This variable has been
edited over time. In the first edition, I had named this variable Time
Spent in Fantasy and have since changed the heading to the version now
posted on the site. Although this may seem redundant to name a variable
"fantasy", it is meant to represent a continuum of time that the offender
spends in fantasy and can tell us a great deal about the offender.
Ritualistic offenders, or those spending a great deal of time and effort
into perfecting their crimes, also devote a vast amount of time in
fantasizing about their crimes. Hazelwood (1996) states that the impulsive
type offender's fantasies are better explained as "thoughts" because they do
not spend large amounts of time fantasizing about their crimes. Although
Hazelwood was referring more to sexual abusers/offenders than serial
murderers when he made this statement, it is well documented that many
serial murderers were sexual offenders prior to graduating to murder. I
mention this only because I respectfully disagree with this statement in
terms of serial murderers.
At a crime scene, there is often many behavioral indicators, as will as
physical evidence that provide an indication of the amount of time the
offender spends in fantasy. Sadistic offenders will often create elaborate
scenarios to satisfy their psychosexual urges. There are several such
offenders presented in the literature (Geberth, 2003) that have went so far
as to construct structures that will enable them to recreate their
fantasies. It is also notable that most of these same offenders documented
their crimes through videotaping of the actual crimes. This may serve two
purposes; to re-live the acts when a victim is not available to them, or to
enhance future crimes by perfecting techniques. In either case, one can
clearly understand that such an offender is spending enormous time in
fantasy.
On the other end of this continuum are the serial murderers that are
classified as disorganized (Douglas et al., 1992). These individuals
do not seem to plan their crimes as compared to the offender previously
discussed. This is indicated by the evidence left behind at a scene such as
a weapon, a body, or fingerprints. These offenders are more likely to have
some diagnostic traits that produce an impulsive action or apparently little
capacity to plan such an event. Ed Gein was an example of a disorganized
offender and suffered from a delusional disorder that may have included
hallucinations. By certain definitions, (2 or more victims) Gein met the
criteria of being a serial murderer, yet to say he had elaborate fantasies
would probably be inaccurate. Did the man have fantasies that he attempted
to re-create? My opinion would be to say yes, he did have fantasies and
murdered to women (and possibly more) as a way to express those fantasies. I
base this opinion on the facts that Gein dressed in the skin from victims
and was decorating his house with various body parts, experimenting on
bodies, and even cooking and eating human flesh.
Offenders such as Gein may fit into Hazelwood's (1996) impulsive type
offender, however as demonstrated above, this does not mean these offenders
do not fantasize and may in fact have elaborate fantasies. They may give the
impression of being "crazy", but they are able to fantasize about violent
crimes, enact them, and realize that these acts are not acceptable to
society. Looking at the Fantasy Wheel, one can see many areas that are
aspects to the fantasy process of a serial murderer, and although the amount
of time may be short, the behaviors exhibited in the offender's criminal
acts, and even non-criminal acts would indicate there are one or more
variables that are significant. One must eliminate all variables from the
Fantasy Wheel before considering fantasy not to exist or be significant.
References
Douglas, J.E., Burgess, A.W., Burgess, A.G., & Ressler, R.K. (1992).
Crime classification manual: A standard system for investigating and
classifying violent crimes. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Geberth, V.J. (2003). Sex related homicide and death investigation:
Practical and clinical perspectives. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Hazelwood, R. (1996). Audiotape. Violence and criminality conference.
Presented by Specialized Training.
E-mail your questions or suggestions to
Bryan Nelson
