NCJ Number
169315
Date Published
1996
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This chapter analyzes the sexual component of serial murder, taking the reader on an historical recounting of the crimes of one sexually motivated case in Dusseldorf beginning in 1929.
Abstract
The use of this example provides not only historical context but an opportunity to examine continuities between past and present cases. The author provides a detailed examination of violence and sexual behaviors, drawing upon the psychological and criminological literature. In the discussion of the centrality of sex in some serial killings, the literature review notes that Abrahamsen (1973) makes the case that sex can be substituted for violence and violence for sex. Further, Meloy (1992) cites Lunde and speaks of a temporal coupling of eroticism and violence that may occur within a classical conditioning paradigm. This assumes that in the course of childhood there is a merging of sexual and violent impulses. Bonime (1969) understands the linking of sexual arousal, aggression, and specific imagery to be idiosyncratically shaped by the unique formative history of each individual. Starting from an initial reactive situation, the serial rapist or the serial murderer then evolves to become a proactive agent, stalking potential victims. The individual becomes increasingly active, seeking to gratify his impulses through violence. The offense is sexually reinforced as the conditioned response, while providing the means to exact revenge upon those who have hurt, angered, or denied him. The chapter also discusses whether sexualized serial murderers have clinical disorder or are characterized by a disordered process. Fantasies as the scripts of violence are addressed as well. 19 notes and 41 references