Psychopathy, Perversion, and Lust Homicide:
Recognizing the Mental Disorders that Power Serial Killers

By Duane L. Dobbert
Forensic Psychology Series
Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2009

Psychopathy, Perversion, and Lust Homicide (2009) presents a new perspective on the characteristics of serial killers that may assist in future detection and apprehension of these types of offenders.  Dobbert has worked in the criminal justice profession for 39 years and served as a consultant on sexual predators in over 300 criminal justice jurisdictions in the United States.  Thus, in many ways, Dobbert is uniquely qualified to write a book that argues these serial killers have a lot more in common with one another and are also identifiable based on the forensic evidence.

From the onset, Dobbert makes clear that the diagnostic criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) is often vague which allows for multiple interpretations by practitioners which can be influenced by personal values and the social norms within a particular geographic jurisdiction (see Chapter Two). With this in mind, the first three chapters present the reader with important and necessary background information that is critical for understanding the analysis to follow.  Chapter One clarifies the definitional criteria to be classified as a serial killer or an offence as a lust homicide.  Chapters Two and Three present a detailed discussion of the diagnostic criteria for psychopathy (also known as antisocial personality disorder, ASPD) and sexual paraphilias (e.g. sexual sadism, fetishism, or urophilia), respectively.  The remainder of the book presents 22 case studies of serial lust killers in chronological order.  There is an impressive degree of biographical and developmental information provided for each of these offenders.  Understandably, more psychiatric assessment information is available for the more recent cases.  Nonetheless, for each case Dobbert presents a professional evaluation of each offender and the nature of their offence history.  I want to point out that one of this book’s strengths is the fact that readers do not necessarily require psychological or psychiatric training to understand and appreciate the arguments and evidence presented by Dobbert. 

Of the 22 cases, Dobbert argues that 18 of these killers exhibited behaviours that are consistent with a diagnosis of psychopathy (ASPD) as stipulated in the DSM-IV-TR.  At the same time, these 21 men and 1 woman all demonstrate behaviours consistent with the diagnosis of one or more paraphilias or sexual disorders.  As one reads through these cases, a familiar pattern in the evaluation becomes evident (Note: These commonalities are also reviewed by the author in the last chapter.).  ASPD is a chronic and lifelong personality disorder that always has a variety of precursor behaviours.  The behavioural development of ASPD is on a continuum from least to most severe and all of these behaviours are motivated by psychological needs driven by a sexual pathology.  Dobbert correctly points out that the seriousness of the behaviour escalates with a predisposition for aggression and violence and even more so in the presence of sexual pathology.  Common to all individuals discussed in this book is the absence of anxiety, guilt, empathy for their victims, or remorse over their behaviours.  Quite simply, a psychopathic individual does not possess a conscience.  A high degree of egocentricity creates a sense of entitlement (p. 176) that allows these individuals to commit these actions simply because they desire to do so.

In virtually all instances, important facets of etiology are discussed whether the author believes there is sufficient evidence to suggest additional pathologies above and beyond psychopathy (e.g. schizophrenia, sexual sadism, necrophilia).  For instance, Dobbert points out that there are serial killers such as Carroll Edward Cole who exhibited behaviours consistent with not only ASPD but also sexual sadism and necrophilia.  In contrast, despite common beliefs, the author challenges the diagnosis of killers such as Ted Bundy who were classified as necorphiliacs.  Dobbert guides the reader as he indicates the evidence points instead to Bundy experiencing a recurrent intense sexual arousal of a specific fantasy group (be they dead or alive) rather than the corpses of random persons consistent with necrophilia.  Although the author states he will demonstrate that these serial killers have much more in common with one another than often assumed due to the common behavioural characteristics of ASPD, Dobbert also includes serial killers such as Dennis Nilsen who do not necessarily support this assertion.  For instance, based on the evidence it is possible to diagnose Nilsen with schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder, psychopathy, and necrophilia.

Although there are many strengths of this book, I do want to touch upon two issues that would further strengthen this publication.  First, it would have been helpful (especially for students) if in Chapter Three the author had reproduced in full the diagnostic criteria for a paraphilia in much the same way that an excerpt is provided from the DSM-IV-TR outlining the criteria for a diagnosis of ASPD (see Chapter Two).  Second, in the evaluation of the 22 cases the majority include mention of the individual being found fit to stand trial thereby negating the possibility of an insanity defence.  A brief discussion on the difference between the standards for a legal versus psychiatric diagnosis is important within this context (i.e. pleading “Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) versus an assessment of culpability based on psychiatric diagnoses such as psychopathy or schizophrenia).  A psychiatric diagnosis of a personality disorder does not necessarily render a person “legally” insane. For instance, a common legal standard adopted is the McNaughton Rule.  A plea of NGRI is allowed if it can be demonstrated that the individual does not know the nature and quality of their actions or that they do not know that what they are doing is wrong.  This legal standard has few commonalities with the criteria presented in the DSM-IV-TR for the mental disorders discussed by Dobbert.

Overall, I recommend this book for students, researchers, and practitioners who are interested or work in areas that bring them into contact with individuals who exhibit behaviours consistent with a diagnosis of ASPD on the entire continuum of least to most severe behavioural manifestations.  Equally informative and useful is the careful analysis of the evidence from each case to support assertions that an individual exhibits behaviours consistent with various paraphilias and sexual pathology.  Psychopathy, Perversion, and Lust Homicide (2009) is well organized, evidence is thoroughly presented in an unbiased manner, and is written in prose that will appeal to a variety of audiences.