The Study of Compulsive Homicide in the Modern Era

Psychoanalysts have never had any significant interest in sexual murder, notwithstanding their immense contribution to understanding sex and aggression, Freud’s (1930) two basic instincts. Only a few psychoanalysts have described and commented on cases of compulsive homicide. Karpman (1954) studied several offenders and found them to be psychotic and often impotent. He theorized that the state of excitement that results from the killing energizes the offender neurologically, which helps him achieve an erection. Williams (1964) treated a number of sexual murderers from a psychoanalytic perspective. He described several cases and concluded that the offender has an “encapsulated, split off, murderous part [which] constitutes the blue-print of murder” (p. 356). The offender projects intolerable internal conflicts onto the victim and then kills the victim to get rid of these conflicts. Michaux and Michaux (1963) and Lindner (1982) also treated sex murderers from a psychoanalytic perspective and utilized traditional analytic concepts to understand their patients’ behavior.

In the 1950s and 1960s, several psychiatrists became interested in the study of homicide and briefly described and discussed some cases of sexual murder. De River (1958) offered a theory of sadomasochism and sexual murder.

Many sadistic acts finally culminate in lust murder, or they are accompanied by acts of perversion such as vampirism, cannibalism, necrophilia, etc. Not every lust murderer, however, is a sadist and lust murderers may be found among homosexuals as well as among heterosexuals. (p. 40)

He concluded that the sadistic lust murderer often tortures his female victims or cuts their genitalia, rectum, or breasts because these body parts contain

strong sexual significance to him and serve as a sexual stimulus. They may be symbolic of his particular sexual fixation. Very often he has a fetish for a particular part of the body, and it demands expression through his mutilation and destruction of the part that most fascinates him. (p. 41)

DeRiver reported sexual offenders who jabbed or stuck women with sharp, pointed instruments, and he insightfully realized that the feeling of total possession and domination of the victim is a significant element of sexual arousal for this type of individual. DeRiver also described offenders who planned their crimes in detail to avoid apprehension. Interestingly, he commented on the sex murderers legal responsibility: “he may know right from wrong, but he is unable to appreciate it” (p. 42).

Guttmacher (1960) found that those whom he, like deRiver, called lust murders were quite rare. He noted that offenders in these cases typically have a background of abuse and of involvement in animal cruelty. For example, he reported the case of a man who buried a dog alive and cut off the legs and head of a horse prior to burial. Guttmacher confirmed Krafft-Ebing’s findings: such offenders

give vent to their hostile impulses through cruelty to animals. Their real hatred is not against animals, but, of course against their fellow man. Animals are mere substitutes, they serve as scapegoats. Furthermore, dumb brutes cannot file complaints with the police and in some quarters a certain degree of cruelty to animals is accepted as a sublimation of sadistic impulses. Certainly, this is true of hunting, (p. 100)

Bromberg (1961) listed various types of homicidal offenders including those who commit sadistic and thrill murders, which are basically sexual homicides. “Lust murder is one in which the act of killing or maiming (through strangulation, stabbing, crushing, eviscerating, suffocating), ... and witnessing suffering in the victim, stimulate or potentiate sexual impulses in the offender” (p. 148). Bromberg accurately differentiated the sexual murderer from the rape-murderer. The sexual murderer achieves sexual gratification from the killing itself, while the rape-murderer is “usually motivated by a rush of guilty feelings and panic which follows a realization of the enormity of the offense [rape] just concluded” (p. 149).

The few compulsive murderers whom Bromberg evaluated seemed to him to be psychotic “or so severely perverted (psychopathic) as to be compulsively driven to crime” (p. 149). He also noted that sex murderers do not typically have a background of sexual crimes and that the sexual gratification achieved in such a homicide is not the traditional sort of gratification achieved in intercourse. The author cited a number of sexual murder cases where males, as opposed to females, were victimized. For example, he reported the case of an individual who (over a 10-month period) killed five young men ranging in age from 13 to 39, including three under age 19. The victims were struck from behind and were found nude, face down in the mud, with their skulls bashed in. One victim’s head was nearly decapitated. The offender, who was arrested a year later, had a history of voyeurism. Bromberg reasoned that this man achieved sexual gratification from undressing his victims, as opposed to engaging in ordinary sexual acts with them.

