Lust murder
Encyclopedia
A lust murder is a homicide
in which the offender searches for erotic satisfaction by killing someone. Lust murder is synonymous with the paraphilic term erotophonophilia which is sexual arousal or gratification contingent on the death of a human being. Commonly, this type of crime is manifested either by murder during sexual intercourse
and/or by mutilating
the sexual organs or areas of the victim's body. The mutilation of the victim may include evisceration
and/or displacement of the genitalia. The mutilation usually takes place postmortem.
It sometimes includes such activities as removing clothing from the body, posing and propping of the body in different positions, generally sexual ones, insertion of objects into bodily orifices, anthropophagy
(the consumption of human blood
and/or flesh
) and necrophilia
(the performing of sex acts on a human corpse).
Lust murder is a phenomenon most common among serial killers. These offenders have made a connection between murder and sexual gratification. When this type of offender chooses a victim there must be something about that victim that the offender finds sexually attractive. This attractive trait might be common among all of the offender’s victims and is called the offenders Ideal Victim Type (IVT). There might be many potential targets that an offender passes by because they do not meet his IVT. Once the offender has found a victim who is ideal he might engage in stalking or other predatory behaviors before acting out his fantasy on his victim. Fantasies are a key component in lust murders and can never be completely fulfilled. The lust killer will have a fantasy that continues to evolve over time and becomes increasingly violent as he struggles to fulfill it.
The most critical component in the psychological development of a serial killer is violent fantasy, especially in the lust murderer. Fantasies accompany “intrusive thoughts about killing someone that are associated with other distressing psychopathological processes,”. Fantasies can never be completely fulfilled or the anger removed or the missing self-esteem restored; sometimes the experience of killing can generate new fantasies of violence, creating a repetitive cycle. The purpose of fantasy is total control of the victim, whereas a sexual assault
can be used as a vehicle for control. Sexual torture
becomes a tool to degrade, humiliate, and subjugate the victim. Often victims are selected by the killer to stand as a proxy, resulting from childhood trauma. Fantasies may be fueled by pornography and facilitated by alcohol or other causes. Typically, fantasies involve one or several forms of paraphilia
. The acts are repeated until the offender is apprehended by law enforcement, loses interest, or dies.
The term is also used in a related but slightly different sense, to refer to an individual who gains sexual arousal
from the act of committing murder, or has persistent sexual fantasies
of committing murder, even if the murder itself does not involve the genital mutilation or other characteristics cited above. As such, it is a type of paraphilia
.
As noted above, the dynamic of violent fantasy in lust murders is understood. However, an individual’s violence fantasy alone is not enough to determine if an individual has or has not engaged in lust murder. Moreover, to conclude that an individual is the murderer because he has drawn multitudes of violent images - some of which involve women is overreaching. The Perri and Lichtenwald article illustrates the critical importance of homicide detectives employing the Criminal Investigative Analysis model developed by Roy Hazelwood FBI (ret.), profiler and one of the top researchers in the field of lust murders.
Most cases of lust murder usually involve male
perpetrators. However, accounts of female
lust murderers do exist despite being extremely rare.
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
in which the offender searches for erotic satisfaction by killing someone. Lust murder is synonymous with the paraphilic term erotophonophilia which is sexual arousal or gratification contingent on the death of a human being. Commonly, this type of crime is manifested either by murder during sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
and/or by mutilating
Mutilation
Mutilation or maiming is an act of physical injury that degrades the appearance or function of any living body, usually without causing death.- Usage :...
the sexual organs or areas of the victim's body. The mutilation of the victim may include evisceration
Disembowelment
Disembowelment is the removal of some or all of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract , usually through a horizontal incision made across the abdominal area. Disembowelment may result from an accident, but has also been used as a method of torture and execution...
and/or displacement of the genitalia. The mutilation usually takes place postmortem.
It sometimes includes such activities as removing clothing from the body, posing and propping of the body in different positions, generally sexual ones, insertion of objects into bodily orifices, anthropophagy
Anthropophagy
Anthropophagy is the eating of human flesh. It may refer to:*Cannibalism, the eating of human flesh by another human**Self-cannibalism, the eating of one's own flesh*Man-eating, the eating of human flesh by man-eaters...
(the consumption of human blood
Hematophagy
Hematophagy is the practice of certain animals of feeding on blood...
and/or flesh
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
) and necrophilia
Necrophilia
Necrophilia, also called thanatophilia or necrolagnia, is the sexual attraction to corpses,It is classified as a paraphilia by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. The word is artificially derived from the ancient Greek words: νεκρός and φιλία...
(the performing of sex acts on a human corpse).
