Citation

Eichinger M, Darjee R. Psychiatry Psychol. Law. 2021; 28(6): 885-908.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Law, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13218719.2021.1894261

PMID

35694650

PMCID

PMC9176366

Abstract

The field of sexual homicide research is relatively recent, with many existing studies limited by small sample sizes and sampling bias. In Australia and New Zealand specifically, only one study to date addresses this phenomenon but there is a lack of comprehensive descriptive data. This study aims to fill this research gap using a representative sample gathered from public legal databases. A total of 118 cases of sexual homicide offenders are described to create a portrait of this type of offender, their victims and their offence behaviour.

FINDINGS are similar to those found in other large samples from the UK, Canada and Germany. Because this crime is rare and practitioners tend to have limited experience of them, the findings of this research have the potential to inform investigative, criminal justice and clinical practice.

Language: en

Keywords

Australia; New Zealand; sexual violence; homicide; offender characteristics; sexual homicide; sexual motivation; victim characteristics; violent crime