Despite their rarity, sexual murderers attract the attention of both
the scientific community and the general public. Research on sexual
murderers initially focused on crime scenes, especially those suggesting
sadistic behaviors, and on serial sexual murderers (Brittain, 1970;
Krafft-Ebing, 1886/1965; MacCulloch, Snowden, Wood, & Mills, 1983;
Ressler, Burgess, & Douglas, 1988). The description of the sadistic elements
of sexual homicide in the media has elicited fear and fascination
in the public.