The Psycho-criminology of Burial Sites: Developing the Winthropping Method for Locating Clandestine Burial Sites

Abstract

The majority of geographical profiling research focuses on the relationship between offender and location, which works particularly well when a burial site is known. In real-world investigations, however, burial or dump sites are often not known. The aim of the current paper is to outline a relatively under-used method of geographic profiling: Winthropping. While the method has been around for several decades, few studies have provided any research findings using it. There are two likely reasons for Winthropping being under-used, first, it has not been clearly, theoretically explained. Second, given its relative novelty, it may not be immediately clear how to use it in research and real-world scenarios. The current paper outlines several key psychological (e.g., satisficing and affordances) and criminological (e.g., rational choice theory and crime geometry) theories that may explain why Winthropping works. Case studies are provided and a methodological approach (Matrix Forecasting) is then provided to show how it could work in research practice and real-world applications. Overall, Winthropping is deemed to be highly useful and it is hoped that experts in the field will begin developing this tool for wider, applied use.

More than an Offender Location Tool: Geographic Profiling and Body Deposition Sites

“…In recent years however, geographic profiling techniques have been applied to the location of clandestine graves (see Keatley et al 2021;Lundrigan and Canter 2001a, b;Moses 2019;Somma et al 2018). This recent application does not strictly abide to the above four assumptions, as the goal is to locate the BDSs and not necessarily where the offender's anchor points are.…”

“…Important information when creating a geographic profile includes when and where the victim was last seen, the victim's last known position, the residences and workplaces of potential suspects (anchor points), locations that the offender and victim frequented, the potential routes taken to and from each point of interest, physical and mental barriers such as highways and rivers, and the activities undertaken by both the offender and the victim on the day of disappearance (Keppel and Weis 1994). This information is typically obtained by the police during the investigation, from as early as the initial missing person's report to interviewing victims, family members/friends, witnesses, and potential suspects (Barone et al 2021;Broadbent et al 2018;Gardner and Krouskup 2018;Keatley 2018;Keppel and Weis 1994;Morewitz and Colls 2016). Other relevant information can include a victim profile, which is not used to identify who the victim is (as this is usually known), but to identify what may have happened to them, based on their known psychological well-being and lifestyle choices (Foy 2016;Keatley 2018).…”

“…This information is typically obtained by the police during the investigation, from as early as the initial missing person's report to interviewing victims, family members/friends, witnesses, and potential suspects (Barone et al 2021;Broadbent et al 2018;Gardner and Krouskup 2018;Keatley 2018;Keppel and Weis 1994;Morewitz and Colls 2016). Other relevant information can include a victim profile, which is not used to identify who the victim is (as this is usually known), but to identify what may have happened to them, based on their known psychological well-being and lifestyle choices (Foy 2016;Keatley 2018).…”

“…Clandestine graves (defined as any burial containing one to four human beings that is created to conceal a crime; Christensen et al 2019;Dupras et al 2011) are, by design, difficult to find (Keatley et al 2021). This can be exacerbated by post-burial alterations, destruction, and/or lack of/poor intelligence (Congram 2010), even though data suggests that the majority are only 0.5 m deep (Pringle et al 2008).…”

“…Even with the presumption that their loved one is deceased, many people find it hard to move on without the confirmation provided by locating a body (Lenferink et al 2019). From a legal standpoint, it is particularly difficult to achieve a successful conviction in murder cases where no body has been recovered1 (Keatley et al 2021), and when this has been achieved, significant additional circumstantial evidence is required.…”