Academic literature on the topic 'Serial murder investigation'

The intention of this article is to explore current impediments to networking which have impeded investigation and apprehension efforts in serial murder cases and to present alternatives for the future which could significantly impact upon arrests. The analysis first focuses upon a case history of the investigation in one serial murder case with a secondary discussion of corresponding networking problems which have hampered other investigations.

We study statistical aspects of the case of the British nurse Ben Geen, convicted of 2 counts of murder and 15 of grievous bodily harm following events at Horton General Hospital (in the town of Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK) during December 2013–February 2014. We draw attention to parallels with the cases of nurses Lucia de Berk (the Netherlands) and Daniela Poggiali (Italy), in both of which an initial conviction for multiple murders of patients was overturned after the reopening of the case. We pay most attention to the investigative processes by which data, and not just statistical data, is generated; namely, the identification of past cases in which the nurse under suspicion might have been involved. We argue that the investigation and prosecution of such cases are vulnerable to many cognitive biases and errors of reasoning about uncertainty, exacerbated by the fact that fact-finders have to determine not only whether a particular person was guilty of certain crimes, but whether any crimes were committed by anybody at all. The paper includes some new statistical findings on the Ben Geen case and suggests further avenues for investigation. The experiences recounted here have contributed to the writing of the handbook Healthcare Serial Killer or Coincidence? Statistical Issues in Investigation of Suspected Medical Misconduct, Royal Statistical Society, London, 2022.

An inspection of media articles about the Kobe serial murder case in 1997 suggests that the media may have several negative effects on criminal profiling in professional criminal investigations. The most worrying aspect of media responses to serious offending is the way they can shape social perception of a crime. In particular, the media focus on narrow aspects of a case and in so doing give a distorted picture of the criminal. Inspection of articles in some newspapers indicate that reporters see themselves as on-lookers rather than as professional investigative journalists. They cling to rumour and the tit-bits of information they can gather and are forced to enlarge them to make a story. By doing so they spread misleading and damaging information about a crime. In conclusion, it is argued that the way the media report serious crime, including serial murder, can be considered counter-productive to a criminal investigation.

Integrating crime pattern theory with tenets of social network theory, we argue that linking people who frequent the same places reveals intersecting behavioral patterns illustrative of case connectivity. Using the Green River serial murder investigation as a case study, we demonstrate that structural statistics may be useful in focusing investigative efforts. Significant shifts in the centrality of suspects emerge when we track the evolution of this case at 6-month increments, suggesting that the initial working case hypothesis misled investigators. Continued exploration into the utility of social network analysis (SNA) for tactical purposes will help advance applied criminology.

This article contributes to criminological research on cultural constructions of serial murderers by investigating the little-known Canadian case of Peter Woodcock. There is a tacit scholarly consensus that news media routinely sensationalize modern serial killers as celebrity monsters. The case of Woodcock aligns with a different theoretical trajectory geared toward explaining the relative obscurity of otherwise “made for primetime” serial murder events. Examining coverage in the local and national press, the article builds on the sparse literature concerned with absences in conventional explanations for how news media participate in the cultural construction of serial murderers. It does so by gleaning insights into the ways in which Woodcock was simultaneously framed as a sadistic sex maniac responsible for killing three young children in the 1950s and a victim of social circumstance owing to his troubled upbringing. Although Woodcock killed before the rise of the serial killer claims-making industry in the 1980s, the article concludes by reflecting on the curious absence of a retroactively reconstructed modern melodramatic storyline in light of the surreal characteristics of the investigation leading up to his arrest and the circumstances that enabled him to gruesomely kill again in 1991.

