Victimology: Canadians in Context PDF

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Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries. Published in Canada by Oxford University Press 8 Sampson Mews, Suite 204, Don Mills, Ontario M3C 0H5 Canada www.oupcanada.com Copyright © Oxford University Press Canada 2016 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First Edition published in 2011 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by licence, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. 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Printed and bound in Canada 3 4 5 — 20 19 18 CHAPTER 5 Criminal Event: Homicide Learning Objectives After reading this chapter, you will be able to * understand how homicides that receive the most media attention are very different from more common forms of this crime; * understand the role of age, gender, and race in homicide victimization trends; and * re-examine some theories as they pertain to homicide victimization and their ability (or inability) to explain the differences between genders, races, and ages of victims. Introduction cases as they can recall, which ones do you think they would mention? The Although Canada has a relatively low most memorable cases tend to be the homicide rate, certain cases remain most tragic. We tend to remember the prominent in our minds. A homicide most unusual cases for a number of rea­ may be memorable for many reasons. sons: the qualities of the victim and how In some instances, it is because of the he or she was killed, or the sheer num­ sheer anomaly of the event. In others ber of victims make the homicide event it is the number of victims or their in­ remarkable. nocence. The more innocent a victim, For many, the Montreal Massacre is the more tragic and senseless his or her one of the first to come to mind. At École death appears to be. Remembering such Polytechnique on 6 December 1989, cases may also cause us to ask questions 21-year-old Genevieve Bergeron and 13 about homicidal victimization. This other women were murdered, and an­ chapter examines some of the trends in other 14 women and men were wounded the various types of homicide in Canada, by Marc Lépine. According to one particularly homicides vis-à-vis women, CBC News report, Lépine, armed with Aboriginal peoples, and youth. We will several guns and rounds of ammunition, also revisit three of the theories relat­ walked into the building and up three ing to homicide and the victim-offender floors, yelling “I want women.” He shot relationship from previous chapters and at all the women he encountered as he apply these concepts to specific cases. walked through the halls. One male vic­ tim stated that he was shot at and faked his own death because he was helping Genevieve Bergeron and the Montreal Massacre another woman who had been shot. The If you asked a group of friends or random offender then entered a classroom where individuals to name as many homicide 60 students were sitting with a professor. 80 Victimology Witnesses recall that the assailant de­ Unfortunately, the tragedy of the vic­ manded that the women and the men, tims’ deaths overshadows their lives. including the male professor, stand Genevieve Bergeron is not just the first on opposite sides of the room. When name read on the list of the women who the class did not move, he shot at the died that day. She is not just a civil en­ ceiling. He threatened the men with a gineering scholarship student who was.22-calibre rifle and told them to leave killed because of her gender. She was the classroom. The women took cover a loving sister, an amazing student, a under the desks, where they could hear talented athlete and musician, and an the offender jumping from desk to desk inspirational woman. She left an impact and shooting the women as he found on those who lost her; they cope with them. He called the women une gang de her death by remembering how she féministes and said J'hais les féministes (I lived. Her sister Catherine recalls: “For hate feminists). One of the wounded me, she was like the sun... she was a students, Nathalie Provost, told the very happy person and a very sensible shooter that they were not feminists, person too. I remember her crying easily, just students taking an engineering a very emotive person.” Catherine and class, but he refused to listen (Gunman her family hope that Genevieve’s leg­ massacres 14 women, 1989). He also acy won’t be about the massacre or the shot students and staff in the building’s fight for stricter gun laws. Genevieve’s cafeteria and in another classroom be­ death has forever affected her family, fore killing himself. but Catherine hopes that Genevieve’s The women who were murdered in life will affect people further, the way it the Montreal Massacre and those who has for her. She “would like Canadians survived made a lasting impression on to remember [Genevieve] and the other this country. Two years after the event, 13 women, not to be sad, but to go on in men in London, Ontario, began wear­ life in a better way” (Victims of Montreal ing a white ribbon around their arms, school massacre, 2004). symbolizing the ideal that men should “give up their arms” and stop perpetrat­ ing violence against women (Men wear­ Definition of Homicide ing white ribbons, 1991). A memorial in Canada service is held on many campuses across Canada on the anniversary of the mas­ Literally meaning “‘the killing of man,” sacre, reminding people of this event homicide refers to the killing of a per­ and remembering the women who had son by another. In the Criminal Code sought their education in this tradition­ of Canada (CCC), four types of offences ally male-dominated discipline (Victims are included in the homicide category: of Montreal school massacre, 2004). first-degree murder, second-degree mur­ Those who attend these ceremonies may der, manslaughter, and infanticide. All of notice that security is increased on this these types are considered culpable hom­ day and the days leading up to the mem­ icide (CCC, s. 222.4). According to the orial