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34 Brit. J. Criminology 1 (1994)
Multiple Murder - A Review

handle is hein.journals/bjcrim34 and id is 13 raw text is: THE BRITISH JOURNAL OF CRIMINOLOGY Vol. 34 Winter 1994 No. 1 MULTIPLE MURDER A Review DAVID M. GRESSWELL* and CLIVE R. HOLLINt A review of the literature on multiple murder reveals little systematic research on this phenomenon despite widespread media interest and figures indicating that over 3 per cent of homicide victims in England and Wales die in incidents of multiple homicide. Difficulties in both defining multiple murder and estimating its prevalance are noted, although these can be seen as essential steps towards the formulation of a comprehensive psychological model of this type of crime. A review of the literature indicates that fantasy rehearsal of murderous and sadistic acts is commonly reported in this group, and stresses the importance of examining environmental factors that could elicit and control violent behaviour. It is concluded that further research is required in three areas: (1) detection and recognition of a multiple crime perpetrator from crime scene evidence; (2) identification and recognition of risk factors within imprisoned and clinical populations; (3) identification of the treatment needs and the appropriate disposal of these offenders. Introduction There are many different forms of multiple homicide, ranging from the large scale apparently politically motivated killings of Joseph Stalin or Idi Amin, through the seemingly motiveless killings of Peter Sutcliffe and Michael Ryan. In this paper, we will focus on the phenomenon of non-politically motivated homicide in England and Wales, particularly the type of perpetrator that clinicians and criminologists are likely to encounter through the criminal justice or secure hospital systems. A comprehensive literature search conducted in preparation for this paper revealed * Rampton Hospital and North Lincolnshire Health Authority. t University of Birmingham and the Youth Treatment Service. Any opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and not of North Lincolnshire Health Authority, Rampton Hospital, or the Youth Treatment Service. This research was supported by a grant from the Rampton Hospital Research Fund. Requests for reprints should be sent to D. M. Gresswell, Francis Willis Unit, Lincoln County Hospital, Greetwell Road, Lincoln.

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