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Murder

The Buller-McGinnis Model of Serial Homicidal Behavior: An Integrated Approach

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Abstract

The seemingly random and motiveless natures of serial homicides make identifying and capturing serial killers nearly impossible. Theories of violent behavior and models exploring the etiology of serial murderers fail to provide an accurate method of predicting serial homicidal tendencies. The present paper seeks to construct an integrated model of serial homicidal behavior designed to pinpoint commonalities shared by serial killers, in order to discover a link between certain characteristics and future homicidal behavior. After examining the lives of four known serial killers, the results yielded two prominent general traits: poor childhood social environments and isolation common amongst all subjects....

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Offender And Offense Characteristics Of A Nonrandom Sample Of Mass Murderers.

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Abstract

A nonrandom sample (N = 30) of mass murderers in the United States and Canada during the past 50 years was studied. Data suggest that such individuals are single or divorced males in their fourth decade of life with various Axis I paranoid and/or depressive conditions and Axis II personality traits and disorders, usually Clusters A and B. The mass murder is precipitated by a major loss related to employment or relationship. A warrior mentality suffuses the planning and attack behavior of the subject, and greater deaths and higher casualty rates are significantly more likely if the perpetrator is psychotic at the time of the offense. Alcohol plays a very minor role. A large proportion of subjects will convey their central motivation in a psychological abstract, a phrase or sentence yelled with great emotion at the beginning of the mass murder; but in our study sample, only 20 percent...

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The Contract Murderer: Patterns, Characteristics, and Dynamics

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Abstract

A case of an independent professional contract murderer, who killed over 100 people, is reported. After eluding law enforcement for 30 years, the subject killed several associates who he believed could implicate him in various crimes. These homicides eventually led to his arrest, since the victims were individuals who could be linked to him. This hit man had a background of poverty and childhood abuse but, as an adult, had pursued a middle-class lifestyle and kept his family totally separate from his criminal career. In addition, he had a number of characteristics that helped him carry out his crimes in a highly planned, methodical, and organized manner: he had adept social judgment; personality traits of orderliness, control, and paranoid vigilance; useful defense mechanisms of rationalization and reframing; and an exceptional ability to encapsulate emotions. This case is discussed within the context of contract murder, a crime that...

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Debunking the Stereotype An Examination of Mass Murder in Public Places

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Abstract

Much attention has been devoted in the past several years to public incidents of mass murder. Events such as the shooting on a Long Island commuter train in 1993, the massacre in Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, in 1991, or the seemingly numerous workplace homicides have received intensive media coverage and public interest. As a consequence, a stereotype of mass murder has emerged that may or may not be very accurate. This study examines incidents of mass murder that occurred in public settings in the United States between 1965 and 1995 to more closely scrutinize both the events and the offenders involved.

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Mass Murder and the Individual: Psychoanalytic Reflections on Perpetrators and Their Victims

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Anna Ornstein, M.D. Additional Information

Professor Emerita of Child Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati; Lecturer in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; and Supervising Analyst, Boston Psychoanalytic Institute

This paper is a revised and enlarged version of one delivered at the 17th International Congress of the International Association for Group Psychotherapy, Rome, August 24–29, 2009. Anna Ornstein, M.D. 60 Longwood Ave. Brookline, MA 02446 E-mail: annaornstein@aol.com

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Psychiatric Study Of A Mass Murderer

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Abstract

Careful examination including review of the psychological test data failed in our opinion to reveal evidence of psychosis. The diagnosis of sociopathic personality was based upon the history of poor social adjustment, intolerance of frustration and discipline, antisocial behavior, nomadism, poor work record, egocentricity and lack of judgment together with the findings upon examination.

His statement that he had faked insanity on his second admission to hospital and the absence of amnesia for this episode do not exclude a diagnosis of Ganser syndrome. It was our opinion, however, that the symptoms were consciously determined. On his first admission, limited attempts at simulation were seen in his responses on the projective tests and also in his claim of previous electroshock therapy. Due to lack of space, this report does not include all the findings of our examinations during the 44 days the patient was in hospital The psychological tests will be reported later in a psychological journal....

