FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY LECTURE 6

1. FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGYLECTURE 6 Psychological Profiling of Homicidal Offenders Forensic Psychology

2. Recommended Reading Schlesinger, L.B. (2000), Serial Offenders: Current Thought, Recent Findings. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. • Brittain, R.P. (1970). The sadistic murderer. Medicine, Science and Law. 10, 198‑207. • Meloy, J.R. (2000). The nature and dynamics of sexual homicide. Aggression and Violent Behaviour. 5, 1‑22. • Prentky, R.A. et al. (1989). The presumptive role of fantasy in serial sexual homicide. American Journal of Psychiatry. 146, 889‑891. • Ressler, R.K., Burgess, A.W. and Douglas, J.E. (1986). Sexual Killers and their victims: Identifying patterns through crime scene analysis. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 1, 288‑308. Forensic Psychology

3. Recommended Reading • Satten, J. et al. (1960). Murder without apparent motive. American Journal of Psychiatry. 117, 48‑53. • Schlesinger, L.B. (1996). The catathymic crisis (1912‑present): a review and clinical study. Aggression and Violent Behaviour. 1, 307‑316. • Schlesinger, L.B. Murder and Sex Murder: Psychopathology and Psychodynamics. Lethal Violence: A Sourcebook on Fatal, Domestic, Acquaintance and Stranger Violence (Chapter 14) Edited by Hall. • Warren, J.L, Hazelwood, R.R. and Dietz, P.E. (1996). The sexually sadistic serial killer. Journal of Forensic Sciences. 41, 970‑974. • Wertham, F. (1978). The catathymic crisis in LL. Ktash, S.B. Ktash and L.B. Schlesinger (Eds.) Violence: Perspectives on Murder and Aggression. San Francisco: Jossey‑Bass. Forensic Psychology

4. Learning Outcomes • Consider the role of the victim in homicide. • Explain the historical background to the study of murder and describe the difficulties associated with defining “serial homicide”. • Describe characteristics that are associated with serial murderers. • Examine Motivational Models for Murder. Forensic Psychology

5. Victimology • Study of Victims as a Science • Wolfgang (1958) – 588 murders in Philadelphia • 94% of the same race • 87% knew each other • 82% male and less than 35 • 76% of victims were male • Stabbing most common method • 66% of offenders has previous convictions • 53/54% of offenders and victims were under the influence of alcohol (Meloy, 2000) Forensic Psychology

6. Classification of Murder • Various classifications of murder have been offered by theorists in the forensic domain. • Serial murder, mass murder, sexual murder, contract murder, etc. • There are many aspects to murder and the motivation of the perpetrator is not always understandable, particularly in bizarre murder cases. Forensic Psychology

7. Classification of Murder • Sexual elements in homicide cases are not always always obvious, and may often be ignored by Law Enforcement agencies. • Problems in the identification of sexual murders may be as a result of the varying definitions of “serial murder” as well as the difficulty in associating covert sexual dynamics in serial murder cases. Forensic Psychology

8. What Is Sexual Homicide? • Burgess, Hartman, Ressler, Douglas & McCormack (1986) - sexual homicide results when one person kills another in the context of power, control, sexuality and aggressive brutality. • Schlesinger (1999) “sexual homicide becomes serial when there are multiple victims involved, and multiple locations, following a “cooling off” period between the murders”. Forensic Psychology

9. What Is Sexual Homicide? • Meloy (2000) “as the intentional killing of a person during which there is sexual behaviour by the perpetrator”. • FBI – “Serial homicide - the killing of several victims in 3 or more separate incidents over weeks or an extended period” Forensic Psychology

10. Historical Examples of Serial Offenders • Jack the Ripper- Late 1800’s - killed prostitutes. • Albert Fish , New York, early 1900’s. Cannibalism. • DeSalvo – The Boston Strangler (1967) - killed 13 women during an 18-month period in the 1960’s. Forensic Psychology

