Victimology is an important part of a criminal profile; write a paper that:
Describes victimology as a discipline
Identifies the victimology associated with the victims in in 'Three Unsolved Murders' scenario.
Three Unsolved Murders
A crime analyst at the Sawyer’s Mill Police Department has mathematically uncovered three unsolved murders that are eerily similar. The murders all involved strangled elderly females (all in their 80s) who lived alone after losing their husbands. In addition, these cases are eerily similar to the work of a serial killer who has been operating throughout the Southeastern United States – but there are definite differences in these cases and his confirmed cases. The police in Sawyers Mill have exhausted all evidence and all other leads in all three cases. They are asking you to provide your opinion as to whether or not the murders are the work of a serial killer or if they are merely similar and the work of three individual killers. In addition, they have asked you to provide them with a criminal profile.
Murder #1 January 1989 – Sawyers Mill Florida
Upon arrival the police find this:
• Victim lives alone – husband deceased
• Single wide mobile home.
• Victim’s car cold and parked in the driveway.
• Open master bedroom window.
• Master bedroom window screen lying in the grass nearby. All other windows unlocked but all doors closed and locked.
• Three days’ worth of newspapers lying at the curb.
• Deceased elderly female victim
o Decedent is found lying supine in the master bedroom on the master bed.
o The bed is fully made-up
o Decedent’s ankles are together
o Decedent’s hands are folded one atop the other on her chest
o Decedent is fully clothed in a pajama shirt and pants but the shirt is wrongly buttoned by one button.
o Not wearing a bra or panties
o Bra found in living room partially hidden under the couch.
o Panties not found.
o Fingernails freshly painted.
o Hair freshly brushed.
• Dry wash cloth found on the floor near the master bed.
• Nothing in the master bedroom appeared disturbed or out of place; everything was very dusty.
• The living room of the home was obviously cleaned up, there was no dust on any of the furniture and nothing had been stolen.
• There was a stereo, a television, a computer and other electronics in plain view.
• There was a twenty dollar bill lying on the kitchen table.
• Medical Examiner’s findings
o Broken spine
o Severed spinal chord
o Manual strangulation – broken hyoid bone
o Sexual assault – no male DNA or foreign material of male origin found on the decedent.
Murder #2 January 1990 - Sawyers Mill Florida
Upon arrival the police find this:
• Victim lives alone – husband deceased
• Single wide mobile home.
• Victim’s car cold and parked in the driveway.
• Open master bedroom window.
• Master bedroom window screen lying in the grass nearby. All other windows unlocked but all doors closed and locked.
• Deceased elderly female victim
o Decedent is found lying supine in the master bedroom on the master bed.
o The bed is fully made-up
o Decedent’s ankles are together
o Decedent’s hands are folded one atop the other on her chest
o Decedent is fully clothed in a pajama shirt and pants but the shirt is wrongly buttoned by one button.
o Not wearing a bra or panties
o Bra found in living room near couch.
o Panties not found.
o Fingernails freshly painted.
o Hair freshly brushed.
• Nothing in the master bedroom appeared disturbed or out of place; everything was very dusty.
• The living room of the home was obviously cleaned up, there was no dust on any of the furniture and nothing had been stolen.
• There was a stereo, a television, a computer and other electronics in plain view.
• Medical Examiner’s findings
o Broken spine
o Severed spinal chord
o Manual strangulation – broken hyoid bone
o Sexual assault – no male DNA or foreign material of male origin found on the decedent.
Murder #3 January 1991 - Sawyers Mill Florida
Upon arrival the police find this:
• Victim lives alone – husband deceased
• Single wide mobile home.
• Victim’s car cold and parked in the driveway.
• Open master bedroom window.
• Master bedroom window screen lying in the grass nearby. All other windows unlocked but all doors closed and locked.
• Four days’ worth of newspapers lying at the curb.
• Deceased elderly female victim
o Decedent is found lying supine in the master bedroom on the master bed.
o The bed is fully made-up
o Decedent’s ankles are together
o Decedent’s hands are folded one atop the other on her chest
o Decedent is fully clothed in a pajama shirt and pants but the shirt is wrongly buttoned by one button.
o Not wearing a bra or panties
o Bra found in living room near coffee table and couch.
o Panties not found.
o Fingernails freshly painted.
o Hair freshly brushed.
• Nothing in the master bedroom appeared disturbed or out of place; everything was very dusty.
• The living room of the home was obviously cleaned up, there was no dust on any of the furniture and nothing had been stolen.
• There was a stereo, a television, a computer and other electronics in plain view.
• Medical Examiner’s findings
o Broken spine
o Severed spinal chord
o Manual strangulation – broken hyoid bone
o Sexual assault – no male DNA or foreign material of male origin found on the decedent.
Things to think about:
• Did a serial killer murder these elderly victims or not?
• What might that serial killer look like?