Lust murder is a phenomenon most common among serial killers. These offenders have made a connection between murder and sexual gratification. When this type of offender chooses a victim there must be something about that victim that the offender finds sexually attractive. This attractive trait might be common among all of the offender’s victims and is called the offenders Ideal Victim Type (IVT). There might be many potential targets that an offender passes by because they do not meet his IVT. Once the offender has found a victim who is ideal he might engage in stalking or other predatory behaviors before acting out his fantasy on his victim. Fantasies are a key component in lust murders and can never be completely fulfilled. The lust killer will have a fantasy that continues to evolve over time and becomes increasingly violent as he struggles to fulfill it.
The most critical component in the psychological development of a serial killer is violent fantasy, especially in the lust murderer. Fantasies accompany “intrusive thoughts about killing someone that are associated with other distressing psychopathological processes,”. Fantasies can never be completely fulfilled or the anger removed or the missing self-esteem restored; sometimes the experience of killing can generate new fantasies of violence, creating a repetitive cycle. The purpose of fantasy is total control of the victim, whereas a sexual assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
can be used as a vehicle for control. Sexual torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
becomes a tool to degrade, humiliate, and subjugate the victim. Often victims are selected by the killer to stand as a proxy, resulting from childhood trauma. Fantasies may be fueled by pornography and facilitated by alcohol or other causes. Typically, fantasies involve one or several forms of paraphilia
Paraphilia
Paraphilia is a biomedical term used to describe sexual arousal to objects, situations, or individuals that are not part of normative stimulation and that may cause distress or serious problems for the paraphiliac or persons associated with him or her...
. The acts are repeated until the offender is apprehended by law enforcement, loses interest, or dies.
The term is also used in a related but slightly different sense, to refer to an individual who gains sexual arousal
Sexual arousal
Sexual arousal, or sexual excitement, is the arousal of sexual desire, during or in anticipation of sexual activity. Things that precipitate human sexual arousal are called erotic stimuli, or colloquially known as turn-ons. There are many potential stimuli, both physical or mental, which can cause...
from the act of committing murder, or has persistent sexual fantasies
Sexual fantasy
A sexual fantasy, also called an erotic fantasy, is a fantasy or pattern of thoughts with the effect of creating or enhancing sexual feelings; in short, it is "almost any mental imagery that is sexually arousing or erotic to [an] individual"...
of committing murder, even if the murder itself does not involve the genital mutilation or other characteristics cited above. As such, it is a type of paraphilia
Paraphilia
Paraphilia is a biomedical term used to describe sexual arousal to objects, situations, or individuals that are not part of normative stimulation and that may cause distress or serious problems for the paraphiliac or persons associated with him or her...
.
As noted above, the dynamic of violent fantasy in lust murders is understood. However, an individual’s violence fantasy alone is not enough to determine if an individual has or has not engaged in lust murder. Moreover, to conclude that an individual is the murderer because he has drawn multitudes of violent images - some of which involve women is overreaching. The Perri and Lichtenwald article illustrates the critical importance of homicide detectives employing the Criminal Investigative Analysis model developed by Roy Hazelwood FBI (ret.), profiler and one of the top researchers in the field of lust murders.
Most cases of lust murder usually involve male
Man
The term man is used for an adult human male . However, man is sometimes used to refer to humanity as a whole...
perpetrators. However, accounts of female
Woman
A woman , pl: women is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent...
lust murderers do exist despite being extremely rare.
See also
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- Peter KurtenPeter KürtenPeter Kürten was a German serial killer dubbed The Vampire of Düsseldorf by the contemporary media. He committed a series of sex crimes, assaults and murders against adults and children, most notoriously from February to November 1929 in Düsseldorf.-Early life:Kürten was born into a...
- Ian Brady
- Jerry BrudosJerry BrudosJerome Henry "Jerry" Brudos was an American serial killer and necrophiliac, also known as "The Lust Killer" and "The Shoe Fetish Slayer".-Early life:...
- Ted BundyTed BundyTheodore Robert "Ted" Bundy was an American serial killer, rapist, kidnapper, and necrophile who assaulted and murdered numerous young women during the 1970s, and possibly earlier...
- Richard ChaseRichard ChaseRichard Trenton Chase was a United States serial killer who killed six people in the span of a month in Sacramento, California...
- Andrei ChikatiloAndrei ChikatiloAndrei Romanovich Chikatilo was a Ukrainian-born Soviet serial killer, nicknamed the Butcher of Rostov, The Red Ripper or The Rostov Ripper who murdered a minimum of 52 women and children between 1978 and 1990...