The issue of interrogation of persons suspected of committing serious crimes, including murder, has been considered and is being considered by many scholars. Each scientific study, directly or indirectly, analyzes the tactics of interrogation, depending on the type of crime, the conditions of its conduct, the time limits of the latter, the amount of forensic information, the purpose of the interrogation (obtaining evidence, exposing lies, in order to prevent further offenses, etc.), the sex or age of the person, social status, mental status, nationality and social affiliation, etc. The purpose of the article is to determine the directions and tactical features of the interrogation of a suspect who committed the murder of an elderly person for the purpose of taking possession of real estate, depending on the investigative stage and the identity of the suspect. The article examines the tactical features of the interrogation of a suspect who committed the murder of an elderly person for the purpose of taking possession of real estate, which is an integral part of a qualified and impartial investigation. Thus, the interrogation of a suspect in this category of criminal proceedings is usually characterized by the conflicting nature of this procedural action, so the process of establishing psychological contact is difficult. It is also difficult to choose balanced and objective tactics for investigators. The investigator’s efforts should be aimed at the confession of the interrogated at least one episode. It is desirable that this be either the first episode of the «series» or one of the last episodes, because the memory of the killer most clearly and vividly reflects the beginning and end of a criminal career. Practice shows that as soon as a suspect confesses to one murder, then after a short period of time, there is a process of confession in all other murders. The choice of tactics for interrogating the suspect largely depends on the information available to the investigator about the psychological portrait of the killer. Thus, the organized non-social type of serial killer during interrogations is focused, considering the line of defense. Can feel open respect for a competent and intelligent investigator, often «play» with him. Disorganized antisocial type of serial killer does not find understanding in society, so seeks to feel understanding and compassion.

Purpose The purpose of this article is to improve the use of evidence-based practice and research utilization in the offender profiling process. The use of offender profiling has been met with increasing resistance given its exaggerated accuracy. The “Investigative Journalist/Expert Field Micro Task Force” model, a collaborative method that incorporates offender profiling and is designed to address unresolved serial homicides, is introduced and evaluated alongside recommendations on attaining adherence. Design/methodology/approach The model was field tested in 17 instances. The measures used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to gauge the usefulness of their case consultations, whether their input helped catch the offender, offer new leads, move the case forward, provide new avenues or give new ideas, were used to evaluate the model. Findings The model established likely patterns of serial murder activity among strangulations of women in Chicago, Cleveland, and Panama and resulted in convictions of suspects in Louisiana and Kansas City. This model is valuable when used to parse modern-day offenders from those who committed unresolved homicides as the latter display different behaviors that can make investigations difficult endeavors. Results from the field tests mirror those from the literature in that profiling alone did not result in the capture of serial killers. Instead, profiling was used in conjunction with other efforts and mainly as a means to keep the investigation moving forward. Originality/value Unresolved homicides are at a point of crisis and represent a significant but largely unaddressed societal problem. The success of this model may compel law enforcement to restore faith in offender profiling.

Since artificial intelligence technologies are firmly embedded in many areas of modern life, it is time to explore in detail their capabilities in criminology in the study of criminal activity. The article describes the experience of developing digital models of serial crimes committed for sexual reasons using artificial intelligence algorithms. The empirical basis of the study was data on 1068 serial crimes, including murder. Methods of mathematical statistics and a number of artificial intelligence algorithms were used for data processing: gradient boosting, neural networks, logistic regression, etc. As a result, typical signs of crimes and natural connections between them, used for training models, presented by artificial intelligence algorithms, are revealed. The obtained decision support systems allow predicting the distance from the crime scene to the place of residence of the offender (accuracy 88.3—93.5 %), the age of the offender (accuracy 80.3 %, confidence interval ±6 years), the presence of a mental illness (accuracy 81.5 %) and criminal record (accuracy 82 %), as well as some other characteristics. According to the results of the study, it is concluded that the methods of mathematical statistics and artificial intelligence can be used in the investigation of crimes, as well as in criminalistics.

This item is only available in print in the UCF Libraries. If this is your Honors Thesis, you can help us make it available online for use by researchers around the world by following the instructions on the distribution consent form at http://library.ucf
B.S.
Bachelors
Health and Public Affairs
Criminal Justice

Homicide investigations require significant resources and personnel from multiple departments, therefore, it is critical to be thorough and explore all lines of enquiry to ensure that these cases do not turn cold. Many factors have been identified that are associated with increased solvability. These include, efficient use of the first 48-hours, body disposal locations, forensic awareness of the offender and decomposition rates. The aim of this review was to explore the extent at which these factors affect solvability and their resulting forensic and criminological implications, regarding time frames and methods for evidence collection, ability to apprehend and link offenders by understanding the types of killers they are through forensic awareness strategies. In the absence of these cases being solved, this review also addresses the major discrepancies noted within the structure of cold case reviews. The literature ultimately determined that further research into body disposal location, particularly, bodies disposed of in water vs. non-water environments and discovery of body since estimated time of death (within 48 hours or over 48 hours) is required. This will be carried out by investigating 54 North American serial murderers and 125 of their respective victims, active between 1920 to 2016, to identify if there are any statistically significant trends between the aforementioned variables, when broken down into indoor and outdoor cases and 8 specified time series.

