Sexual Murder - Justicia Forense

cases of sexual homicide and sexual aggression. In 1957, he categorizedthese offenses into four groups: (1) murder as a prerequisite for sexualsatisfaction, (2) murder not as a prerequisite for sexual satisfaction but asa result of frustration, anger, or fear during an attempted or completedrape, (3) nonsexual acts such as knifing, choking, or battering as an expressionof aggressive sexual needs, and (4) fantasies as an expression of aggressivesexual needs. Compulsive homicides fall into the first category, whilethe second category essentially covers situational murders associated witha sexual offense, such as a rape-murder. Revitch’s third group containssexually motivated aggressive acts where the sexual element is often covert.The last group includes individuals with sexually aggressive fantasies whohave not acted out.Revitch (1957) concluded that prediction of the potential sex murderershould be based on a combination of factors, including a history of assaultson women or girls, dislike and resentment of females, sadistic fantasies, sexualpreoccupation (particularly fetishism for female underwear), and schizoidtraits or a well-defined schizophrenic processes. He also theorized that thepsychodynamic factor leading to these forms of sexual aggression is “resentmentof a maternal figure transferred to womenhood in general” (p. 522).He called for more clinical research, the necessity for courts to refer forevaluation individuals who commit unprovoked assaults on females, and theneed for family physicians to be alert to — and not casually to dismiss —children who commit violent acts against girls, especially when these acts areconnected with sexual preoccupations.Several years later, Revitch (1965) completed a descriptive study of 43adult and adolescent males who attacked women; this group included 9murderers. He found that 18 offenders (42%) knew their victims, while 25did not. Of the 43 offenders, 30 (69%) had previously committed offenses,but only three of these were overt sexual offenses, while 12 (40%) involvedbreaking and entering. The backgrounds of these offenders included noticeablehostility to women, preoccupation with maternal sexual conduct, overtor covert incestuous preoccupation, guilt over sex and rejection of sex asimpure, sexual inferiority, and occasionally a need to completely possess thevictim. Hostility toward women was more predominant in the adult offenders,while sexual preoccupation, particularly preoccupation with maternalsexual behavior, was more striking in the adolescent group. Tendenciestoward introversion, along with feelings of isolation and detachment andblurring of reality boundaries, were also common findings. Nineteen offenders(44%) were considered schizoid, nine (20%) overtly schizophrenic, five(12%) mentally defective, and ten (23%) were classified as having a personalitydisorder. Revitch’s finding that only 3 of the 43 attackers had a recordof previous sex offenses suggests that such a history is of little use to law