A Motive for a Murder

Motives for serial murder have typically been classified within one of four broad explanatory frameworks. First, there is the sociogenic approach, which assumes criminal behavior develops out of societal processes. This explanation would lead to a classification of offenders on the basis of variations in their social backgrounds. Examples can be found in sociological. Social structure theory suggests that individuals commit murder because they are stifled in their low socioeconomic standing. Criminal behavior is a function of a socialization process, whereby the offender interacts with institutions and social organizations. Individuals may turn to crime as a result of family difficulties, failures in school, or peer group pressure. For example, in a separate study that looked at the case histories of murderers it was proven that whenever sufficient material is given on a murderer’s background, it is consistently found that: 1) his upbringing, particularly in relation to being treated kindly by his parents and his being emotionally close to them and to his other family members, was often negative; and 2) from an early age, he acted peculiarly, especially in his interpersonal relationships with others — and began to get into trouble both in social relationships and at school. Culture motives for serial murder are a relatively recent addition to the serial murder literature. For example, it is viewed that serial murder as a consequence of social class conflict and frustration. From this culture conflict perspective, the offender perceives the outcomes of his or her social interaction to be below desired levels. Consequently, the offender seeks out alternatives. The individual may choose to isolate himself from the disturbing environment in order to resolve the conflict, or to rebel against the perceived source(s) of conflict. However, the suggestion that violent criminal behavior is caused by a culture that alienates individuals, by making them feel entrapped and not allowing them to succeed in life, fails to explain why some individuals are exposed to these social forces and do not become violent criminals. According to the biogenic motive perspective, the explanation for serial murder develops from biological predispositions. Behavioral impulses of serial killers come from the more primitive structures of the brain which are more urgent than those of the cerebral cortex, and that most individuals engage in phylogenetic regression and progression. The killer’s brutal aggression is an atavistic expression that is reptilian, automatic, and instinctual in nature. For example, impulsive behavior of serial murderers is said to evolve out of the cortical arousal which induces stimulation for sensation-seeking and narcissistic games with the police. Finally, there is the interpretation based on clinical and psychiatric analysis that murder is a product of the person’s psychological characteristics. Some see serial murder developing from unresolved psychological conflicts, or inappropriately learned behavior. Such classifications of criminals can also be seen as a classification of the concept of psychopaths, and the FBI’s motivational classification model of serial murder. The following classifications include 16 characteristics describing the makeup of a psychopath. These attributes include pathological lying, poor judgment, egocentricity, and impulsiveness, along with charismatic, intelligent, hedonistic, narcissistic and antisocial behavior. Since serial murderers are generally viewed as possessing all these types of behaviors, researchers and the public alike often refer to all serial murderers as psychopaths.

There are  six individual motives for murder:

1. Gain

2. Revenge

3. Elimination

4. Jealousy

5. Lust for killing (no sexual connection with victim)

6. Conviction (sexual gratification with victim)

The first four of these motives are self-explanatory. The fifth and sixth motive types, however, describe the lust murderer. This typology is one of the first-ever homicide models that actually draws a distinction between expressive and instrumental aggression. It does not provide any information on the different emphases between offenders within each motive category such as  these ten motives for murder:

1. Depressive

2. Psychotic

3. Affiliated with organic brain disorder

4. Psychopathic

5. Passive aggressive

6. Alcoholic

7. Hysterical

8. Juvenile

9. Mentally retarded

10. Sex murderers

The depressive murderer is seldom involved in legal proceedings and does not display antisocial behavior. The suicide is a way out of his hopeless life. The paranoid type is often labeled as psychotic or schizophrenic. This type of murderer often hears voices that threaten to murder him or her and responds in a defensive manner. The next category is the murderer with organic brain damage who kills due to trauma received to his or her head in earlier life. The psychopathic personality has a history of social maladjustment which may result in him leaving clues at the crime scene. The fifth type, passive aggressive personality, has life experiences that cause him to turn violent when an individual, for example a lover, threatens to cut him off or rejects his dependency needs. Similar characteristics have been used in describing exploitative and displaced anger rapists. The alcoholic character has an intrinsically aggressive nature, when combined with alcohol, is unleashed. The hysterical personality-type murderer is more likely to be a female and only engages in threats of murder rather than actually going through with the act. The juvenile is classed as a child killer. The mental retarded type allegedly murders because of brain diseases. The final type of murderer is the sex killer. This type of murderer is most likely to display acts, such as cannibalism, postmortem sexual activity, and mutilation.

While sociogenic, biogenic, and psychogenic explanations divide murderers into various subclasses based on different aetiological emphases, this is little help to those who hunt serial murderers. So, for example, just by looking at these three types of explanations we cannot tell exactly how we might expect behavior to be manifested. There are three basic types of criminals: 1) violent subculture; 2) psychopathological; and 3) dominant culture members. The first type, violent subculture, have internalized violent norms and values. Violent values prescribe the use of violent action and proscribe the use of nonviolent action when one has been provoked in some way. Violent values operate hand in hand with the norms. The second type, the psychopathological criminal, is posited to suffer from a severe mental disorder which makes him or her aggressive. The individual has internalized non-violent norms and values, and these are unleashed when the person is provoked. The violent action is a result of some perceived threat. The final criminal type describes members of the dominant culture; they have internalized nonviolent norms and values. They are similar to the psychopathological criminal, except they neither suffer from severe mental disorder.

The violent situations are treated only as the settings for the expression of a particular dysfunctional ego. As a consequence, they do not provide any analysis of the nature of the immediate situations in which people become violent. Additionally, the overall picture seems to exclude the victim’s role in the crime completely.

