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Sexual Homicide by Older Male Offenders
Author(s) -
Myers Wade C.,
Chan Heng Choon Oliver,
Mariano Timothy Y.,
Safarik Mark E.,
Geberth Ver J.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.13388
Subject(s) - homicide , criminology , poison control , psychology , medical emergency , injury prevention , occupational safety and health , medicine , pathology
Recent research has expanded our understanding of sexual homicide offenders ( SHO s). However, little exists beyond case reports for older SHO s. We characterized male SHO s ≥ 55 years, comparing them to typical adult male SHO s who are in their 20s. Analysis of 37 years (1976–2012) of US Supplementary Homicide Reports data provided a large SHO sample ( N = 3453). Three case reports provide clinical context for the diverse nature and patterns of older SHO s. Only 32 older male SHO s and no older female SHO s were identified. Murders by older SHO s accounted for only 0.5% of US sexual homicides. Unlike typical SHO s that generally target young adult females, over two‐thirds of older SHO victims were ≥40 years, and one‐third were ≥55 years. Sexual homicides by older SHO s, like sexual homicide in general, decreased over the study period. These crimes, while exceedingly rare, do occur, warranting special consideration.