3.

4.

Chapter-l r - Homicide and-Aggravated

3.of average intelligence;

4.either unemployed, or going from one job to another;

5.having a poor employment history; rarely holding a specific job f long period of time;

3.having an arrest record; having served time in a correctional Or me institution;

4.tending to be manipulative, emotionally cold, and outwardly passive

3.coming from an undesirable home environment, in which one paren; absent;

3.having exhibited childhood signs of abnormality, often involving elty to animals or children, arson, or vandalism; and

4.having suffered childhood abuse, particularly by a/wornan."

Serial Murders. Investigators and criminologists are now aware of an em ing type of killer-the serial murderer. This type of perpetrator commits nume murders but, unlike the mass murderer, kills over long time periods. Addition the serial killer often travels widely in the commission of his crimes. Ft authorities estimate that several thousand murders annually may be attributed this type of killer. 19 Victims are typically women or juveniles, with the sus almost invariably male. Although many serial murders have occurred in United States, the world's worst serial killing spree is attributed to An Chikatilo, a Russian who murdered 53 victims in the former Soviet Uni Chikatilo was arrested in 1990 following a 12-year criminal investigation. Sen: killings often involve a mutilating attack to body areas that stimulate the sus sexually. .

Investigative psychologists report two types of serial killers (or "lust m derers" as they may also be referred to): the organized nonsocial and disorgani asocial personality. The organized nonsocial murderer is totally psychopatl exhibiting complete indifference and hostility toward society. Methodical and c ning, he is excited by thoughts or media portrayals of cruelty. The disorgani asocial killer has an aversion to others and typically represents the classic 10 This suspect type feels rejected and lacks the nonsocial suspect's motivation inflict pain and punishment." Although any type of victim may be at risk, se homicidal offenders frequently target prostitutes or other victims whose oceUI tion or "street life" orientation places them in vulnerable environments.

Psychological Profiling The use of psychological profiling has proven quite successful in t~e inv~s!, tion of serial murder. Although nothing can replace a logical criminal Jll.v~Stl~ based on traditional, proven methods, the use of psychology is an addition . with tremendous potential. Investigative psychology can aid law enforcement o

cers by providing information that enables them to limit or better direct their efforts. All criminal offenders have unique psychological behavior patterns in addition to their modus operandi. Accordingly, the investigator trained in psycho- logical profiling attempts to construct a personality portrait of the offender. By analyzing crime scene photos, physical evidence, and reported conversations of the suspect, investigators can often develop a very accurate portrait of the offender.

The use of psychology to profile an offender's motive and personality is not a totally new concept. The origins of psychological crime solution are rooted in nineteenth-century fiction, such as that by Edgar Allan Poe and Arthur Conan Doyle.21 Possibly the first recorded use of psychological profiling in the United States occurred during the 1932 Lindbergh kidnapping case. Using psychological analysis with great accuracy, psychiatrist Dudley Shoenfeld carefully reviewed the circumstattces of the case and the contents of ransom notes. Concluding that the victim was dead very soon after the abduction and that the baby had been taken by a lone man, Schoenfeld's predictions were contrary to those held by the authorities. However, when the profile proved to be totally accurate, the value of psychological assessment in criminal investigations was demonstrated." Used frequently in various sensational investigations, psychological profiling remained relatively obscure until its use and promotion by the FBI.

Since 1978, the FBI Academy's Behavioral Science Unit has been assisting local law enforcement agencies in their investigations of violent crime. The unit also trains local and state investigators in the profiling method through on-site internships. The unit's agents are now heavily relied on for their profiling assess- ments and are credited with solving hundreds of previously unsolved cases. As of the year 2000, there were only 24 FBI agents and about 15 federally trained local and state law enforcement officers working as full-time profilers. There are rela- tively few profilers at local police agencies because most departments do not have the resources to free up detectives for the extensive training required-often a year-long internship based out of the FBI Academy.

The basis of a proper profile is a complete crime scene examination and thor- ough interviews of the victim and witnesses. Profi ling is a form of retroclassijica- tion, or classification that works backward. Unlike mental health psychologists who may attempt to classify a patient's emotional illness by interviewing the client personally, law enforcement profilers must work backward from behavioral ~lues left at crime scenes to establish identity through experience, insight, and lllterpretation. Many types of crime scenes lend themselves to this form of analy- sis. Such scenes are presumed to reflect the criminal's behavior and personality in mucn the way furnishings reveal the homeowner's character." Obviously, bizarre crimes or those in which the investigator recognizes the presence of psy- ~hopathology are particularly well suited for this process. Accordingly, the profile IS generally reserved for homicides, rapes, or other serious offenses in which a ~ental deficiency is exhibited by the suspect. Information essential for the profile IS typically drawn from:

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1.detailed crime scene photos and sketches;

2.results of laboratory tests and autopsy reports, if applicable;

3.a complete report of the offense, including date and time of offe location, and weapon used;

4.information concerning the victim, including (a) occupation

(b) general reputation

(c) detailed physical description

(d) marital status and number of children

(e) all known miscellaneous social and personal information, e.g., use of alcohol, financial status, educational level, etc."

