Sexual Murder

Catathymic and Compulsive Homicides

Louis B. Schlesinger

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780367860233
• eBook ISBN: 9781000350432
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Criminal Law
• Index: Law

Sexual Murder: Catathymic and Compulsive Homicides is the culmination of the author's 45 years of experience with, and studying, sexually motivated homicide. Sexual murders are generally of two types — catathymic and compulsive. Catathymic homicides are caused by a breakthrough of underlying sexual conflicts. They can be unplanned, explosive (acute) attacks or planned murders stemming from a chronic obsession with, or disturbed attachment to, the victim. In compulsive homicides, a fusion of sex and aggression results in a powerful internal drive which pushes the offender to seek out victims to kill — and the killing itself is sexually gratifying. These murders also may be planned or unplanned. In compulsive homicides that are unplanned, the urge breaks through and disrupts the offender's controls when a victim of opportunity crosses his path. The compulsive offender who plans his crimes often eludes law enforcement, and as a result he can have multiple (serial) victims over extended periods of time. Both forms of sexual murder — the catathymic and the compulsive — are presented in this volume from a clinical-descriptive perspective encompassing case studies with analysis.
Recent advances in empirical research in sexual murder—including findings from the joint research project between John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico—has published many important studies. These include such topics as necrophilia, foreign object insertions in sexual homicide, ritual and signature and temporal patterns in serial sexual homicide, mass murder, crime scene staging in homicide, and undoing (symbolic reversal) at homicide scenes. All such research will be included and incorporate into this fully updated Second Edition, including approximately fifty new clinical case studies.

1 Understanding Sexual Murder

Problems and Approaches

The image of the sexual murderer—especially the murderer with multiple victims—has always aroused concomitant feelings of horror and fascination in the general public. Today, his exploits are graphically reported in the press and on television, in “psycho-thriller” films, and in various “true-crime” books (e.g., Rule, 1983, 1988; Ryzuk, 1994; Schechter, 1989, 1990). As a result of all this attention, some sexual killers, such as Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and the Boston Strangler, have almost become household names. Of course, sexual homicide—homicide motivated primarily by a breakthrough of underlying sexual conflicts or where the killing itself is sexually gratifying—has also been studied by behavioral scientists, sociologists, forensic specialists, and the like. Yet, in contrast to the voluminous research literature on (nonsexual) homicide from psychiatric, psychological, sociological, legal, and investigative perspectives, a solid body of scientific literature on sexual murder is only beginning to be accumulated.

There are a number of problems that make research in the area of sexual murder very difficult: (1) There is no generally agreed-upon definition of sexual homicide; instead, a number of different definitions have been offered, and different terms are used for what seems to be similar criminal behavior. (2) Many murders that might appear to be sexually motivated are actually not sexually motivated. (3) Many murders that are not overtly sexual are sexually motivated. (4) The distinction between a sexual homicide, or a sexually motivated homicide, and a homicide associated with sexual behavior is often blurred. (5) National or state crime statistics on the number of sexual homicides have not been kept. (6) There are a number of practical impediments to carrying out research with these offenders, such as incomplete and inaccurate background histories and the lack of interdisciplinary cooperation. Each of these obstacles, listed in Table 1.1, makes sexual murder a crime that is not only difficult to understand but also very difficult to study.

Table 1.1 Problems Encountered in the Study of Sexual Murder

No generally agreed-upon definition. Many seemingly sexual murders are not really sexually motivated. Many sexual murders are not overtly sexual. Distinction between a sexual homicide, or a sexually motivated homicide, and a homicide associated with sexual behavior is often blurred. No national crime statistics exist. Practical impediments—such as incomplete and inaccurate background histories and lack of interdisciplinary cooperation—are common.

1.1 The Problem of Definition and Terms

In the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), which provides annual summaries of crime statistics, homicide is defined as the willful (nonnegligent) killing of one human being by another. Deaths caused by negligence, accidents, suicide, or justifiable homicides are not categorized as murder. The level of intent (as in the legal system’s classification of homicide into first-degree and second-degree murder, manslaughter, etc.) is also not considered. The UCR definition, which is based on findings reported by police investigators, is reasonably clear-cut. It does not take into account an offender’s internal state or such issues as blame or moral responsibility. These matters, which are difficult to assess objectively, are left to lawyers, judges, mental health experts, and jurors.

The definition of sexual homicide, on the other hand, is not at all clear-cut. Sexual homicide is not defined by statute as are the illegal paraphilias (such as pedophilia) and other sex crimes (such as rape), and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (in any of its editions) has never defined sexual homicide as a specific paraphilia, nor has the International Classification of Diseases. Moreover, inherent in the definition of sexual murder is the issue of intent, which adds to the definitional problems. For example, Ressler, Burgess, and Douglas (1988) generally define sexual homicide as “the killing of a person in the context of power, sexuality, and brutality” (p. 1). Almost all killings, however, involve some degree of power and brutality. How do these characteristics distinguish a sexual homicide from a nonsexual homicide? And what is the meaning of “sexuality” in this definition? Does it refer to actual sexual behavior? To render the killing a sexual murder, must there be intercourse, attempted intercourse, a desire for intercourse, or just an internal feeling of arousal? How can an investigator determine whether an offender’s arousal was sexual arousal or merely a general arousal (a heightened emotional state) felt by someone who has committed a crime and risks apprehension? In many cases, a clinician will decide that a murder is a sexual murder because it appears to be a sexual murder (Prentky et al., 1989; Swigert, Farrell, and Yoels, 1976). But what appears to be a sexual murder to one practitioner may appear otherwise to someone else.

