The psychology of serial killer investigations

Psychology of Serial Killer Investigations

Over time, numerous reports have been prepared based on a review of several assaults and murders. In this text, I concern myself with the Yorkshire Ripper Murder Case. Before his eventual arrest, Peter William Sutcliffe had already murdered thirteen women in what came to earn him the name the 'Yorkshire Ripper.' This text explains why I chose to concern myself with the Yorkshire Ripper Murder Case and what the same means to me.

The Yorkshire Ripper Murder Case: An Overview

From 1975 onwards, Peter William Sutcliffe set off on an assault and killing spree that would eventually lead to his apprehension in 1980 (National Policing Improvement Agency, 2010). Most of Sutcliffe's victims were commercial sex workers whom he first murdered before mutilating their bodies (Crime and Investigation Network, 2011). His preferred tools of trade in most of the assaults and murders he committed were a sharpened instrument, knife and a hammer (Crime and Investigation Network, 2011). Prior to Sutcliffe's arrest, police officers had interviewed dozens of people suspected to be the perpetrators of the assaults and murders. A recorded tape that was later on branded a hoax also temporarily threw detectives off the track of the real suspect (Crime and Investigation Network, 2011). Although records show that he was interviewed several times in relation to the murders, none of the said interviews prior to his final arrest exposed him as the vicious murderer.

Reasons for My Choice of Topic

Several things informed my choice of the Yorkshire Ripper Murder Case as the subject of my research. To begin with, my choice of topic was influenced by the similarity of the said case to yet another case of equal cruelty -- the George Russell Murder Case. Similarities in both cases are largely in relation to the offenders' ritualistic behaviors and sexual degradation. For instance, when questioned by police, Sutcliffe claimed that some voice had earlier on instructed him to kill prostitutes (Crime and Investigation Network, 2011). Further, just like was the case with George W. Russell, Sutcliffe's tendency to mutilate his victims was also largely ritualistic. One of the many victims Russell mutilated during his murderous campaign was Andrea Levine (Keppel and Birnes 2008).

The two cases also have identifiable signature characteristics and Modus Operandi (M.O.). According to Keppel and Birnes (2008), "M.O. characteristics refer to the offender's actions during the commission of a crime that are necessary to complete the crime." In Sutcliffe's case, his modus operandi involved hitting victims from behind with a hammer after which he would use a knife to stab, slash and mutilate them. The victims in this case were largely prostitutes. Like Sutcliffe, Russell's victims were also female. When it comes to Sutcliffe's signature, the same had a number of key identifiable components. Signature characteristics in the words of Keppel and Birnes (2008) "are those actions that are unique to the offender and go beyond what is necessary to kill the victim." According to the authors, signature characteristics unlike M.O. are largely stable (they do not change over time) and in that regard, they reflect an offender's nature. To begin with, the violence Sutcliffe meted out to his unfortunate victims was largely sexualized. Apart from being exclusively women, most of Sutcliffe's victims were prostitutes. Further, it can also be noted that in most cases, Sutcliffe first and foremost sought to render his victims incapable of defending themselves. This in most cases he accomplished by striking them with a hammer. Most of Sutcliffe's attacks also seem to have been planned well in advance. This is more so the case given the similarity of all his victims as well as use of similar weapons in his attack. Russell's murders on the other hand had several characteristics which did not match any of the other HITS database murders (Keppel and Birnes 2008). These characteristic had to do with victims' body posing, preferred method of body disposal and foreign objects insertion (sexual) into a victim's body (Keppel and Birnes 2008).

What the Selected Case Means to Me

All the attacks Sutcliffe occasioned on his victims in addition to being brutal obviously also caught his victims by surprise. He also sought to degrade his victims by badly mutilating their bodies after subduing them. All these victims had families and friends who loved them. Perhaps these victims also had people who were entirely dependent on them. Any of these victims could have been my sister, mother or even grand-daughter. In any case, the death of each and every one of Sutcliffe's victims caused some people untold pain. To me, this case is an indicator of how (for some perverted reason) cruel human beings can be to fellow beings.