MacDonald (1961, 1986) described his experience with sex murderers in both editions of his well-known text. He concluded that the sexual element is present in all sadistic murders and motivates these acts. Interestingly, MacDonald also noted that “the great majority of rapists do not murder their victims” (1986, p. 168). Like Bromberg, he astutely differentiated the sex murderer, who gets gratification from killing, from the rape-murderer who kills his victims in order to escape detection. MacDonald also discussed the psychodynamics of necrophilia and commented that several of the sex murderers he studied had a background of minor sexual offenses, specifically voyeurism and exhibitionism.

As a result of his association with the New Jersey Diagnostic Center, the state’s forensic facility, Revitch gained considerable experience with cases of sexual homicide and sexual aggression. In 1957, he categorized these offenses into four groups: (1) murder as a prerequisite for sexual satisfaction, (2) murder not as a prerequisite for sexual satisfaction but as a result of frustration, anger, or fear during an attempted or completed rape, (3) nonsexual acts such as knifing, choking, or battering as an expression of aggressive sexual needs, and (4) fantasies as an expression of aggressive sexual needs. Compulsive homicides fall into the first category, while the second category essentially covers situational murders associated with a sexual offense, such as a rape-murder. Revitch’s third group contains sexually motivated aggressive acts, where the sexual element is often covert. The last group includes individuals with sexually aggressive fantasies who have not acted out.

Revitch (1957) concluded that prediction of the potential sex murderer should be based on a combination of factors, including a history of assaults on women or girls, dislike and resentment of females, sadistic fantasies, sexual preoccupation (particularly fetishism for female underwear), and schizoid traits or a well-defined schizophrenic processes. He also theorized that the psychodynamic factor leading to these forms of sexual aggression is “resentment of a maternal figure transferred to womenhood in general” (p. 522). He called for more clinical research, the necessity for courts to refer for evaluation of individuals who commit unprovoked assaults on females, and the need for family physicians to be alert to—and not casually to dismiss—children who commit violent acts against girls, especially when these acts are connected with sexual preoccupations.

Several years later, Revitch (1965) completed a descriptive study of 43 adult and adolescent males who attacked women; this group included 9 murderers. He found that 18 offenders (42%) knew their victims, while 25 did not. Of the 43 offenders, 30 (69%) had previously committed offenses, but only 3 of these were overt sexual offenses, while 12 (40%) involved breaking and entering. The backgrounds of these offenders included noticeable hostility to women, preoccupation with maternal sexual conduct, overt or covert incestuous preoccupation, guilt over sex and rejection of sex as impure, sexual inferiority, and occasionally a need to completely possess the victim. Hostility toward women was more predominant in the adult offenders, while sexual preoccupation, particularly preoccupation with maternal sexual behavior, was more striking in the adolescent group. Tendencies toward introversion, along with feelings of isolation and detachment and blurring of reality boundaries, were also common findings. Nineteen offenders (44%) were considered schizoid, nine (20%) overtly schizophrenic, five (12%) mentally defective, and ten (23%) were classified as having a personality disorder. Revitch’s finding that only 3 of the 43 attackers had a record of previous sex offenses suggests that such a history is of little use to law enforcement personnel looking for an unknown offender who has perpetrated a sexual murder or an unprovoked sexual attack on a woman.

Table 7.3 Brittain's (1970) Profile of the Sexual Murderer

In 1970, Brittain drew a profile of the sadistic murderer from the perspectives of forensic psychiatry, forensic pathology, and crime scene observation. This profile was based on his more than 20 years of experience with such offenders and their victims. He did not rely on any psychiatric theory, neither did he refer to the psychiatric literature in constructing his profile, as he wanted to avoid any preconceptions of what such individuals would be like. His ten page article, now considered a classic, reveals the traits, characteristics, behaviors, background, and dynamics of the compulsive, sexually motivated, sadistic murderer (see Table 7.3).

Brittain noted, for example, that such an offender has a profuse inner life.

