Citation

Brown KM, Keppel RD. J. Forensic Sci. 2007; 52(1): 137-145.

Affiliation

College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX 77341-2296.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1556-4029.2006.00328.x

PMID

17209926

Abstract

Empirical studies of child abduction murder investigations are lacking. Accordingly, an empirical analysis of the effect of time and distance relationships on case solvability in child abduction murders (N=735) was conducted. The murders occurred across the United States from 1968 to 2002. Murder incident components examined were: victim last seen site, initial contact site, murder site, and body recovery site. Time and distance intervals between component pairings were also examined. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were performed to determine if information relating to time and distance intervals between components were critical solvability factors. Results show that information about time and distance increases case solvability. Results also demonstrate that time and distance relationships contribute uniquely to case solvability in murders of abducted children. Findings also indicate that additional factors such as type of forensic evidence, investigative resources, or actions by first responders, may be critical to case solvability.

Language: en