Using known psychological concepts, past experience, and instinctive rea- soning, profilers review collected information to form the assessment (see Figure 11.2). Although a profile cannot always be expected to yield the following fac- tors, psychological assessments often reveal:

1.suspect's race,

2.sex,

3.age range,

4.marital status,

5.general employment,

6.reaction to questioning by police,

7.degree of sexual maturity,

8.whether the individual might strike again,

9.whether the individual has committed a similar offense in the past; and.

10.possible police record.

Psychological profiling can be accomplished by trained mental health p: fessionals who are not law enforcement officers. However, experienced investi gators who are also skilled psychologists (such as those in the FBI's profile unit' have had the greatest success. Profiling has traditionally focused on murder rape cases; however, the technique has been used successfully in other types investigations, including child molestation, arson, and kidnapping."

Closely related to the FBI's psychological profiling program is the Vi" lent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP). Operated at the ~I I National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, the VICAP program IS, nationwide data.collection effort that receives and analyzes information on sJ'01 cific cases of violence. The late Pierce Brooks, former Los Angeles police ca tain and chief of police in Lakewood, Colorado, is credited with conceiving VICAP concept. While investigating a homicide case in the 1950s, Br~, became convinced the killer had probably committed a similar crime at an ear

FIGURE 11.2 FBI behavioral profilers study maps, physical evidence, photographs, and official reports to construct a suspect's identity. (Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation.)

time. Frustrated by the 14 months he was forced to spend in the Los Angeles pub- lic library searching for newspaper articles describing a similar method of oper- ation, Brooks began to imagine the usefulness of a huge computerized national database in which criminal method of operation was catalogued and tracked. His visionary ideas and writings soon motivated FBI interest in establishing the current VICAP program. Any law enforcement agency may submit a solved or unsolved case to the VICAP program if the investigation meets one of the fol-

lowing criteria:

solved or unsolved criminal homicides that appear to be serial in nature, or homicides that are random, motiveless, or sexually oriented;

missing person cases in which there is a strong possibility of criminality; and

investigations in which unidentified bodies have been discovered and the

cause of death appears to be homicidal.

8.

II

Chapter 11 Homicide and Aggravated

VICAP analysts study such cases to determine whether there have prior investigations with similar elements or characteristics. By linking si cases in various jurisdictions, the program seeks to identify and appreh offenders who have eluded detection and arrest. Through nationwide data con tion, VICAP links and alerts various police agencies in their efforts to solve ous cases. As agencies are often unaware of crimes outside their immediate the program has proven significant in identifying serial offenders and their rela crimes (see Figure 11.3).

Benefit Factors. Possibly the smallest number of criminal homicides committed to achieve some type of benefit. Some offenders may murder to ri, themselves of the attachment of another individual, but the majority of bene murders are financially motivated. Such homicides may take place between buSi, ness partners, or they may be committed to profit from life insurance Coverage.

Those who murder for benefit generally hire a second party to commit offense, or attempt to deceive the officer by staging a fatal felony crime seen, Occasionally, large police agencies may experience a series of organized cri murders or killings resulting from youth gang conflicts. Such homicides are be efit related in that they are based on either financial gain or the achievement

power.

The benefit murderer is frequently resourceful and coldly calculating in methods used to achieve the homicide. A San Diego murder case in which a wi eventually succeeded in killing her husband involved at least five successiv murder attempts of uncommon means. The suspect, motivated by a $20,000 ,. insurance policy, concealed a sac of tarantula venom in a pie intended for the vii tim, threw an exposed electrical cord into the victim's shower, attempted to inj an air embolism into the victim's vein while he slept, mixed LSD into the vi, tim's toast, and placed bullets in the carburetor of the victim's truck. The sus finally succeeded in murdering her spouse by assaulting him with a lead wei

of six and one-half pounds."

Another example of murder calculated for benefit was the 1989 killing 0:

Carol Stuart in Boston. Driving home with her from a hospital birthing cl (Mrs. Stuart was seven months pregnant), the victim's husband, Charles Stu shot his wife to death to collect nearly $300,000 worth of life insurance. Stag' ing an elaborate hoax, the husband also shot himself to convince the police tb a violent robbery suspect had killed his wife and wounded him. The killer ~o~' vincingly divertedcsuspicion from himself with a detailed and hig~ly credl~,1 description of the alleged robber, inflicted himself with a poten~lall.y de~, wound, and wrote the eulogy for his wife's funeral. As the investIgatIOn g , ually began to focus on him, the murderer committed suicide by jumping frO,

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