He is typically a daydreamer with a very rich active fantasy life. He imagines sadistic scenes and these he acts out in his killings.... The extremes of cruelty and the ingenuity he can show ... are almost inconceivable until one sees, for example, his drawings of his fantasies. ... His fantasy life is in many ways more important to him than is his ordinary life, and in a sense more real. ... Most sadists restrict themselves to fantasy and only a minority act out their imaginings in criminal acts.... He is usually of high intelligence, which is probably necessary for a rich, complicated fantasy life. (pp. 199, 200)

Following years of fantasy, the murder itself is often triggered by an occurrence that reduces the offender’s self-esteem, such as rejection by a woman or loss of a job. “The sadist who has been laughed at by a woman or mocked by his acquaintances, particularly in his sexual contacts, or who has been demoted or discharged from his employment is likely to be at his most dangerous” (p. 199).

Brittain found that such an individual frequently has an ambivalent relationship with his mother. He may be close to her or hate her, and sometimes he kills her. “He often tells of having, as a child, seen his mother undressed” (p. 202). The author observed that when mothers of incarcerated sexual murderers come to visit their sons, “they bring books or magazines [that] deal with matters of a sadistic, criminal or pornographic nature” (p. 202).

The method of killing is almost always asphyxiation, either manually or by the use of a ligature.

By increasing or decreasing the pressure, they have it in their power to give their victims their lives or to take their lives from them. They can feel this as a godlike power, and they can play with their victims like a cat with a mouse. ... If the victim resists they become the more determined and brutal, (p. 204)

These men have explained that shooting is too sudden and too quick a method.

Following the crime, the offenders often behave normally, going home to eat and sleep without feeling remorse. They return to the crime scene, and some

seem to enjoy talking of what they have done and to get satisfaction of an exhibitionistic kind from this and would often say they feel better after talking thus freely. A few will take pleasure in writing a detailed account of what they have done. (p. 205)

Brittain found such individuals to have deep sexual disturbance, including multiple sexual perversions—transvestism, performance of sadistic acts toward animals, fetishism, voyeurism, and fire setting, along with concerns about their own sexual potency. The murders are sexually motivated, but

sexual intercourse or even orgasm does not always occur. Sometimes the murderer masturbates beside his victim. Sometimes also a phallus-substitute is used and a piece of wood, a cylindrical electrical torch or other similar object may be inserted—and this can be with great force—into the vagina or rectum of the victim, (p. 204)

Finally, Brittain concluded that the potential for repetition in such cases is quite high. “Given the opportunity the sadistic murderer is likely to murder again and he knows this” (p. 205).

The first systematic, empirically based investigation of the sexual murderer was carried out by Ressler, Burgess, and Douglas (1988), under the auspices of the FBI. These authors studied a nonrandom sample of 36 incarcerated sexual murderers from various geographical areas throughout the United States in an attempt to understand their personality traits and characteristics, the manner in which they committed their crimes, and their crime scene behavior. Seven of their subjects (19%) had been convicted of killing one person, while 29 offenders (81%) were convicted of killing multiple victims. Information from official psychiatric, court, and prison records was supplemented by interviews with the subjects. The investigators uncovered a wealth of information on the backgrounds of such individuals. Table 7.4 lists the childhood sexual experiences of the subjects; Table 7.5 reports their various childhood, adolescent, and adult behaviors.

The investigators found examples of childhood sadistic behavior toward animals, particularly cats. One individual stated,

I killed a cat once. I can’t tell you why. I was just mad and the cat came at the wrong time and I strangled this cat. It’s the only animal I ever killed. ... I had a dog when I was young and

Table 7.4 Childhood Sexual Experiences of 36 Sexual Murderers

Source: Adapted from Ressler, R.K., Burgess, A.W., and Douglas, J.E., Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives, Free Press, New York, 1988, p. 24.

somebody fed it ground glass and we had to put it to sleep. I was very shook up over that. It was the only dog I ever had. (p. 38)

Another subject also talked of killing cats.

One time I found a kitten and it was raining. The kitten was shivering and I brought it home. About 2 weeks later the house was full of fleas. From there I just started hating cats. I don’t know what happened. My father thought I did something to it, and I thought my father did something to it, because I came home from school one day and the cat just wasn’t there. ... That’s when I got to tying a cherry bomb to the cat’s leg, light it, and watch the cat run down the street. ... I made a lot of one-legged cats. (p. 38)

The offenders were well aware of their long-standing preoccupation with, and preference for, their violent sexualized thoughts. Many offenders reported that even in childhood they had developed sexual fantasies in their play. The fantasies had a marked aggressive component, as illustrated by the case of a 12-year-old who played “gas chamber” with his sister. She tied the offender in a chair, threw an imaginary switch, and when the gas was “introduced,” the youngster would drop to the floor and pretend to enter into a convulsion and eventually die.

