Long Island Serial Killer Case
In his interview, the retired FBI profiler and former NY City prosecutor Jim Clemente laid out the key points regarding the profile of the Long Island serial killer. One of the points relevant to the case was the presence of multiple locations where crimes were committed. The choice of a particular victim at a particular time and place can say a lot about who the offender is as a person. In the case of Long Island serial killer, the offender was specifically looking for sex workers, high-risk victims that were already putting themselves in danger (TheLipTV, 2013). This meant that the offender’s criminal sophistication was on the lower level, which is already an important discovery in any investigation. On another end of the spectrum, Clemente talked about victims being hidden in relatively public places in burlap sacks, the material of which can be traced much more easily compared to plastic bags that are much more commonly used. However, the biggest revelation of the killer’s personality was associated with him using a victim’s cell phone to call her sister and taunt her. This meant that the offender had sadistic qualities and was the kind of person who would laugh if somebody got hurt.
Criminals’ Paraphilias
The first paraphilia an offender may have is associated with teasing and taunting the law enforcement or members of a victim’s family. When an offender is slightly exposing himself or herself and teases others about the horrible act he or she had committed while being in control of what others know, he or she may experience a thrill that feeds the psychopathic desires. Bragging about committing a crime is another paraphilia inherent to many serial killers ranging from Ted Bundy (Holmes & Holmes, 2009) to Robert Spangler. Being proud of committing horrific acts brings arousal to perpetrators who relive those events and develop a desire to commit crime again.
How a Profiler Studies a Case
According to Jim Clemente, a profiler looks at every detail of a crime case to conduct a behavioral analysis and create a profile of an offender. All factors count – from the race of the victim to the location of the crime. For example, in order to find out whether the perpetrator might be of Black race, a profiler looks at the race of victims since it is likely that a killer will seek victims of his or her own race to decrease their suspicion. The time and place of the crime are also typically analyzed by a profiler in his or her work. For example, if a killer strikes seasonally, there is a possibility that he or she is in another area for some time and then comes back because of some circumstances like family or work (TheLipTV, 2013).
Points for Future Investigation
The interview with Jim Clemente has shed light on the variety of aspects of behavioral analysis that can be investigated in the future in greater detail. Such points include the usage of the Internet (e.g. Craigslist) to find new victims, criminal behavior analysis through interviews with possible offenders (e.g. Robert Spangler case), the difference between mass murderers and serial killers (e.g. serial killers interact with victims while mass murders are distant), and the mishandling of murder investigations by the law enforcement (e.g. the case of Jon Benet Ramsey).
References
Holmes, S., & Holmes, R. (2009). Sex crimes: Patterns and behavior (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
TheLipTV. (2013). Psychology of serial killers with Jim Clemente. Web.