Serial Killers

A very interesting study entitled – A Descriptive Study of Sexual Homicide in Canada: Implications for Police Investigation – has been released and it contains some surprising findings for Canadian sexual serial killers.

According to the authors of the study, Eric Beauregard and Melissa Martineau, the prior work on examining sexual homicide had been few and based on small sample sizes. Their look at the subject differs in that they used cases from across Canada stretching back 62 years. The aim of the study is to examine offender and victim characteristics, victim targeting and access, and the killer’s modus operandi.

Some of the findings of the study include a picture of the average sexual serial killer as being what most expect – a single white male, age 28, with a thin or average build. But the study diverges from our normal view of a sexual serial killer being a loner. The study suggests some serial killers have a very outgoing personality and actively seek out people to be and do things with.

The study further finds that 80 per cent of serial killers have no prior criminal record for any sex-related crimes but they often have convictions for violent offences and for property offences.

There is a lot more information from this study including a look at the victims, the types of attack, victim selection and more.

View the study: http://ijo.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/08/03/0306624X12456682