Peters’ crime will be examined by their similarities for the purpose of this paper rather than being examined in the order that Crime Stories reported them. The first crime, Charlene’s murder, can be classified as a sexual murder because of the fact that Charlene and Peters were in the midst of an intimate relationship, and she was found naked, insinuating that he had raped her. While Sandie was not killed, we can still put this crime under the umbrella of sexual murder because she was raped, and it was Peters’ intention to kill her. Therefore for these two crimes, Peters is classified as a sexual murderer. Beauregard and Martineau state in their descriptive study of sexual murders that “the average age of sexual murderers is 28 years” (Beauregard …show more content…
It can also be stated that sexual murderers “also have diverse criminal history with an average of 1.7 convictions” (Beauregard and Martineau, 2012) which can be found true with Peters, because we understand that he had previously been convicted for forcible confinement and pointing a firearm. Sandie and Charlene both White females, fit the statistical fact that 89. 7% of victims were female and 62.8% of them were also white (Beauregard and Martineau, 2012). Although Mr. Philips’ murder was non-sexual, we will continue to classify Peters as a sexual murderer because his sexual murders overpower his non-sexual murders therefore the following statistics fit under that of sexual murderers, but will be compared with the murder of Mr. Philips. Beauregard and Martineau (2012) state that 47.1% of sexual murderers beat their victims. This statistic fits with this murder, because Peters beat Mr. Philips to death. In 43.6% of the cases, the weapon used was found at the scene (Beauregard and Martineau, 2012), much like Peters in this situation because he found the metal bar used to bludgeon Mr. Philips, at the
Knight, Zelda G. "Sexually Motivated Serial Killers And The Psychology Of Aggression And "Evil" Within A Contemporary Psychoanalytical Perspective." Journal Of Sexual Aggression 13.1 (2007): 21-35. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 1 May 2014.
In a study conducted by Hickey, he discovered that out of thirty-four female serial killers, almost one in two had a male accomplice committing murders with them (Holmes et al., 1991). He also revealed that 97% were white and the average age the women started committing murders was thirty-three (Holmes et al., 1991). Women serial killers differ from men in that most women kill for material gain, such as money or insurance benefits, and they usually commit murder with pills or poison. Stephen Holmes, Ronald Holmes, and Eric Hickey developed a typology for female serial killers similar to the one developed by Holmes and Holmes, discussed earlier. They begin with visionary serial killers, who are compelled by some force, such as God, or spirits, to commit murders. The second type is the comfort killer, who usually kills acquaintances and does so for a material gain, money or real estate (Holmes et al., 1991). The third category is hedonistic female serial killers, which is similar to the earlier typology in that the offender connects murder with sexual gratification. This is the least represented category for female offenders, but evidence for this type of killer can be seen in the case of Carol Bundy (Holmes et al., 1991). Bundy allegedly helped her husband kidnap, murder, and decapitate the
The present paper intent to enquire into a female serial killer. It shall describe and analyze the theories behind the occurrences and sequent offer explanations. The studies of criminology theories it is important to recognize why humans decide on living a life cycle of crime. Wikipedia.org defines serial killer as, “a person who murders three or more people, usually in service of abnormal psychological gratification, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant break (a “cooling off period”) between them.” Precisely of this, humans who tend to be a serial killer are prone to developmental and physical characteristics. Several of these trends could fit into a model standard of a crime. A good example of analyzing the life and crimes of Aileen Wuornos, an American female serial killer who killed
Richard Speck is without a doubt what is considered a chronic offender having been arrested over 40 times prior to committing the crime for which he is best known; the 1966 murder, rape, and robbery of eight student nurses. His victims were female students between the ages of 19 and 24 who lived together on Chicago's South Side. Speck forced his way into their dorm at gunpoint, rounded the women up, and ordered them to empty their purses before tying them up. He then proceeded to brutalize them. The women were robbed, raped, beaten, and then strangled or stabbed to death (BIO, 2013). Cooper and Smith (2011), tell us that crimes of this nature involving 3 or more victims represent less than 1% of all homicides committed each year (p. 24) and crimes of this nature are more likely to be carried out by use of a gun (p. 27). Additionally, young adults aged 18-24 continue to experience the highest homicide rates, but homicides across the spectrum have fallen since the early 1990s (Cooper & Smith, 2011). Fang, French & McCollister (2010) estimated the cost to process a murder for our court systems was $390,352, the crime victim costs were $737,517, and the criminal’s activities other than the homici...
The vast amount of research has provided several explanations to account for the behavior of the offenders and the low rate in which sexual assault cases initiate criminal proceedings through a variety of theoretical perspectives. These include the classical approaches that focus on the individual who has committed sexual assault and the positivist approaches that aim to explain the social factors that influence the prosecution rates th...
According to RAINN, (2009) approximately 10 per cent of all victims of sexual assault and abuse are adult and juvenile males. In terms of the nature of assault, real figures include a compendium of reported incidents ranging from unwanted sexual touching to forced penetration. To qualify this statement, it must be understood that the percentage does not reflect a vast number of crimes that go unreported due to issues that will be discussed in the present paper.
Serial killers commonly attack a single target at a time one on one. There also tends to be no or very little relation between the person being killed and the killer (murder 1). “The nature of this drive has been heavily debated, but there is a consensus on some points (Anderson 1).” Many researchers have noted sexual behavior in the murder.
