SERIAL KILLER MIND

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 50 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Wesbecker’s feelings and acts of isolation, withdrawal, and depression are prominent pre offense behavior dynamics of the mass and spree authority killer. Furthermore, he was a single middle-aged white male who harbored a long-term grudge against the management of his employer and had accompanying emotional problems relating to his personal and work-related life. Wesbecker often spoke of his deep resentment toward his employer. Fel- low employees recalled his conversations surrounding his fantasies of re- venge against his company should he be mistreated.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 49 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   He had once declined a promotion and a raise because he could not face the demands the job would place on him. He claimed that his exposure to an industrial chemical had caused memory loss, dizziness, and blackouts. He further attributed his exposure to the chemical for bouts of sleeplessness, racing thoughts, anxiety, anger, and confusion.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 48 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Investigation The investigation of the shootings revealed that Wesbecker had a long his- tory of mental and emotional problems. Two marriages had ended in divorce. He had been hospitalized on a voluntary basis at least three times between 1978 and 1987 for these problems. He was reported to be withdrawn and troublesome in his workplace and experienced job-related stress problems.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 47 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Forensic Findings Seven dead and twelve wounded people were found at the scene by police authorities. Another died three days later. Most of the victims died from massive blood loss due to gunshot wounds to the heart and chest area. Most of the twelve wounded workers were in serious to critical condition.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 46 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Wesbecker had killed seven people and wounded twelve others. He obviously intended to kill all who crossed his path and was intent on revenge, seeking out those in authority in the company where he worked. The offender came to the scene with multiple weapons and an abundance of ammunition. His shots were intended to be lethal, as demonstrated by the death toll and the fact that of the twelve surviving victims, five were critically wounded. Wesbecker was very mission oriented, with no escape plan.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 45 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Wesbecker proceeded to the Standard Gravure pressroom, into the basement, and back to the pressroom, firing his weapon all the way until he dropped his AK-47, raised his 9mm pistol under his chin, and killed himself. All events occurred in approximately nine minutes from the firing of the first shot. The police arrived on the scene and found Wesbecker dead. It was determined that he fired hundreds of shots during his random murder spree. This crime is classified as a spree authority killing in that it was a confrontational type of assault spread throughout a large area (several buildings), leaving many dead and wounded in the wake of the assailant.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 44 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   After he gained entry to the plant, Wesbecker took the elevator to the third floor to the executive office complex. He opened fire as the elevator door parted, killing the receptionist and wounding several other office staff. He then proceed down the hallway to the bindery, spraying the area with gunfire and killing and wounding more plant employees. He moved on to the Courier-Journal building, where he shot another employee.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 43 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Crime Scene Indicators At 8:30 A.M. on September 14, Wesbecker arrived at the Standard Gravure plant carrying a duffel bag containing an AK-47 semiautomatic assault rifle, two MAC-11 semiautomatic pistols, a 9mm semiautomatic pistol, and a .38- caliber revolver. He carried hundreds of rounds of ammunition. When encountering a friend, John Tingle, who tried to persuade Wesbecker not to enter the plant, Wesbecker ordered Tingle to “get away,” stating, “I told them that I’d be back.”

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 42 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Victimology Wesbecker’s victims were all secondary targets since the primary targets of his aggression were the company’s administrators, who were not in their offices at the time of the assault. His victims were fellow employees, yet on that particular day, Wesbecker considered them to be enemies because they symbolized the corporation’s organizational structure.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 41 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   On the morning of September 14, 1989, Wesbecker walked into the Standard Gravure Corporation plant, intent on seeking revenge on those who caused his problems. Using an AK-47 automatic assault rifle and an assortment of other firearms, he killed or wounded over twenty people.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 40 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION CASE STUDY: 124: AUTHORITY MURDER Background Joseph T. Wesbecker, a twice-divorced forty-seven-year-old white male, had asked for a transfer from his job as a pressman. He had complained that the job was too stressful, and as his emotional problems worsened during February 1989, his employers responded by placing him on disability leave. Wesbecker felt that his employers at Standard Gravure Corporation had inflicted a gross injustice on him despite the fact that his behavior had interfered with his duties and the duties of others in his workplace. Nearly every day for seven months, he brooded over how he would repay those in authority who were responsible for his alleged mistreatment.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 39 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Search Warrant Suggestions Investigating officials should be aware of the offender’s preparation period for the final event by looking for specific reading material, collections of weaponry, uniforms, paraphernalia, and other items of paramilitary interest. Statements made by the offender just prior to, during, and immediately after the assault should be carefully noted and documented by investigative personnel. The search should also look for diaries, scrapbooks, and computer logs and prescribed medications to link the suspect to psychiatric conditions.

    Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 38 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Investigative Considerations The offender will have a history of paranoid behavior and openly voicing dissatisfaction with general or specific circumstances in his life. There are usually long-term precipitation and predisposing factors in the development of this state, and a likely result is emotional or mental illness. The mental disorders commonly found among authority killers are depressive reactions, paranoia, or paranoid psychosis. Another result of this developmental situation is interpersonal failures and conflicts such as separation, divorce, job loss, failure in school, or other such personal life traumatic events that will precipitate the acting out against authority. Frustrations accompanied by the inability to handle or resolve such situations are often precipitating events. Suicide attempts are common.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 37 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Staging. Staging is not usually present.   Common Forensic Findings. The forensic finding most prevalent in authority murder is the use of more than one firearm; often the weapons selected are semiautomatic, selected for quick firing; they may be of more than one caliber. Therefore, various and numerous shell casings may be found at the scene, which will help establish the number of rounds fired. Wounds usually are severe and numerous. Multiple wounds on a victim may suggest the primary target, and the killing of the primary target may prompt the suicide of the offender. If the primary target is not taken, the offender may commit suicide or surrender when he runs out of ammunition.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 36 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Because of his obsession of being wronged over a period of time, the offender gathers and collects weapons and usually brings multiple weaponry to the scene of his confrontation. In addition, he often arms himself with an abundance of ammunition and other gear to sustain and support his attack. Weapons used are of optimal lethality (semiautomatic assault weapons, high power, scope sights), and as a result, the assault often develops into a mass or spree killing.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 35 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Crime Scene Indicators Frequently Noted. The offender is mission oriented: he is on the scene with his mission having ultimate priority. He has little or no intention to abort his plan and escape from the scene or from responsibility for the act. He may desire to die at the scene by suicide or by police bullets and thereby attain martyrdom for his actions and cause. There is always a direct and planned confrontation between the offender and victims.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 34 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Defining Characteristics Victimology. The victimology of authority murder involves primary and secondary targets. The primary targets are the principal people whom the of- fender perceives as wronging him. The wrong may be actual, such as the offender’s being fired, or may be imagined, based on a psychotic or paranoid delusion of a conspiracy. The secondary victims become random targets as a result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time because the offender generalizes their immediate presence to symbolize the authority.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 33 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   124: AUTHORITY MURDER An authority murder involves an offender who kills persons who have an authority relationship or symbolic authority relationship by which the killer perceives he has been wronged. The target of the assault may be a person or a building, structure, or institution symbolizing the authority. Random victims are often wounded or killed during the assault as a result of their actual or perceived association with the authority figure or the institution being attacked.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 32 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Outcome Bernadette Protti was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to nine years. She was denied parole twice before the state Youthful Offender Parole Board released her on June 10, 1992, in a two-to-one decision.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 31 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Bernadette Protti. Protti was called in for another extensive interview (she had been inter- viewed at least four times previously) and another polygraph exam. She failed parts of the polygraph, but other parts were inconclusive. Several days later, Protti returned with her father to the sheriff’s department and requested to speak with the FBI agent who had questioned her previously. She then offered a full confession for the murder of Costas. Protti stated she had killed Kristen because Costas had rebuffed Protti’s attempts to make friends with her. Protti was afraid Costas would tell every- one at school that she was a “weirdo.” It was this fear of rejection, Protti claimed, that drove her to kill Costas.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 30 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Investigation Over six months, 750 yellow or orange Ford Pintos, including the killer’s, were checked by police, but no evidence was found associated with Costa’s murder. More than one thousand leads were investigated, and over three hundred people were interviewed, including one hundred girls from Costa’s high school. A list of suspects was narrowed down to several dozen people. The investigators then submitted the victimology, crime scene information, pictures, and autopsy records to the FBI Investigative Support Unit in Quantico, Virginia, for a criminal personality profile. The FBI analysts came up with a profile and sent it back to the sheriff’s department in late October. With this profile, the investigators were able to narrow the list to one suspect:

