This study focuses on the role of media portrayal and coverage in serial killing. The first objective of the study is to develop a conceptual structure that aids in the understanding of the cyclical relationship between media, serial killer, and audience. The media acts as a catalyst in this relationship, providing the stage on which serial killer and audience form a fatal relationship in which celebrity status forms the ultimate motivation. Media sensationalism of serial killing and the extreme glamorization in fictional representations has obviously negative consequences. In developing such a structure I hope to demonstrate that there is an alternative to the sensationalizing and glamorizing of serial killers in the media. This alternative will take the form education and a more documentary-style approach to films about serial murder. The study focuses mainly on developing a theoretical framework that emphasizes each of the three elements of the cyclical relationship mentioned above separately. The second chapter is devoted to the media and its role. The third chapter focuses on serial killers and the motivations involved. The fourth chapter deals with the audience attracted to serial killing as a source of identification. A number of thinkers’ work is used in coming to grips with this relationship, including both American and South African authors. The fifth and final chapter takes into consideration the moment of application by addressing the South African situation. I conclude by discussing the repercussions of media glamorization and possible documentary-style alternatives.

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Crime of murder under section 140 of the criminal code: criminal law, criminological and criminalistic aspects Abstract This thesis is intended to provide the reader with a comprehensive overview of the crime phenomenon of murder not only from a criminal law point of view, but also from a criminological and criminalistic point of view. Before the analysis of the actual questions is first described the history of the legal regulation of murders in the territory of nowadays Czech Republic, as the outline of the development and approach to punishment of murders in history serves to better understand the form of the present arrangement and its meaning. Subsequently, the term human life is described, in which it is important to define its beginning and end, as it is highlighted that it is the object of the murder crime and the most important criminal code protected by the interest. After that, the issue of the crime of murder from the point of view of criminal law is already addressed, especially by its inclusion within the system of intentional killing, which is contained in the current Criminal Code. At the beginning, the elements of a crime of murder are characterized and typified. Then the space is given to analysis the types of murders and their features as they are defined in § 140 of the Criminal Code....

This essay notice film and TV-series as a resource, which can be utililized by the tourism industry. To be more concrete, the aim of this essay is to examine if and how the Television series “Midsomer murders” can be utilized as a tourism product. To fulfill the purpose of this essay, two different methods have been used: the study off literature and a content analyses, the later in form of a picture & film analyses. The results of this study showed that “Midsomer murders” have qualifications enough to be a successful tourism product. Among other things, tourism based on TV-series or film, seem to be right in time. The post-tourist accepts imagination and finds “authentic” meaning in experiences rather than in objects. The post-tourist even prefer and expects some form of imagination. ”Midsomer murders” as a tourism product, offers a stay based on fiction where rooms of “tourism” comprehend a stage where the tourist plays his part like an actor in the theatre. The plot in the series can be utilized through arranging role-playing, where the tourist is allowed to leave the daily life and assume new identities. The qualities of the post-tourist, easily correspond to those experiences, attractions and attributes offered by filmtourism. That is why the tourism product ”Midsomer murders” is right in time. Further, the plot, sceneries, actors and characters in “Midsomer Murders” can be utilized to create a lasting tourism product. The study also found that locals as well as private, governmental and municipal actors needs to be involved in the tourism planning in order for the tourism product to work efficiently. Agreements on writing guide books and to create an official ”fansite” need to be established by involving the producers and distributors of the series. The study also found that the village of Great Missenden as well as the village of Bledlow could serve as main attractions for the “Midsomer murder” tourism product.

