Sexual Homicide Research Articles

What differentiates sexual from non-sexual homicides? A case–control study

ABSTRACT Research comparing sexual homicide (SH) and non-sexual homicide (NSH) has been rare outside North America and Europe and has contributed to addressing whether SH is primarily a sexual or homicide offence or a hybrid. This case–control study compared 142 SH and 142 NSH cases from Australia and New Zealand. Bivariate analyses indicated SH offenders more often had sexual problems, lacked intimacy, and appeared more prosocial, had less serious mental health problems, with lifestyles giving opportunities to access victims. Planning rather than reacting, sexual fantasies and arousal, time, and isolation to interact with victims privately, control of victims and crime scenes, lack of remorse, reliving the experience later, preventing detection, and more intrusive, intimate, and sadistic interactions characterised SH offences. Victims were more likely to be strangers, unrelated, single, and living alone. We developed multivariate models to predict SH, with the final model including: offender single, with a sexual disorder, but not a substance use disorder or major mental illness; offence long in duration, with expressive physical violence and unusual or ritualistic features, against a stranger, in an isolated location. These results are consistent with previous studies and indicate SH is different from NSH, supporting differential practice with SH. However, the findings could primarily reflect the over representation of sexual sadism in SH and the over representation of intimate partner victims in NSH. Future research needs to consider the heterogeneity of SH.

Sexual homicide: a descriptive analysis of demographics, behaviour, and body disposal in New Zealand

ABSTRACT As a rare and complex phenomenon, the study of sexual homicide continues to be understudied in international contexts. This exploratory study sought to address this gap, utilising a dataset of 26 sexual homicide incidents which took place in New Zealand between 1968 and 2022, sourced from both judicial sentencing reports and a Police database. Descriptive analyses revealed men were the most common perpetrators, with females being the predominant victims. The act of moving or concealing the body emerged as a prevalent behaviour. Significant variation was observed between incidents, with each involving unique and distinctive sexual behaviours, further emphasising the challenges in understanding this complex phenomenon. By shedding light on both the commonalities and distinctive features across sexual homicides in a unique sample, this research highlights the heterogeneity among homicide offences of this nature, and provides insight to support the prevention, investigation and intervention with sexual homicide in both a local and global context. PRACTICE IMPACT STATEMENT This study sheds light on the dynamics of sexual homicide in New Zealand, highlighting common trends and unique behaviours among perpetrators and victims. By informing more targeted investigation strategies, it contributes to the collective aim of improving responses to sexual violence at both a local and global level.

Murdering the person closest to you: Similarities and differences between intimate partner sexual homicide and non-intimate partner sexual homicide.

Sexual homicides (SHs) demand nuanced research for effective prevention, treatment, risk assessment and theoretical insights. Intimate-partner sexual homicides (IPSHs), comprising approximately 20% of SHs, have received limited attention. This study compares IPSHs (n=56) and non-intimate partner sexual homicides (NIPSHs) (n=236) in Australia and New Zealand by investigating offender, victim, and crime-scene characteristics. While IPSH perpetrators were typically older, separated, and had prior domestic violence convictions, victims were more often non-white with histories of domestic violence and substance use. Although crime-scene locations and post-offence behaviours differed, similar crime scene behaviours were displayed across offender groups, which seemed to be routed in different underlying motives. Whereas drivers of IPSH commonly were grievance and anger, associated with offences occurring after arguments, drivers for NIPSH were more often sexual deviance and sadism. Overall, IPSH encompasses aspects of domestic violence, homicide, and sexual violence, distinguishing it from SH.

Understanding sexual homicide in Korea using machine learning algorithms

Understanding sexual homicide in Korea using machine learning algorithms

Child and adolescent victims of sexual homicide in Chile between 1998 and 2021: A review of 27 cases and their autopsy reports.

Rape followed by murder against children and adolescents is one of the most serious existing crimes. The autopsies of victims of violent crimes can provide fundamental findings for the investigative process and the pursuit of justice. This research conducts a descriptive analysis of the most important findings from the autopsies of 27 cases of children and adolescents who died in Chile between 1998 and 2021 as a result of rape followed by homicide (n=27), as well as from the judiciary rulings of these cases to gather information related to the perpetrators. It was found that the victims of this crime are mostly girls with an average age of 10, while the perpetrators are primarily single men aged 29 on average, most of whom have not finished high school. A significant relationship was found between the location of the crime and the cause of death and signs of sexual contact, the marital status of the perpetrator and the cause of death, the age of the perpetrator and signs of sexual contact, and the relationship between victim and perpetrator and signs of sexual contact.

Participation experiences of indirect victims of child sexual homicide in parole proceedings.