- Jeffrey DahmerJeffrey DahmerJeffrey Lionel Dahmer was an American serial killer and sex offender. Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991, with the majority of the murders occurring between 1987 and 1991. His murders involved rape, dismemberment, necrophilia and cannibalism...
- Albert FishAlbert FishHamilton Howard "Albert" Fish was an American serial killer. He was also known as the Gray Man, the Werewolf of Wysteria, the Brooklyn Vampire, the Moon Maniac and The Boogey Man. A child rapist and cannibal, he boasted that he "had children in every state," and at one time put the figure at...
- John Wayne GacyJohn Wayne GacyJohn Wayne Gacy, Jr. was an American serial killer, rapist and clown who sexually assaulted and murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men between 1972 and 1978. Gacy buried 26 of his victims in the crawlspace of his home, buried three others elsewhere on his property, and discarded the...
- Ed GeinEd GeinEdward Theodore "Ed" Gein - July 26, 1984) was an American murderer and body snatcher. His crimes, committed around his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin, gathered widespread notoriety after authorities discovered Gein had exhumed corpses from local graveyards and fashioned trophies and keepsakes...
- Sergey GolovkinSergey GolovkinSergey Golovkin was a Soviet serial killer known as "The Fisher" or "The Udav" who killed and butchered 11 boys in the Moscow area between 1986 and 1992....
- Charles Ray HatcherCharles Ray HatcherCharles Ray Hatcher , was an American serial killer who confessed to murdering 16 people between 1969 and 1982.-Childhood and youth:...
- John George HaighJohn George HaighJohn George Haigh , commonly known as the "Acid Bath Murderer" , was an English serial killer during the 1940s. He was convicted of the murders of six people, although he claimed to have killed nine...
- Gary M. HeidnikGary M. HeidnikGary Michael Heidnik was an American murderer who kidnapped, tortured and raped six women and kept them prisoner in his Philadelphia, Pennsylvania basement.-Childhood:...
- Paul BernardoPaul BernardoPaul Kenneth Bernardo, also known as Paul Jason Teale , is a Canadian serial killer and rapist, known for the sexual assaults and murders he committed with his wife Karla Homolka and the serial rapes he committed in Scarborough.-Early life:Bernardo's mother, Marilyn, was the adopted daughter of a...
& Karla HomolkaKarla HomolkaKarla Leanne Homolka, also known as Karla Leanne Teale , is a Canadian serial killer. She attracted worldwide media attention when she was convicted of manslaughter following a plea bargain in the 1991 and 1992 rape-murders of two Ontario teenage girls, Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, as well as... - Edmund KemperEdmund KemperEdmund Emil "Big Ed" Kemper III , also known as "The Co-ed Killer", is an American serial killer who was active in California in the early 1970s. He started his criminal life by shooting both his grandparents when he was 15 years old. Kemper later killed and dismembered six female hitchhikers in...
- Henry Lee LucasHenry Lee LucasHenry Lee Lucas was an American criminal, convicted of murder in 189 cases and once listed as America's most prolific serial killer; he later recanted his confessions, despite professing information only the assailant would know and flatly stating "I'm a liar" in a letter to researcher Brad Shellady...
- Richard RamirezRichard RamirezRicardo "Richard" Muñoz Ramírez is a convicted serial killer awaiting execution on California's death row at San Quentin State Prison...
- Gary RidgwayGary RidgwayGary Leon Ridgway is an American serial killer known as the Green River Killer. He murdered numerous women in Washington during the 1980s and 1990s, earning his nickname when the first five victims were found in the Green River. He strangled them, usually with his arm but sometimes using ligatures...
- Jack the RipperJack the Ripper"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
- Peter SutcliffePeter SutcliffePeter William Sutcliffe is a British serial killer who was dubbed "The Yorkshire Ripper". In 1981 Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attacking seven others. He is currently serving 20 sentences of life imprisonment in Broadmoor Hospital...
- Jane ToppanJane ToppanJane Toppan , born Honora Kelley, was an American female serial killer. She confessed to 11 murders in 1901. She is quoted as saying that her ambition was "to have killed more people — helpless people — than any other man or woman who ever lived...".-Early life:Though scant records...
- Fred WestFred WestFrederick Walter Stephen West , was a British serial killer. Between 1967 and 1987, he alone, and later, he and his wife Rosemary, tortured, raped and murdered at least 11 young women and girls, many at the couple's homes. The majority of the murders occurred between May 1973 and September 1979 at...
- Graham Young
- Hiroshi MaeueHiroshi Maeue, aka "Suicide Website Murderer", was a Japanese serial killer, who lured his victims via the internet and killed three people in 2005.Maeue suffered from a paraphilic psychosexual disorder which translated into being unable to achieve sexual release absent of performing an act of...
- David Russell Williams