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 29 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Forensic Findings Kristen Costas had been stabbed five times. There was a defensive wound to the right forearm. Two of the wounds were to the back, both 13 centimeters long and puncturing the right lung and diaphragm and lacerating the liver. Of the two wounds from a frontal assault, one was 15.5 centimeters long and penetrated the left upper arm, chest, and left lung. The other was 4 centi- meters and did minor damage. Any one of the three deeper wounds would have caused death by itself. There was no evidence of any other type of assault, physical or sexual.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 28 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Crime Scene Indicators In front of the door where the attack took place were multidirectional blood- splatter patterns. A few feet to the left of this area, a trail of blood splatter began that went down the walkway, the driveway, across the street, the neighbor’s driveway, sidewalk, and onto the porch. A butter knife was found at the scene, but this was not the murder weapon. A few latent prints remained unidentified, and one set from the porch post next to the attack site had insufficient detail for evaluation. There was nothing else to aid the investigation from the crime scene.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 27 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   The fact that Costas was well liked and popular would normally have been additional reasons for considering her status low risk. But because of the nature of the conflict that arose between Protti and Costas, this element elevated her risk to be targeted for a violent crime.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 26 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Victimology Kristen Costa’s chances of becoming a victim of a violent crime were reduced by her warm family relationship, minimal use of alcohol, and self- imposed dating restrictions. Her lifestyle reinforced this low-risk status. She lived at home, and because of her age and parental control, her socialization was restricted to places that would be considered low-risk environments (the church parking lot, which was the local hangout, and friends’ homes, for example) as opposed to bars and nightclubs. She had reportedly experimented once with cocaine and once with marijuana, but this isolated use was not a factor when considering the attack.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 25 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Meanwhile, Mr. Arnold had started to pursue the Pinto as it squealed away, but decided to return to see if Costas needed help. By this time, the paramedics and police had arrived and were loading Kristen into the ambulance. Mr. and Mrs. Costas arrived home from their son’s banquet just in time to see their daughter lying in the ambulance. Kristen Costas was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital at 11:02 P.M.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 24 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Costas staggered to her feet and ran across the street crying for help. A neighbor who had come outside when he heard the scream went to her aid. She collapsed in his arms still asking for help and then lost consciousness. He began cardiopulmonary resuscitation while his wife called emergency medical personnel.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 23 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   When Mr. Arnold arrived at the Costas home, Kristen noted that her parents were not in yet and told Mr. Arnold she was going to go next door. He offered to wait until she was safely inside the house and watched as Costas walked to the door. As he prepared to leave, he saw a female figure pass by the right side of his vehicle and enter the porch where Costas stood. At first Arnold thought he was witnessing a fistfight. The form struck at Costas, and she fell to the porch screaming. The assailant disappeared seconds later.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 22 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Costas rang the doorbell of nearby friends, the Arnolds. When Mrs. Arnold answered the door, Costas explained that she had been with a friend at church who had “gone weird.” Mrs. Arnold described Kristen as being visibly upset but not terrified. She noticed a girl about fifteen with light brown hair on the front sidewalk as she let Costas in to call her parents. When her parents did not answer, Mr. Arnold offered to give Costas a ride home, which she accepted. He noticed the Pinto was following them as he drove Costas home, but Kristen reassured him it was okay.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 21 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   On June 22, 1984, Costas was at cheerleading camp when her mother received a call from an unidentified female around 10:00 P.M. The caller told Mrs. Costas that Kristen would be picked up for a secret Bobbies initiation dinner the next night. On June 23, Mr. and Mrs. Costas and Kristen’s twelve-year-old brother were attending a baseball banquet. At 8:20 P.M., Mrs. Costas phoned Kristen to wish her a good time at the Bobbies’ dinner. Soon after, Kristen was picked up by a white female in an beat-up orange Pinto. They drove to the Presbyterian church parking lot and parked. After about thirty minutes, Costas became alarmed at the driver’s behavior and exited the car.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 20 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   For Bernadette Protti, adolescent life was not so pleasant. She was embarrassed by the modest living imposed by her father’s income as a retired public utilities supervisor. This discomfort was accentuated daily as she went to school, surrounded with the sons and daughters of executives like Costa’s father. Spring 1984 had not done much to boost her faltering ego. She was cut from the cheerleading squad, rejected from membership in an exclusive club similar to the Bobbies, and denied a place on the yearbook staff. These setbacks probably would have been nothing more than passing disappointments to the typical teenager, but to Protti, they confirmed her sense of failure and lack of self-worth. One friend described Protti as never believing she was accepted by her peers, even though she apparently was. She depicted Protti as having an obsession w