Acknowledgements:

The Police Department; 

https://www.politie.nl/mijnbuurt/politiebureaus/05/burgwallen.html and a Chief Inspector – Mr. Erik Akerboom     ©

 Bibliography:

1. Criminal Investigations – Crime Scene Investigation.2000
2. Forensic Science.2006
3. Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation.2012
4. Forensics Pathology.2001
5. Pathology.2005  
6. Forensic DNA Technology (Lewis Publishers,New York, 1991).
7. The Examination and Typing of Bloodstains in the Crime Laboratory (U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., 1971).
8. „A Short History of the Polymerase Chain Reaction". PCR Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology.
9. Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual (3rd ed.). Cold Spring Harbor,N.Y.: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.2001
10. "Antibodies as Thermolabile Switches: High Temperature Triggering for the Polymerase Chain Reaction". Bio/Technology.1994
11. Forensic Science Handbook, vol. III (Regents/Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1993).
12. "Thermostable DNA Polymerases for a Wide Spectrum of Applications: Comparison of a Robust Hybrid TopoTaq to other enzymes". In Kieleczawa J. DNA Sequencing II: Optimizing Preparation and Cleanup. Jones and Bartlett. 2006
13. Nielsen B, et al., Acute and adaptive responses in humans to exercise in a warm, humid environment, Eur J Physiol 1997
14. Molnar GW, Survival of hypothermia by men immersed in the ocean. JAMA 1946
15. Paton BC, Accidental hypothermia. Pharmacol Ther 1983
16. Simpson K, Exposure to cold-starvation and neglect, in Simpson K (Ed): Modem Trends in Forensic Medicine. St Louis, MO, Mosby Co, 1953.
17. Fitzgerald FT, Hypoglycemia and accidental hypothermia in an alcoholic population. West J Med 1980
18. Stoner HB et al., Metabolic aspects of hypothermia in the elderly. Clin Sci 1980
19.  MacGregor DC et al., The effects of ether, ethanol, propanol and butanol on tolerance to deep hypothermia. Dis Chest 1966
20. Cooper KE, Hunter AR, and Keatinge WR, Accidental hypothermia. Int Anesthesia Clin 1964
21. Keatinge WR. The effects of subcutaneous fat and of previous exposure to cold on the body temperature, peripheral blood flow and metabolic rate of men in cold water. J Physiol 1960
22. Sloan REG and Keatinge WR, Cooling rates of young people swimming in cold water. J Appl Physiol 1973
23. Keatinge WR, Role of cold and immersion accidents. In Adam JM (Ed) Hypothermia – Ashore and Afloat. 1981, Chapter 4, Aberdeen Univ. Press, GB.
24. Keatinge WR and Evans M, The respiratory and cardiovascular responses to immersion in cold and warm water. QJ Exp Physiol 1961
25. Keatinge WR and Nadel JA, Immediate respiratory response to sudden cooling of the skin. J Appl Physiol 1965
26. Golden F. St C. and Hurvey GR, The “After Drop” and death after rescue from immersion in cold water. In Adam JM (Ed). Hypothermia – Ashore and Afloat, Chapter 5, Aberdeen Univ. Press, GB 1981.
27. Burton AC and Bazett HC, Study of average temperature of tissue, of exchange of heat and vasomotor responses in man by means of bath coloremeter. Am J Physiol 1936
28. Adam JM, Cold Weather: Its characteristics, dangers and assessment, In Adam JM (Ed). Hypothermia – Ashore and Afloat, Aberdeen Univ. Press, GB1981.
29. Modell JH and Davis JH, Electrolyte changes in human drowning victims. Anesthesiology 1969
30. Bolte RG, et al., The use of extracorporeal rewarming in a child submerged for 66 minutes. JAMA 1988
31. Ornato JP, The resuscitation of near-drowning victims. JAMA 1986
32. Conn AW and Barker CA: Fresh water drowning and near-drowning — An update.1984;
33. Reh H, On the early postmortem course of “washerwoman’s skin at the fingertips.” Z Rechtsmed 1984;
34. Gonzales TA, Vance M, Helpern M, Legal Medicine and Toxicology. New York, Appleton-Century Co, 1937.
35. Peabody AJ, Diatoms and drowning – A review, Med Sci Law 1980
36. Foged N, Diatoms and drowning — Once more.Forens Sci Int 1983
37. "Microscale chaotic advection enables robust convective DNA replication.". Analytical Chemistry. 2013
38. Sourcebook in Forensic Serology, Immunology, and Biochemistry (U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, Washington, D.C.,1983).
39. C. A. Villee et al., Biology (Saunders College Publishing, Philadelphia, 2nd ed.,1989).
40. Molecular Biology of the Gene (Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Menlo Park, CA, 4th ed., 1987).
41. Molecular Evolutionary Genetics (Plenum Press, New York,1985).
42. Human Physiology. An Integrate. 2016
43. Dumas JL and Walker N, Bilateral scapular fractures secondary to electrical shock. Arch. Orthopaed & Trauma Surg, 1992; 111(5)
44. Stueland DT, et al., Bilateral humeral fractures from electrically induced muscular spasm. J. of Emerg. Med. 1989
45.  Shaheen MA and Sabet NA, Bilateral simultaneous fracture of the femoral neck following electrical shock. Injury. 1984
46.  Rajam KH, et al., Fracture of vertebral bodies caused by accidental electric shock. J. Indian Med Assoc. 1976
47. Wright RK, Broisz HG, and Shuman M, The investigation of electrical injuries and deaths. Presented at the meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Science, Reno, NV, February 2000.