I am really interested in the psychological aspects of crime, so I have been looking at Modus Operandi (MO) versus Signature. Both MO and Signature help us understand the person/people behind the crime(s) and, in theory, what his/her/their motive(s) was/were. All this is IMO, and I am in no way, shape or form an expert on any of this. Please feel free to correct, add to, change, subtract from, or effusively compliment my efforts as you see fit : )
MO – What the perp does in order to carry out the crime and evade detection. This is the procedure used to commit the offense and can evolve over time. Helps us understand aspects of the perp such as experienced/inexperienced, organized/disorganized, assertive/passive, etc.
Signature – Acts committed by the perp that are not necessary to complete the offense; what the perp is (consciously/subconsciously) compelled to do over and above what it takes to commit the crime. Tends to remain consistent. Helps us understand the psychological and/or emotional needs of the perp.
As an example (and not specific to this case), MO could include shooting and murdering a single targeted male victim walking by himself who had wronged the perp in some way, whereas Signature could include stalking and attacking any attractive red-headed woman in her own home who reminds the perp of, and therefore represents, women from the past who have rejected the perp.
With this in mind…what is MO and what is Signature in this particular crime?
Who – Who was the chosen victim? Were there secondary victims that were also considered (CG campers who discovered body, Missy’s family, etc)? Is there a single victim or numerous victims on scene? Who is the victim in relation to the perp; known or unknown?
What – There are many ways to hurt someone, to let someone know you don’t like them; why was murder necessary? Why not just confront Missy about whatever the perp was upset about? Why was it even necessary to take action? What was the fear behind not doing anything, or leaving Missy alive but, for example, disfigured? Did the perp do any staging of the scene or posing of the body?
Why – What is the motive? Was it concrete (i.e. collect an insurance payout, stop someone from doing something) or representational (i.e. make the perp's life "better," satisfy an internal compulsion)?
Where – Inside/outside? Home/elsewhere? Is the body hidden or exposed? Did the perp care who found Missy? Did the perp attempt to conceal the crime or the body?
When – AM/PM? Any other reason why this date was chosen? Was the time/date part of MO (i.e. victim is finally alone) or part of Signature (i.e. full moon)?
How – Should the perp do this alone or bring in another person? How would another person impact the outcome of the crime? Again, thinking MO versus Signature, if more than one person is involved, is it because it is necessary to commit the crime or is it more about an emotional or psychological desire of some sort? In addition, there are many things to use to hurt/kill/scare someone; why use tools? Why wear a costume or vandalize the church? Was there gratuitous violence (overkill) or just enough violence to cause death?
There are many aspects of this crime that are hard to discern as either MO or Signature. Examples include the costume and the staging of the scene...were these done in order to decrease chances of apprehension or were they done to satisfy some psychological compulsion?
I have an evolving list of my own thoughts on this, but with this already being a pretty lengthy post, I’ll hold off on putting that in here. I’m curious to hear other’s thoughts anyway.
