Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T16:29:29.423Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sexual Murder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Don Grubin
Don Grubin*
Affiliation:
Newcastle City Health Trust, St. Nicholas Hospital, Jubilee Road, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 3XT
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

Little is known about men who kill in a sexual context. The present study compares a group of sexual murderers with a group of men who had raped but not killed.

Method

Twenty-one men who murdered women in the course of a sexual attack and 121 men convicted of rape were interviewed in six prisons. Victim statements were obtained in 103 cases (73%). Assessment consisted of a 90-minute semi-structured interview, the Eysenck 1–7 questionnaire, and the Schonell reading test.

Results

The most notable characteristic distinguishing the men who killed was their lifelong isolation and lack of heterosexual relationships.

Conclusions

A better understanding of the social and emotional isolation commonly found in sexual murderers may provide important insights into why some sexual offenders go on to kill.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 165 , Issue 5 , November 1994 , pp. 624 - 629
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1994 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Brittain, R. P. (1970) The sadistic murderer. Medicine, Science and the Law, 10, 198–207.Google Scholar
Burgess, A. W., Hartman, C. R., Ressler, R. K., et al (1986) Sexual homicide: a motivational model. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1, 251–272.Google Scholar
Criminal Statistics for England and Wales (1990) London: HMSO.Google Scholar
dietz, P. E., Hazelwood, M. S. & Warren, D. S. W. (1990) The sexually sadistic criminal and his offences. Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 16, 163–178.Google Scholar
Eysenck, S. B. G., Pearson, P. R., Easting, G., et al (1985) Age norms for impulsiveness, venturesomeness and empathy in adults. Personality and Individual Differences 6, 613–619.Google Scholar
MacCulloch, M. J., Snowden, P. R., Wood, P. J. W., et al (1983) Sadistic fantasy, sadistic behaviour and offending. British Journal of Psychiatry, 143, 20–29.Google Scholar
Megargee, E. I. (1966) Undercontrolled and overcontrolled personality types in extreme antisocial aggression. Psychological Monographs, 80, No. 611.Google Scholar
Prentky, R. A., Burgess, A. W., Rodous, F., et al (1989) The presumptive role of fantasy in serial sexual homicide. American Journal of Psychiatry, 146, 887–891.Google Scholar
Prentky, R. A., & Knight, R. A. (1991) Identifying critical dimensions for discriminating among rapists. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 643–661.Google Scholar
Quinsey, V. L. (1984) Sexual aggression: studies of offenders against women. In Law and Mental Health: International Perspectives, vol. 1 (ed. Wesstub, D.). New York: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Ressler, R. K., Burgess, A. W. & Douglas, J. E. (1988) Sexual Homicide. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.Google Scholar
Revitch, E. (1965) Sex murder and the potential sex murderer. Disorders of the Nervous System, 26, 640–648.Google ScholarPubMed
Schonell, F. J. & Schonell, F. E. (1965) Diagnostic and Attainment Testing. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd.Google Scholar
Swigert, V. L., Farnell, R. A. & Yoels, W. C. (1976) Sexual homicide: Social, psychological, and legal aspects. Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 5, 391–401.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.