Many Seemingly Sexual Murders Are Not Really Sexually Motivated

In cases where there is an overt manifestation of genitality (e.g., a woman’s genitals are cut out or mutilated), a determination that the murder is a sexual murder would seem warranted. However, a closer examination reveals that many of these cases are not always that straightforward, and in some instances, the conclusion that the crime is a sexual murder is incorrect. Consider, for example, a person who responds to auditory hallucinations commanding him to kill women and cut out their genitals in order, perhaps, to save the world. Should a murder of this type be considered a sexual murder? There is certainly a sexual element to the offender’s delusions, possibly stemming from underlying sexual disturbance, but the primary motivation for the homicide is a response to psychosis.

The notorious and complex case of Richard Trenton Chase, dubbed the “Vampire Killer” (Ressler and Shachtman, 1992), is an example. Chase had a delusion that his blood was evaporating and that he therefore needed to drink the blood of others in order to continue to live. Following his release from a convalescent center (where he was sent after killing small animals and drinking their blood), he began breaking into homes in order to obtain human blood and hence preserve his life. Chase wound up killing ten people in response to this delusional belief, as well as to auditory hallucinations commanding him to kill. His behavior was consistent with, and an outgrowth of, his obvious psychosis. Ressler and Shachtman (1992) considered Chase a serial sexual murderer mainly because some of his female victims had been subjected to genital mutilation. However, Chase also killed without evidence of sexual motivation. For example, he killed a 22-month-old infant by shooting him in the head— behavior atypical of a sexual murder. He also killed men, a child, and animals. There was undoubtedly a sexual element in this complicated case, but the main impetus for the homicides appears to have been a response to a delusional belief. It is likely that multiple motives were operative with Chase: both a psychosis and perhaps a secondary sexual component. But without the psychosis, it is doubtful Chase would have killed.