Friends of Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Characteristics of Sexual Homicide Offenders Focusing on Child Victims: a Review of the Literature”, by Page, J.; Tzani-Pepelasi, K. and Gavin, H. (2022), in which authors carry out a revision of existing literature about criminal profiles of sexual murderers, focusing specifically, in those cases where children or young teenagers are the victims.
Sexual homicide has become increasingly popular in recent years from the point of view of scientific research, especially those in which the victims are children.
Although sexual homicide is a rare phenomenon, representing only 1-4% of homicides recorded in North America and the United Kingdom in recent years, the public opinion considers these crimes as the most abhorrent, and tends to give them much more prominence.
When the victim is a child, it also attracts intense levels of media attention, and the public scrutiny of investigating police forces and the pressure to make an arrest quickly are severe.
However, there have been problems in defining sexual homicide, which has made it difficult to classify these crimes. Most of the studies reviewed in this article have used the FBI definition, which considers a sexual homicide one in which, at the crime scene there is: “victim’s clothing or lack of clothing, exposure of the victim’s sexual parts, sexual position of the victim, insertion of foreign objects into the victim’s body cavities, and/or evidence of sexual intercourse.”
However, this definition may be a bit simple. In 2015, Chan expanded the concept by including criteria that may not be available at the crime scene, such as the offender’s confession or the offender’s personal effects, broadening the scope of what may qualify as sexually motivated homicide.
The main objective of this study was to review the existing literature on sexual homicides and compare the findings with child sexual homicides to see if there are similarities. For this purpose, databases and online libraries were used, where relevant studies were found for review, reaching a total of 72.
In 2002, Beauregard and Proulx developed a model of sexual homicides that suggested two types of modus operandi: sadistic and irate, then expanded this model to include the third type: opportunistic.
The sadist had a tendency to premeditate murder, mutilation, humiliation and hiding the body. He had an anxious personality, with traits of an avoidant, dependent and schizoid personality, as well as some sexual deviance and hypersexuality. In addition, they were more likely to have low self-esteem. Their modus operandi of the crime would be characterized by the subject’s deviant sexual fantasies.
Sadistic behaviors at the crime scene would include strangulation, insertion of foreign objects, mutilation, and use of restraints on the victim, which could demonstrate the offender’s sadistic sexual fantasies.
The irate offender does not plan the crime, but is more likely to leave the body at the scene and experience loneliness prior to the murder. They have dramatic personality traits, including narcissistic and dependent personality traits, an antisocial lifestyle, and their modus operandi is based on their desire for revenge against people they believe are responsible for their problems, including high levels of anger, impulsivity, and extreme violence. Because of the latter, murder may occur, even though the sexual circumstances may have been consensual at first.
The opportunist has a dramatic personality profile as well, including traits of narcissistic and antisocial personality disorder. They would have no problems in their life, but would be sexually dissatisfied. Their modus operandi would be characterized by their need for sexual gratification and the belief that other people exist only to satisfy their needs. Sexual assault is often a crime of opportunity, for example, the primary crime may have been a robbery and then a sexual assault occurred as a result of the victim’s availability.
What about this type of crime regarding children? These same authors set out their own model in 2019, following a review of the existing literature, on 72 cases of sexual homicides committed in France.
The first of the categories is that of the “intentional/prepubescent” killer (20.9%), with mostly male victims and of young age (9 years old). The offenders would be familiar with the crime scene and would attack their victims inside a residence. Most of them penetrated and sexually touched the victims and moved the body after death. This type of offender was the most likely to consume drugs or alcohol prior to committing the homicide.
On the other hand, there was the “unintentional/pre-teen” type (11.1%), with mostly male victims. They targeted unknown victims (75%) and most were killed by strangulation, but were not sexually penetrated.
The most common group was “intentional/pre-teen” (22.2%). Male victims were also predominant. These offenders were prone to drug use prior to the crime. Sexual penetration was always performed and humiliation occurred frequently. In addition, the victims were also beaten assiduously. They did not attempt to hide the body and usually buried it partially.
The “unintentional/pre-teen” aggressor (11.1%) was one of the least common and was characterized by the exclusivity of female victims, as well as choosing them because of their young age (10 years or younger). Most of the victims were unknown girls (75%). Sexual penetration was always practiced, they rarely moved the victim’s body and did not try to hide it.
The “intentional/adolescent” type (16.7%) targeted victims approximately 12 years of age. They practiced sexual penetration and strangulation, moved the victim’s body after the crime, appeared to avoid social contact with others, and were the most likely to exhibit sadistic sexual behaviors at the scene.
Finally, there is the “indiscriminate/adolescent” group (18.1%) that was characterized by criminality and prior history. The majority of victims were females of approximately 14 years of age, usually unknown.
This proposed model is quite good, as it mentions the age of the victims, behaviors at the crime scene, and provides approximate characteristics of the offender that the police could use in the early stages of an investigation. However, it could be expanded to include more details about previous criminal history or geographic data regarding the victims and the offender, which would strengthen the model and make it a much more useful investigative tool.
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