In The Murder of Helen Jewett, Patricia Cohen uses one of the most trivial murders during the 1800’s to illustrate the sexiest society accommodations to the privileged, hypocritical tunneled views toward sexual behavior, and the exploitation of legal codes, use of tabloid journalism, and politics. Taking the fact that woman was made from taking a rib from man was more than biblical knowledge, but incorporated into the male belief that a woman’s place is determined by the man. Helen had the proper rearing a maid servant, but how did she fall so far from grace. Judge Weston properly takes credit for rearing her with the proper strictness and education. Was Helen seduced at an early age and introduced to sexual perversions that were more persuasive that the bible belt life that the Weston’s tried to live? Was Helen simply a woman who knew how to use what she had to get what she wanted? Through personal correspondence, legal documentation, census reports, paintings, and newspapers we are able to make our own determinations. Cohen provides more than enough background and history to allow any one to make their own opinion how the murder of a woman could be turned into a side show at a circus.
Females frequently use less obvious means of murder. The favorite choice amongst them happens to be poison, “59”out of the “184” cases or approximately 32%; these poisons include “arsenic” “potassium chloride” and “succinylcholine.” (Holmes and Holmes 38-41). In the case of Velma Barfield, several people around her died. After her last victim’s autopsy showed arsenic poisoning, she admitted to the other murders she had committed (Eddy). Different from their female equivalents, males preferred method is usually violent in nature. In fact, “male serial murderers have tended to inflict a great deal of victim damage in addition to causing death and to engage in torture of their victims prior to death” (qt. in Keeney 385). The well-known case of Jeffrey Dahmer, who murdered 17 men, is an example of how brutal male serial killers can
Classical and contemporary theory helps to explain gendered crime patterns. The feminist school of criminology argue criminology and criminal theory is very masculine, all studies into criminal behaviour, have been developed from male statistics and tested on males. Very little research is conducted into female criminality, this may be because women who commit crime are more likely to be seen as evil or mentally ill rather than criminal, this is because women are labe...
The earliest warning signs of serial killers can be traced back to their childhood. It is believed that the mind of a murderer is charged with a turbulence of emotions stored from early childhood (Abrahamsen 18). When these often repressed emotions are activated, the mind, particularly when aroused or frustrated, becomes violent, and so it is that a person who may appear quite normal and well adjusted on the surface, becomes possessed by a mind that murders (Abrahamsen 18). The study of 36 incarcerated killers by Robert Ressler, Ann Burgess, and John Douglas, which can be found in their book Sexual Homicide Patterns and Motives, found many common behavior indicators in their childhoods. These behaviors include daydreaming, compulsive masturbation, isolation, chronic lying, bed wetting, rebelliousness, nightmares, destroying property, fire setting stealing, cruelty to children, poor body image, temper tantrums, sleep problems, display assault toward adults, phobias, running away, cruelty to animals, accident prone, headaches, destroying possessions, eating problems, convulsions, and...
Serial killing is rampant in the U.S. According to estimates in a recent study conducted by the FBI, there have been about 400 serial killers in the U.S. in the last century, with the total number of murder victims ranging from 2,525 to 3,860 . Various experts in the field have suggested that there may be anywhere from 50 to as many as 300 serial killers active at the same time, although there is no clear evidence supporting this . Certainly, an estimate of 300 active serial killers seems at odds with the FBI’s estimate of 400 over the entire previous century. But an estimated 80% of the serial killers in the past century have emerged since 1950. For whatever reason, serial killing is clearly on the rise, with the term itself coined only since the mid-1970’s, so perhaps 300 active serial killers at one time could be unfortunately possible. The number of serial killing in the U.S. is staggering.
In the male typologies there are separate categories for child molesters and rapists, which is largely due to fact that they offend in very different ways. However, for the female typologies there is no such distinction, because all except one of the typologies have victims who are on average less than 15 years old (Vandiver & Kercher, 2004).The Aggressive Homosexual Offender is the only typology with an adult offender, however the victims are female (Vandiver & Kercher, 2004).The lack of a typology for female offenders with male adult victims could be due to certain factors playing a part in society. In particular, in today’s rape culture there is the belief that women cannot physically rape men. One reason why this belief is held is because society views women as physically weaker than men and are unable to overpower men. The male sex drive discourse also adds to this belief if men can never refuse sex than they essentially can never be raped. This belief has various problems for both men and women. The lack of a typology that includes adult male victims minimizes and ignores real men that were victimized by women. Not including men in the victim analysis sends the message that they are not ‘real’ victims. In contrast to that, since these victims are not seen as ‘real’ victims, the female offenders are not seen as ‘real’ offenders. By
...f brain abnormalities on psychosocial development, criminal history and paraphilias in sexual murderers." J Forensic sci 50.5 (2005): 1204-8.
What would cause an individual to behave in this rather heinous and macabre manner? Using Robert Pickton as a case study, this paper will explore the phenomenon of serial murder and apply research literature to help explain his behaviour and examine issues such as psychopathy, mental disorder, and substance abuse relevant to the Pickton case. In addition, the paper will explore the sexually sadistic nature of Pickton’s murders. Finally, the paper will explore the reasoning behind Pickton’s selection of drug addicted prostitutes as victims that enabled him to conduct his murders in relative anonymity. ...