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Beyond the actual murder victims, there are a host of secondary victims

who suffer from the crimes of serial killers (Fox & Levin, 1996b; Holmes &
De Burger, 1988; Ressler et al., 1988). Family and friends experience the grief,
loss, and financial strain associated with the death of a loved one, and they
are often subjected to “repeat victimization” by the press, police, and courts.
Treatment programs are available for offenders, but usually there is no pro-
vision for psychological counselling for victims’ families. In response to these
issues, self-help groups and advocacy agencies such as Parents of Murdered
Children, the Adam Walsh Child Resource Center, and Victims of Violence
International have been formed (Sullivan, 1995).

Society is also victimized by these predators through the resulting fear and

suspicion they cause (Fowler, 1990). Increased mistrust of strangers, fear of
public spaces, and reluctance to help others all contribute towards the break-
down of community. Additionally, the economic losses associated with cases
of serial murder are high; investigation expenditures, court costs and legal fees,
and long-term incarceration expenses add up to millions of dollars (Victims
of Violence Society, 1990). The psychological and fiscal impact of serial murder
spreads far beyond the small number of actual homicide victims.

2.2 Child Murder

Child murder is a matter of great concern to society. Most murders of children
are committed by family members and stranger child homicide is rare. Still,
when this type of crime does occur, the impact on a community is tremen-
dous. It has been suggested that some serial murderers target children because
they represent the future. These offenders are extracting revenge from a
society they feel has wronged them. Adults, however, are the most common
victims of serial killers (Hickey, 1997). The U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) estimates that annually there are one to
two stranger abductions per million population, with teenagers (14 to 17
years of age) at highest risk (Allen-Hagen, 1989; see also Lau, 1989); this
figure does not seem to be increasing. Serial murder cases with child victims
are more likely to involve a family member or acquaintance as the offender.

Child molesters may be either situational or preferential (Lanning,

1995). Situational offenders do not prefer children, but will victimize them
— and any other group — that opportunity presents. Preferential offenders,
often referred to as pedophiles, do possess a sexual preference for children,
and will typically develop skills in identifying and targeting vulnerable
victims. Some pedophiles can watch a group of children and often know
which ones are from dysfunctional families (Lanning, 1995). Child molest-
ers tend to be nomadic as they often have to move when their presence is

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found out. Many pedophiles are predators who repeatedly commit crimes,
but only a few are killers.

Extensive study of child murder and its geography has been done in both

Great Britain and the U.S. The CATCHEM database contains information
since January 1, 1960, on all child sexual homicides in the U.K. (Burton,
1998; Copson, 1993). With over 3000 cases, the system analyzes murder and
offender data for investigative prediction purposes (see below). It is main-
tained by the Derbyshire Constabulary, and administered by Detective
Inspector Chuck Burton who has discovered several interesting findings in
the data. The clearance rate for child sexual homicides where the victim was
transported was less than half that for crimes with no transportation. The
offender’s vehicle is often the murder scene in cases of victim transportation.
The more locations used in the murder (i.e., separate encounter, attack,
murder, or body dump sites), the more geographically complex the crime,
and the lower the clearance rate.

In cases where the victim was not transported by vehicle (n = 190), 98%

of the victim’s bodies were deposited within 50 yards of a footpath, and all
were found within 100 yards. While concealment appeared to be intended
in 46% of these cases, only 5% of the time was the body buried, as opposed
to 17% of the cases where it was placed in water. The body was found within
a half mile of where the victim was last seen in 91% of the cases, and within
one mile 97% of the time.

In child homicides involving victim transportation by vehicle (n = 89),

88% of the victim’s bodies were deposited within 50 yards, 97% within 100
yards, and all within 150 yards of a road or track affording vehicular access.
The body was left outdoors 94% of the time. While concealment appeared
to be intended in 57% of the cases, only 12% of the time was the body buried,
as opposed to 20% of the cases where it was placed in water.

Hanfland, Keppel, and Weis (1997) conducted a study of child abduction

murders in the U.S. There are approximately 100 such incidents annually,
comprising only 0.5% of all murders. The project analyzed 777 case investi-
gations, representing 562 child victims and 419 killers. Of these, 138 cases
were part of 55 series. The typical victim was female, mean age of 11 years,
and sexual assault was the primary motivation. Stranger offenders were
involved in 53%, friend or acquaintance in 39%, and family member or
intimate in 9% of the cases. The older the victim, the greater the likelihood
the murderer was a stranger.

The typical offender was 27 years of age, male, and unmarried, though

only 17% lived alone. About 50% were unemployed and 16% were transient.
The majority had criminal records, 60% with previous violent crimes. More
than half of the murderers had committed prior offences against children;
this increased to 76% for serial offenders. A similar modus operandi was

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present in two-thirds of the offenders’ prior crimes. Police had contact with
the killer before he became a prime suspect in about one third of the murders,
usually within 24 hours of the crime. Investigative red herrings are not
uncommon in child homicides, and the study found they were encountered
in 38% of the cases. Despite perceptions to the contrary, the media helped
more often than it hindered an investigation.

