Page:FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 54 (8).pdf/25



The crime scene shows great disar­ray. There is a spontaneous, symbol­ ic, unplanned quality to the crime scene. The victim may be known to the offender, but age and sex of the victim do not necessarily matter. If the offender is selecting a victim by randomly knocking on doors in a neighborhood, the first person to open a door becomes the victim. The offender kills instantly to have control; he cannot risk that the victim will get the upper hand.

The offender uses a blitz style of attack for confronting the victim, who is caught completely off guard. He either approaches the victim from behind, unexpectedly overpowering her, or he kills suddenly, as with a gun. The attack is a violent surprise, occurring spontaneously and in a lo­cation where the victim is going about his or her usual activities.

The offender depersonalizes the victim, targeting specific areas of the body for extreme brutality. Overkill or August 1985 / 23