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I enjoy using metaphors when teaching concepts, and when I think about the role of fantasy in serial murder my mind envisions a teapot on a stove, which is represented by the image on the left. I use this image to explain not only the role of fantasy in serial murder, but the process that occurs during the offense cycle. The concept of the offense cycle will be explained later in this article. Serial murderers, in my opinion, are offenders that live by offense cycles and will continue to commit further murders until they are caught, die, or otherwise become debilitated to the extent that they are unable to perform the actions necessary to carry out the crime of murder. They continue to act because the fantasy moves the offender toward action by creating tension, which is displayed in the pre-crime behaviors of the offender. In serial murder, fantasy supplies the fuel for committing the crimes and is represented as flames that create a build up of tension in the offender. Creating heat can be done in several different manners and produce the same result, which not unlike the fantasy element of serial murder. Offenders may have very different fantasy elements, yet the outcome of murdering a victim will remain similar. In the metaphor, the heat may be produced by gas or electric stoves, yet the outcome will remain similar. The more intense the flame in the metaphor, the quicker one would expect to see results. Results in the metaphor would constitute the release of steam from the tea kettle in the form of a whistling sound. Just as heat builds pressure within the teapot, which then creates the release of the familiar whistling sound, fantasy creates tension within the offender until he commits his next murder. In the metaphor, the release of steam from the tea kettle equates to the commission of a murder for the offender. The continuum of Time on the Fantasy Wheel indicates intensity of content and length of time spent in fantasy. The offender that spends a great deal of time in fantasy will demonstrate some aspect of planning or intensity in the crime scene behavior. There will also be a reflection of numerous variables on the Fantasy Wheel intersecting to produce psychological evidence to be analyzed and interpreted. Offenders that do not have sophisticated fantasies will demonstrate a lack of planning and the behaviors will be interpreted as being impulsive. A basic offense cycle is represented as a circle and is made up of four areas. There is a state in which the offender is not committing crimes and is often referred to as "Pretend Normal". The key word here is pretend because although the offender is not committing crimes, he is not "cured", nor has he stopped committing crimes. |
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E-mail your questions or suggestions to Bryan Nelson Last Updated: 11/22/2008 © 2002-2009, Deviant Crimes |
