Sexual Murder - Justicia Forense

deep-rooted feelings of helplessness and inadequacy extending into thesexual area. The compulsive offender’s motivation stems from a longstandingdrive to kill, which involves a fusion of sex and aggression. Thisdrive is discharged initially through elaborate sadistic fantasies. The chroniccatathymic offender does not have sadistic fantasies; instead, he developsobsessive thoughts to kill a particular victim. To the catathymic offender,killing seems to be a solution to a problem, not a way to achieve sexualgratification. The victim in a chronic catathymic homicide is usually anintimate or former intimate partner, or is sometimes (but rarely) a strangerwith whom the offender has become obsessed. The individual who commitsa planned compulsive homicide typically targets strangers; he may begin aseries of killings with an acquaintance-victim, but he almost never kills anintimate or former intimate partner.The chronic catathymic offender might confide in another person andreveal the ego-dystonic ideas that are building. The individual who commitsplanned compulsive homicides rarely warns others but, like his nonplanningcounterpart, he exhibits many ominous signs. Following the murder, thechronic catathymic offender does not try to elude authorities; in fact, he maymake a suicide attempt. The individual who commits a planned compulsivehomicide tries hard to elude authorities, and his success in doing so resultsin his having a series of victims. At the time of the murder, sexual activity israre for the chronic catathymic offender. However, the individual who commitsa planned compulsive homicide commonly rapes, sodomizes, or torturesthe victim before killing her.The following case of a planned compulsive homicide may be mistakenfor a chronic catathymic murder because of the offender’s obsession with thefuture victim.Case 9.11: Planned Compulsive Murder Precededby an Obsession with the VictimA 22-year-old male drug dealer (KK) became obsessed with (G) one of hisattractive female customers. In addition to following her, he asked G severaltimes for dates and was turned down on each occasion. One night, after watchingG for several hours, he observed her enter her apartment building. He broke inthrough a window and stabbed G many times with a knife after having chokedher with a cord. He also sexually assaulted G vaginally and anally. Following themurder, he went into the bedroom of the victim’s two young children (ages 5and 9), who possibly could have recognized the offender from the neighborhood,and stabbed them repeatedly. Miraculously, the children lived despite their severeinjuries. They were able to give a fairly detailed statement about the event, whichwas in complete contrast to the offender’s statements to the police and duringhis psychological examination.