Crime Scene and Victim Characteristics in Sexual Homicide Cases Where the Body is Openly Displayed

Abstract

Research on body disposal methods in cases of sexual homicide primarily focused on the movement of the victim’s body from the crime scene to the dump site. Comparatively, little work has looked at whether crime scene analysis can indicate the final manner of disposal (i.e., how the body is found at the scene), despite the knowledge that these unique behaviors can aid investigators narrowing down suspects using readily available information from the crime scene. The current study used 662 solved cases of extrafamilial sexual homicide from an international database in a sequential logistic regression to test various predictors against the method of body disposal. Results indicate that inserting foreign objects into the victim, dismembering the victim, or engaging in post-mortem sexual activity is predictive of not openly displaying the body. Furthermore, the body is less likely to be openly displayed if the victim is a sex worker. Overkill is more likely to lead to the body being openly displayed. Implications for investigations of sexual homicide include the need to examine more than just infrequent unusual acts and to look at the entirety of the criminal event to gain a more well-rounded understanding of how offender behaviors can indicate particular body disposal methods.