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Mass Murder, Shooting Sprees and Rampage Violence: Research Roundup

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Sandy Hook, Aurora, the Washington Navy Yard, Fort Hood, and Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. These place names signify terrible tragedies that continue to prompt deep reflection from policymakers and the public about how to stop acts of mass violence in the United States.

While FBI statistics show that levels of violent crime in the United States, including murder, have steadily declined since 1991, acts of murder and non-negligent manslaughter still claim about 15,000 lives a year. More than half of all such violent crimes in a given year are typically committed with guns. Over the past 30 years, public mass shootings have resulted in the murder of 547 people, with 476 other persons injured, according to a March 2013 Congressional Research Service report. “[W]hile tragic and shocking,” the report notes, “public mass shootings account for few of the murders or non-negligent homicides related to firearms that occur annually in the United States.”...

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Murder Under Hypnosis.

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Abstract

This article discusses the trial of a woman accused of murder in 1890 whose defence rested on the claim that she acted unconsciously under the hypnotic influence of her older lover. This relatively banal case brought together two rival schools of French psychiatry - that of J.-M. Charcot in Paris and that of Hippolyte Bernheim in Nancy - and provided a wide-ranging examination of views on the nature of unconscious mental activity as well as the social, political and professional implications that their theories on hypnotism and hysteria contained. Discussions on women's sexuality, family relations, crowd behaviour and political radicalism all played a part in the debate and are examined through the case study that the trial of Gabrielle Bompard permits. Moreover, the trial shed incidental light on the campaign by physicians against amateur healers and hypnotists whom they blamed for unleashing a wave of mass hysteria through their...

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The Sudden Murderer A Comparative Analysis

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Abstract

In this study, the “sudden murderer” is defined as a person who, without having been involved in any previous serious aggressive antisocial acts, suddenly, unlawfully, and intentionally kills (or makes a serious attempt to kill) another human being. The murder is “sudden” in the sense that it appears to be a single, isolated, unexpected episode of violent, impulsive acting-out behavior behavior which is never well thought out, behavior which has no obvious purpose or hope for personal advantage or profit foreseeable as a result. Of 153 criminal offenders referred for psychiatric evaluation between July 1, 1956, and Dec. 30, 1957, to the Social Maladjustment Study Unit at the Malcolm Bliss Mental Health Center in St Louis,* 13 could be called “sudden murderers” by this definition. Although in this group of patients the crime as a function of the personality of the patient concerned proved most...

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Sexual Murder: Definitions, Epidemiology and Theories (From Sexual Murderers: A Comparative Analysis and New Perspectives,

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Abstract:   Ressler, Burgess, and Douglas (1988) consider a murder sexual if at least one of the following is involved: the victim is found totally or partially naked; the genitals are exposed; the body is found in a sexually explicit position; an object has been inserted into a body cavity; there is evidence of sexual contact; or there is evidence of substitutive sexual activity or of sadistic sexual fantasies. The main obstacle to labeling a homicide as sexual is the failure of some police officers to use these features of a crime scene as evidence of the sexual nature of a homicide, as well as the lack of specific definitions for sexual murder in criminal codes. In Canada between 1974 and 1986, there were 305 sexual murders (approximately 23 murders annually). In the United States between 1991 and 1995, sexual murders accounted for only 0.9 percent of all murders; however, there was no difference...

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Multiple Murder And Criminal Careers: A Latent Class Analysis Of Multiple Homicide Offenders.

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Abstract

PURPOSE: To construct an empirically rigorous typology of multiple homicide offenders (MHOs).

METHOD: The current study conducted latent class analysis of the official records of 160 MHOs sampled from eight states to evaluate their criminal careers.

RESULTS: A 3-class solution best fit the data (-2LL=-1123.61, Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC)=2648.15, df=81, L(2)=1179.77). Class 1 (n=64, class assignment probability=.999) was the low-offending group marked by little criminal record and delayed arrest onset. Class 2 (n=51, class assignment probability=.957) was the severe group that represents the most violent and habitual criminals. Class 3 (n=45, class assignment probability=.959) was the moderate group whose offending careers were similar to Class 2.

