Necrophilia: Forensic and Medico-legal Aspects PDF

Preface

Necrophilia is one of the most bizarre behaviors one can think of. Thankfully it is quite uncommon. As a student of forensic psychology, I have always been interested in aberrant sexual behavior and their medico-legal aspects. This interest increased when I published Forensic and Medico-legal Aspects of Sexual Crimes and Unusual Sexual Practices (CRC, 2009). When I was writing this book, I realized that my chapter on necrophilia could not contain all that I had to say. The idea of a separate book on necrophilia was born then. The desire to write this book strengthened when I realized there was not even a single book that dealt with the forensic, medico-legal, and psychological aspects of necrophilia.

This book, as far as I know, is the first that deals with the scientific aspects of necrophilia from a multidisciplinary point of view. Medical, psychological, criminological, and legal standpoints have been discussed in detail. A new modern classification of necrophilia has been introduced and compared with all major existing classifications. The modern classification introduces a number of necrophilic behaviors that were previously not classified at all. This classification is based on as much empirical evidence as is currently available on this rare phenomenon. Representative necrophiles in each class and subclass have been indicated. Some classes/ subclasses have been left empty, simply because no necrophile of that particular behavior has been described so far. I would like to view them much like the empty cells of Mendeleev's table, which would get filled up as more necrophiles are described in the future. It is hoped that the modern classifications will help to illustrate this bizarre phenomenon better.

Another chapter that would be of interest even to a general reader is Chapter 5, "Case Studies." Some necrophiles were not officially charged with necrophilia as a result of judicial expediency. (It was easier to prove homicide than to prove necrophilia.) In many cases, the necrophile actually denied having sex with the dead, but later admitted he had lied. The Green River Killer lied to his own lawyer, Mark Prothero, about his necrophilic acts, while he frankly admitted to police officers that he had had sex with his dead victims.* Although laws relating to necrophilia from all major jurisdictions have been included, it is impossible to discuss all jurisdictions and many readers may find laws of their own jurisdictions missing. Some laws were deliberately held back (mostly from various states of the United States) to keep the size of the book manageable. I would, however, love to hear from readers from different nations about relevant laws in their own countries as well as actual cases that have been decided based on those laws. They will all be included in the next edition of the book, with due credit and acknowledgments. Please be kind enough to respond at anil@anilaggrawal. com or [email protected]. The author's mailing address is S-299 Greater Kailash-1, New Delhi-110048, India.