There were at least three deaths of and two abductions of females in West Michigan in the early 1990’s. Your assignment is to reconstruct a profile using what you learned in Chapter 10. The articles in the link discuss the killing of three females and brief mention of an attack on two others.
Complete all four steps in the process before writing a formal profile. Your assignment shall be a formal profile written in formal paragraph format. You must reference the textbook to justify your profile (organized/victimology/geographic/etc.). Remember a profile is not geared toward a specific individual (do not mention an individual arrested or named). Your profile must include a victimology, geographic analysis, summary of M.O., signature components and an analysis of organized/disorganized elements. You may add in other elements you feel are important. Do not write a long history of what happened as an introduction. Get to your profile – you have plenty to write if you do this correctly. Your sources for information (not references) for the profile are at the bottom of this page.
Step 1: What evidence do you have?
Review the Grand Rapids killing of prostitutes from the 1990’s. Use both sources below and any other sources you may find. Base your conclusion on your own findings not on the conclusion made by somebody else. Do not use a non-credible source (blog, etc.). Review the following writing notes as you go along in order to complete your profile:
Step 2: What is the victimology?
What were the commonalities of the victim (M.O)? Be as complete as possible drugs/prostitution; race; physical size, [psychological, etc.]).
* Was there a preferred choice of a victim?
* Why (or why not) do you think the victims were chosen based on their traits (psychological and M.O.).
* Was there commonality in how the suspect(s) killed the victims? Did it change?
* Is this consistent with the textbook?
* Describe the killer(s) M.O. in killing and any signature elements.
* Why did the suspect kill in this manner? (Psychological and M.O.)
* Could the method of killing be related to victim choice?
Step 3: What is the geographic profile?
* What was the M.O. of the killer(s)?
* What knowledge and practical means would the killer(s) need to complete the crime based on the crime scenes and dump sites? (Possible hint: Google Maps with street view can be helpful here, as well as ArcGIS if you have used it before and can use the historical layers)
Step 4: Controlled, or uncontrolled?
Use the Organized/Disorganized, or as I call it, the Controlled/Uncontrolled dichotomy to finish your profile.
* Think – how do you think the killer(s) get the victims alone with him – would this take a more organized or disorganized killer?
* Go through the crime sequence including dumping the body. Is this more organized or disorganized? Do there appear to be multiple crime scenes per victim?
Finish your profile utilizing the organized and disorganized elements. Remember the M.O. can change. Make sure your profile elements are written out before you proceed.