ABSTRACT
The image of the sexual murderer — especially the murderer with multiple victims — has always aroused concomitant feelings of horror and fascination in the general public. Today, his exploits are graphically reported in the press and on television, in “psycho-thriller” films, and in various “true-crime” books (e.g., Rule, 1983, 1988; Ryzuk, 1994; Schechter, 1989, 1990). As a result of all this attention, some sexual killers such as Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and the Boston Strangler, have almost become household names. Of course, sexual homicide — homicide motivated primarily by a breakthrough of underlying sexual conflicts or where the killing itself is sexually gratifying — has also been studied by behavioral scientists, sociologists, forensic specialists, and the like. Yet, in contrast to the voluminous research literature on (nonsexual) homicide from psychiatric, psychological, sociological, legal, and investigative perspectives, a solid body of scientific literature on sexual murder has not yet been accumulated.
