Download Sexual Homicide Presentation lp version

The More Extreme Version of Murder
Topics to Cover
 What is sexual homicide?
 How is it different from
homicide?
 How do we define it?
 Why
do we even need to define it?
 How prevalent is it?
 What are the general typologies/explanations?
 Why won’t you be able to sleep tonight (case
studies and real life examples)?
Homicide v. Sexual Homicide
Homicide
Sexual Homicide
• Illegal
• Perpetrated by at
least 1 offender
• Involves at least 1
victim
• The victim is dead
• Not sexual
• Illegal
• Perpetrated by at
least 1 offender
• Involves at least 1
victim
• The victim is dead
• Sexual
What is the difference?
 Legally: Nothing
 There are no sections of the CCC
that deal
specifically with sexual murder
 Beyond legal implications, there is no mention of
the crime’s sexual nature
 While
sections do cover murders committed
during sexual crimes, they provide only a charge
for First Degree Murder
Definition of Sexual Homicide
Sexual homicide if the crime scene exhibits at least
one of the following:
1. the victim is found naked or partially clothed;
2. the genitals are exposed;
3. the body is found in a sexually explicit position;
4. a foreign object has been inserted into a body
cavity;
5. there is evidence of sexual activity; and
6. there is evidence of substitutive sexual activity or
of sadistic sexual fantasies
Definition of Sexual Homicide
Sexual homicide if the crime scene exhibits at least
one of the following:
1. the victim is found naked or partially clothed;
2. the genitals are exposed;
3. the body is found in a sexually explicit position;
4. a foreign object has been inserted into a body
cavity;
5. there is evidence of sexual activity; and
6. there is evidence of substitutive sexual activity or
of sadistic sexual fantasies
Alternative Definitions
 “Sexual homicide involves a
sexual element
(activity) as the basis for the sequence of acts
leading to death”
 (Burgess, Burgess, and Ressler, 1992, p. 123)
 Murder can be characterized as sexual when the
sexual factors and the homicide are simultaneous
or very close in time.
 (Carter, Mann and Wakeling, 2007)
Complicating the Definition
 Mass murder: refers
to a murder involving at least
three victims, killed in the same location, at the
same time.
 Serial murder:
comprises a series of events, at
different locations, separated from one another
by transition, or emotional cooling-off, periods.
 Mass and serial murders
may or may not be
sexual. Similarly, serial and single-victim sexual
murders may or may not be sadistic.
So Why Bother With Definitions?
 Despite similarities,
sexual homicide is still distinct
from regular homicide
 The sexual nature of the crime introduces;
 Different motives for the crime
 Victim selection process
 Offending behaviours/M.O.
 These all have implications for our explanation of
the crime as well as prevention strategies
Public Perception of Sexual Murderers
 Media influences our notion of crime, criminality,
and criminals
 Media sensationalizes extreme cases of violence
 Depicts extraordinary examples as ordinary
 Exaggerates the prevalence and risk of occurrence
 In the context of sexual homicide, media gives
attention to serial sadistic murderers
 Crimes are extremely violent and bizarre
 Captivates the public’s attention and fears
Prevalence of Sexual Homicide
 Rare: 0.09
sexual murders per 100,000 people
 The Canadian national rate of sexual murders
have
remained stable over the last three decades.
 1974 to 1986: 305 sexual murders in Canada, or
about 23 per year (Roberts & Grossman, 1993).
 In 1999 there were 22 sexual murders,
representing 4.1% of all murders (Porter &
Woodworth, 2001).
What Causes Sexual Homicide?
 A number of theories have been developed to
explain sexual murder.
 However, it is difficult to draw a definitive theory
due the low prevalence of sexual homicide.
 Some theories rely solely on clinical observations
 Others developed from studies of small samples.
 Many of the theories are derived from studies
analyzing a single category of sexual murderers,
specifically serial sexual murderers or sadistic
sexual murderers (Fox & Levin, 1999).
Serial Sexual Murder Prevalence
 Serial sexual murderers
represent a small
proportion of sexual murderers.
 USA: approximately account for 2% of sexual
murderers (Geberth, 1995).
 Canada: serial sexual murderers constitute only
3% of incarcerated sexual murderers (Beauregard &
Proulx, 2002).
 In view of these statistics, it is surprising that a
major proportion of the sexual murder literature
focuses on serial sexual murderers.
Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris
Known as the Tool Box Killers, these two men
abducted, raped, tortured, mutilated and murdered
five female teenage girls from June – October 1979
Modus Operandi
 Prior to the murders, the pair picked up over 20
female hitchhikers
 There practice runs allowed them to develop their
ability to lure girls into the van
 The van was constructed with a bed, under which
they stored tools, beer, soft drinks and marijuana
Modus Operandi
• The duo would offer victims a ride home,
coupled with the promise of marijuana, beer or
soft drinks.
• If the target refused, they would pull alongside
the victim and pull the victim through the sliding
door.
• Once inside the van, Norris would violently
subdue the victim with duct tape while Bittaker
would blast the stereo to drown out the sound
of screaming.
Victims
Name
Age
Lucinda
Shaefer
16
Raped by Bittaker and Norris; manually strangled; strangled
with wire coat hanger and vise-grip pliers
Andre
Joy Hall
18
Raped twice by Bittaker, once by Norris; forced fellatio, posed
for Polaroid pictures, stabbed with ice pick in ear, manually
strangled
Jackie
Gilliam
15
Posed for pornographic pictures, raped three times, tape
recording of assault, forced to pretend to be Bittaker’s cousin,
breasts stabbed with ice pick, vice grip pliers used to tear off
part of nipple; ice pick in ear; manually strangled
Jacky
Lamp
13
Posed for pornographic pictures; molested touching,
bludgeoned with hammer; manually strangled
Shirley
Lynette
16
Bittaker tormented her in van; slapping; beating with fists,
hammer; ordered to scream loudly; beating breasts with fists;
inserting pliers into orifices; vaginal and anal rape; assault
was voice recorded; 25 sledgehammer strikes on the elbow;
strangled with coat hanger wire and pliers
Contextualizing Sexual Homicide
 Serial, sadistic sexual murders
are atypical
 Overemphasized in media and research
 The exaggerated prevalence of sadistic sexual
murders has limited public knowledge of
alternative typologies/explanations of sexual
homicide
 Frustration-Anger theory
 Misogynist/Dominance theory
 No simple explanation: each case must be
examined in their own context and circumstances
Homicide as Consequence to Crime?
 Is murder the end goal of the sexual assault or did
the victim simply succumb to injuries sustained
during the assault?
 While the offender intended the sexual assault,
they did not intend to murder the victim
 Is murder committed to eliminate witness?
 The assault and homicide are two separate events
 Murder for the sake of reducing the risk of
apprehension and punishment