1.1 Elements of Criminal Profiling: The Crime Scene

The very first step in establishing a criminal profile is to analyze the crime scene. This analysis is not to be taken lightly as most of the conclusions you will make depend on how precise your crime scene analysis is. So it is highly recommended to any profiler to go on the crime scenes, as you will be able to see it from every angle and perspective (victim and offender) in ways pictures cannot portray.

1) The Body Talks

According to Dimaio and Dimaio (1993), the victim, whether alive or dead, is an extension of the crime scene. It is therefore important to identify the cause of death (if there is death), the time of death, and any violence that the victim was subjected to. This can be done partially on the crime scene and can be substantiated during the autopsy.

"The wound pattern analysis is the recognition, preservation, documentation, examination and recognition of the nature, origin and intent of physical injuries" Brent E. Turvey, Criminal Profiling

The wound pattern analysis includes an analysis of (still according to Brent E. Turvey):

- The type of wounds:

* Blunt force trauma: create a impact on parts or the entire body. It includes abrasions, contusions and lacerations. As these wounds are usually caused by force, they can indicate that the offender was acting with a lot of anger during the murder.

* Burns can either come from fire used as the weapon to commit murder or as a way to inflict pain (sadism)

*Sharp force injuries that can be caused by stab wounds, incise wounds (like cuts), and chop wounds (from heavy instruments with a sharp edge). be very careful when analyzing this type of wounds, as very often you read that the use of a knife is a substitute for sex (pointing in the direction of an unorganized offender who is sexually immature or inadequate). It isn't always true (ex: The Zodiac Killer was highly organized but used a knife on several occasions).

* Gunshot wounds

* Therapeutic or diagnostic wounds (caused by rescue teams). It is vital to recognize them as to not use them when establishing your profile.

* Ante- or post-mortem wounds: also an important distinction as ante-mortem wounds would refer more likely to sadistic types of behaviors (organized offender) and post-mortem wounds would rather refer to necrophiliac types of behavior (unorganized offender)

- The physical origin of wounds:

* The wounds can be caused by a weapon the offender brought to the crime scene

* The wounds can be caused by a weapon the offender found on the crime scene

* Some wounds can be caused by items from the crime scene that come in contact with the victim and cause injury

* Some injuries can be inflicted by the victim or offender's use of their own bodies as a weapon

- The motivational origins of wounds:

* Lethal force

* Administrative force: usually to show power and control.

* Brutal force: used to release anger.

* Overkill: is when rage, anger, frustration build up over a long period of time and are unleashed in a number of wounds far superior than what is needed to kill the victim.

* Control oriented force: used to restrict the victim's movements and doing so gain total control over the victim

* Precautionary force: the wounds are supposed to keep the investigators or at least slow them in the identification of the body. Also be careful as sometimes these wounds can be the result of the desire of the offender to objectify the victim (take away the victim's identity as human being) or because he feels remorse (which can make him even more angry to a point where he cannot stand the victim looking at him).

* Experimental force is used when the offender aims at afflicting others with acts like cutting off the genitals.

* Physical torture is when the offender uses force intentionally and repeatedly without killing the victim. He gains satisfaction in the pain he inflicts and gets high from the victim's response to the pain. But to achieve that, he needs the victim to be alive and conscious.

2) The Elements of Forensic Analysis

- The autopsy report will give more detailed information on the violence that was applied on the body and at what moment of the offense (before, during and after the offense). It will also reveal if there were any sexual acts performed on the victim and their nature.

- It is vital to also pay attention to the other elements of the forensic analysis (or the lack thereof) as they will give vital information on the MO of the offender, on the events. It will moreover determine if for example some items have been taken from the crime scene, such as evidence (murder weapon), valuables (money), personal items (items that might be of sentimental value to the offender) or trophies (body parts, elements of the victim's clothing...).

3) Crime Scene Classification

Ronald M. Holmes and Stephen T. Holmes, in their book (a real reference in profiling) Profiling Violent Crimes, present two tables evaluating and classifying violent offender characteristics and crime scene behaviors.

- Comparison of the crime scene of organized and disorganized lust killers

Organized Nonsocial Killer	Disorganized Asocial Killer
Planned offense	Spontaneous event
Targeted stranger	Victim unknown
Personalizes victims	Depersonalizes victims
Controlled conversations	Minimal conversation
Controlled crime scenes	Chaotic crime scene
Submissive victim	Sudden violence
Restraints used	No restraints
Aggressive acts	Sex after death
Body moved	Body not moved
Weapon taken	Weapon left
Little evidence	Physical evidence

- Crime scene analysis of suspected serial murder cases

	Type of Serial Killer
Crime scene characteristics	Visionary	Mission	Comfort	Lust	Thrill	Power/control
Controlled crime scene	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Overkill	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No
Chaotic crime scene	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Evidence of torture	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Body moved	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Specific victim	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Weapon at the scene	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Relational victim	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Victim known	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Aberrant sex	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Weapon of torture	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Strangles the victim	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Penile penetration	?	Yes	Usually not	Yes	Yes	Yes
Object penetration	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Necrophilia	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Gender usually	Male	Male	Female	Male	Male	Male