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 19 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   CASE STUDY: 123.02: CONFLICT MURDER Background Life for Kristen Costas was satisfying and agreeable. The fifteen year old was a member of her high school swimming team, soccer team, and community swim team. She had been selected for the varsity cheerleading squad and belonged to an exclusive volunteer group called the Bobbies. She was very popular at school, having many friends. She seldom dated but was well liked by the male students of her suburban California high school. Words like pretty and vibrant were used when describing her. Her father was an executive who could afford to give his only daughter the trendy clothes, ski vacations, and cheerleading training camp trips important to a teenager trying to find acceptance from other upper-middle-class peers.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 18 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   : CONFLICT MURDER In a conflict murder, death results from personal conflict between the victim and offender. The defining characteristics, investigative considerations, and search warrant suggestions are discussed in classification 123.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 17 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   The precipitating event of the dispute was some money that the offender had borrowed from the victim three weeks earlier. The offender had promised repayment several times but had failed to fulfill his promises. The offender was also very drunk when the victim began yelling at him and declaring his unreliability to the other bar patrons. The exchange became physical and culminated with the shooting.   Outcome The offender pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to fifteen years.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 16 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Investigation Because of the abundance of witnesses and physical evidence, an arrest was made within hours of the shooting. The offender was arrested without incident at his home. His reputation mirrored that of the victim. He too had a history of assaultive behavior reflected by an arrest record.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 15 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Forensic Findings The autopsy revealed that the victim had died from a single gunshot wound to the chest that penetrated the heart through the left ventricle, causing immediate death. A .38-caliber bullet was recovered from the body. The victim’s serum alcohol level was .21 percent, well over the .10 percent level of intoxication.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 14 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   The crime scene was random and sloppy, typical of this type of conflict. The body was left in the open, in the position that death had occurred. The weapon was brought to the scene and found farther down the street in a garbage can down an alley. There was an abundance of prints in the bar and a few on the murder weapon, although the offender had hurriedly wiped off the gun before discarding it.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 13 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Crime Scene Indicators The crime scene was in a tavern district that had a reputation for nightly brawls, especially during the hot summer months. The crime scene was spread out, with indicators of the struggle beginning in the bar. Bar stools and several tables were overturned. There were several blood spatter patterns indicating that both offender and victim had drawn each other’s blood before the shooting.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 12 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Victimology The victim was a twenty-two-year-old construction worker who had a history of being thrown out of bars for starting fights. He had a long history of assaultive behavior that included several arrests for aggravated battery and as- sault on a law enforcement officer. His reputation for solving problems with physical violence was well established at work and after hours, in the bars. The victim had had several confrontations with the offender before the night of his death. According to witnesses familiar with both men, they seemed to have a friendship of sorts that was periodically interrupted with brawls.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 11 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   CASE STUDY: 123.01: ARGUMENT MURDER Background On a hot July night in 1989, the police of a small East Coast city received a “shots fired” call. As they arrived at the scene of the incident, they observed a young white male sprawled out in the middle of the street. He had been shot in the chest and was dead. The officers learned from several witnesses that the victim had started arguing with another man over some money the offender owed the victim. The dispute soon escalated, with the victim punching the offender. The fight spilled out into the street and culminated with the offender pulling a gun out and shooting the victim.