The subjects utilized their fantasies and early sadistic activities as behavioral tryouts for their later acts of murder. For example, one murderer said, “I knew long before I started killing, that I was going to be killing. That it was going to end up like that. The fantasies were too strong. They were going on for too long and were too elaborate” (p. 42). Ressler and colleagues found that most of their subjects recognized the importance of their fantasies to their crimes. Thus, they concluded:

Table 7.5 Frequency (in Percent) of Reported Behavior of 36 Sexual Murderers in Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood

Source: Adapted from Ressler, R.K., Burgess, A.W., and Douglas, J.E., Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives, Free Press, New York, 1988, p. 29.

The fantasies reflect their actions based on their beliefs and patterns of reasoning. Extensive early childhood aggressive and sexualized vengeful preoccupations and sadistic acts, either indulged in by reenactment of trauma or repetitive play, not only develop their reasoning for murder but also rehearse the methods. These cognitive acts gradually lead to the conscious planning and justification for murderous acts. ... These men murder because of the way they think, (p. 43)

The men often selected victims based on their long-standing fantasies. Although such victims were symbolic, others were chosen because of their conduct, such as hitchhiking or prostitution. On other occasions, a victim may have been selected because her actions elicited a certain response in the offender. For example, a woman may have reminded the offender of his belief in an unjust world. “He may feel unfairly treated, and this sets into motion the justification to kill” (p. 50).

In some cases, the murder was a direct replication of the fantasy, while in other cases the murder went beyond the fantasy. Sometimes the offender was shocked by what he had done, but many times he was not. About half the offenders raped the victim prior to the homicide; some raped their victims after the homicide, while others engaged in the mutilation of the corpse. The behavioral pattern of many murderers was rather typical, but some engaged in extremely unusual conduct, such as the man who ejaculated onto a knife wound that he made in the victim. Many offenders inserted foreign objects into the vaginal or anal cavities of their victims; others slashed the bodies, cut the genitals, bit various body parts, and engaged in torture.

Offenders disposed of the bodies in different ways including leaving the body visible, varying the victim’s state of dress, or positioning the victim in unnatural ways. The final location of the victim’s body was also often an outgrowth of the offender’s fantasy. For instance, one subject described a heightened state of arousal while disposing of his victim’s body.

I am really rushed. My heart is beating 90 miles a minute. My blood pressure is so heavy it sounded like somebody crunching behind me. I jumped around and grabbed my gun and freaked out, but it was my blood pressure pounding in my ears. It was driving me. I thought I was going to croak while I was getting rid of the bodies or evidence, (p. 61)

Following the murder and body disposal, offenders had a wide range of reactions, including a sense of relief, a release of tension, and deliberateness in avoiding apprehension. The murderers’ postcrime behavior was also found to often be an outgrowth of their fantasies. Some offenders returned to the crime scene; others observed the discovery of the victim’s body; still others kept souvenirs; and some even participated in the investigation.

Finally, the murderers were apprehended in a number of different ways. Half (50%) were identified through police investigation. About 17% were identified by a surviving victim; 17% were apprehended for a crime other than the homicide; less than 1% were identified by a partner or spouse; 1% turned themselves in, and the remainder were apprehended in other ways. Interestingly, the authors found that 20% of their subjects committed a murder while out on bail for another crime.

Since the turn of the 21st century, some interesting research on sexual murder has been conducted, including studies of sexual sadism, methods of investigation, and even some attempts at treatment with both psychotherapy and pharmacological agents. A good compendium of this research is presented by Proulx et al, (2018). The various studies described are international in scope and add to our knowledge of sexual homicide. However, each study must be evaluated on its own merits, as different operational definitions of what constitutes sexual murder were used as well as different data sources (e.g., police investigative files and individual evaluations). Different methodologies can easily affect how the results are presented and interpreted. As in all research, the results of a study are what the researchers found; the problem usually arises in the interpretation of these results and, more important, their application to clinical practice.