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The primary motivation of sexual homicide offenders in China: Was it for sex, power and control, anger, or money?
Author(s) -
Chan Heng Choon Oliver,
Li Feng,
Liu Sihai,
Lu Xuesong
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
criminal behaviour and mental health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1471-2857
pISSN - 0957-9664
DOI - 10.1002/cbm.2114
Subject(s) - anger , psychology , homicide , anger management , power (physics) , control (management) , criminology , social psychology , poison control , clinical psychology , human factors and ergonomics , medical emergency , medicine , physics , quantum mechanics , management , economics
Background Information on sexual homicides in China is scarce, particularly with respect to the offenders' primary motivation for the offence. Aims Our aim was to examine how offence characteristics of sexual murderers relate to different primary motivations. Methods The offender, victim, and offence characteristics of 67 sexual homicides, derived from police data of three regions and published case reports (1994–2017), were explored and compared according to offenders' primary motivation. Results Heterosexual sexual homicides were committed by offenders who were mainly driven by power and control, sex, and anger, compared with slightly over half of those who motivated primarily by financial gain. Sexual murderers whose killing was mainly driven by sex, money, and anger were more likely to target strangers, whereas offenders who motivated primarily by power and control were more likely to target an intimate partner. Victim abduction was more frequently seen in offenders who were motivated predominantly by money than other motives. Relative to financial gain as primary motivation, sexual killers who were mainly driven by sex, power and control, and anger were more likely to mutilate their victim. Implications for practice This study adds data to a field rarely studied anywhere and hardly at all in China. Findings may offer some help for criminal investigators who need to prioritise their investigative strategies. Once the individual is convicted and sentenced, they may help direct management and/or therapeutic strategies.