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 10 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Search Warrant Suggestions The investigator should search for articles in the location because the crime erupted quickly. A search should also be made for receipts of firearm sales, and the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms registry should be checked.   : ARGUMENT MURDER In an argument murder, death is precipitated by a verbal dispute. The defining characteristics, investigative considerations, and search warrant suggestions are discussed in classification 123.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 9 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Investigative Considerations The precipitating event of an argument or conflict is the cause of the dispute. The killing can be a spontaneous or delayed reaction to this event. The offender, like the victim, has a history of assaultive behavior and using violence to resolve problems. Due to the spontaneous nature of the attack, there are usually witnesses, however reluctant or inconspicuous. A point to consider is that the suspect lives in the vicinity of the attack or victim, or both. Witnesses may know the place of employment, hangouts, or residence of offender.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 8 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Staging. Staging is not present.   Common Forensic Findings. Alcohol or drugs are often involved, and there is no evidence of sexual assault. The mode of death is usually based on the weapon availability: knife, blunt object, or firearm.  

Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 7 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Crime Scene Indicators Frequently Noted. The crime scene of an argument/ conflict murder is often spread out, demonstrating signs of offender and victim movement as well as signs of struggle. It is random and sloppy. The weapon is bought to the scene due to the offender’s predisposition to assaultive behavior. In this sense, it becomes a weapon of opportunity based on its ready availability. It may be left at the scene in addition to fingerprints, footprints, and other evidence. The victim is often unarmed. Generally the body is also left at the scene and is not concealed.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 6 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Defining Characteristics Victimology. There is a high incidence of victims of this crime to be young adult, blue-collar or unemployed, and with a low education level. The offender is known to the victim. The victim commonly has a history of assaultive behavior and of using violence to resolve his problems. An exception to this victimology is the person who has the misfortune to cross paths and ignite the volatile, impulsive offender who is predisposed to violent eruptions. The precipitating event is often a trivial incident, such as pulling in front of someone on the freeway.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 5 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Outcome Violetta pleaded guilty to manslaughter after the judge on the case made it clear that she did not want the defendant to serve considerable jail time. Violetta expressed a wish to become pregnant again in the future.   123: ARGUMENT/CONFLICT MURDER Argument/conflict murder is a death that results from a dispute between per- sons, excluding family or household members.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 4 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Lying on the floor, Violetta looked downward and saw her daughter’s head emerging and decided to pull her out. She placed one hand across the face, covering the nose, and one hand behind the head. She then held her hand over the baby’s nose and mouth, despite knowing that if she did so, the infant would stop breathing. When asked later why she did this, Violetta responded that she was frightened and did not “know what I was thinking.” Violetta stated that she fainted shortly after the birth, and upon waking, realized the baby was not breathing. Her father was knocking at the door, asking if she was all right. She cleaned up the blood, not wanting him to “be worried.” An hour later, Miguel opened the bathroom door and founded his sister in her weakened post birth state.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 3 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Isolated in her privacy, responsive to the expectations of her family, and profoundly affected by shame, Violetta chose to try to forget she was pregnant. On December 3, Violetta and her brother went to the movies, returning home in the late afternoon. Upon their return, Violetta began experiencing back pain and thought she might be coming down with the flu. She laid down to rest. Violetta could not sleep and experienced continuous urinary urgency, ultimately returning to the bathroom around midnight. While in the bathroom, she rose from the toilet, was suddenly seized by excruciating pain, and fell to the floor. She avoided crying out for fear of waking her family and “giving her father a heart attack.”

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 D 2 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Investigation Violetta had concealed a four-month relationship from her father and brother for fear of disapproval and shame. She concealed her pregnancy for fear of eviction from home or alienation from her emotional support network. The birth caught her completely by surprise, and before the night her child was born, she did not prepare for childbirth or a new arrival and did not acknowledge the physical effects of pregnancy until the night she delivered.