Serial Murder

I. Introduction

Serial murder is neither a new phenomenon, nor is it uniquely American. Dating back to ancient times, serial murderers have been chronicled around the world. In 19th century Europe, Dr. Richard von Krafft-Ebing conducted some of the first documented research on violent, sexual offenders and the crimes they committed. Best known for his 1886 textbook Psychopathia Sexualis, Dr. Kraft-Ebing described numerous case studies of sexual homicide, serial murder, and other areas of sexual proclivity. Serial murder is a relatively rare event, estimated to comprise less than one percent of all murders committed in any given year. However, there is a macabre interest in the topic that far exceeds its scope and has generated countless articles, books, and movies. This broad-based public fascination began in the late 1880s, after a series of unsolved prostitute murders occurred in the Whitechapel area of London. These murders were committed by an unknown individual who named himself “Jack the Ripper” and sent..

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...