Serial crime is an element of society that continues to disturb and fascinate scholars. There is thus a need to understand the uniqueness of serial murderers and their psychological development. The field of psychobiography is a qualitative approach to uncover the story of an individual life through greater understanding of psychological concepts. Psychobiographical research is invaluable in the application of theory to the finished lives of exemplary or enigmatic individuals to develop and test theories of human development. Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer (1960 – 1994), a cannibalistic serial killer who killed 17 young men, served as the single psychobiographical subject in this study. Dahmer was selected based on interest value, his uniqueness and the lack of a specifically academic and psychologically focused case study on his life. A qualitative psychobiographical research method was utilized in this study. The primary aim of the research was to explore and describe Jeffrey Dahmer’s personality development across his lifespan. This was achieved by applying Erikson’s (1950) psychosocial theory of staged developmental crises to the lifespan developmental process and Adler’s (1929) dynamic individual psychology to provide a more comprehensive idiographic interpretation of Dahmer as an individual. Jeffrey Dahmer’s life history was uncovered in this psychobiographical case study research through the systematic and consistent collection, analysis and interpretation of life history materials, which highlighted five significant historical periods: (a) Childhood of Fantasy, (b) The Quiet Loner, (c) Hiatus – or Build-up, (d) Seeking a Compliant Partner and (e) Arrest, Trial and Death. The two theoretical frameworks were used to discern, transform and reconstruct his life into a coherent and illuminating narrative of his psychological movement through life. Alexander’s (1988) model of identifying salient themes was used to analyze data for analytical generalization (Yin, 1994). A conceptual framework derived from the two theoretical perspectives was constructed to organize and integrate data and to guide the presentation and discussion of the findings of the study in an integrative and comprehensive manner. The findings suggested that both theoretical perspectives considered the biopsychosocial as well as cultural and historical influences of situations and experiences in Dahmer’s personality development throughout the lifespan. Adlerian theory indicated that Dahmer held a socially useless lifestyle whose movement was guided purposively towards a fictional goal xxii of godlikeness through creative, concrete expressions of personal superiority. Eriksonian theory held that Dahmer remained in role confusion, which was viewed as a functional, fragmented identity to survive in society and achieve a fantasy. Thus, both theories indicated, despite their different conceptualizations, that Dahmer’s personality development was ultimately not socially beneficial. The study of Dahmer’s personality development has provided a positive demonstration of the value of both Erikson (1950) and Adler’s (1929) theories to understand the processes of personality development in an individual life. It has further highlighted the uniqueness of individual responses to life tasks and consequently unlocked the possibility of perceiving people and their actions differently. Recommendations were made for future research undertakings that utilize a psychobiographical research design and methodology to uncover, illuminate and reconstruct the lives of enigmatic personalities.

This study focuses on the role of media portrayal and coverage in serial killing. The first objective of the study is to develop a conceptual structure that aids in the understanding of the cyclical relationship between media, serial killer, and audience. The media acts as a catalyst in this relationship, providing the stage on which serial killer and audience form a fatal relationship in which celebrity status forms the ultimate motivation. Media sensationalism of serial killing and the extreme glamorization in fictional representations has obviously negative consequences. In developing such a structure I hope to demonstrate that there is an alternative to the sensationalizing and glamorizing of serial killers in the media. This alternative will take the form education and a more documentary-style approach to films about serial murder. The study focuses mainly on developing a theoretical framework that emphasizes each of the three elements of the cyclical relationship mentioned above separately. The second chapter is devoted to the media and its role. The third chapter focuses on serial killers and the motivations involved. The fourth chapter deals with the audience attracted to serial killing as a source of identification. A number of thinkers’ work is used in coming to grips with this relationship, including both American and South African authors. The fifth and final chapter takes into consideration the moment of application by addressing the South African situation. I conclude by discussing the repercussions of media glamorization and possible documentary-style alternatives.

