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Serial murder in Australia
- Crime facts info, no. 163
- ISSN 1445-7288
- Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 22 January 2008 (online only)
- PDF version (122kB)
A recent report by the Australian Institute of Criminology (Mouzos & West 2007) uses data collected by the National Homicide Monitoring Program (NHMP) to examine the incidence of serial murder in Australia. Over the 17-year life of the NHMP, there have been 5,743 known homicide offenders and 5,617 victims in a total of 5,226 known homicide incidents in Australia. Serial murders account for one percent of this total, with 11 groupings of serial murders committed by 13 known offenders and a total of 52 known victims. The table below shows these offenders divided into the four classifications commonly assigned to serial murderers: the visionary, who are driven to kill by voices or visions; the mission-oriented who believe it is their duty to eliminate individuals they consider unworthy; the hedonistic, who murder for excitement or arousal; and the power or control group who gain pleasure from dominating and controlling their victims. The majority of victims (63%) in these incidents were female (n=33), a contrast to the general pattern of homicide in Australia (Davies & Mouzos 2007) where most victims (63%) are male.
| Incident year (s) | Gender of offender | Type | Number and gender of victims | Modus operandi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source: AIC NHMP 1989-2006 [computer file] | ||||
| 1992-99 | 4 males | Power control oriented | 10 males; 2 females | Victims all known by at least one offender; bodies dismembered |
| 1993 | Male | Mission oriented | 3 females | Victims taken from the street and controlled with a 'gun', actually aluminium piping; victims stabbed violently |
| 1989-92 | Male | Power control oriented | 1 male; 6 females | Picked up and overpowered hitchhikers with a firearm; victims received multiple stab wounds |
| 1998-99 | Male | Hedonistic | 4 females | Overpowered on the street, put in car boot, throat slit |
| 1998 | Male | Mission oriented/ power control | 2 males; 1 female | Disabled pensioners strangled to death |
| 1997-2001 | Male | Power control oriented | 3 females | Frenzied knife attack from behind; multiple stab wounds |
| 1989-90 | Male | Mission oriented | 6 females | Victims assaulted with hammer then strangled with own pantyhose |
| 1974-90 | Male | Hedonistic | 1 male; 3 females | Strangulation, objects stuffed in mouth |
| 1989, 1990, 1992, 1999 | Female | Visionary | 2 males; 2 females | Suffocation |
| 1996 | Male | Hedonistic | 3 males | Stabbing, shooting |
| 1996-97 | Unsolved | Not known | 3 females | Abducted from the street within close proximity of each other |
References
- Davies M & Mouzos J 2007. Homicide in Australia: 2005-06 National Homicide Monitoring Program annual report. Research and public policy series no. 77. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/rpp/77/index.html
- Mouzos J & West D 2007. An examination of serial murder in Australia. Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 346. http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi2/tandi346.html
Related links
- Project: National Homicide Monitoring Program
- Topic: Homicide