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Motives for Murder

A murder victim lies dead, and law enforcement searches for clues to apprehend a suspect. The friends and family react in horror, and they only have one question: Why? English mystery author P. D. James succinctly described the motives for murder as the “4 Ls”: love, lust, lucre, and loathing. To begin to understand the motives for murder, one must understand the types of murder.

Categories of Murder

The FBI Crime Classification Manual lists four major categories of homicide, with as many as 24 subtypes. The classification system is based on the underlying motives for the murder:

  • Criminal enterprise murder
  • Personal cause murder
  • Sexual homicide
  • Group cause homicide

This categorization of homicide streamlines all types of murder, which aids investigators in following through during the investigative process and can also be used to help the friends and relatives understand the reasons for the crimes.

Criminal Enterprise Murders

Criminal enterprise murders are committed for material gain, goods, territory, or favors. Mafia activity or murders committed by hit men belong to this category, as do kidnapping, product tampering, and murders carried out for insurance benefits and inheritance or monetary gain. Felony murder, a homicide that is committed during a violent crime, also falls into this classification. This kind of murder is usually unplanned, for example, a person killed during a convenience store robbery. Drug deals that have “gone bad” and gang violence over “turf” may also result in felony murder.

Personal Cause Murder

Personal cause murder is one of the most frightening and most common kinds of murder and is committed worldwide. It is committed as the result of an emotional conflict. For example, erotomania homicide occurs when the killer has unfounded fantasies about a public figure and stalks and murders that person. On December 8th, 1980, Mark Chapman shot former Beatle John Lennon in front of his apartment building in New York City. It was later discovered that Chapman had built a rich fantasy life around John Lennon. He imitated the musician and came to believe that he actually was Lennon. Chapman was compelled to kill Lennon because his existence threatened Chapman's fantasy life. The stalking of celebrities has come to be taken far more seriously, and the number of actors and actresses who hire bodyguards for personal protection has skyrocketed. Celebrities are not the only ones who must worry about stalking. Ex-husbands and -wives, former lovers, and strangers are all capable of stalking and murdering ordinary people. It somehow happens that the victim has come to the attention of the killer, who builds a fantasy life around the victim and is willing to kill for it.

Domestic Homicide

Domestic homicide happens when the victim and offender are members of a family or extended family. The all-too-common occurrence of the battered wife who is murdered by her husband or boyfriend is an example of this type of homicide. The death can result from an ongoing situation coming to a climax, not performing an activity to the partner's satisfaction, or the attempt to leave an abusive partner. The current domestic violence laws in the United States came about as a result of the recognition in the 1970s of the number of women who had died when they attempted to leave their abusive partners.

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