NCJ Number
217231
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 52 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2007 Pages: 137-145
Date Published
January 2007
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study analyzed the effect of time and distance relationships on the solving of child-abduction murder (n=735).
Abstract
The findings indicate that when investigators knew the date and location of the murder of the child who was abducted, then the probability that the perpetrator would be identified increased. Knowing the site of the initial contact between the perpetrator and the child victim was also a strong predictor of perpetrator identification when the time of the contact was also known. Investigators' knowledge of these facts increased their ability to verify or refute a suspect's alibi. The likelihood of identifying a suspect also increased when the determination of the murder site and the determination of the site where the child's body was ultimately placed by the perpetrator were separated by more than 24 hours. This contradicts the general belief that the likelihood of solving a murder case decreases as the time between the detection of the murder site and the finding of the victim's body increases. Distinctive factors associated with child-abduction murders could explain this contradiction; for example, the extensive resources that are marshaled over time in such cases. Another finding was that when the distance between the murder site and the site where the body was discovered was less than 199 feet, the likelihood that the case would be solved increased, possibly because physical evidence was concentrated in the same general area. The 735 murders examined occurred across the United States between 1968 and 2002. The case components examined were the site where the victim was last seen, the site of initial contact between the victim and offender, the murder site, and the body-recovery site. Time and distance intervals between component pairings were also examined. 9 tables, 2 figures, and 21 references