InsaneJournal

217 // Criminology Class // Open to all!
[ There's a sense of calm professionalism over the young Doctor today. Sure, there's tentacles in the sky and he's not sure where he's standing with his BAU family just yet but that's what work is for. To be a refuge when everything else is unsure. Needless to say he's happy to be here and will most likely linger extra-long after the lecture. ]

HISTORICAL SERIAL KILLER – The Black Dahlia murder

Instead of talking about a serial killer this time, we'll cover a specific case that has some relevance to today's topic: the murder of Elizabeth Short or The Black Dahlia as the press nicknamed her.

The body of Elizabeth Short was found in the Leimert Park district of Los Angeles on January 15, 1947. Her remains had been left on a vacant lot on the west side of South Norton Avenue midway between Coliseum Street and West 39th Street. The body was discovered by local resident Betty Bersinger, who was walking with her three-year-old daughter around 10 a.m. Bersinger initially mistook the body for a discarded store mannequin. Upon realizing it was a corpse, Bersinger rushed to a nearby house where she phoned the police.

Short's severely mutilated body was severed at the waist and completely drained of blood. Her face had been slashed from the corners of her mouth toward her ears, creating an effect called the Glasgow smile. Short also had multiple cuts on her thigh and breasts, where entire portions of flesh had been removed. The body had been washed and cleaned and had been "posed" with her hands over her head, her elbows bent at right angles, and her legs spread.Near the body detectives found a cement sack which contained droplets of watery blood, as well as a heel print on the ground amidst tire tracks.

The autopsy stated that Short was 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighed 115 pounds, and had light blue eyes, brown hair, and badly decayed teeth. There were ligature marks on her ankles, wrists, and neck. Although the skull was not fractured, Short had bruising on the front and right side of her scalp with a small amount of bleeding in the subarachnoid space on the right side, consistent with blows to the head. The cause of death was hemorrhage from the lacerations to the face and shock due to blows on the head and face.

[ Wiki ] 

PSYCHOLOGY — Geographic profiling

Geographic profiling is a criminal investigative methodology that analyzes the locations of a connected series of crimes to determine the most probable area of offender residence. By incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methods, it assists in understanding spatial behaviour of an offender and focusing the investigation to a smaller area of the community. Typically used in cases of serial murder or rape — but also arson, bombing, robbery, and other crimes — the technique helps police detectives prioritize information in large-scale major crime investigations that often involve hundreds or thousands of suspects and tips.

In addition to determining the offender's most likely area of residence, an understanding of the spatial pattern of a crime series and the characteristics of the crime sites can tell investigators other useful information, such as whether the crime was opportunistic and the degree of offender familiarity with the crime location. This is based on the connection between an offender's hunting behavior and his or her non-criminal life.

[ Wiki ]


PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Those of you who were here for the victimology lecture might remember the roleplaying we did then — this is something similar. I want you to pair up and discuss amongst yourself what a crime scene says about the perpetrator. You can either make one up like we did during victimology, or use one of the examples of serial killers that we've gone over in previous lectures.

Remember the central concepts of geographic profiling as you analyze your mental crime scenes — the journey to the crime, routine activity, rational choice and crime pattern. The best way to catch a killer is to be able to think as one, and that is what this class is for.

Good luck.

Q&A

[ A Q&A thread can be found here for all your question-based needs! There is also a suggestions box available — just note that your character is dropping a note in the box in the subject header and it will be brought up during the next class! ]