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Sadistic offenders are often described as individuals who are forensically aware, who carefully plan their offenses, and preselect the location of their crime. Despite this emphasis on strategies to avoid police detection, no study has specifically examined whether this behavior or trait was specific to sadistic offenders. Utilizing a sample of 350 cases of sexual homicide from Canada, sadistic sexual homicide offenders (SHOs) are compared with nonsadistic SHOs on their investigative awareness. Results from logistic regression analyses show that sadistic SHOs are more likely to use various precautions to avoid detection and select a deserted location, in comparison with nonsadistic offenders. In addition, sadistic SHOs, despite having a lesser time to body recovery than nonsadistic offenders, are more likely to see their case remain unsolved. Implications for the assessment of sexual sadism as well as for the police investigations will be discussed.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether it is possible to identify different types of sadistic offenders within a sample of sexual homicide offenders (SHOs). Design/methodology/approach The study addresses this research question through the use of two-step hierarchal cluster analysis and binary logistic regression utilizing a sample of 350 cases of sexual homicide from Canada. Findings Results from cluster analysis show that three groups emerge: a non-sadistic group, a mixed group that show evidence of some sadistic behavior and a sadistic group that have high levels of sadistic behavior. Additionally, the sadistic cluster was more likely to destroy or remove evidence at the crime scene than the mixed and non-sadistic cluster and was more likely to leave the victim’s body at a deserted location than the non-sadistic cluster. Originality/value This is the first study to examine the dimensionality of sadism within a sample of SHOs.

There is a lack of research examining the relationship between body recovery times and the "first 48," despite the risk of forensic evidence deteriorating and the difficulty in forming leads without a body. The study explores factors influencing body recovery-both during and after the critical 48-hr investigative window-in sexual homicide cases. Offender characteristics, victimology, contact scene and body recovery locations, and forensic awareness strategies are used to predict body recovery after the "first 48." Findings suggest that certain offenders can delay body recovery past the first 48 because they utilized detection avoidance strategies during the crime-commission process.

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