Violent serial crimes, in particular those of murder and rape, raise a number of issues for investigators. This research contributes to the body of knowledge regarding the practices of investigating violent serial crime by considering the contribution of a range of techniques and technologies to the investigative outcome. This research also examines how predominant police cultural understandings and knowledge of these crimes and the victims of such crimes that inform such investigations will be considered. Additionally, the roles of various investigative techniques and technologies in achieving positive and acceptable investigative outcomes, in the form of an arrest, are examined. Specifically, this research focuses on the incorporation of intelligence led policing initiatives such as crime linkage systems into the investigation of serial crimes was also a focus of this current research. To address these aims and associated issues in the Australian context, two methodologies are employed: case studies and semi-structured interviews. Case studies of serial crimes in Australia are examined in conjunction with interviews of NSW Police detectives and consultants that have investigated these crimes. Several factors were identified as impacting on the investigation of violent serial crimes. One key factor was the inability of Australian police organisations to effectively incorporate intelligence-led policing initiatives which enable the linkage of related crimes into the investigation of serial crimes, leading to delayed outcomes in the recognition and linkage of related crimes. The way in which police 'dictionary knowledge' can be seen to influence the way in which investigations are constructed was also a significant factor identified by the thematic analysis. Another significant factor that emerged from the research was the role of the media in police investigations. Based on the research findings, a typology of the investigation of violent serial crimes has been constructed. This typology reflects the ability of investigators to recognise and link related offences, and the influence that such recognition has on the investigative practices employed and on achieving a positive investigative outcome. There are three categories in this typology: the serendipitous investigation; the conspicuous investigation; and the delayed-recognition investigation. The factors identifies by this research are demonstrated to have an impact on the investigation of violent serial crimes. Specifically they contributed to the delay in the recognition of these offences as serial in nature and in achieving a positive investigative outcome. As indicated by the proposed typology and recommendations, these factors can be addressed by police organisations to improve the investigative capabilities of the police investigating these violent crimes.

The term ‘serial killer’ brings to mind notorious criminals whose crimes are so heinous as to test the limits of the most vivid imagination and make us question their humanity. What is the reality of serial murder? In 2005, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) hosted a symposium on serial murder, which brought together international experts in the field of serial murder with the aim of clarifying and understanding this multifarious crime. On the 12th of March 2008, Gcinumzi Richman Makhwenkwe, ‘The Moffat Park Serial Murderer’ was convicted of 5 counts of murder, 3 counts of rape and 3 counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances. The Department of Forensic Medicine and Pathology of the University of the Witwatersrand, based at the Johannesburg Forensic Pathology Service (FPS) Medicolegal Mortuary Facility performed the medicolegal investigations of death in all the victims. This research report explores the characteristics of serial murder and serial murderers as documented in the literature; documents the features and characteristics of the Moffat Park murder series; compares the features of this South African murder series to those from the findings of the FBI serial murder symposium; explores the role of the forensic medical practitioner in the investigation of the Moffat Park series and serves to educate and inform forensic medical practitioners of the features of serial murder as awareness may potentially lead to earlier identification of a murder series. This could ultimately lead to earlier implementation of specialist investigative methods, earlier apprehension of the serial murderer and most importantly fewer victims.

