SERIAL KILLER MIND

  Crime Classification Manual A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   John E. Douglas, Ann W. Burgess, Allen G. Burgess, and Robert K. Ressler, Editors   CLASSIFICATION BY TYPE, STYLE, AND NUMBER   OF   VICTIMS Crimes may be classified by type, style, and number of victims. Using the homicide classification as an example, a single homicide is one victim and   one homicidal event. A double homicide is two victims, one event, and in one location. A triple homicide has three victims in one location during one event. Anything beyond three victims is classified as a mass murder—that is, a homicide involving four or more victims in one location and within one event. Two additional types of multiple murders are spree murder and serial murder. A spree murder involves killing at two or more locations with no emotional cooling-off period between murders. The killings are all the result of a s

A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   John E. Douglas, Ann W. Burgess, Allen G. Burgess, and Robert K. Ressler, Editors   Investigative Considerations and Search Warrant Suggestions Once the investigator has classified the offense (and thus the motive), the investigative considerations and search warrant suggestions can be used to give direction and assistance to the investigation. It should be emphasized that the considerations examined here are general suggestions and not ab- solutes that apply in every case. There are ten basic steps to a crime scene search: 1.     Approach the scene. 2.     Secure and protect the scene. 3.     Conduct a preliminary survey. 4.     Narratively describe the scene. 5.     Photograph the scene. 6.     Sketch the scene. 7.     Evaluate latent fingerprint evidence and other forms of evidence. 8.     Conduct a detailed search f

A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   John E. Douglas, Ann W. Burgess, Allen G. Burgess, and Robert K. Ressler, Editors   THE SIGNATURE ASPECT The violent serial offender often exhibits another element of criminal behav- ior during an offense: his signature, or calling card. This criminal conduct goes beyond the actions necessary to perpetrate the crime—the MO—and points to the unique personality of the offender. Unlike MO, a serial offender’s signature will never change at its core. Certain details may be refined over time (for example, the lust murderer who performs greater postmortem mutilation as he progresses from crime to crime), but the basis of the signature will remain the same (performing post- mortem mutilations, in this example). What makes up this signature? Surviving victims or witnesses some- times attest to the behavioral elements of the signature. For example, a rapist may demo

A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   John E. Douglas, Ann W. Burgess, Allen G. Burgess, and Robert K. Ressler, Editors                                   PART ONE                                     Crime Analysis and Investigation   CHAPTER   1 Modus Operandi and the Signature Aspects of Violent Crime JOHN E. DOUGLAS LAUREN K. DOUGLAS I n September 1989, a Shreveport, Louisiana, man named Nathaniel Code Jr. stood trial for murder. The jury determined Code had mur- dered eight people between 1984 and 1987. These eight homicides took place during three different events: one murder in 1984, four in 1985, and three in 1987. There were several disparities in modus operandi (actions taken by an offender during the perpetration of a crime in order to perpetrate that crime) and victimology (characteristics of the victims) among the three

  A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   John E. Douglas, Ann W. Burgess, Allen G. Burgess, and Robert K. Ressler, Editors     Forensic Findings Forensic findings are the analysis of physical evidence pertaining to a crime, evidence that is used toward legal proof that a crime occurred. This evidence is often called a silent witness, offering objective facts specific to the com- mission of a crime. The primary sources of physical evidence are the victim, the suspect, and the crime scene. Secondary sources include the home or work environment of a suspect; however, search warrants are necessary for the collection of such evidence (Moreau, 1987).   Medical reports provide important evidence. These reports include toxi- cological results, X-ray films, and autopsy findings. In homicide cases, the forensic pathologist identifies and documents the postmortem findings pres- ent and interprets the findings wit

A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   John E. Douglas, Ann W. Burgess, Allen G. Burgess, and Robert K. Ressler, Editors     How Many Offenders? The answer to this question will help the investiga- tor determine whether to place the offense into the criminal enterprise cate- gory or the group cause category. The motive in criminal enterprise murders is for profit. The motive in group cause is based on ideology. The offenses included in both groupings involve multiple offenders.   Organized or Disorganized, Physical Evidence, and Weapon. The gen- eral condition of the crime scene is important in classifying a crime. Is it like   a group excitement killing: spontaneous and disarrayed with a great deal of physical evidence at the scene? Or does the crime scene reflect a methodi- cal, well-organized subject who did not leave a single print or piece of phys- ical evidence behind? The la