On 6 May 1966 the ‘Trial of the Century’ came to an end. Chester Assizes court convicted Ian Brady and Myra Hindley for the murders of 12-year-old John Kilbride, 10-year-old Lesley Ann Downey, and 17-year-old Edward Evans. The court found Brady guilty on all three murder charges and sentenced him to three concurrent life sentences. Hindley received two life sentences for the murders of Downey and Evans, and a further seven years for being an after-the-fact accomplice in Brady’s murder of Kilbride. Following the description already given to the police investigation and trial, the newspapers gave Brady and Hindley the infamous label of the ‘Moors Murderers’ straight after the trial. The Moors murders have become a part of British folklore since the 1960s, but the case itself has hitherto received surprisingly little attention from academic historians. Following Martin Wiener’s injunction for historians to pay closer attention to murder stories, this doctoral thesis presents a cultural history of the Moors murders case. My study analyses the courtroom arguments, media coverage and post-trial books about the case, to interrogate broader themes of moral and cultural change in 1960s Britain. My thesis emphasises the multi-vocal nature of representations of both the case and the murderers in order to challenge the linear and progressive historiographies of the 1960s, associated in particular with Arthur Marwick. The thesis examines four major facets of the Moors murders story, dedicating a chapter to each. The first chapter explores how the news media (primarily the press, but also broadcast media) negotiated the story. The first detailed empirical analysis of newspaper coverage of the case reveals the limitations of studies structured primarily around social class. The thesis follows Stuart Hall and A.C.H. Smith in arguing that analyses of the press should not be reduced to a simple differentiation between popular, middle-brow and high-brow but should instead consider the ‘personalities’ of each publication and the moral relationships constructed with readers. Furthermore, the chapter engages with Adrian Bingham’s recent argument about the moral politics of the press, exploring his assertion that the popular press balanced commercial profits alongside a commitment to maintain their reputation as ‘family newspapers’. The chapter argues that content of the press coverage of the Moors murders case generated far greater concerns than the suspect practices of journalists. Chapters two and three focus in turn on the diverse representations of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. Commentators debated the origins of the evil behind the murders, with some highlighting his illegitimacy, others his reading of ‘dangerous’ books, the writings of the Marquis de Sade especially. Hindley’s role was hotly contested: most commentators emphasised how she had changed under Brady’s influence, but disagreed over the extent of her own involvement in the murders. The thesis reveals for the first time how images of Nazi Germany shadowed the case. The thesis thus contributes to historical investigations of permissiveness in post-war England, engaging with debates about censorship, child-rearing, the changing role of women, and the popular memory of the holocaust. The fourth and final chapter analyses the tensions generated around a murder story which took place in urban settings, but which became indelibly associated with the rural locations of the moors. The story mobilised a distinctive combination of gothic imagery with a long literary heritage, and the more recent language of social realism.

The study is a psychobiographical study, aiming to explore and describe the life of John Wayne Gacy. He was a well-respected man in his community, entertaining the neighbourhood as Pogo the clown. But there was a dark side to his nature that he tried to keep hidden; yet glimpses of it appeared throughout his life. This dark side was exposed to the public when the police found twenty-seven dead bodies ranging from boys of nine to young men twenty years of age hidden in his basement. The study utilises the Erikson’s psychosocial developmental theory in order to examine Gacy’s life and attempt to establish unique character traits. The study utilises a qualitative single case study approach, and the subject was selected through purposive sampling based on interest value. Archival data was collected from secondary sources to enhance validity. Data was analysed by first organising and reducing information obtained; and then displaying it for discussion of Gacy’s life. Gacy’s life was reconstructed from birth, through adolescence and adulthood and his death. The findings suggest that the theoretical approach considered the biopsychosocial as well as cultural and historical influences of situations and experiences in Gacy’s personality development throughout his lifespan. The main themes of discussion centre around the abuse he experienced and the influence this had on his development, the lack of crisis resolution and thus achievement of virtues, Gacy’s lack of difficulty in establishing attachment and the resulting narcissism and lack of self-abandon, as well his homosexuality, sadism and the murders he ultimately committed. The study highlighted the importance of psychobiographical studies and the value of Erikson’s theory in understanding development. Recommendations for future research in this field was made in the hope of further uncovering and understanding the personality and its development.

