NCJ Number
210964
Date Published
2005
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This chapter explores the challenges of post-crime psychological assessments through the use of a case study.
Abstract
The case presented involved the apparent suicide of an 8-month pregnant woman, who was found hung in her garage. The investigating officers quickly assumed a suicide and, thus, the crime scene was not properly examined. Weeks later, suspicions grew that the woman’s husband Eddie Gilfoyle had actually murdered her. The author was called in to investigate, through a psychological assessment of the husband and victim and through a linguistic analysis of the suicide note, the possibility that the death was not, in fact, a suicide. The details of the psychological and linguistic investigation are provided, including a discussion of the difficulties inherent in conducting “psychological autopsies” in which little physical evidence exists. The author discusses conducting a personality assessment of Paula to evaluate the likelihood that she took her own life. Determining the authenticity of the suicide note involved searching for elements of hopelessness in the victim’s narrative, as well as aspects of despair and justifications for the suicide. In closing, the author notes the difficulty of determining genuine suicides from possible murders and notes that the current case leaves more questions than it provides answers. References