Citation

Fridel EE, Fox JA. Psychol. Violence 2018; 8(4): 505-514.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/vio0000138

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Despite substantial interest in the topic, there remains no consensus on the definition of serial killing, particularly in terms of the minimum victim count. Whereas most scholars had settled on either a three-victim or four-victim minimum, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) decided a decade ago to lower the threshold down to just two murders. In this article we empirically examine the effect of lowering the threshold on the statistical profile of serial homicide and suggest what appears to be the optimal threshold based on distinguishing attributes.

METHOD: A series of multinomial logistic regression analyses is used to compare two-victim, three-victim and four-victim offenders (as well as those who claimed even larger victim counts) on a variety of traits generally considered stereotypical of the serial killer.

RESULTS: Two-victim offenders differ significantly from all other serial killers in terms of motive, partnership, and crime scene behaviors, and arguably should not be pooled into a single population. Moreover, those who have slain between three and seven victims differ significantly in terms of these same characteristics from those who have killed eight or more.

CONCLUSIONS: A minimum victim threshold of at least three should be used, separating potential or would-be serial killers from those who are characterized by more extreme levels of violent behavior. Furthermore, the population of serial killers can be subdivided into typical offenders claiming three to seven victims and their far more deadly counterparts with eight or more murders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)

Language: en

Keywords

Criminals; Homicide; Serial Homicide; Taxonomies; Victimization