Public perceptions about serial homicide are more mythical than fact. Myths about serial homicide are perpetuated through several sources, especially the entertainment media which is a dominant and influential mythmaker. The number of films depicting serial killers and serial killing themes has increased dramatically in recent years. However, the reality of these films is debatable. This research examines the reality, or lack thereof, of the most recent films involving a serial killing theme. Hickey provides a wealth of statistical information on a number of serial killers and serial killings. A content analysis of the fifty top grossing serial killer movies made between 1980 and 2001 was conducted using variables from Hickey research. Research shows similarities and differences between variables, however, results concludes the entertainment media does not accurately portray serial homicide.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T14:16:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Graziela Acquaviva.pdf: 1461148 bytes, checksum: 8662ffb221900137928ffe4b463d1cff (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-09 / This is a study about the impact of homicides in the indirect victims of these crimes, especially the family and among these, women. Starting from previous research results and records, performed in FAPESP Program of Public Policy, between 1998 and 2003, when it investigated the needs and demands of families with fatal victims and identified that 81% of respondents were women. From such data, and especially the social and political significance that is, considering the dominant gender perspective, where the house and the family are female. Daily exposure to violent territories pervades these houses and families and therefore women. Methodologically, the data were produced by reorganization of the evidence base, secondary in nature, consisting of digitized files of semi - structured interviews, field diaries and reports on criminal cases of the victims. The sample gathers common documentation of 80 cases. The analyzes refer to the profile of tracing of respondents and link between these and the many victims in the homes and in relation to security and justice system. Secondly, analyzes in greater depth, are made with reference to the daily research, considering the wealth of this source, in terms of the impact of fatal violence on the family, but also researchers. The link between the three sources, diaries, interviews and processes is undertaken by emphasizing the importance of the contribution of these in studies on violence, in direct contact with the individuals involved and, in this, especially on the indirect victims, hidden in research on deaths violent. The presence of women was marked in the houses, families and institutional relations with the opening of judicial investigations and processes. They were before, during and after the murders, objective living conditions, natural and invisible and comfortably, appropriate to State omission / Trata-se de um estudo sobre o impacto dos homicídios nas vítimas indiretas destes crimes, principalmente os familiares e, dentre estes, as mulheres. Partiu-se de resultados e registros de pesquisa anterior, realizada no Programa de Políticas Públicas da FAPESP, entre 1998 e 2003, quando se investigou as necessidades e demandas das famílias com vitimas fatais e se identificou que 81% dos entrevistados eram mulheres. Á partir desse dado e, principalmente do significado social e político que representa, considerando a perspectiva dominante de gênero, em que a casa e a família são femininas. A exposição cotidiana aos territórios violentos perpassa essas moradias e famílias e, portanto as mulheres. Metodologicamente, os dados foram elaborados através da reorganização da base documental, de natureza secundária, composta de arquivos digitalizados das entrevistas semiestruturadas, dos diários de campo e dos relatórios sobre os processos criminais das vítimas. A amostra deste estudo reúne documentação comum a 80 casos. As análises referem-se ao traçado do perfil dos entrevistados e articulação destes com as vítimas, tanto nas casas como em relação ao sistema de segurança e justiça. Num segundo momento, análises em maior profundidade, são realizadas tendo como referência os diários de pesquisa, considerando-se a riqueza desta fonte, em termos do impacto da violência fatal, sobre os familiares, mas também sobre os pesquisadores. A articulação entre as três fontes, diários, entrevistas e processos é realizada apontando a importância da contribuição entre estas, nos estudos sobre violência, no contato direto com os sujeitos envolvidos e, especialmente com as vítimas indiretas, ocultadas nas pesquisas sobre mortes violentas. A presença das mulheres foi demarcada tanto nas casas e nas famílias, quanto nas relações institucionais, na abertura dos inquéritos e processos judiciais. Elas estavam antes, durante e depois dos homicídios, condição objetiva de vida, naturalizada, invisibilizada e, confortavelmente, adequada à omissão do Estado

This dissertation examines the sexual killing of women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, at the tum of the 21st century. Focusing on the abduction and murder of a 15-year-old young woman named Esmeralda Herrera Monreal, whose body was recovered in 2001 in a mass grave that included seven other female victims, it questions how the social categories of gender, space and power shape both everyday violence and the murder of women in a highly industrialized yet structurally underdeveloped city. The dissertation examines varying notions of womanhood in Esmeralda's family in the context of domestic violence, migration from urban to rural contexts, and the experience of sexual murder. It also argues that gendered violence is the product of an emergent form of hyper masculinity in U.S.-Mexico border zones, informed by the history, style and logics of militarization and organized crime. The dissertation then explores the spatial geography of violence in Juarez, and how the victimization of both men and women is shaped by the constant struggle between social groups for sovereignty and control of territory. Finally, it traces the development of a new configuration of power in border zones that is produced between the interstices of the State, the secondary State of organized crime, and of capital, a form of power that relies on the continued production of violence and terror for its reproduction and maintenance. Throughout the dissertation, narrative and ethnography are employed strategically in order to help make sense of an episode of social crime that superficially appears to defy meaning.

(in English) This Master's work attempts to present the broadside ballad's phenomenon in the context of the Czech lands, should summarize the historical evolution of this peculiar literary style and the themes' compilation depending on historical period. Through the metody of comparison it tries to analyze the representative groups of broadside ballads inspired by the religious and folk environment and assess the hypothesis about the influence of topics' character on the structure and composition of a particular song.