Crime Classification Manual

34 CRIME CLASSIFICATION MANUAL
This crime scene displayed some unusual input by this offender. The perpetration
of this crime did not require the positioning of the body, the postmortem
mutilation, insertion and removal of items, and use of postmortem
ligatures. The significance of this behavior was not readily apparent to the
investigator. The act of sexual assault and murder had little to do with most
of this offender’s behavior at the crime scene. His behavior went far beyond
the actions necessary to carry out this offense (the MO) because assault and
murder alone would not satisfy his needs.
Personation is unusual behavior by an offender, beyond that necessary to
commit the crime. The offender invests intimate meaning into the crime
scene (for example, by posing the victim, mutilation, items removed or left,
or other symbolic gestures involving the crime scene). Only the offender
knows the meaning of these acts. Signature is when a serial offender demonstrates
repetitive ritualistic behavior from crime to crime. The signature aspect
of a crime is simply repetitive personation.
Undoing represents a form of personation with more obvious meaning.
Undoing frequently occurs at the crime scene when there is a close association
between the offender and the victim or when the victim represents
someone of significance to the offender.
The following case exemplifies undoing. A son stabbed his mother to
death during a fierce argument. After calming down, the son realized the full
impact of his actions. First, he changed the victim’s bloodied shirt and then
placed her body on the couch with her head on a pillow. He covered her with
a blanket and folded her hands over her chest so she appeared to be sleeping
peacefully. This behavior indicated his remorse by attempting to emotionally
undo the murder. Other forms of undoing may include the offender’s
washing up, cleaning the body, covering the victim’s face, or completely
covering the body. The offender engages in these activities not because he is
attempting to hide the victim but because he may be feeling some degree of
remorse.
STAGING
Staging is when someone purposely alters the crime scene prior to the arrival
of police. There are two reasons that someone employs staging: to redirect
the investigation away from the most logical suspect or to protect the victim
or victim’s family.
When a crime is staged, the responsible person is not someone who just
happens upon the victim. It is usually someone who had some kind of association
or relationship with the victim. This offender will further attempt to
steer the investigation away from him by his conduct when in contact with