CONCLUSION: A sustained criminal career with involvement in versatile forms of crime was observed for two of three classes of MHOs. Linkages to extant typologies and recommendations for additional research that incorporates clinical constructs are proffered.

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Psychiatric Drugs And Mass Murder: Exploring The Connection

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As the country reels from news of yet another senseless mass killing in suburban Milwaukee, coming on the heels of the even more deadly massacre in Aurora, Colorado, Americans are left to wonder what could possibly be responsible for this outbreak of bloody insanity and murder. But as terrible as these two incidents were, they have an undeniable ring of familiarity about them – since the year 2000, there have been twenty-six cases of mass murder (four or more victims) in the United States, as opposed to twenty combined during the 1980s and 1990s. And before the 1980s, mass killing sprees were actually quite rare in this country, usually averaging no more than one or two per decade. So it appears we are looking at a trend of madness that began approximately thirty years ago and has been picking up steam every since.

While the anti-gun forces came out in legion following the killingsy...

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Sexually Motivated Child Abduction Murders: Synthesis of the Literature and Case Illustration

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Abstract

Sexual murders involving children generate intense media attention and widespread public concern, despite their infrequency. Empirical research on this type of murderer is surprisingly scarce in light of the interest in this topic. Most studies have looked at sexual murderers of adult women, neglecting to look at those who murder children. This article reviews the current research on sexual murderers of children, especially those who abduct their victims. Available literature suggests that sexual murderers of children tend to form a relatively homogeneous group, matching several characteristics of the sadistic offender, and differing from sexual murderers of adult women in several ways. Some sexual murderers of children abduct their victims. These crimes, which are usually committed by strangers, can be extremely difficult to investigate. Following the review and synthesis of the relevant literature, a case study of a man who abducted,..

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Researching Serial Murder: Methodologial and Definitional Problems

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Abstract

This paper examines issues related to the definition and study of serial murder. It examines definitional issues such as the notion that serialists are male, the notion that the killings are not for profit, the claim that the killers and the victims are strangers, and the conception of the victims as powerless. It examines methodological issues such as problems with both quantitative and qualitative data, and the creation of serial killer typologies. The paper argues that reliance upon narrow definitions, questionable data gathering, and the creation of typologies based on these definitions and data distort the analysis of serial murder and serial murderers. Suggestions are made for improving the scholarly study of serial murder

The image of Jack the Ripper has captured the popular imagination for more than a century. His exploits have been the focus of innumerable films, television shows, books and newspaper features...

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A History of Union Murder and Sabotage

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The raging union-led protests in Wisconsin have resulted in many Americans taking a closer, more critical look at labor unions and their political clout and influence in shaping policy. With the ubiquitous announcement from AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka that he is granted an audience at the White House “nearly every day,” the American people have become more skeptical of unions and the role that they play in the political process.

Spawning this renewed attention to organized labor are reports that Democratic politicians have been endorsing violence as a legitimate means of protest and political expression. Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) has gone as far as telling a crowd of protesters at a union rally that they should be unafraid to “get out on the streets and get a little bloody when necessary,” and several other protesters took Capuano’s advice to heart, as former Tea Party Republican ...

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Jurisdiction over Interstate Felony Murder

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Suppose a felony committed in one state results in a death in another state and the alleged perpetrator is prosecuted for homicide under the felony-murder rule. The law is not settled as to which state or states may exercise jurisdiction over the crime. Only three states have confronted this issue, and the courts involved relied on differing rationales to reach disparate conclusions. Despite the narrowness of the problem posed, its resolution raises!arger questions as to the analysis appropriate for deciding questions of jurisdiction over interstate crime generally.

This comment examines current approaches to jurisdiction over interstate crime and demonstrates that their failure to provide satisfactory solutions for interstate felony murders is the result of their inadequate analyses of the state interests served by anassertion of jurisdiction. The comment will analyze...

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