The aim of this descriptive research was to determine the methods of case linkage (methods to link murder cases to each other as well as to link the murder series to one offender) employed by the South African Police Service (SAPS) to investigate serial murder in South Africa and to comprehensively explain them. A qualitative approach was employed with a multi-method data collection process which included case study, interviews and literature review in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the subject. The methods of case linkage are explained within three phases of a serial murder investigation: the identification phase, the investigation and apprehension phase, and the trial and sentencing phase. The main findings of the study revealed the need for further training of the SAPS members and the need for a Standing Operating Procedure to be implemented to specifically govern the system of investigation for a serial murder case.
Criminology and Security Science
M.A. (Criminology)

John Wayne Gacy is a name that lives in infamy in the study of American serial killers. His fiendish means of murder and his countless victims make Gacy a fascinating subject when attempting to understand the pathology of a serial killer. This chapter will examine contextual factors encompassing Gacy's murders and the psychological factors that may have contributed to his offending, including paraphilia. Certain theoretical principles of homicide will be used to analyze John Wayne Gacy's murder motivations such as the frustration-aggression theory, psychosexual aggression, and the social control theory. This chapter will also include information from the media, courts, character involvement, and general case notes. Media analysis is important because many serial killers reach out to the media and want that recognition and the attention they so crave. Although the media attention can also cause more problems by creating broadcasts and giving away secrets about the investigation, putting it in the hands of the killer.

This chapter explores the enduring myths about the phenomenon of serial murder generally and serial killers in particular, in Britain between 1960 to the present. The Chapter argues that many of these myths have been created and continue to be perpetuated by the print and broadcast media. It is suggested that this process was ignited by American popular culture about serial murder, to the extent that many British students engaged on university courses do so because they want to emulate the heroine of the popular novel The Silence of the Lambs and become the fictional character, Clarice Starling. This observation is used to explore other myths about offender profiling, the role of the profiler in police investigations and the idea that this involves entering the mind of the serial killer by the profiler. Based on his own applied work with serial murderers and on police investigations and after their conviction, the chapter reveals the realities of the phenomenon of serial murder, serial killers and the limits of offender profiling. The chapter uses a number of situations encountered during police investigations and with serial killers to illustrate its arguments. It concludes that we need to harness, rather than dismiss, student interests in this territory in more productive ways. It adopts a structural/victim perspective about serial murder, as opposed to a relentless focus on what might motivate the serial killer to kill. The chapter suggests how this might be done both within the academy and, more broadly in public policy.

