1. Serial Killers: Can crime scene characteristics lead profilers to a specific typology of male/female serial killer? Sandie Taylor & Daniel Lambeth School of Social Sciences, Bath Spa University Introduction Offender profiling is best known through the FBI who took all the conceivable evidence surrounding cases and processed the information in hope of finding a pattern across and within different crimes. This involved considering crime scene elements as well as other traits like personality and motivation. A case profile was then constructed where information is gathered, assessed, reconstructed and a hypothesis supported through the results. Not all serial killers are alike: they have different reasons for killing and different methods of killing, hence the dichotomy of organised versus disorganised serial killers. An organised serial killer shows signs of planning, controlling the crime scene, targeting strangers and ensuring a clean crime scene. Disorganised on the other hand are the opposite: lack planning, evidence is left at the crime scene and it is a chaotic crime scene. From the crime scene FBI agents could link different characteristics of the scene to certain types of personality or psychological workings of the offender (Ressler, Burgess and Douglas 1988). More recently a third type of offender, ‘mixed’ offender has been identified by Douglas and Munn (1992). This category was implemented in order to categorise numerous offenders that failed to fulfil the criteria of the typical organised or disorganised killer. The mixed offender does not necessarily mean a new hybrid of serial killer, but more of a realisation that situational factors can be encountered by these killers and should be addressed (i.e. the killer may have been disturbed during the killing; more than one killer; retaliation of the victim). Holmes and De Burger (1985) put forward four typologies (mission, visionary, hedonistic (lust, thrill and comfort-orientated) and power/control) of the serial killer, in order to explain why certain people kill and the underlying motives. Mission serial killers kill to wipe out certain types of people and feel that their purpose is to eliminate the world of such people (Holmes and Holmes 2002). Visionary serial killers kill people as a consequence of hearing voices and seeing visions instructing them to kill: such individuals are psychotic. Hedonistic serial killers take the shape of 3 forms but they all have in common the need for gaining pleasure which they do through killing. Lust and thrill killers certainly make a link between killing and sexual pleasure and take gratification from contact with a helpless victim. Power/control killers are usually psychopaths who kill in order to gain total control and power over their victim. Males are more likely to be serial killers than females: females are 6 times less likely to kill than males. Females do kill but their modus operandi, the pattern of the killers’ crimes, may be somewhat divergent to males. Concerning the 4 typologies produced by Holmes and De Burger (1985), Holmes and Holmes (1994) made an adaptation to the typologies. With the female serial killer recognised there became 5 typologies: power seeking, comfort orientated, hedonistic, visionary and disciple. The disciple is described as killing due to instruction from her partner in crime. Aims The focus of this research is to examine the relationship between patterns of associated crime scene traits and behaviour during the crime through the extraction of information from documented serial killer cases. Furthermore, to determine whether certain crime scene characteristics lead to or are linked to specific types of serial killer as defined by the FBI and the typologies. Method Design An archival research method was adopted as this is the most appropriate way of obtaining sensitive data. Content analysis was used to prepare the qualitative data (gathered from archival researches) for quantitative analysis. Method Forty serial killer cases (having killed in excess of two people): 20 male and 20 female were used. Fifty crime scene traits were devised and used as categories for the content analysis of secondary data gathered using multiple media sources: biographical books, FBI and crime reports, news items, crime documentaries and journals. Discussion By considering crime scene traits (overt) at the expense of interpretations of motivation and personality traits (covert) for the content analysis, the clusters found were more likely to be representative of the reliable elements of FBI profiling. It is interesting that through post-hoc interpretation of the clusters attained, the FBI organised/disorganised categories and the four typologies (mission, visionary, hedonistic and power/control) are supported for both males and females. It is also an interesting finding that one cluster for male killers supported the mixed offender and that one typology for female killers ‘disciple’ was not supported. In many respects this might be a reflection of the cases considered as male-female serial killer partnerships were not included and it is amongst these partnerships that the disciple arises. References Douglas, J. and Munn, C. (1992) Violent Crime Analysis: Modus operandi, signature and staging. [Online] Available from: http://www.criminalprofiling.ch/violent-crime.htmlhttp://www.criminalprofiling.ch/violent-crime.html [Accessed 25.01.08] Holmes, R.M. and De Burger, J. (1985) Profiles in terror: The serial murderer. Federal Probation, 39, 29-34. Holmes, R.M. and Holmes, S.T. (1994) Murder in America. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Holmes, R.M. and Holmes, S.T. (2002) Profiling Violent Crimes: An investigative tool. USA: Sage Publications. Ressler, R., Burgess, A. and Douglas, J. (1988) Sexual homicide: Patterns and motives. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books. Results An agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis using complete linkage methods was performed on the data. The analysis produced 8 clusters for the male serial killers that merged certain crime scene traits. Two clusters were found in support of the organised/disorganised dichotomy originally depicted by Ressler et al. (1988). Four clusters showed a representation of the 4 typologies of serial killer: mission, visionary, hedonistic (lust and thrill) and power/control (Holmes and Holmes 2002). One cluster resembled features of an organised and power/control killer but the modus operandi was to intoxicate victims first which is why this cluster remained distinct from the others but nevertheless could be considered another cluster supporting existing typologies. The remaining cluster suggested a resemblance of the ‘mixed’ offender provided by Douglas and Munn (1992). In the case of the female serial killers, 5 specific clusters arose. Five clusters were considered representative of the 4 typologies (comfort-oriented, visionary, power-seeking and hedonistic) suggested by Holmes and Holmes (2002); with 2 clusters showing a representation of the same typology. Content Analysis Format Specimen Variable (Trait) Case1 Case2 Case3 Restraints0 0 0 Spontaneous event1 0 0 Controlled scene1 0 1 Sudden violence0 0 0 Chaotic scene0 0 0 Aggressive acts0 1 0 Necrophilia0 0 1 Weapon left0 0 0 Body not moved0 0 0 Unclothed body1 0 0 Quick kill0 0 0 Torture0 0 0 Key 0= trait not present 1= trait present Dendrograms from hierarchical cluster analysis