Few studies have examined victim participation in parole processes, particularly in countries that have specific procedures for hearing victims' statements in post-conviction proceedings. This study, through in-depth interviews, explores the experiences of seven indirect victims of child sexual homicide, identifying their needs and expectations in a justice system lacking formal mechanisms for their involvement. Results emphasize the necessity for official information for families and the consequent frustration from the absence of formal participation. Parole application becomes a new challenge to the ongoing grieving process, leading to distress responses that may require specialized care. Recommendations about formal mechanisms for victim notification, participation and support during the parole process are noted to acknowledge their experience and emotional impact.

Understanding sexual homicide in Korea using machine learning algorithms.

The current study was conducted to confirm the characteristics in sexual homicide and to explore variables that effectively differentiate sexual homicide and nonsexual homicide. Further, newer methods that have received attention in criminology, such as the machine learning method, were used to explore the ideal algorithm for classifying sexual homicide and patterns for sexual homicide in Korea. To do this, 542 homicide cases were analyzed utilizing eight algorithms, and the classification performance of each algorithm was analyzed along with the importance of variables. The results of the analysis revealed that the Naive Bayes, K-Nearest Neighbors, and RF algorithms demonstrate good classification accuracy, and generally, factors such as relationships, marriage, planning, personal weapons, and overkill were identified as crucial variables that distinguish sexual homicide in Korea. In addition, the crime scene information of the crime occurring in the dark (at night) and body disposal were found to have high importance. The current study proposes ways to enhance the efficacy of crime investigation and advance the research on sexual homicides in Korea through a more scientific understanding of sexual homicide that has not been thoroughly explored domestically.

Unveiling the shadows: Investigating the interplay of stalking and sexual homicide-A case study.

Stalking can be defined as a pattern of fixated, repeated, and unwanted behaviours. Stalking is not an isolated incident and was associated to sexual violence. While the relationship between sexual violence and stalking is scarcely explored, no studies have tested the relationship between stalking and sexual homicide, which both involves elements of obsession. The aim of this paper was to study the relationship between stalking and sexual homicide using an exploratory case study analysis of 7 males convicted for sexual homicide. Results revealed: (1) The presence of obsession prior to the homicide; (2) The victims were ex-intimate partners or acquaintances; (3) The victims were followed several times prior to the index offence; (4) Stalking elements were not always considered by the authorities, which has led to an escalation of behaviours. This study expands our understanding between stalking and sexual violence, supporting the design of prevention and treatments.

Tell Me What You Do, I’ll Tell You Who You Are: Predicting Offender-Victim Relationships in Sexual Homicide

ABSTRACT This study fills a gap in the existing literature by differentiating between sexual homicides committed by strangers and those by acquaintances. Utilizing data from the Sexual Homicide International Database, which encompasses 772 cases from France and Canada, the research focuses on using victimological and crime scene characteristics to predict the victim-offender relationship in sexual homicides. Employing a comprehensive methodological approach, the study uses bivariate analysis, sequential binary logistic regression, and an artificial neural network (ANN) model. These methods help in examining the correlations and predictive values of various factors in determining the nature of the victim-offender relationship. The findings highlight significant differences in the modus operandi of stranger and acquaintance offenders. Stranger offenders are more likely to exhibit violent, premeditated actions involving weapons, while acquaintance offenders tend to use verbal aggression, exploiting their existing relationship with the victim. Theoretically, results provide empirical insights into the dynamics of sexual homicides, expanding the understanding of offender behavior and crime scene analysis. Practically, it offers valuable guidance for law enforcement in criminal investigations and resource allocation.

Counting the days: Exploring the post-mortem interval factors in sexual homicides.

This study explores the offender, victim, and environmental characteristics that significantly influence the number of days a sexual homicide victim remains undiscovered. Utilizing a sample of 269 cases from the Homicide Investigation Tracking System database an in-depth analysis was conducted to unveil the factors contributing to the delay in the discovery of victims' bodies. The methodological approach involves applying a negative binomial regression analysis, which allows for the examination of count data, specifically addressing the over-dispersion and excess zeros in the dependent variable - the number of days until the victim is found. The findings reveal that certain offender characteristics, victim traits, and spatio-temporal factors play a pivotal role in the time lag experienced in locating the bodies of homicide victims. These findings have crucial implications for investigative efforts in homicide cases, offering valuable insights that can inform and enhance the efficacy and efficiency of future investigative procedures and strategies.

Superhomicide offenders: Nosology, empirical features, and linkages to sexual and multiple murder typologies.

