Murder

1
Murder

• Most murder are between people who know each
  other 75-90
• Look for closest relatives/acquaintances first
• concentric circles
• Means/Motive/Opportunity
• Means Does the suspect actually have the ability
  to have commit the crimeex. .38
• Motive Does the suspect have a reason to commit
  murder?
• Opportunity Did the client have time to commit
  the crime?
• Alibi
• Person who finds body as suspect

2
Profiling the scene

• What sorts of things can the scene tell you?
• Disorganized vs. organized
• How messy is the scene
• How long did the perp remain at the scene
• How purposeful were the actions of the perp
• Was a weapon taken to, or used from on-scene
• Does the scene match witness testimony
• cutting of phone lines inside the house
• robbers who go straight for hidden loot
• lack of valuables taken
• Blood spray evidence

3
Condition of the body

• Failing to cover body indicates disrespect
• Insertion of object into vagina or anus indicates
  desire to humiliate or rage
• may indicate perceived wrong
• covering of face indicates guilt
• Positioning body so as to appear comfortable
  indicates emotional closeness
• Was body moved?
• Overkill?
• Defense Wounds
• Close contact?

4
Killing Methods

• Gunshot Hardest to profile, could be used by
  any.
• Strangulation particularly with signs of
  defense, is an impulsive crime. Rage or jealousy
  may be motive. Almost always male perp, unless
  vic is child.
• Cutting Instruments Indicative of rage and
  sadism. Most knifings cease after blood loss,
  murder indicates full intent to kill. Female
  perpetrator likely. (ex. Lizzie Borden)
• Bludgeoning Crime of surprise/ambush. May
  indicate greater planning/premeditation,
  particularly if no defense wounds
• Poisoning Indicates greatest extent of
  premeditation. Female perpetrator likely.

5
Crimes of Passion (Manslaughter)

• Males and females nearly equally likely to kill a
  relationship partner (males perpetration slightly
  more prevalent)
• Reasons typically involve sexual jealousy, or
  cycles of mutual abuse
• may attempt to disguise as suicide/robbery
• may attempt to flee police without cleaning crime
  scene
• little attempt to avoid eyewitnesses
• use of gun, knife, or strangulation common
• may express subsequent remorse

6
Instrumental Murder

• Common motive is murder for money
• Another common motive (particularly for males) is
  divorce (ex. Dr. Harvey Crippen)
• Look for insurance policy taken out on victim
  prior to death
• particularly suspicious is life insurance for
  children
• May attempt to make death look like accident, or
  more likely, an illness
• use of poisons, arsenic, strychnine, KCl,
  succinyl choline, antifreeze, digoxin (ex. Belle
  Gunness)

7
Who found the body?

• The person who find the body is often a suspect
  particularly if
• person had no particular reason for being there
• finding of the body was EXTREMELY coincidental
• person continually tries to interject self into
  media or investigation
• Behavior of person who finds body
• does behavior violate normal human behavior
• does person attempt to normalify corpse
• ex. Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald
• does relative talk about person in present tense?
• Assumptions of murder when murder is not
  mentioned
• Knowledge of crime details

8
Body Disposal

• Better disposal methods indicated both
  premeditation and psychopathy
• Dismemberment depersonalization of victim, not
  common for crimes of passion
• Keeping corpse Common for disorganized
  offenders, may indicate emotional bond
• Destruction of corpse again indicates
  premeditation and psychopathy
• use of acid
• wood chippers

9
Shallow Graves

• Area of body disposal is usually an area of
  comfort to the perp
• Shallow graves easier to locate, poor planning
• Deeper graves indicate better planning but also
  greater comfort with burial area
• Water dumping is best disposal method
• Use of weights indicates better planning
• All above also suggest access to large car or
  truck
• Dump indicates disrespect, panic

10
Karla Faye Tucker

• By age 23 is living a fast life of drugs and
  promiscuous sex
• Talk at one party turns to getting revenge on the
  husband who beat up one of their friends
• Faye and 2 others take shotgun and pistol and
  travel to home of Jerry Dean
• Mean to steal bike
• find bike disassembled
• pick-axe and shovel nearby
• Dean awakens, is attacked by Tuckers accomplice
  with hammer
• accomplice continues using hammer after Dean is
  down
• Faye spots woman hiding in covers of Deans bed
• finds the sight of Deans murder sexually
  appealing

11
Tucker Two

• Tucker kills Deborah Thorton with pickaxe
• multiple wounds to head, chest, abdomen and legs
• sever mutilation of body
• Tucker later admits to friends to having orgasm
• uses pickaxe on Dean with 20 blows
• leave pickaxe in Thortons heart
• Brag about crime
• Police find killers easily
• Tucker and one accomplice sentenced to death in
  Texas

12
Tucker Three

• Becomes controversial due to spiritual
  regeneration
• was this sincere?
• Convinces many including Newt Gingrich, and
  brother of Thorton
• Also debate about premeditation of crime
• In 1995 Faye marries a prison ministry member
• Clemency rejected by G.W. Bush
• Is executed by lethal injection on Feb. 3., 1998