The Unusual Case of Sexual Homicide Against Males: Comparisons and Classification

Abstract

This study examines the specificities of sexual homicides involving male victims. First, this study aims to identify characteristics specific to SH involving male victims by comparing them to SH involving female victims and determine whether rational choice approach and routine activities theories are useful to explain the crime-commission process. Second, this study aims to provide the first empirical classification of SH involving male victims. The sample used in this research comes from the Sexual Homicide International Database (SHIelD) including 662 cases of cases—100 cases involving male victims and 552 involving female victims. Bivariate and multivariate analysis are performed to examine the differences between the two groups and latent class analysis is used to generate an empirical classification of cases involving male victims. Findings indicate the victim’s gender plays an important role in the different choices made by sexual homicide offenders of male victims to successfully complete their crime. They adapted their crime-commission process to overcome the risks associated with a physical confrontation with a male victim (i.e., target selection, approach strategy, method of killing). Classification analysis suggests that it exists three different types of sexual murderers assaulting male victims: the robber sexual murderer, the sadistic sexual murderer, and the pedophile murderer. This research proposes the first empirical typology of sexual homicide involving male victims and provides both a true picture of the reality and a comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon.

The significance of unusual acts in sexual homicide

“…This study aimed to investigate the specific crime‐commission process associated with unusual acts in SH. Based on a large database of SH cases committed in Canada and France between 1948 and 2018 (i.e., SHIeID see Chopin & Beauregard, 2021), bivariate and multivariate analyses focusing on the crime‐commission process were conducted to provide new insights on these unusual or atypical crime scene behaviours. The results show that, as hypothesised, SH with unusual acts presents a different crime‐commission process characterised by higher levels of sadism and organisation.…”

“…This study used one dichotomous variable to distinguish cases where SHOs engaged with unusual acts and those who did not (0 = absence; 1 = presence). Unusual acts are defined as the presence of at least one of the following extreme crime scene behaviours: carving on the victim, evisceration, skinning victim, cannibalism and vampirism (i.e., drinking of victim's blood; Chopin & Beauregard, 2021e).…”

“…Previous studies also suggested that crime-related locations can be different when the offender perpetrates certain crime scene behaviours. For instance, offenders who dismembered their victims are more often to choose a location where they are less likely to be seen or heard by others (Chopin & Beauregard, 2021e). Exploring the association between unusual acts and crime-related locations, this study included 14 dichotomous variables: (1) contact scene: risk to be seen or heard, (2) contact scene: victim's residence, (3) contact scene: business place, (4) contact scene: entertainment place, (5) contact scene: public building, (6) contact scene: outdoor location, (7) contact scene: place needs to gain entry, (8) body recovery scene: risk to be seen or heard, (9) body recovery scene: victim's residence, (10) body recovery scene: business place, (11) body recovery scene: entertainment place, (12) body recovery scene: outdoor location, (13) body recovery scene: place needs to gain entry and ( 14) body recovery scene: body moved.…”

“…Dismemberment in SH has been observed between 5% and 20% of cases (Chopin & Beauregard, 2021a). Dismemberment was more likely to be committed against males (Chopin & Beauregard, 2021; Konopka et al., 2007; Wilke‐Schalhorst et al., 2019), children and strangers (Beauregard et al., 2008; Chopin & Beauregard, 2021e). It was suggested that the crime‐commission process involving body dismemberment was much aligned with an organised crime scene (see Canter et al., 2004 for a discussion of the organised/disorganised model), which required a certain degree of planning and control over the situation (Chopin & Beauregard, 2021a).…”

What do we know about the perpetrators of sexual homicide of adult victims? A systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis

“…perpetrators 18 , behavioral disorders 19,20 , paraphilias 21 , sadism 9,22 , personality disorders 22,23 , and a history of traumatic experiences in childhood [23][24][25] . Morphological injuries and functional deficits in certain brain centers are also considered as part of violent behaviors 26 and genital abnormalities of the aggressors in childhood [27][28][29] .…”