Citation

Schlesinger LB, Ramirez S, Tusa B, Jarvis JP, Erdberg P. J. Am. Acad. Psychiatry Law 2017; 45(1): 72-80.

Affiliation

Dr. Schlesinger is Professor of Forensic Psychology, Ms. Ramirez and Ms. Tusa are graduate students, and Dr. Erdberg is a visiting scholar, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, Department of Psychology, New York, NY. Dr. Jarvis is Chief Criminologist, FBI Behavioral Science Unit, Quantico, VA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, Publisher American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

28270465

Abstract

Serial sexual murderers have been described as committing homicides in a methodical manner, taking substantial time between offenses to elude the authorities. The results of our study of the temporal patterns (i.e., the length of time between homicides) of a nonrandom national sample of 44 serial sexual murderers and their 201 victims indicate that this representation may not always be accurate. Although 25 offenders (56.8%) killed with longer than a 14-day period between homicides, a sizeable subgroup was identified: 19 offenders (43.2%) who committed homicides in rapid-sequence fashion, with fewer than 14 days between all or some of the murders. Six offenders (13.6%) killed all their victims in one rapid-sequence, spree-like episode, with homicides just days apart or sometimes two murders in the same day. Thirteen offenders (29.5%) killed in one or two rapid-sequence clusters (i.e., more than one murder within a 14-day period, as well as additional homicides with greater than 14 days between each). The purpose of our study was to describe this subgroup of rapid-sequence offenders who have not been identified until now. These findings argue for accelerated forensic assessments of dangerousness and public safety when a sexual murder is detected. Psychiatric disorders with rapidly occurring symptom patterns, or even atypical mania or mood dysregulation, may serve as exemplars for understanding this extraordinary group of offenders.

© 2017 American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

Language: en