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Burgess et al. / SEXUAL HOMICIDE TABLE 1 Frequency of Reported Behavior Indicators in Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood for Sexual Murders Frequency Childhood Adolescence Adulthood Behavior n (%) n {%) n (%) Daydreaming 28 82 27 81 27 81 Compulsive masturbation 28 82 28 82 27 81 Isolation 28 71 26 77 26 73 Chronic lying 28 71 28 75 28 68 Enuresis 22 68 20 60 20 15 Rebellious 27 67 25 84 25 72 Nightmares 24 67 22 68 21 52 Destroying property 26 58 26 62 28 35 Fire setting 25 56 25 52 25 28 Stealing 27 56 27 81 25 56 Cmelty to children 28 54 28 64 27 44 Poor body image 27 52 27 63 26 62 Temper tantrums 27 48 26 50 25 44 Sleep problems 23 48 22 50 22 50 Assaultive to adults 25 38 25 84 28 86 Phobias 24 38 23 43 24 50 Running away 28 36 26 46 26 11 Cruelty to animals 28 36 26 46 25 36 Accident prone 24 29 22 32 22 27 Headaches 21 29 21 33 22 45 Destroying possessions 25 28 23 35 23 35 Eating problems 26 27 25 36 26 35 Convulsions 26 19 24 21 23 13 Self-mutilation 26 19 24 21 25 32 ee NOTE: n= number of subjects with data. and/or overstimulation in early childhood, our thesis is different. We hypoth- esize that these men are motivated to murder by their way of thinking. Over time, their thinking patterns emerged from or were influenced by early life experiences. For example, a child abused by an adult caretaker begins to think about being hit every time an adult comes near him, dwelling on the hitting. He may imagine (fantasize) about someone coming to help him by beating up the adult. This thinking pattern may bring relief, because someone has protected him in his fantasy. In addition, while being abused the child may psychologically remove himself from the pain. He may pride himself on his control over pain in the face of abuse; for example, while being beaten he does not flinch or blink. This thinking pattern gives the child a sense of control and, as a result, tension is relieved. The child can increase or decrease terror