Examination of the Typology of Perpetrators of Sexually Motivated Homicide Based on a Hungarian Sample

Abstract

Aim: The examination of sexually motivated homicides is not very popular topic in Hungary, probably because its prevalence is very low, making it difficult to draw stable, quantitative conclusions about the phenomenon. Nevertheless, in the international literature, we find a large number of empirical reports that study not only the crime itself, but also the offenders of sexual homicides. As a result, over the years, several typologies have been created that classify perpetrators of sexual homicides. The aim of this study is to present these offender typologies and types, and to describe the offender types determined and differentiated based on the results of my own PhD research.

Methodology: Presenting the foreign offender typologies I do a review of the literature, while presenting the offender types I have created, I present the research I conducted, based on a qualitative methodology. In the research, I examined sexually motivated homicides and their offenders committed between 2000 and 2023, involving a total number of 23 perpetrators. The study was based on archival research, and the processed procedural documents were subjected to content analysis.

Value: During the research, three different types of perpetrators were identified in the Hungarian sample. The basis of the difference can be traced partly in the primary motivation and partly in the perpetration behavior. The three types of perpetrators identified based on the differences are the retaliatory-reactive (N = 7), the sexual-proactive (N = 13) and the necrophilic-antisocial (N = 3) offender types.

Conclusion: Although the prevalance of sexually motivated homicides is low in Hungary (only 24 sexual homicides were recorded between 2000 and 2023), its empirical investigation is necessary. The empirical research has shown that, despite the small sample size, it is possible to capture the characteristics that can be used to distinguish between sexual homicide crimes and their offenders. The results obtained are not only novel in scientific thinking, but also well applicable in practice, especially in the field of criminal profiling.