Special Aspects of Crime Scene Interpretation and Behavioral Analysis

Schrër, Judith; Püschel, Klaus

doi:10.1007/978-1-59259-921-9_8

Cited by 7 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The results suggest that situational factors may have a considerable effect on homicides. The proper context must be considered for an accurate interpretation and understanding of homicidal behaviors . Our findings suggest that when there is evidence at a crime scene that a victim's body has been transported, it indicates not only that offenders have tried to conceal the crime, but also that there is a strong possibility that a vehicle was used in the homicide, and thus that a car was easily accessible at the time of the offense.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Body Transportation after Homicides: Offender and Offense Characteristics

Lee

Park

2018

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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Body transportation is defined as moving the body of the victim from the scene of a homicide to another location. We analyzed data on 513 South Korean homicide cases with convictions to compare 104 homicides involving the transportation of victims’ bodies with 409 homicides that did not. Offenders who transported their victims’ bodies were significantly younger and more likely to be related to the victims and were less likely to use sharp instruments and more likely to use blunt instruments or strangle the victims than offenders who did not. Victims of homicide involving body transportation were more likely to suffer injuries to the neck and head and less likely to suffer injuries to the torso. Finally, offenders who transported victims’ bodies were more likely to have planned the offense and destroyed evidence. The present findings have practical implications for police investigations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Body Transportation after Homicides: Offender and Offense Characteristics

Lee

Park

2018

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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“…Perpetrators with pseudo-altruistic motives may show ''undoing'' behaviour (e.g. ''posing'' of the victim, decoration of the scene with flowers, pictures and candles [19,20]). …”

Section: Murder-suicidementioning

confidence: 99%

Medicolegal evaluation of suicidal deaths exemplified by the situation in Germany

Perdekamp

Pollak

Thierauf

2010

Forensic Sci Med Pathol

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Suicide is a significant form of unnatural death and must be differentiated as such from other violent manners of death (homicide, accident), but also from unexpected deaths due to natural causes. The distinction is made on the basis of a careful collection and correct interpretation of post-mortem forensic findings on the one hand, the general background of the case and the criminal investigation at the scene on the other. For competent assessment by the post-mortem medical examiner and/or forensic pathologist, a thorough knowledge of the numerous methods of committing suicide and their pathomorphological correlates is indispensable. This not only includes the constellation of findings and injury patterns typical of suicide, but also unusual manifestations. Highly conspicuous are complex suicides, in which several methods are applied simultaneously, or one after the other, as well as joint suicides and homicide-suicides involving several persons. Certain settings also deserve special attention. Moreover, simulated or dissimulated suicide is a possibility that must always be borne in mind in forensic practice.

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“…Another type of posthomicide crime scene behavior has been referred to as “undoing.” Here, the offender alters the crime scene in what has been considered to be an attempt to symbolically reverse the murder based on feelings of guilt or remorse . In essence, the offender injects aspects of his psychological state into the crime scene for personal or emotional reasons.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…He covered her with a blanket and folded her hands over her chest so she appeared to be sleeping peacefully” (p. 251). Schröer and Püschel reported four cases of undoing which involved the offender (i) placing jewelry on his deceased wife's body to cover the strangulation marks, (ii) placing the victim neatly under blankets and using a towel to cover her protruding tongue (due to strangulation), (iii) placing an artificial rose and feather cape on the victim, and (iv) placing flowers, dolls, and artificial butterflies around the victim's head. Chancellor and Graham reported a case of an offender who applied makeup to the deceased victim's face to give her a more lifelike appearance.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Those investigators who have studied undoing contend that the offenders must not have carried out these various acts with the intention of concealing or removing evidence , but rather must have acted to gain some type of emotional relief (presumably, from guilt or remorse) for having killed someone who often, but not always, was of significance to them. Accordingly, Schröer and Püschel and Crabbe, Decoene, and Vertommen all emphasize that in evaluating the presence of undoing—as with all behavioral evidence—the offenders’ actions must be understood in proper context.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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“Undoing” (or Symbolic Reversal) at Homicide Crime Scenes

Russell

Schlesinger

León

et al. 2017

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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A closed case file review of a nonrandom national sample of 975 homicides disclosed 11 cases (1.13%) of undoing, wherein offenders engaged in crime scene behavior that has been considered an attempt to symbolically reverse the murder. The frequency of the various methods of undoing involved the use of blankets to cover the victim's body (55%), positioning the body (55%), use of a bed or couch (42%), washing the body (36%), using pillows (36%), as well as removing clothing and adding other types of adornments (27%). Ten of the 11 offenders were male, and one was female; all 12 victims were female. Ten of the 12 victims were family members or relationship intimates. These findings are consistent with prior reports which concluded that the motivation for undoing behavior is an attempt to compensate for guilt or remorse for having committed the homicide.

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Special Aspects of Crime Scene Interpretation and Behavioral Analysis

Cited by 7 publications

References 6 publications

Body Transportation after Homicides: Offender and Offense Characteristics

Body Transportation after Homicides: Offender and Offense Characteristics

Medicolegal evaluation of suicidal deaths exemplified by the situation in Germany

“Undoing” (or Symbolic Reversal) at Homicide Crime Scenes

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