Empirical Analysis of 30 Years of U.S. Juvenile and Adult Sexual Homicide Offender Data: Race and Age Differences in the Victim-Offender Relationship

• NCJ Number: 232578
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 55 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2010 Pages: 1282-1290
• Author(s): Heng Choon Chan, M.D.; Wade C. Myers, M.D.; Kathleen M. Heide, Ph.D.
• Date Published: September 2010
• Length: 9 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research); Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Little is known about the racial patterns of crimes committed by sexual homicide offenders (SHOs). This study examined race and age influences on victim-offender relationship for juvenile and adult SHOs.

Abstract

A large sample (N = 3,868) from the Supplemental Homicide Reports (1976-2005) was used. Analyses of victim-offender patterns included examining victim age effects (child, adolescent, adult, and elderly). The findings revealed several race- and age-based differences. Black offenders were significantly overrepresented in the SHO population. This finding held for juveniles and adults independently. White SHOs were highly likely to kill within their race, "intra-racially" (range 91-100 percent) across four victim age categories, whereas Black SHOs killed both intra-racially (range 24-82 percent) and inter-racially (18-76 percent), with the likelihood of their killing inter-racially increasing as the age of the victim increased. This study underscores the importance of considering victim-offender racial patterns in sexual murder investigations, and it offers practical implications for offender profiling. (Published Abstract)