Male-on-Female Sexual Homicides in Sweden, 1990 to 2013: A Population-Based Controlled Study of Incidents, Victims, and Offenders. (July 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sturup, Joakim; Rodre, Sara; Karlberg, Daniel; von Vogelsang, Eva; Rying, Mikael; Caman, Shilan
• Other Names: Beauregard Eric guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology. Volume 63:Number 9(2019)
• Page Start: 1557
• Page End: 1574
• Publication Date: 2019-07
• Subjects: sexual homicide -- violence -- rape -- sexual offenders -- homicide; Criminals -- Rehabilitation -- Periodicals; Criminal psychology -- Periodicals; Violent offenders -- Periodicals; Sex offenders -- Periodicals; Criminology -- Periodicals; 364.3
• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X18786609
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0306-624X

Abstract

To date, systematic studies of sexual homicides from Europe are scarce, in which none have been conducted in Sweden. This study aims to describe male-on-female sexual homicides in Sweden and differentiate from corresponding nonsexual homicides. Unsolved and solved sexual homicide ( n = 33) cases were identified in a database containing all homicides in Sweden between 1990 and 2013 ( N = 2, 126), and subsequently data from forensic psychiatric evaluations were collected for convicted offenders. Male-on-female sexual homicides constituted 1.6% of all homicides and the clearance rate was 82%, which is comparable with the 83% overall clearance rate but took longer time to solve. Three factors differentiated sexual from nonsexual homicides: strangulation, younger age of the victim, and the absence of eyewitnesses. In solved cases, distance from the offender's home to the crime scene was strongly correlated with time to clearance. A majority of the offenders suffered from personality disorders, while other diagnoses were uncommon.