◆ SpookStack

Douglas et al.: Criminal Profiling from Crime Scene Analysis wallet, she learned that her daughter had not appeared for work that moming. The mother, the victim's sister, and a neighbor began a search of the building and discovered the body. The neighbor called the police. Police at the scene found no witnesses who saw the victim after she left her apartment that morning. Decision Process This crime’s style is a single homicide with the murderer's primary intent making it a sexually motivated type of crime. There was a degree of planning indicated by the organization and sophistication of the crime scene. The idea of murder had probably occupied the killer for a long period of time. The sexual fantasies may have started through the use and collecting of sadistic pornography depicting torture and violent sexual acts. Victim risk assessment revealed that the victim was known to be very self- conscious about her physical handicap and size and she was a plain-looking woman who did not date. She led a reclusive life and was not the type of victim that would or could fight an assailant or scream and yell. She would be easily dominated and controlled, particularly in view of her small stature. Based upon the information on occupation and lifestyle, we have a low-risk victim living in an area that was at low risk for violent crimes. The apartment building was part of a 23-building public housing project in which the racial mixture of residents was 50% black, 40% white, and 10% Hispanic. It was located in the confines of a major police precinct. There had been no other similar crimes reported in the victim’s or nearvy complexes. The crime was considered very high risk for the offender. He committed the crime in broad daylight, and there was a possibility that other people who were up early might see him. There was no set pattern of the victim taking the stairway or the elevator. It appeared that the victim happened to cross the path of the offender. There was no escalation factor present in this crime scene. The time for the crime was considerable. The amount of time the murderer spent with his victim increased his risk of being apprehended. All his activities with the victim— removing her earrings, cutting off her nipples, masturbating over her—took a substantial amount of time. The location of the crime suggested that the offender felt comfortable in the area. He had been here before, and he felt that no one would interrupt the murder. Crime Assessment The crime scene indicated the murder was one event, not one of a series of events. It also appeared to be a first-time killing, and the subject was not a typical organized offender. There were elements of both disorganization and organization; the offender might fall into a mixed category. A reconstruction of the crime/death scene provides an overall picture of the VOL. 4, NO. 4 + 1986 23