In child abduction murder cases, the victim was killed in less than 1 hour

in 44%, 3 hours in 74%, and 24 hours in 91% of the cases. Only 42% of the
victims were still alive at the time they were reported missing. The majority
were opportunistic (57%), and only a few were specifically targeted (13%).
Serial offenders selected male victims more often than nonserial offenders
(38 vs. 22%). Most of the serial crimes involved stranger offenders (80%).

Hanfland et al. (1997) geographically analyzed child murder, dissecting

the incidents into victim encounter, murder, and body recovery sites. The
typical child abduction murder scenario involves a victim encountered in an
urban area near their home, transported to a rural area, killed, and then
dumped near the murder site. Confirming the CATCHEM research, this
study found murders involving multiple locations are difficult to solve; the
more sites, the lower the clearance rate.

The encounter site is usually close to both the victim’s residence (less

than 200 feet in 33%, and less than 0.25 miles in 58% of the cases) and last
known location (less than 200 feet in 65% of the cases). If the encounter site
was unknown in a murder investigation (17% of the time), the clearance rate
dropped to 40% below the mean; if known, it rose to 13% above the mean.
This indicates the importance of thorough neighbourhood canvasses and
area searches. The killer was in the area of the encounter site because he
belonged there two thirds of the time, underlining the need for police to not
only ask what was unusual, but also what was normal during their canvasses.
In 29% of the cases, the offender lived in the neighbourhood, within 200 feet
of the victim encounter site in 18%, and within 0.25 miles in 35% of the
crimes.

Next to the body recovery site, the murder scene possesses the most

physical evidence (see also Lowman & Fraser, 1995); unfortunately, in mul-
tiple location crimes, it is the site most often unknown (23%). Distance from
murder site to body recovery site was less than 200 feet 72% of the time.
Distance from the murder site to the encounter site was less than 200 feet in
31%, and less than 0.25 miles in 47% of the cases.

The body recovery site contains the most physical evidence; fortunately,

it is almost always located, at least in those cases known to police. Conceal-
ment of the corpse was more likely in child abduction murders (52%) than
in murder generally (14%). A child’s body can be very difficult to find because
of its small size. For example, the body of a child 4 feet in height requires

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only about one-third the volume of a 6-foot-tall adult. Consequently, search-
ers have to be especially diligent when looking for young children.

Some offenders returned to the body dump site (22%), and some left

town following the murder (21%). The killer occasionally kept the victim
longer than necessary (15%), but this was usually for less than a day. In these
situations, the body was stored in the offender’s residence (50%), vehicle
(28%), or other easily accessible location (22%). Rarely (5%) was the victim’s
body actually recovered from the killer’s home. The choice of the body dump
site was specific in 37%, random in 37%, and forced by circumstances in
14% of the murders. The victim was found in his or her own home in 4%
of the cases; younger victims were more likely to be dumped closer to their
home. Approximately 63% of the time, the body was located more than 1.5
miles from the victim’s residence. Evidence discarded by the murderer was
recovered in 21% of the cases. More often than not (59%), it was recovered
within 1 mile of the body dump site, and half the time it was found along
the roadway travelled by the killer.

2.

3

 Murder and Distance

In a Washington State study of single-victim single-offender murders from
1981 to 1986 (n = 967, 74% cleared), Keppel and Weis (1994) found the
more information known regarding times and locations of the crimes, the
greater the likelihood the case will be solved. Crime locations provide evi-
dence and witnesses; time of offence allows suspect alibis to be verified or
refuted. Together, they permit investigators to establish if the victim and a
suspect were in the same area at the same time.

Their study broke murder down into five potential different locations: (1)

victim last seen site; (2) initial contact site; (3) initial assault site; (4) murder
site; and (5) body recovery site. Police investigators are most likely to know
the location of body recovery, followed in order by the murder, victim last
seen, initial assault, and initial contact sites. This information influences case
clearance in two ways. First, the more crime sites known, the greater the chance
the case will be solved. If at least four of the five potential locations are known
to police, the clearance rate is 85%; otherwise, it is only 14%. Second, the
study found higher clearances associated with those murders characterized by
shorter distances between crime sites, particularly from where the victim was
last seen to body recovery. The clearance rate is 86% if this distance is less
than 200 feet, dropping to 50% if it is greater. Longer distances impede and
delay finding all crime locations, and therefore all available evidence.

Keppel and Weiss note that 24 hours appears to be a critical time thresh-

old. As time elapses, evidence deteriorates and witnesses’ memories fade.

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While a murder suspect was in custody within 24 hours in 66% of the cases,
the chances of the crime being solved dropped significantly if no one was
arrested by 48 hours. The study found more cases cleared where the time
between locations was less than 24 hours, with an average decrease of 30%
in the solution rate otherwise. If the time between when a victim was last
seen and when their body was recovered was less than 24 hours, the clearance
rate was 82%; otherwise, it dropped to 42%.

Dramatic differences are found by combining time and distance effects.

If there are 24 hours or less between the time a victim is last seen and when
their body is recovered, and if the distance between these sites is less than
200 feet, the clearance rate rises to 86%. If the time is greater than one month,
and the distance more than 1.5 miles, the clearance rate drops to 4%. Offend-
ers may intentionally separate the locations associated to a murder to delay
body recovery, facilitate evidence destruction, involve different police juris-
dictions, and complicate the investigation.