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Sex Killers Not Who You Think They Are
Drawing from the largest-ever sample of sex-related homicide cases in Canada, a pair of researchers have developed what they say is one of the clearest portraits yet of the people who commit these unusual crimes and their victims.
Contrary to previous studies that suggested sexual murderers were socially inept individuals who "blitzed" unsuspecting victims, many sexual murderers are not socially isolated and often utilize a ruse to make contact with their victim, the researchers found.
"The current study uncovers very important differences that could prove useful for the investigation and profiling of these crimes by the police," the researchers wrote.
The release of the study in the International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology comes just months after the nation was gripped by the gruesome sex-related killing and dismemberment of Concordia University student Jun Lin.
Luka Magnotta, a one-time porn actor and model, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in relation to the killing.
Eric Beauregard, a criminology professor at Simon Fraser University, and Melissa Martineau, a senior research specialist with the RCMP, analyzed RCMP records related to 350 sex-related homicides that occurred from 1948 to 2010.
Each murder case involved some sort of sexual activity. For instance, there was evidence of sexual intercourse or the victim's body was positioned in a sexual manner or was missing clothes.
The researchers found that the average age of sexual murderers was 28. Sixty-six per cent were white and 29 per cent were aboriginal. As for marital status, 57 per cent were single and 15 per cent were separated or divorced. A majority of offenders " 80 per cent " had no prior sexual convictions.
"The investigative strategy of prioritizing "known sex offenders" would thus likely be unproductive as the majority of sexual murderers have no prior convictions for sexual crimes," the researchers wrote.
The average age of victims was 27. Ninety per cent were women, 63 per cent were white and 33 per cent were aboriginal. Eighteen per cent of victims were known to engage in prostitution.
The researchers found that most offenders selected their victim at random, and most " 41 per cent " used a con to approach their victim, such as befriending the victim or asking for the victim's help. Only a minority of sexual murderers surprised their victims, such as attacking them in their sleep, or "blitzed" their victims by quickly overpowering them through violence.
"This finding is important for the investigation of these cases as it suggests that in almost half of the cases, sexual murderers possess the necessary social skills to approach their victims under false pretence," the researchers wrote. "This once against contradicts the image of the introverted social inapt offender as depicted in previous studies."
Contrary to non-sexual homicides, offenders in sexual homicides rarely used firearms. Instead sexual murderers typically beat or strangled their victims. If a weapon was used, it was typically a knife.
Researchers noted that "overkill" " the act of inflicting more grievous bodily harm on a victim than is necessary to cause death " was reported in 43 per cent of sexual homicides.
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