service, indicating that violence is CCC (s. 222.1), a person is a homicide still a concern. victim when his or her death is caused  5 Criminal Event: Homicide 81 by another person, either directly or in­ of first-degree murder is someone who directly, by any means. However, if the has been killed deliberately: while being offender killed the victim and was found the victim of another serious crime or not to be culpable, or not criminally as the result of carrying out duties as­ responsible, then the homicide is not sociated with the protection of the state, considered an offence under the CCC. such as job responsibilities performed by Although one can be a victim of homi­ a police officer, judge, prison warden, or cide, the victimization may or may not corrections officer. All victims of murder be the result of a Criminal Code offence not classified as first-degree are consid­ (CCC, s. 222.3). For example, if the vic­ ered second-degree murder victims. tim was attacking the offender and the Murder victims are classified as man­ offender killed the victim in self-defence, slaughter victims when they are killed no offence has technically been com­ in the heat of passion or when they mitted because the victim used similar provoked the offender before they were force and was killed as a result of the killed. If the victim is a newborn child altercation. and his or her death is caused deliberately To be a victim of homicide, an indi­ or through an act of omission by his or vidual’s death must be caused by another. her biological mother, the newborn is This death can be caused by an unlawful considered a victim of infanticide. act, as in the result of a lethal assault, or This type of victim is assumed to have by the negligence of another, as in the been killed as the result of mental defect failure to provide basic necessities of life. on the part of the female offender, a de­ Homicides can also be caused by some­ fect caused by either the birth process or one threatening another person and cre­ the effects of lactation. Men who kill their ating a fear of violence or by deceiving a infant children are charged with murder, person into doing something that causes not infanticide. Women charged with in­ his or her death. For example, if Person fanticide are considered to be less culpa­ A convinced Person B that large sums of ble than men for medical reasons, because money would be paid to a beneficiary of the changes to the body brought on by (Person C), if Person B were to end his the birthing and lactation processes. or her own life, it could be argued that Person B is the victim of a homicide. One can also be a homicide victim if he Risk of Homicide or she was deliberately frightened and Victimization in Canada that fear led to his or her death. For ex­ ample, if an elderly person was told a lie Cases of homicide tend to dominate that caused undue bodily stress, to the newscasts, films, and television dramas. point where that individual experienced The fear of becoming a victim of homi­ heart failure, he or she could be consid­ cide or another severe form of violence is ered a victim of homicide. shared by many people (Ferraro, 1996). Murder is a culpable homicide (CCC However, homicide victims are, by and s. 229) in which the victim’s death is large, the smallest proportion of vic­ deliberately caused or was the result of tims when compared to victims of other reckless or negligent behaviour. A victim crimes. In Canada, homicide victims 82 Victimology Table 5.1 Types of Lethal Victimization Androcide The killing of men. Deicide The killing of God or deities. Ecocide The killing of the environment. Ethnocide The killing of ethnic groups. Femicide The killing of females. Some have used this term to refer to the specific killing of women by men. Feticide The killing of a fetus by legal or illegal means. “Legal” means include medical procedures, while “illegal" means include killing either accidentally or intentionally by way of a criminal act, such as assault on the mother. Filicide The killing of one's own daughter or son. Fratricide The killing of one’s own brother. This term has also been used more generally to refer to the killing of siblings. Genocide The systematic killing of a group of people who share common nationality, racial profile, ethnic identity, or religious, and/or political beliefs. Gynocide The intentional and systematic killing of women in a population. Herbicide The killing of plants. Homicide The killing of man. More generally, this term has come to mean the killing of humans. Infanticide The killing of infants, often under one year of age. Insecticide The killing of insects. Mariticide The killing of one's spouse. Matricide The killing of one’s mother. Parricide The killing of one’s own parents. Also referred to as “parenticide," this term can also refer to the killing of other patriarchs and matriarchs, such as kings and queens. Patricide The killing of one's father. Prolicide The killing of one's own offspring, either before or shortly after birth. Pseudocide The faking of one's own death. Regicide The killing of monarchs, either by illegal means, such as assassination, or as the end result of due process of law. Sororicide The killing of one’s sister. Suicide The killing of oneself. Tyrannicide The killing or assassination of a tyrant Uxoricide The killing of one’s wife. Vaticide The killing of a prophet. Vivicide The killing of all life forms in a particular area. Xenocide The killing of life outside one’s own species. This term is often used in science fiction to describe the killing of alien life forms.  