Patterns of Necrophilic Behaviors in Sexual Homicide: A Criminological Perspective

• Published date: 01 November 2021
• Author: Julien Chopin,Eric Beauregard
• Date: 01 November 2021
• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X20969947
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X20969947

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2021, Vol. 65(15) 1676 –1699

© The Author(s) 2020

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/0306624X20969947

journals.sagepub.com/home/ijo

Article

Patterns of Necrophilic

Behaviors in Sexual Homicide:

A Criminological Perspective

Julien Chopin1 and Eric Beauregard1

Abstract

This study aims to empirically explore the patterns of necrophilic behaviors in

sexual homicide. More specifically, the study investigates offender, victim, and crime

characteristics of sexual homicides where necrophilic acts were perpetrated, to

determine whether the primary motivation to kill is associated with the attainment

of corpses or whether the post-mortem sexual acts were secondary deviant

behaviors. The sample used in this study consists of 109 cases of extrafamilial sexual

homicides where post-mortem sexual acts were committed by offenders. Latent

class analysis was used to examine each step of the crime-commission process of

sexual homicide offenders involved in necrophilic behaviors. Our findings suggest that

there are four different patterns of necrophilia in sexual homicide: Opportunistic,

experimental, preferential, and sadistic. Preferential offenders are the only ones who

specifically kill their victims in order to have sex with their corpses, while for sadistic,

experimental, and opportunistic offenders post-mortem sexual acts were part of a

secondary deviant process. Practical implications in terms of criminal investigations

and offenders’ treatment are discussed.

Keywords

sexual homicide, latent class analysis, crime-commission process, motivation,

necrophilic behaviors

Introduction

Necrophilia is defined by as sexual gratification that is attained by having sex with

corpses (Aggrawal, 2010; Crow, 2017). This behavior is classified by the Diagnostic

1Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

Corresponding Author:

Julien Chopin, School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A

1S6, Canada.

Email: julien_chopin@sfu.ca

969947IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X20969947International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyChopin and Beauregard

research-article2020

Chopin and Beauregard 1677

and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (American Psychiatric Association,

2013, p. 705) and is described as a “recurrent and intense sexual arousal involving

corpses”. Most necrophiles do not engage in sexual intercourse with the dead and are

content simply with fantasying about post-mortem sexual acts (Aggrawal, 2009b). If

they decide to take action, necrophile individuals use different contexts to find bodies

of people who are already dead (Aggrawal, 2009a, 2009b, 2010). For instance, some

individuals steal corpses from morgues, dig up bodies from cemeteries, or retain the

body of their partner after their death (Aggrawal, 2009a, 2009b, 2010; Boureghda

et al., 2011; Wulfen, 1910). In some cases, however, homicide may precede the necro-

philic act (Aggrawal, 2009a, 2009b, 2010; Rosman & Resnick, 1989; Stein et al.,

2010). Studies conducted in different countries (e.g., Canada, France, and South

Korea) indicated that the rate of post-mortem sexual acts in sexual homicide cases

varies between 8.5% and 36.6% (Beauregard & Martineau, 2013; Chopin &

Beauregard, 2021; Darjee & Baron, 2013; James et al., 2018; Sea et al., 2019).

Previous studies have considered necrophilic sexual homicide offenders (nSHOs)

as a specific category in itself (Aggrawal, 2009a, 2009b; Hirschfeld, 1956; Krafft-

Ebing, 1886; Wulfen, 1910), while Rosman and Resnick (1989) provided a distinction

based on the level of attraction to corpses, suggesting the presence of two distinct

types of necrophilia. For the pseudonecrophile the sexual attraction to corpses is tran-

sient, while for the genuine necrophile this attraction is persistent (Rosman & Resnick,

1989). Although interesting and informative, previous studies have been mainly based

on case reports, making the generalization of these findings difficult. In order to shed

additional light on the current knowledge on necrophilia associated to sexual homi-

cide, this study aims to empirically explore the patterns of necrophilia in sexual homi-

cide and determine whether nSHOs represent a homogeneous type of offenders or if

they are driven by distinct motivations.

Characteristics of Necrophilia in Sexual Homicide

Only a few studies have examined cases of sexual homicide including necrophilic acts

and most of these studies are based on case reports (e.g., Chan et al., 2017; Krafft-

Ebing, 1886; Lancaster, 1978; Pettigrew, 2019a, 2019b, 2019c). Although case studies

provide unique insight into the characteristics of nSHOs, these studies are difficult to

generalize and may represent the most extreme or unusual cases. As a result, we

decided to focus on describing the characteristics of necrophilia among studies with

samples including at least 5 cases.

In terms of offender demographic characteristics, nSHOs are always males and

mostly single, but often living with somebody (Rosman & Resnick, 1989; Stein et al.,

2010). In their sample of 16 nSHOs, Stein et al. (2010) found that the average age was

26.1 years old, most were laborers (50%; n = 8) or unemployed, and almost all had

prior arrests (92.9%; n = 15). As to their sexual lifestyle, Rosman and Resnick (1989)

identified that pseudonecrophilic killers (i.e., transient attraction to a corpse) are

more likely to be heterosexual compared to necrophilic killers, while other studies

found that some of them may suffer from sexual dysfunctions (Chopin & Beauregard,