"In this study, souvenirs were defined as extrinsic items, such as clothing, jewelry, wallets, money and the taking of photos of the crime scene or victim by the offender, while trophies were defined as intrinsic items, such as body parts or hair."--Abstract.
Reliving the Crime Extends the Fantasy
Killers like to take trophies and souvenirs from their victims. Keeping some memento a lock of hair, jewelry, newspaper clips of the crime helps prolong, even nourish, their fantasy of the crime. In my research, I’ve seen this happen again and again.
Here’s what to look for in an investigation: Is there anything missing that belongs to the victim? Often police will mistakenly look for valuable missing items. But I’m not talking about a stereo component that’s an impersonal item. I’m talking about something more personal a ring, earrings, even costume jewelry — something the victim was wearing at the time of the crime.
Maybe they’ll keep the victim’s driver’s license. Some will leave it intact. Others will get rid of everything but the picture, so they just have a little wallet photo of the victim, as if they had some kind of relationship going....