The nosology for criminals who murder multiple victims is at once well-established and controversial, perhaps because theorists have largely segregated such offenders from the broader criminal population. The current study introduces the superhomicide offender, an individual convicted of at least five murders, to locate multiple homicide offenders within the criminological and epidemiological science pertaining to the most pathological offenders, and statistically place them with other conceptualizations of severe offenders at the 95th percentile of the offending distribution. Relative to other capital murderers, superhomicide offenders have lengthier criminal history, greater conviction history, and coextensive psychopathology characterized by psychopathy, sexual sadism, homicidal ideation, cluster A and B personality disorders, and major depressive disorder. Superhomicide offenders are profoundly psychopathic with 20 of the 39 offenders reaching the clinical threshold of 30 or more on the PCL-R, and 19 of the 39 are sexually sadistic. Regarding extant typologies of sexual and multiple homicide offenders, 15 are serial murderers, 17 are sexual homicide offenders, 17 are mass murderers, and 17 are spree murderers. Twenty-four of the 39 superhomicide offenders (61.5%) met criteria for multiple typologies, suggesting the new prototype can help unify the study of those who perpetrate multicide and embed them within criminological and epidemiological models that specify pathological antisocial outcomes.

What do we know about the perpetrators of sexual homicide of adult victims? A systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis

Introduction: sexual homicide is defined as lethal violence associated with sexual elements or motivations, predominantly perpetrated by men against women. Despite being a less frequent crime, there is a growing clinical and forensic interest in its specificities and the characteristics of the aggressor. Objective: to review the scientific literature on men who commit sexual homicide against adult victims. Methods: systematic review with MeSH ((“Sex Offenses”[Mesh]) AND “Homicide”[Mesh]) in the databases of MEDLINE, LILACS, MENDELEY and SciELO, between 1992 and 2023. The PICO strategy was used with the studied population (male sexual offenders), intervention (homicide of adult victims), context (sexual violence), and outcome (potential relationship between the issues). The stages of article selection and analysis involved two independent researchers. Original studies were included, excluding reviews, editorials, conference proceedings, books and chapters, theses, and dissertations. The selected articles were presented through qualitative meta-synthesis. Results: of the 70 selected articles, 66 articles (94.2%) adopted quantitative methods, 2 (2.9%) qualitative design, and 2 (2.9%) case reports. We found 41 articles (58.6%) conducted in North America and 22 articles (31.4%) in Europe, totaling 63 articles (90.0%). Another five articles (7.1%) were from Asia, one (1.4%) from Africa, and one (1.4%) from Oceania. In 52 articles (74.3%), there was an emphasis on aspects related to psychiatric, behavioral, or psychological disorders of the perpetrator, sexual sadism, or forms of sexual violence or lethal outcomes employed. Conclusion: sexual homicidal men possess characteristics that set them apart from other homicidal offenders or those who commit sexual violence, directing their crimes towards a heterogeneous group of adult victims. Studies have focused on the psychiatric and behavioral disorders of the perpetrator, as well as the relationship with traumatic experiences in childhood.

Sexual homicide offenders as repeat and nonrepeat offenders: An empirical study of sexual homicide cases in Mainland China.

The comparative examination of different groups of sexual homicide offenders (SHOs) is currently limited. To expand our understanding of Chinese sexual homicides, this study aimed to distinguish between the modus operandi (MO) characteristics of repeat (i.e., with previous arrest and/or conviction) and nonrepeat (i.e., without previous arrest and/or conviction) offenders. Data were gathered from police arrest records, court documents, and published case reports in mainland China, covering a 31-year period (1988-2018). A sample of 86 male SHOs (31 repeat and 55 nonrepeat offenders) was identified and the offenders' MO characteristics were examined. Compared with nonrepeat offenders, repeat offenders were significantly more likely to commit sexual murder in outdoor locations, approach their victims initially using a non-surprise approach, engage in nonvaginal penetration of their victims, use a personal weapon to kill their victims, and move their victims' bodies away from the crime scene. However, repeat offenders were less likely to be arrested immediately after committing the murder. The findings have practical implications for police investigative strategies, such as suspect prioritization.

Exploring Sexual Homicide by Overarching Groups of Victims

This study followed recent studies venturing into a victimological path of sexual homicide research. In doing so, it aimed to identify possible distinct overarching groups of victims. A latent class analysis based on statistically significant differences in a census of 107 cases in Israel during 71 years (1948–2019) involving four identified groups of victims suggested a typology of two overarching groups of victims: nonmarginalized victims composed of children and women and socially marginalized or stigmatized victims composed of sex workers and gay men. These two overarching groups of victims display distinct patterns regarding victims, offenders, and modus operandi. Future research and policy recommendations are proposed in line with this study’s observations.

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.

Trophy, souvenir, or simple theft? Taking items from the victim in sexual homicide.

