Voyeurism, Fetishism, and Sexual Burglary

Voyeurism and fetishism are important paraphilias that need to be considered in the risk assessment of compulsive murder. Brittain (1970) noted a history of voyeurism and fetishism in the backgrounds of his subjects, but he was unaware of the significant association between these acts and subsequent acts of sexual violence and homicide. Ressler et al. (1988) also found that sexual murderers have frequently engaged in voyeurism and fetishism since childhood, perhaps even beginning at a somewhat earlier age than that of those who developed these paraphilias but did not subsequently commit an act of sexual aggression (Abel, Osborn, and Twigg, 1993). In Ressler and his colleagues’ sample of sexual murderers, 71% engaged in voyeurism and 72% in fetishism; Prentky, Burgess, Rokus, Lee, Hartman, Ressler, and Douglas (1989) noted similar findings. Langevin (2003) found both voyeurism and fetishism in his sample of 33 sexual murderers. Habermann and Briken (2007) found voyeurism to be more common in his sample of serial sexual murderers than the nonserial cases.

In some cases, voyeurism and fetishism are connected directly to acts of burglary and subsequent murder. For example, an individual who has a fetish for female underwear often begins by stealing from clotheslines. When the fetishistic object is no longer easily available, the subject may commit a burglary in order to obtain it. Similarly, voyeurs sometimes escalate their behavior from peeping in windows to entering the dwelling in order to look through rooms and drawers. Although most burglaries are committed for material gain, this subgroup of sexually motivated burglaries is symbolic, often ego-dystonic, and sometimes outright bizarre. The connection between fetishism, voyeurism, burglary, and subsequent assault arises because, according to the UCR (2018), about half of all burglaries are committed in the evening, when the occupants are likely be home.

In fetish burglaries, the sexual dynamics are overt and obvious since the offender is typically stealing female underwear, shoes, scarfs, or hairbrushes. Ressler and Schachtman (1992) note that fetish burglars “take these [items] for auto erotic purposes” (p. 8). The most typical fetish burglar with obvious sexual dynamics is William Heirens, described in Chapter 7. Heirens developed a fetish for female underwear at 9 years of age and began to steal and collect it when he was slightly older. Prior to killing two women and a 6-year-old child whom he dismembered, Heirens committed hundreds of burglaries. “He had sexual excitement or an erection at the sight of an open window at the place to be burglarized. Going through the window he had an emission” (Kennedy, Hoffman, and Haines, 1947, p. 117). In fact, Heirens was apprehended not for committing a murder but for an attempted burglary. David Russell Williams had 82 documented cases of fetish burglary before committing multiple sexual homicides (Brankley, Goodwill, and Reale, 2014).

Krafff-Ebing (1886) noted a relationship between fetishism and various crimes, all of which he considered rather “peculiar.” He found that many fetishists have an impulse to “injure the fetish—which represents an element of sadism toward the woman wearing the fetish” (p. 183). He described the case of a man with a long-standing fetish for female underwear, who was eventually executed for murder.

In some cases, the offender may rip and destroy the female clothing, and on other occasions he may soil the premises through defecation, urination, or ejaculation. Heirens defecated and urinated in some of the rooms that he burglarized. Sargent (1979) contends that burglars who soil the premises of the homes they enter are expressing repressed rage directed at the occupants, who may symbolize the burglars’ parents.

In voyeuristic burglary, the sexual motivation is less overt since these burglars are stimulated by a generalized urge to look and inspect rather than to steal; their fantasy is about seeing a naked woman. Thus, the sexual dynamics in these cases are not as obvious as in fetish burglary and often missed. Frequently, voyeuristic burglars steal something of minimal value to help them rationalize their conduct, which they do not understand. One voyeuristic burglar stated, “I’d feel stupid if I broke in and didn’t take nothing.” Yalom (1960) noted the relationship between voyeurism and aggression. He reported eight cases of voyeurs who progressed to rape, assault, and firesetting. Three of these cases involved burglary with severe violence. Fenichel (1945) also found a connection between voyeurism and violence. “Very often sadistic impulses are tied up with scoptophilia: the individual wants to see something to destroy it ... often, looking itself is unconsciously thought of as a substitute for destroying” (p. 71). Schlesinger and Revitch (1999) reported the case of a 17-year-old who was arrested for masturbating while looking through the window of a woman whom he followed home. Seven years later, while on parole after serving a sentence for committing various other voyeuristic acts, he broke into an apartment and hit a sleeping woman on the head with a pipe.

Both voyeurism and fetishism begin in late childhood, but the burglaries usually do not begin until adolescence. Because the sexual aspects in voyeuristic burglary are often not recognized by law enforcement or forensic examiners such offenders are infrequently referred for evaluation unless the voyeurism is independently noted to be distinct. Unfortunately, cases of sexually motivated voyeuristic burglary are often incorrectly viewed as an unsuccessful attempt at burglary for gain (Schlesinger, 2000b). Table 10.2 lists the differentiating characteristics of fetish and voyeuristic burglaries.

Despite the seriousness of the connection between voyeurism and fetishism to burglary, Revitch (1997) pointed out the absence of research in this area. In one of the first empirical studies of burglary and its relationship to sexual murder, Schlesinger and Revitch (1999) found that 42% of a total of 52 sexual murderers had a history of burglary; of those who burglarized, 32% committed predominantly fetish burglaries, while 68% committed

Table 10.2 Differentiating Characteristics of Fetish and Voyeuristic Burglaries

Source: From Schlesinger, L.B., Serial Offenders: Current Thought, Recent Findings, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2000, p. 9. With permission.

predominantly voyeuristic burglaries. Interestingly, among the victims who were killed in their residences, 77% were killed by an individual who had a history of burglary. In a replication study, Schlesinger, Pinizzotto, and Pakhomon (2004) found 61% of sexual murderers had a history of burglary. These findings not only have clinical interest but significant investigative implications as well. In more recent research on sexual burglaries, Pedneault, Beauregard, Harris, and Knight (2015) found sexual burglars to have acted based on situational factors, very different from the method of nonsexual burglars. Pedneault, Harris, and Knight (2012) proposed a typology of sexual burglaries: fetish noncontact, versatile contact, and sexually oriented.

The combination of fetishism, voyeurism, and burglary occurs in the case histories of numerous compulsive murderers. Frequently, an author lists burglaries in an offender’s background information without realizing the significance of this behavior and its connection to sexual murder. Table 10.3 lists 14 fairly notorious compulsive murderers who had a history of fetish or voyeuristic burglary. In fact, 30% of them were apprehended not for committing a murder but for committing a burglary.

Therefore, adolescent burglaries—particularly those committed solo and under bizarre circumstances, where the material gain is minimal or rationalized—often have a strong underlying sexual basis with ominous significance. This finding was also noted by Langevin (2003). In some cases, voyeurism in adolescence is preceded by an obsessive interest in pornography, which is, in essence, “voyeurism lite.” Ted Bundy, who was alleged to have killed 40 women, claimed his problem began with pornography. Rather than being another example of Bundy’s lying—which had been assumed when he made this comment just prior to his execution—his claim provides useful information regarding the genesis of his acting out. In this case, Bundy’s obsessive interest in pornography escalated, and he went on to commit acts of voyeurism, which then led to burglary, sexual assault, and finally sexual homicide.