Naked body disposal: an indicator of the type of sexual homicide
| Date | 14 September 2023 |
| Pages | 445-460 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JCP-04-2023-0019 |
| Published date | 14 September 2023 |
| Author | Hana Georgoulis,Eric Beauregard,Julien Chopin |
Naked body disposal: an indicator of the
type of sexual homicide
Hana Georgoulis, Eric Beauregard and Julien Chopin
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this study is to investigate whether sexual homicide offenders (SHO) who
disposeof the victim’s body naked present with particular crimescene characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach –This study aims to answer this question through the use of a
sequentiallogistic regression to test the individualeffects of each set of crime scenevariables against the
manner of disposal using a sample of 662 solved cases of extrafamilial sexual homicide from an
internationaldatabase.
Findings –Results demonstrated that the modus operandi behaviors of sexual penetration,
asphyxiation,dismemberment and overkill weresignificantly associated with the bodybeing disposed of
naked. In addition, removing or destroying evidence from the scene was also significantly associated
with a naked victim.In contrast, the body was more likely to be dumped clothed if thecontact scene was
desertedand the victim was a stranger. These resultssuggest that SHOs who dispose of the body naked
are more in line with the sadistic sexual murderer, while clothedvictims are often disposed of by angry
offenders.
Originality/value –To the best of the authors’ knowledge,this is the first study to examine the particular
mannerof disposing the victim’s body naked in cases of sexualhomicide.
Keywords Sexual homicide, Typology, Body disposal, Sadism, Crime scene analysis, Naked
Paper type Research paper
Body disposal in sexual homicide has recently seen more emerging research (Chai
et al., 2021a;Reale and Beauregard, 2019;Sea and Beauregard, 2018), which is
important as it is often the first and most definite scene law enforcement encounter
in the crime where they can say for certain the offender was as well (Morton et al., 2014).
However, much of this research suffers from a strict focus on the movement patterns of
offenders and exclusively looking at decisions around transporting the body, as opposed to
the condition of the body upon discovery regardless of if it was moved or not (Beauregard
and Field, 2008;Reale and Beauregard, 2019;Sea and Beauregard, 2018). Looking at the
particular method of disposal is especially important with sexual homicide as the victim
being naked is one of the most crucial determining factors when defining the type of
homicide that took place and decidingwhat route to go with the investigation (Ressler et al.,
1986). The victim’s attire or lack of attire is often listed as the first criteria to look for when
investigating if an unsolved homicide is indeed sexual, especially when basing the crime
scene analysis on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) definition of sexual homicide
(Ressler et al.,1992). While sexual acts during a homicide might necessitate a nakedvictim,
there are cases where the victim’s disposal might not clearly reflect the sexual nature of the
homicide. Failing to consider extenuating circumstances that might also contribute to a
naked victim could lead to the misclassification of the homicide, which could potentially
lead to errors when solving the case and in turn slow down an important investigation. Many
studies have determined that key modus operandi (MO) characteristics can be uncovered
at the body disposal site, and this has established the importance of a more thorough
Hana Georgoulis and Eric
Beauregard are both based
at School of Criminology,
Simon Fraser University,
Burnaby, Canada. Julien
Chopin is based at School
of Criminology, and
Terrorism, Violence and
Security Institute Research
Centre, Simon Fraser
University, Burnaby,
Canada; International
Centre for Comparative
Criminology, University of
Montreal, Montr
eal,
Canada and School of
Social Work and
Criminology, Laval
University, Quebec City,
Canada.
Received 19 April 2023
Revised 6 July 2023
11 August 2023
Accepted 26 August 2023
Since acceptance of this
article, the following author has
updated their affiliation: Julien
Chopin is at the School of
Criminal Justice, University of
Lausanne, Lausanne,
Switzerland; School of
Criminology, Simon Fraser
University, Burnaby, Canada
and School of Social Work and
Criminology, Laval University,
Quebec City, Canada.
DOI 10.1108/JCP-04-2023-0019 VOL. 13 NO. 4 2023, pp. 445-460, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2009-3829 jJOURNAL OF CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGY jPAGE 445
understanding of postcrime behaviors (Beauregard and Field, 2008;Chai et al., 2021b;
Morton et al., 2014). Despite being an integral piece of information on sexual homicide, it
has not been examined on its own regarding what additional information can be gleaned
from a naked disposal (Geberth, 2010a;Ressler et al.,1992).
This study aims to address the gap of how various crime scene and victim characteristics
are associated with the victim’s body being disposed naked after a sexual homicide. An
examination of naked disposal is key due to the emphasis given to the state of undress of
the victim when determining the motive behind a homicide, and the implications of
misclassifying a homicideas sexual when it is really not.
Understanding sexual homicide
Homicides alone are a fairly objective crime to analyze as it is typically clear what has
occurred by looking at the scene. Sexualassaults are more difficult to determine, partly due
to the lack of a universal definition (Chan and Heide, 2009;Kerr et al.,2013). Both crimes
come together with sexual homicides, making it a crime full of nuance and subjectivity.
Several definitions have been put forward to address the concerns around standardizing
this crime. Lust murder was one of the first definitions and traces back to the seminal work
by Krafft-Ebing (1898/1965). His contributions on deviant sexual interests and sexual
sadism led to him determining that if there is evidence of genital mutilation beyond what
would be found for normal sexual intercourse, and when there are signs of additional body
mutilation or dismemberment,the murder was out of lust (Krafft-Ebing, 1898/1965).
Researchers at the FBI also contributed to the literature with their own views on what a
sexual homicide was, which they then built on in their typological research (Ressler et al.,
1986;Ressler et al., 1992). Theirdefinition deems a homicide sexual in nature if one or more
of the following are evidentat the crime scene:
䊏the victim is partially or completely naked;
䊏the genitals are exposed;
䊏the victim’s body was posed in a sexual position;
䊏objects were found inserted into various body cavities;
䊏oral, anal and/or vaginal intercourse occurred; and
䊏evidence of substitute sexual activity or sadistic fantasy, like masturbation or genital
mutilation, was found.
Even though countless subsequent definitions have been formed, this continues to be one
of the most widely used definitions to date for research on the topic and investigations of
these crimes alike (Chan and Heide, 2009;Kerr et al.,2013). Although some have added
the stipulation that at least two of the original criteria need to be met instead of one (Chopin
and Beauregard, 2019), many continue to require only one of the standards be met. The
lack of a universally operationalized definition has been a concernboth in terms of reporting
and accurate classification of offenders as sexually motivated. Chan (2015) proposed new
defining criteria that synthesized past definitions, while considering both readily observed
crime scene traits and other important indicators that might not be as easily noticed. The
condition of nakedness is fundamental to most definitions as it is arguably one of the most
blatant to note at the scene. However, thiskey component has yet to be carefully examined,
despite the serious implications that can come with misclassifying a homicide as sexual
based strictly on whether the victim is naked alone.
Following the efforts of defining sexual homicide, many turned to categorizing those who
committed the act. Some of the earliest work that discussed body disposal in sexual
homicide was through the development of typologies that included traits associated with
PAGE 446 jJOURNAL OF CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGY jVOL. 13 NO.4 2023
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