Along with differences in definitions, many different terms have been used to describe sexual murder, including lust murder (Krafft-Ebing, 1886), sadistic lust murder (De River, 1958), sadistic murder (Brittain, 1970), lust killing (Malmquist, 1996), and even erotophonophilia (Money, 1990), among others (see Table 1.2). Sometimes the same term, such as lust murder, is defined differently by different authors (Hazelwood and Douglas, 1980; Krafft-Ebing, 1886). Reid (2017a) has documented 43 different conceptualizations of sexual and serial murder, some operationalized and some vague descriptions of behavior. Greenall (2012) has described four different scenarios that could define a sexual homicide. Kerr, Beech, and Murphy (2013) listed 13 different definitions of sexual murder. Higgs, Carter, Tully, and Browne (2017) reviewed empirical studies of sexual murder between 1970 and 2016 and reported three types of offenses: “sexualized murder” involving sadism, “grievance murder” involving anger, and “rape murder.” While all of these definitions and approaches have merit, the issue of what constitutes a sexual murder remains unsettled.

Table 1.2 Various Terms, Descriptions, and Definitions of Sexual Murder

Author	Year	Term	Description/Definition
Krafft-Ebing	1886	Lust murder	“The connection between lust and desire to kill” (p. 62); “The sadistic crime alone becomes the equivalent of coitus” (p. 64)
De River	1958	Sadistic lust murder	“After killing the victim, the murderer tortures, cuts, maims, or slashes the victim … on parts [of the body] that contain strong sexual significance to him and serves as sexual stimulation” (p. 40)
Brittain	1970	Sadistic murder	Offers no specific definition but provides a nine-page description of personality traits and characteristics of sadistic murderers; differentiates from a murderer who kills in a sexual setting (such as one who silences a victim of rape)
Hazelwood and Douglas	1980	Lust murder	“Distinguished from the sadistic homicide by the involvement of a mutilating attack or displacement of the breasts, rectum, or genitals” (p. 1)
MacDonald	1986	Sex murder	“A sexual factor is clearly apparent … or deeper study will sometimes reveal that sexual conflict underlies the act of aggression” (p. 164)
Ressler, Burgess, and Douglas	1988	Sexual homicide	“Murder with evidence or observations that indicate[s] that the murder was sexual in nature” (p. xiii)
Money	1990	Erotophonophilia	Murder associated with sexual sadism as defined in DSM (p. 26)
Douglas et al.	1992	Sexual homicide	“Involves a sexual element (activity) as the basis for the sequence of acts leading to death” (p. 123)
Douglas et al.	1992	Sadistic murder	“The offender derives the greatest satisfaction from the victim’s response to torture” (p. 136)
Grubin	1994	Sexual murder	“The killing may also be closely bound to the sexual element of an attack … the offender’s control of his victim, and her pain and humiliation, become linked to his sexual arousal” (p. 624)
Malmquist	1996	Lust killing	“The primary goal is to kill the victim as part of a ritualized attack … the motivation … is the enactment of some type of fantasy that has preoccupied him or her for some time” (p. 295)
Beech, Fisher, and Ward	2005	Sexual murder	“[Killing] where there is … a sexual element … or sexual component admitted or suspected” (p. 5)

Many, but not all, researchers agree that serial murders are sexual murders with multiple victims (Schlesinger, 2000a). Some define serial murder as literally the killing of multiple individuals, rather than viewing the crime more narrowly as a subtype of sexual murder (Egger, 1990a). For example, Dietz (1986) distinguishes five separate types of serial murderers: psychopathic sexual sadists, crime spree killers, organized crime multiple murderers, custodial prisoners and serial asphyxiators, and supposed psychotics who kill multiple victims. Only the first type is sexually motivated. In an attempt to add definitional precision, Jenkins (1988, 1989) specifically excludes politically motivated and professional contract killers, thereby adhering more to the traditional sexual view of serial murder. The FBI (Morton and Hilts, 2005) recently updated their definition of serial murder to include two or more victims, in separate events at different times. The term “spree murder” (involving a cooling-off period between murders) was essentially eliminated as a separate category.

These differences in terminology and definitions, although they often make communication regarding the meaning of findings difficult, are to be expected in the developing stages of scientific inquiry.

1.2 Many Seemingly Sexual Murders Are Not Really Sexually Motivated

In cases where there is an overt manifestation of genitality (e.g., a woman’s genitals are cut out or mutilated), a determination that the murder is a sexual murder would seem warranted. However, a closer examination reveals that many of these cases are not always that straightforward, and in some instances, the conclusion that the crime is a sexual murder is incorrect. Consider, for example, a person who responds to auditory hallucinations commanding him to kill women and cut out their genitals in order, perhaps, to save the world. Should a murder of this type be considered a sexual murder? There is certainly a sexual element to the offender’s delusions, possibly stemming from underlying sexual disturbance, but the primary motivation for the homicide is a response to psychosis.

The notorious and complex case of Richard Trenton Chase, dubbed the “Vampire Killer” (Ressler and Shachtman, 1992), is an example. Chase had a delusion that his blood was evaporating and that he therefore needed to drink the blood of others in order to continue to live. Following his release from a convalescent center (where he was sent after killing small animals and drinking their blood), he began breaking into homes in order to obtain human blood and hence preserve his life. Chase wound up killing ten peop...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Introduction
• 1 Understanding Sexual Murder: Problems and Approaches
• 2 Forensic Assessment: Evaluation of the Sexual Murder
• 3 The Place of Sexual Murder in the Classification of Crime
• 4 Catathymia and Catathymic Crisis: Contributions of Hans W. Maier and Fredric Wertham
• 5 Acute Catathymic Homicides
• 6 Chronic Catathymic Homicides
• 7 Compulsive Homicides in Historical Context
• 8 Planned Compulsive Homicides
• 9 Unplanned Compulsive Homicides
• 10 Prediction and Disposition
• References
• Index