental illness, and suicide attempts), and situational (stress factors, trigger) variables. The cases help us to understand possible motives and management for individuals who choose to end their life in this manner.

Serial and single-victim rapists: differences in crime-scene violence, interpersonal involvement, and criminal sophistication.

Three categories of crime-scene behaviors (violence, interpersonal involvement, and criminal sophistication) among a group of 22 serial and 22 single-victim rapists were studied. Findings indicate that serial rapists were more likely to display a higher level of criminally sophisticated behaviors to avoid detection, whereas single-victim rapists were more likely to behave violently and engage in some form of interpersonal involvement with their victims. Implications of these findings for investigation and for understanding offenders' behavior are discussed.

Celebrity stalking, homicide, and suicide: a psychological autopsy.

Despite the high-profile nature of many celebrity stalking cases, little is known about the offenders and even less is known about those who kill their celebrity victims. The case of an obsessed fan who attempted to kill a rock star and then committed suicide is presented. By analyzing his detailed diary, both insight into the motivational dynamics of this type of stalker and delineation of several warning signs, which help differentiate an enthusiastic fan from one who harbors a potentially dangerous obsession, is gained.

Stalking, homicide, and catathymic process: a case study.

Despite the proliferation of research on various aspects of stalking, there has been relatively little study of stalkers who commit homicide. In this article, a man who stalked and killed a casual acquaintance is reported. He developed an idea to kill her that, at first, seemed ego-alien and unreal but eventually became fixed and was accompanied by a mounting inner pressure to act. The concept of catathymic process--a change in thinking whereby the offender comes to believe that he can resolve his inner conflict by committing an act of extreme violence against someone to whom he feels emotionally bonded--is of particular help in understanding this case, as well as similar cases of stalking that culminate in homicide.