"This work includes talking about the crime of Camp Speicher, in which 1,700 students of the Iraqi army of the Sheea creed were killed by the gangs of the terrorist organization ISIS, with the aim of eliminating the members of this sect because of the misleading ideology carried by those gangs. On 6-12-2014, Iraqi soldiers at Camp Speicher (Speicher Air Base) in Tikrit were subjected to murder and enforced disappearance by terrorist organizations because of their affiliation to the Sheea creed. This crime was among a series of brutal crimes for the genocide of Sheeas in Iraq. This is similar to what happened in the Badoush prison crime in the province of Mosul, which the Iraqi Parliament considered it as a crime of genocide, in which these gangs executed about (400) members of the prison inmates of the Sheea component. After ISIS took control of the city of Tikrit in Iraq, and one day after they took control of the city of Mosul, they captured (2000-2200) soldiers and led them to the presidential palaces in Tikrit, and they shot them there and in other areas and buried some of them alive. This disaster had a negative impact on the families of the victims of the Speicher where they went out in demonstrations demanded that the leaders who handed over the victims of Speicher to ISIS must be prosecuted, and in one of the demonstrations they managed to enter Parliament and demanded that the leaders who handed over Speicher to ISIS be held accountable. After that, many demonstrations took place by the families of the victims, some of which led to the closure of a bridge in Baghdad a few times Protesting the government's delay in clarifying the fate of their children or taking quick measures. The Iraqi parliament and government recently considered the Speicher incident “genocide” in reference to the premeditated murder of Badoush Prison inmates in Nineveh Governorate and the unarmed Speicher military base, the premeditated murder of members of the Albu Nimr, Jabour, al-Lahib, and al-Ubaid tribes, and the killing and displacement of civilians from Kurds, Christians, Yazidis and Shabaks in Sahel Nineveh, Sinjar, deliberate killing and displacement of Turkmens in Tal Afar and Bashir. This decision paves the way for obtaining international recognition from it as a ""genocide"" as stipulated in the Contract of the United Nations in 1948, and Iraq signed it in the fifties of the last century. This study attempts to explain the Al-Ikhnasas Court in looking into the crimes of genocide committed by ISIS against the bereaved students of the Air Force Base (Speicher) due to what this issue raised from the national and international public opinion, especially after the involvement of the Iraqi army leaders in this massacre, according to what witnesses reported in that area and what was reported by soldiers who survived the incident, in addition to the involvement of some members of the Sunni tribes in these crimes with the terrorist organization ISIS. The importance of this study lies in the following aspects: - That ISIS elements were tried according to Anti-Terrorism Law No. 13 of 2005, and from our point of view that the aforementioned law is vague and broader than it should be, and it applies to serious and simple crimes from murder to crimes of sabotage, and the list of crimes punishable by the death penalty according to the aforementioned law is a long list and spacious. - The Iraqi government has embarked on an attempt to develop a legal framework to prosecute ISIS elements, and its mission focused on understanding the procedures and results drawn from those judicial efforts, and its mission also focused on showing the efforts taken by the Iraqi government to address violations in the field of the right to life, including those committed by affiliated forces government as well as other international and domestic actors. The International Criminal Court is specialized in considering specific crimes under Article (5) of its Statute, which are war crimes, aggression and crimes against humanity, which necessitates the adaptation of Speicher's crime within any of the mentioned types of crimes. The assumption of the International Criminal Court in relation to the Speicher crime, includes several positive matters and results at the same time a set of negatives, which must be presented to those positives and negatives in order to give preference between them and the choice of authorizing the court to consider the crime or not. The terrorist organization ISIS has committed serious systematic violations, including war crimes and others, and perhaps those that are not under its control, and that none of these crimes can be addressed within the anti-terrorism law, which cannot address human rights violations. The international community has recognized the heinous violations committed by ISIS against the citizens of Iraq by adopting Resolution (2370) in September of 2017, issued by the Security Council, which authorizes the Security Council to appoint an investigation team to support local efforts to hold ISIS elements accountable by collecting and preserving evidence in Iraq, which can rise to a high level, and it was committed by the elements of the organization. It considers that the decision constitutes a burden and an obligation on Iraq to investigate all allegations of violations committed by government forces for the purpose of holding them accountable, as well as requiring the establishment of special courts and trained judges in relation to ISIS crimes to deal with them. Terrorism is a global curse that has recently spread horizontally to all countries of the world and its effects have been concentrated vertically in some countries, and no one denies that the parties to this phenomenon are increasing (perpetrators and victims) and the United Nations in particular and the international community in general has not succeeded in reducing it despite the fact that the resolutions of the UN Security Council It is increasing, but the proportionality is absent between these decisions and the practical reality. The phenomenon of terrorism is spreading rapidly, and the perpetrators of terrorist acts are on the rise, corresponding to an increase in the victims of terrorism. Also, the circumstances and events that Iraq is going through, especially after 2003, put it at the forefront of countries which suffers from terrorism that has killed the people, using methods and forms that were not previously known and brutal and bloody cruel. ) for the year 2005, and since terrorism was not limited to Iraq, but included many countries, and was not specific to a place or time, nor was it recent in terms of composition. In addition, the aforementioned law cannot be aware of all violations of international and humanitarian law, as we mentioned previously, which requires the necessity of referring the criminals to a competent court. The Court conducts its rule under Article (13) of its Statute when referred to it by a state party to the same system or by the Security Council or when the Public Prosecutor conducts the investigation on his own, and then how does the Court take its measures regarding the aforementioned crime if we take a look Considering that the State of Iraq is not a member of the Statute of the Court. The rule of the court is free from the death penalty, which makes the idea of authorizing the court to consider the crime rejected by most Iraqis, especially the families of the victims. What are the negative aspects of the Iraqi national judiciary’s view of the Speicher crime, and how can it be avoided if the International Criminal Court plays this role? What are the guarantees provided by the court in the event that it proceeds with its procedures regarding this crime? The research on this subject is according to the appropriate method, which is the analytical and comparative method, which works on studying and comparing topics by analyzing ideas and jurisprudential rulings, and the positions of the governments of countries and the United Nations, as well as the resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly, and comparing arbitration between Iraqi courts. And the international courts regarding the trial of the perpetrators of the Speicher base crime, and then come up with a set of conclusions and recommendations."