Defining and classifying serial murder in the context of perpetrator motivation

    Authors

    C. J. Ferguson; D. E. White; S. Cherry; M. Lorenz;Z. Bhimani

    Abbreviated Journal Title

    J. Crim. Justice

    Keywords

    Criminology & Penology

    Abstract

    The last several decades have seen increased research attention to the subject of serial murder. Unfortunately, an empirical understanding of serial homicide continues to be impeded by difficulties in establishing a working definition for serial murder. Current definitions for serial homicide tend to focus on frequency and timing of homicide behaviors, and thus leave some confusion as to which groups of individuals should be included under the heading of serial murders. This article suggests alterations to the definition of serial murder, which focus not only on frequency and timing of homicide behaviors, but also on the motivation and context of those behaviors. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

    Journal Title

    Journal of Criminal Justice

    Volume

    31

    Issue/Number

    3

    Publication Date

    1-1-2003

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    287

    Last Page

    292

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000182832100008

    ISSN

    0047-2352

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