Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
SpringerLink
Log in

Victims of Serial Murder: Cause and Effect in the Victim–Perpetrator Relationship

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Serial Homicide

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Criminology ((BRIEFSPOLICI))

  • 1168 Accesses

Abstract

A victim is someone who has suffered a wrong—who has been aggrieved by a crime, an act prohibited by the law in force at the given time. The concept of “aggrieved” is used in the Polish penal code currently in force. Information gathered on murder victim is of great significance in deducing the perpetrator’s motive, social circle, and the nature of the relationship with the victim. The collation of certain established, specific qualities of the victim and the perpetrator’s operating method can help deduce his specific psychological characteristics, as well as give the investigation authorities clues as to his behavior in the future. Thanks to analyses of the mutual links between the perpetrator and the victim, many clues can be extracted that lead to resolving a given murder mystery.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    J. K. Gierowski, Zabójcy i ich ofiary: psychologiczne podstawy profilowania nieznanych sprawców zabójstw [Killers and their Victims: Psychological Profiling of Unknown Killers], publ. Instytutu Ekspertyz Sądowych, Kraków 2003, p. 89.

  2. 2.

    L. Falandysz, Wiktymologia [Victimology], publ. Wiedza Powszechna, Warsaw 1979, pp. 31–33.

  3. 3.

    K. Gradoń, Zabójstwo wielokrotne: profilowanie kryminalne [Multiple killing: Criminal Profiling], publ. Wolters Kluwer, Warsaw 2010, p. 190.

  4. 4.

    R. M. Holmes, S. T. Holmes, Profiling Violent Crimes, an investigative tool, publ. SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi 2009, p. 290.

  5. 5.

    J. K. Gierowski, Zabójcy i ich ofiary… [Killers and Their Victims…], p. 121.

  6. 6.

    R. M. Holmes, S. T. Holmes, Profiling Violent Crimes…, p. 292.

  7. 7.

    R. Davis, A. Lurigio, p. Herman, Victims of Crime, publ. SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi 2007, p. 65.

  8. 8.

    R. M. Holmes, S. T. Holmes, Profiling Violent Crimes…, p. 293.

  9. 9.

    R. M. Holmes, S. T. Holmes, Profiling Violent Crimes…, p. 294.

  10. 10.

    Ibidem.

  11. 11.

    K. Gradoń, Zabójstwo wielokrotne… [Multiple Killing…], p. 190.

  12. 12.

    R. M. Holmes, S. T. Holmes, Profiling Violent Crimes…, pp. 295–296.

  13. 13.

    K. Gradoń, Zabójstwo wielokrotne… [Multiple Killing…], p. 191.

  14. 14.

    M. Kuć, Wiktymologia [Victimology], publ. C.H. BECK, Warsaw 2010, p. 95.

  15. 15.

    An excellent example is the story of a 13-year boy abducted and molested by Jeffrey Dahmer, who managed to escape from the killer’s home when the latter went out to buy alcohol. The naked boy, handcuffed and in tears, asked two black women for help. Dahmer, on realizing that his victim had escaped, tried to pursue him but one of the women called the police. The “Monster of Milwaukee” told the policeman that the youth was his lover, with whom he had had an argument. The policeman believed him, because Dahmer was sober and the boy was drunk (nota bene from the Dahmer case).

  16. 16.

    This social group was exploited by Harold Shipman, known as the “Doctor of Death”. He killed 171 men and 41 women, the majority of whom were elderly, with injections of morphine. The doctor’s youngest patient was 45 years old.

  17. 17.

    B. Hołyst, Wiktymologia [Victimology], publ. PWN, Warsaw 2011, p. 866.

  18. 18.

    id., p. 847.

  19. 19.

    Bieńkowska E., Wiktymologia. Zarys wykładu [Victimology. A Case Study], publ. Wydawnictwo Zrzeszenia Prawników Polskich, Warsaw 2000, p. 32.

  20. 20.

    M. Kuć, Wiktymologia… [Victimology…], p. 98.

  21. 21.

    B. Hołyst, Wiktymologia… [Victimology…], p. 865.

  22. 22.

    J. K. Gierowski, Zabójcy i ich ofiary… [Killers and their Victims…], p. 89.

  23. 23.

    id., p. 90.

  24. 24.

    J. K. Gierowski, Zabójcy i ich ofiary… [Killers and Their Victims…], p. 94.

  25. 25.

    B. Sygit, Przestępcy i ich ofiary [Criminals and Their Victims…], publ. Ławica, Poznań 1995, p. 98.

  26. 26.

    J. K. Gierowski, Zabójcy i ich ofiary… [Killers and Their Victims…], p. 96.

  27. 27.

    R. M. Holmes, S. T. Holmes, Contemporary Perspectives on Serial Murder, publ. SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi 1998, p. 107.

  28. 28.

    B. Hołyst, Kryminologia [Criminology], publ. LexisNexis, Warsaw 2009, p. 1141.

  29. 29.

    B. Sygit, Przestępcy i ich ofiary… [Criminals and Their Victims…], p. 96.

  30. 30.

    B. Hołyst, Wiktymologia… [Victimology…], p. 868.

  31. 31.

    id., p. 957.

  32. 32.

    B. Hołyst, Rola ofiary w genezie zabójstwa [The Role of the Victim in the Genesis of Murder], publ. “Państwo i Prawo” 1964, vol. 11, p. 746.

  33. 33.

    B. Hołyst, Rola ofiary… [The Role of the Victim…], p. 746.

  34. 34.

    B. Hołyst, Kryminologia… [Criminology], p. 1142.

  35. 35.

    R. M. Holmes, S. T. Holmes, Contemporary Perspectives…, p. 108.

  36. 36.

    K. Gradoń, Zabójstwo wielokrotne… [Multiple Killing…], p. 210.

  37. 37.

    id., pp. 211–212.

  38. 38.

    J. K. Gierowski, Zabójcy i ich ofiary… [Killers and their Victims…], p. 100.

  39. 39.

    K. Gradoń, Zabójstwo wielokrotne… [Multiple Killing…], p. 213.

  40. 40.

    id., p. 214.

  41. 41.

    B. Hołyst, Wiktymologia… [Victimology], p. 848.

  42. 42.

    J. K. Gierowski, Zabójcy i ich ofiary… [Killers and Their Victims…], pp. 101–103.

  43. 43.

    id., p. 105.

  44. 44.

    R. Tithecott, Of Men and Monsters. Jeffrey Dahmer and the Construction of a Serial Killer, publ. The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison 1997, p. 107.

  45. 45.

    The second—by analogy—is the “perpetrator’s method”, based on conclusions drawn from anonymous responses to questions. The respondents gave information as to whether they had ever committed a crime and if so, what the crime was.

  46. 46.

    M. Kuć, Wiktymologia… [Victimology…], p. 101.

  47. 47.

    J. Błachut, A. Gaberle, K. Krajewski, Kryminologia [Criminology], publ. ARCHE, Gdańsk 2004, p. 480.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Law, University of Bialystok, Białystok, Poland

    Agnieszka Daniszewska

Authors
  1. Agnieszka Daniszewska
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Daniszewska, A. (2017). Victims of Serial Murder: Cause and Effect in the Victim–Perpetrator Relationship. In: Serial Homicide. SpringerBriefs in Criminology(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40054-9_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40054-9_3

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-40053-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-40054-9

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation