Sex and the Serial Killer Part 5: The Aftermath

Due to the topic of this essay let me first note that things may get a little graphic, please be advised. This is the fifth and final in this series of essays comparing George "The Reaper" Foyet of Criminal Minds (and other killers who commit sexual homicide) to the average male...Please remember that while I have done research on this what's written is still my rather unprofessional opinion and open for debate.  For the purposes of the essay the aftermath stage will cover what occurs after sexual release for the average male and the kill for those committing sexual homicide.

The Aftermath

Whether a typical guy or a serial killer what's felt and done in the aftermath depends a great deal on how the act stage worked out.  Did it live up to the fantasy?  Or was it just one great big disappointment??  Of course it also depends on logistics as well.

~ Average Joe ~


It could very well all depend on whether or not the sex was enjoyable.  Let's say that it was everything that was imagined and more...in that case, if able, the man may decide to spend the rest of the night with his lover.  He may engage in sex again later or simply remain content sleeping with his lover in his arms.  Should he have to leave due to logistics he's likely to call and arrange another meeting (whether it be a date or "booty call") at another time.  If sex was not enjoyable he may create an excuse to leave right after or catch a nap (if he's tired and the bed's there, why not?) and then leave.  Rarely, if ever, is the average guy turned off from sex as a whole after a bad experience...instead they're simply turned off from the girl herself and so move on to pursue another woman.

~ The Killer ~

Let me first say...no serial killer who commits sexual homicide is completely satisfied with the act stage.  The act itself can never really live up to their fantasy and this is one of the reasons they kill again and again; they're trying to perfect a fantasy and, as most anyone can tell you, nothing is completely perfect.  That being said they can be reasonably satisfied enough to feel mighty good about themselves after.  However, unless the murder occurred somewhere the killer is ensured privacy and it's his preference, it's highly unlikely he'll just nap by the body afterwards.  Instead he might have a whole lot of practical issues to deal with - clean-up, body disposal, and getting himself a damn fine alibi are all top priorities.  Foyet of Criminal Minds was mighty clever in avoiding most these troubles when making himself the victim though.  First, in the crime where he was the "victim", he didn't have to worry much about any those things save making sure his prints weren't on the knife and the knife wasn't still in the area enough to be suspicious...after all, his blood and fingerprints would naturally be all over the crime scene, he was supposedly a victim!  And, after that crime, it's unlikely he was ever going to be suspected of the future or past murders - everyone thought him to just be the very lucky computer geek who got away and Foyet played the part masterfully, it's unlikely any officer asked brave little Foyet his whereabouts on the nights of any the crimes.  Dumping bodies would've defeated his purposes of causing panic over a city, enough of a panic that he got the lead detective in the case the first go-around to fold and take a deal to stop hunting him, so that was another logistic Foyet didn't have to concern himself with much.  He'd still have had to do clean-up though, even in the Reaper uniform that covers most his body, but that's still just one of three concerns he'd have had to deal with.

How a killer celebrates his little triumph over their victim in a sexual homicide varies; some take souvenirs from their victims, some take pictures of their victims, some return home to remember the crime and get off on it (either again or for the first time, with or without a partner), and some just go out for a nice meal.  But let's focus on the souvenirs; they are usually taken for two reasons.  One, so the killer can look at them later and relive the kill in his head...just like the average joe might buy a souvenir if he went on vacation with a loved one or even one average joe might buy for his love to wear later.  (Normal: go to the tropics, buy the love a nice necklace, get a little rush remembering that night of love-making on the beach.  Killer: kill a bitch, take her necklace from the dead body, give it to wifey to wear and get a little rush remembering the kill.)  The second, to show off!  Average guy works hard and gets trophies or a nice pen from his job, killer puts in the effort to kill and feels he does a good job he might just get himself his own trophy in the form of something belonging to the victim.  And, like average joe, he might just show it off at his home, job (the one outside his killing, if he has it), or again having his significant other unwittingly wear it, and get his jollies at his seeming cleverness.  Foyet seems to play with these ideas to up the ante of fear at large...He takes something from a victim which he keeps to relive the crime (he may use it as a trophy, wear something of a victim's, but that's not likely since he cut himself off from most while playing victim so he'd have virtually no one to show and he seems a bit smarter than that) until his new murder where he sort of exchanges his old souvenir for a new one, the old souvenir becoming a taunt and way of linking his crimes together to show law enforcement (and press) that he's still very much a threat.