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Mutilation is a rare and unusual act performed on a victim, especially in cases of homicide. Knowledge on mutilation homicide is scarce as the base rate of this type of homicide is very low. Moreover, previous studies examining this specific criminal behavior have been mainly descriptive, neglecting to look at other factors related to the act of mutilation. Furthermore, depending on the cultural context and country of origin, the infliction of mutilation pre-, per-, or post-homicide translates into different meanings. Therefore, it is important to examine mutilation homicide in the context of non-Western countries. Using crime and forensic examination reports subjected to forensic examination and convicted for a homicide between 1995 and 2011 (N = 1,200) in Korea, the rate of mutilation homicide was estimated. Based on the 65 cases (5.4%) identified, information on the offenses and offenders were described. Moreover, using a series of bivariate analyses, the current study compared cases of mutilation homicides in Korea with other countries. Findings revealed interesting differences and similarities between mutilation homicide cases from Korea and the other countries. For instance, offender–victim relationship, victim's gender, and criminal history were significantly different from the comparison groups. In addition, compared with Korea, mutilation homicide cases were significantly more likely to involve an accomplice in Finland, suggesting the need to carry the body over a long distance. Investigators and researchers need to understand the cultural context in which these acts are committed as the infliction of mutilation may serve different purposes across different countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, systematic studies of sexual homicides from Europe are scarce, in which none have been conducted in Sweden. This study aims to describe male-on-female sexual homicides in Sweden and differentiate from corresponding nonsexual homicides. Unsolved and solved sexual homicide (n = 33) cases were identified in a database containing all homicides in Sweden between 1990 and 2013 (N = 2,126), and subsequently data from forensic psychiatric evaluations were collected for convicted offenders. Male-on-female sexual homicides constituted 1.6% of all homicides and the clearance rate was 82%, which is comparable with the 83% overall clearance rate but took longer time to solve. Three factors differentiated sexual from nonsexual homicides: strangulation, younger age of the victim, and the absence of eyewitnesses. In solved cases, distance from the offender's home to the crime scene was strongly correlated with time to clearance. A majority of the offenders suffered from personality disorders, while other diagnoses were uncommon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]