Although most people have heard the terms 'souvenirs', 'trophies', and 'mementos', discussed in books and movies on the true crimes of sexual murderers, limited research has delved into the phenomenon of theft in sexual homicide (SH). Using a sample of 762 SH cases coming from the Sexual Homicide International Database, the current study examines the crime-commission process of the pre-crime, crime, and post-crime phases of sexual homicide offenders (SHOs) who engaged in theft during a SH. Additionally, this study seeks to determine if a specific type of SHO engages in this behaviour over others. Results from the sequential logistic regression indicate that victims who are 16years or older, were strangers to the SHO, and were sex workers were more likely to be victims of theft. Additionally, results indicate that the presence of sadism made it more likely the SHO would engage in theft from the victim and/or crime scene. Findings suggest there is a group of SHOs who engage in theft not for monetary purposes but due to the paraphilia of the offender. These findings can inform the police investigation of these crimes.

Comparing child and adult sexual homicides in Australia and New Zealand: A retrospective study.

The present study examined distinctions between child (n=30) and adult (n=212) sexual homicide offenders (SHOs) in Australia and New Zealand, contributing to the limited international research on the subject. Data, primarily sourced from judges' sentencing comments on AustLII and New Zealand Legal Information Institute, revealed significant differences. Child SHOs displayed elevated rates of pedophilia, sexual deviance, and adverse childhood experiences, including sexual abuse. They were more likely to be married, cohabitate, and target familial victims. Their crimes were more often committed during daylight and outdoors, involving tactics such as victim conning, restraints, strangulation, and hiding victim's bodies. No significant group differences emerged regarding offenders' psychopathy or sexual sadism scores. Results were interpreted in line with child SHOs' deviant sexual preferences and the routine activity theory. The study, as the first investigating child sexual homicides in Australia and New Zealand, sets the foundation for an evidence-based approach to policy and practice.

Identifying victim types in sexual homicide: A latent class analysis using interactional victimology theories.

Sexual homicide (SH) research has focused on those who commit these crimes and the crimes themselves. This leaves the victim, an equally crucial piece to the puzzle, left as a sort of afterthought, despite the valuable insight that victimology provides to the crime. For the current study, victim information related to their routine activities and lifestyles was taken from an international database containing 662 solved cases of SH. Nine victim variables were used in a latent class analysis to find hidden subgroups within the victim population. Three classes were identified-low-risk, homebody, and overt risk victims-which suggests that SH victimization varies depending on the victim lifestyles and routine activities. These groups were externally validated by examining their association with different phases of the crime commission process. Some sexual homicide offenders may be more drawn to a victim because they present as vulnerable and opportunistic, while others might be methodically targeted. The theoretical relevance of this typology, along with investigative and prevention strategies, is discussed.

How to get away with (sexual) murder? Unraveling cold cases in sexual homicide using a hybrid modeling probabilistic approach.

This study examines Sexual Homicide (SH) cases, analyzing the transition to cold cases through a non-discretionary lens. Utilizing the SH International Database, it explores the interplay between offender behavior, victim characteristics, and crime context. Advanced methodologies, including sequential logistic regression and Artificial Neural Networks, identify key predictors of case resolution. Results highlight the critical influence of victim intoxication, high-risk activities, and the location of the victim's body on case solvability. The study also reveals the significant role of offender forensic awareness and the complexity of crime scenes in hindering case resolution. These findings underline the multifaceted nature of SH cases, emphasizing the importance of understanding the nuanced interplay between victim, offender, and contextual factors in solving these challenging cases.

Tout ce que vous avez toujours voulu savoir sur le sadisme sexuel (sans jamais oser le demander)

Our perception of individuals who engage in sadistic sexual practices has long been influenced by media coverage of highly severe sexual offenses, typically sadistic sexual homicides. Indeed, most people associate sexual sadism with the names of serial sexual murderers such as Ted Bundy or Guy Georges. However, the psychological profile and behaviors of these individuals are in no way representative of the profile of individuals in the general population who practice sadistic sexual activities in a consensual context. In addition from what seems to be a growing number of individuals engaging in consensual sadistic sexual activities, scientific findings (e.g.: population surveys) and certain popular culture successes (e.g.: books) reflect that what have been stigmatized and “deviant” in the past may have been unjustifiably labeled as such. The tremendous success of E. L. James's Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy of erotic novels, which showcases initiation into sexual practices involving several declinations of sadism, bondage and sexual submission, supports this argument. With over 125 million print and electronic copies sold worldwide in 2015, it is in itself an interesting marker of an interest towards sexual sadism within the general population. In this interview with Jean-Pierre Bouchard, Jonathan James, Alexandre Gauthier, Étienne Garant, Ingrid Ménard and Tamsin Higgs present the current state of knowledge on sexual sadism, both in terms of consensual sadistic sexual practices as well as the engagement in coercive and illegal sadistic sexual behaviors.