11. Characteristics of Serial Murderers – Kraft Ebbing (1886) • A male phenomenon • Sadistic acts tend to escalate • Lying and manipulation • Trophies and souvenirs • Ligatures • Victims are tortured • Sexual satisfaction in murder • Troubled relationship with the mother • Frequent use of Pornography • No overt signs of abnormality • Signature Aspects Forensic Psychology

12. Elements of Serial Homicide • Schlesinger (2000) proposes 3 elements to serial homicide • Sexual sadism • Intense fantasy • Compulsion to act out the fantasy • Either of the factors can be dominant. Forensic Psychology

13. Elements of Sexual Homicide • Brittain (1970) “rich, active fantasy life” • Prentky et al. (1989) - fantasy affects a “primary drive mechanism” that alters the thinking of the perpetrator when stressed. • Keppel (1997) - “Calling Card” • Repetitive behaviour at the crime scene, such as excessive stabbing, may be the acting out of the perpetrators' fantasies. Forensic Psychology

14. Elements of Sexual Homicide • Why act out the behaviour? • Ressler (1998) – Stress factors, frame of mind and planning. Forensic Psychology

15. Motivational Models of Homicide • Burgess, Hartman, Ressler, Douglas and McCormick (1986) • Ineffective Social Environment - Childhood • Influence of Formative Events -Trauma • Patterned Responses (Fantasy and Cognitive Mapping) • Action towards others • Feedback filter (internal mechanism for justifying actions) Forensic Psychology

16. Motivational Spectrum of Homicide • Revitch And Schlesinger (1989) – (See Handout) • Spectrum of Motivational Stimuli - Based on Clinical Experience rather than Empirical Research. • The Catathymic Crisis – Schlesinger (1996) – Article Forensic Psychology

17. Motivational Spectrum of Homicide • Environmental • Situational • Impulsive • Catathymic • Compulsive Forensic Psychology

18. Motivational Spectrum • Organic, Toxic and paranoid cases are separate from the spectrum •  External/Exogenous • Internal/Endogenous • In environmental offences, external factors play a large role and exogenous stimulation is the stimulating factor, but endogenous stimulation is the main contributor to compulsive offences. All of the factors can have a mixture of endogenous and exogenous stimulation, depending on the position that the crime falls on in the spectrum. Forensic Psychology

19. Motivational Spectrum • Environmental (Sociogenic) • Crimes that occur as a result of social or environmental factors (Nazi Germany). • Experimental evidence – Aggressive Acts, Millgram study. • Modern day – contract murder. Forensic Psychology

20. Motivational Spectrum • Situational (most common type) • Accounts for 70% of Murders • Stress is common denominator. • Usually only happens once. • Reactions to stressful situations – i.e. Domestic murder Forensic Psychology

21. Motivational Spectrum • Impulsive • Spontaneous murders, perhaps due to a personality disorder - Poor impulse control • History of anti-social acts. • Tend to drift in and out of difficult situations – offences are diffuse and poorly structured. Forensic Psychology

22. Motivational Spectrum • Catathymic motivation on spectrum • Maier 1912( in accordance with emotions). • A psychological process disrupts logical thinking. • Thinking has changed –conflicts (issues) – psychodynamic process. • Schlesinger (1996) – psychodynamic process frequently accompanied by disorganisation and characterised by an accumulation of tension released through a violent act. Forensic Psychology

23. Catathymic Homicide • Types • Acute – Sudden disintegration of personality • Sudden Unprovoked murder without apparent motivation • Chronic – Incubation Period • Violent act • Relief following the act • (Stalking Cases) Forensic Psychology

24. Motivational Spectrum • Compulsive • Involvement of psychological factors rather than environmental sources. • Seek out victims and the crime is usually sexual in nature. • Proceeded by years of fantasy and a compulsion to commit the act. • Need for repetition. • William Heirens – “Catch me before I kill again!” Forensic Psychology

25. Thoughts of Compulsive Sex Murderers • Hostility to Women • Preoccupation with maternal sexual conduct • Incestuous preoccupation (overt or covert) • Feelings of sexual inferiority and weakness • Need to “possess” the victim Forensic Psychology