Phase Four: Postcrime Behavior

The final phase of murder is usually when the killer feels a sense of relief or an extreme release of tension. The crime has been committed and all evidence has been cleaned up to the best of their abilities. Even so, the serial killer's postcrime behavior often illustrates that for them, the murder fantasy still lives.

Immediate Response

Immediately after leaving the crime scene, the serial killer may feel a huge sense of relief. Many offenders have stated that they return home and fall into a deep sleep, exhausted from the sadistic crime. Others, once having had the time for the crime to settle in, cannot sit still. They are either fearful that they may get caught, or are still working in fast forward motion, experiencing "emotional highs" from the crime.

Subsequent Responses

Has mentioned previously, most sexual serial killers want to keep their fantasies going after the crime. They will often times do so in spite of their self-protective instincts. These postcrime behaviors fall under 4 categories: (1) returning to the crime scene, (2) observing the discovery of the victim's body, (3) keeping souvenirs of the murder, and (4) participating in the investigation. Serial killers live their fantasies, once they have the mind of a killer they are forever driven by their sadistic fantasies, constantly wanting to relive them. About 26% of killers return to the location of the body to relive their fantasy; 19% want to determine the progress of hte police; about 8% repeat a killing of another victim; and about 6% return to have sex with the corpse.

Relationship between Postcrime Behavior and Method of Killing

A study was done looking at the relation of the type of weapon used to murder and postcrime behaviors (two categories of weapons were used: only a firearm, and only a blunt or sharp instrument). Murders in which only a firearm was used, the offender was more likely to have kept a diary (56%), kept newspaper clippings (64%), followed the case in the newspapes or other media (82%), and to have confided in someone or hinted about his crime (21%). The offender who only used a blunt or sharp object was somewhat more likely to have gotten involved in the investigation in some way. Little or no relation was found between the type of weapon used and keeping souvenirs of victims, communicating with police or media, changing residence or job, or fleeing the area. Serial killers who use a firearm to kill have less of a hands-on experience in the actual crime. They can shoot from a distance, so they to may feel more remote from the crime. One theory could be that because of the distance they can keep from their victims, they in turn continue their more passive role in postcrime behaviors.

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