RT Article
T1 Lost Highways: An Examination of the Question of Risk Involved in Sexual Homicides of Hitchhiking Victims
JF International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology
VO 69
IS 10/11
SP 1504
OP 1523
A1 Beauregard, Eric
A2 Chopin, Julien
A2 DeLisi, Matt
LA English
YR 2025
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1930397321
AB Despite cultural references to the dangers of hitchhiking, particularly for sexual homicide, no published research investigates these incidents from both an offender and crime scene perspective. Using the Sexual Homicide International Database (SHIelD), we explore lifestyle risk by comparing sexual homicide cases involving hitchhiking victims to those involving victims engaged in sex trade work. The results, based on the use of bivariate and multivariate statistics, indicate that offenders view hitchhiking victims as opportunities for confinement without physical restraint, often engaging in sexual acts and theft. While not primarily sadistic or sexually deviant, many offenders partake in criminal activities, exhibit psychological disorders, and possess weapons. Hitchhiking facilitates perpetrator-victim encounters due to its environmental characteristics. Victims in the sex trade, typically found in isolated locations, are at the mercy of offenders who drive them to unknown destinations. In contrast, murderers targeting low-risk victims display more sexual preoccupations, inserting foreign objects and engaging in postmortem activities. These distinctions suggest distinct offender profiles for each lifestyle.
K1 Victimization
K1 low-risk
K1 high-risk
K1 Sexual homicide
K1 hitchhiking
K1 Lifestyle
DO 10.1177/0306624X241313287