5 Criminal Event: Homicide 83 accounted for approximately 0.02 per demonstrated some of the highest ho­ cent of all crime reported to police. micide rates in the country It is im­ As this number shows, Canada has a portant to note that large fluctuations relatively low homicide rate. The chance in rates of homicide are affected by of being a victim of homicide in Canada the very small numbers of peoples in is 1.44 per 100,000 people. Homicide these parts of Canada. In these areas, trends peaked during the eighties and a single homicide event can change early nineties, but have declined steadily the rates significantly For example, in and definitively since then. In 2013 and 2013 there were a total of six homicides 2014 Canadians witnessed some of the in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and lowest rates of homicide in this country Nunavut (Cotter, 2014) while in 2015 since 1966 (Miladinovic & Mulligan, this number increased to 10. Although 2015). Although several countries had these changes are small, this represents lower homicide rates in 2013, one had an increase in homicide victimization of a greater chance of being a homicide 67.7 per cent. victim in the following Western coun­ Figure 5.1 illustrates the homicide tries: United States (4.6/100,000; FBI, patterns in selected cities around the 2014), Belgium (1.6/100,000; Cotter, country. According to Miladinovic and 2014), and Finland (1.6/100,000; Mulligan (2015), in accordance with Cotter, 2014). Japan (0.3/100,000) and the regional trends mentioned above, Switzerland (0.6/100,000) remain some Thunder Bay, ON (9.04/100,000), of the safest countries for homicide risk Winnipeg, MB (3.29/100,000), and in the world (Cotter, 2014). Edmonton, AB (3.01/100,000), had Miladinovic and Mulligan (2015) some of the highest murder rates in note that, when looking at the risk of 2014, while cities such as Sherbrooke, homicide victimization across Canada, QC, Saguenay, QC, Kingston, ON, continuing with a 20-year trend, one Brantford, ON, and Oshawa, ON, had was most likely to be a victim of ho­ some of the lowest—all reporting no micide in Canada’s west and north. homicides in 2014. However, there are Manitoba (3.43/100,000) and Alberta always exceptions to trends. St John, (2.52/100,000) continue to have the NB (2.35/100,000), in the east, had highest homicide rates among the some of the highest homicide rates in provinces, followed by Saskatchewan the country. (2.13/100,000) and British Columbia Trends show that victims were less (1.66/100,000). Ontario, Quebec, likely to be shot with a firearm than and most of the Atlantic provinces all stabbed in 2014: less than one-third fell below the national average, with (31.2 per cent) of deaths were reported the lowest rate in Newfoundland and to be the result of a gunshot wound. Labrador (0.38/100,00) and Nova Scotia Homicide victims were slightly more (0.64/100,000). In Canada’s north likely to be stabbed (37.8 per cent). Cotter (2014) reports that in, Nunavut, Roughly one in five homicide deaths with four homicides (11.4/100,000), (19 per cent) were the result of beatings. and the Northwest Territories with The remaining deaths were caused by two homicides (4.59/100,000), other methods, such as physical force, 84 Victimology Thunder Bay Winnipeg Edmonton Saskatoon St John Abbotsford-Mission Calgary Regina Moncton Trois-Rivières Vancouver Census metropolitan area Kelowna Guelph Toronto Gatineau1 Hamilton Halifax Victoria Montréal Windsor St Catharines-Niagara Peterborough Ottawa2 Greater Sudbury London Kitchener Québec St John’s Barrie Sherbrooke Saguenay Oshawa Kingston Brantford 01 23456789 10 Rate per 100,000 population Figure 5.1 Homicides, by Census Metropolitan Area, 2014 1 Gatineau refers to the Quebec part of the Ottawa-Gatineau CMA. 2 Ottawa refers to the Ontario part of the Ottawa-Gatineau CMA. Note: Additional data are available on CANSIM (Table 253-0004). A census metropolitan area (CMA) consists of one or more neighbouring municipalities situated around a major urban core. A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000, of which 50,000 or more live in the urban core. To be included in the CMA, other adjacent municipali­ ties must have a high degree of integration with the central urban area, as measured by commuting flows derived from census data. A CMA typically comprises more than one police service. CMA populations have been adjusted to follow policing boundaries. SOURCE: Miladinovic, Z. & Mulligan, L. (2015, Nov. 25). Homicide in Canada, 2014. Juristat. Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. Ottawa, ON: Minister of Industry. Cat. No. 85-002-x. p. 6. Retrieved 30 December 2015 from www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2015001/article/14244-eng.pdf. strangulation, poisoning, fire, exposure, have illustrated some of these trends hypothermia, Shaken Baby Syndrome, in Table 5.3. According to Milanovic vehicular incidents, and so on. and Mulligan (2015), 87 per cent (just under 7 in 8) of all homicides occur­ ring in 2014 involved a male offender, Gender and Homicide while males represented 72 per cent Victimization of all victims. Women were accused of committing approximately 1 in 8 ho­ Gender plays a strong role in the likeli­ micides (13 per cent) but were more hood of being a victim of homicide. We than two-and-a-half times as likely  5 Criminal Event: Homicide 85 (28 per cent) to be identified as a hom­ partners. A little over three-quarters of icide victim. These patterns have been all intimate partner homicides were in a relatively consistent from 2003 to 2014. current intimate relationship (married, Females continue to be more likely common-law, or dating) at the time of victims of family violence than males the crime. Almost 40 per cent of cases of (CCJS, 2015). Of the 960 homicides intimate partner homicide were caused between intimate partners committed by an apparent escalation of an argu­ between 2003 and 2013, 747 (77.8 per ment, while 26 per cent of these crimes cent) were female victims. Women most between 2003 and 2013 were motivated at risk for this crime were between the by a feeling of frustration, despair, or an­ ages of 20 and 44, peaking between ger. Overall, the 2013 intimate partner the ages of 25 and 29. Just over three- homicide rate for males was 73 per cent quarters of intimate partner violence lower than it was in the 20 years previ­ (IPV) homicides over this time period ous, while the rate for females declined (76 per cent) were carried out by a cur­ by almost half (48 per cent) since 1993 rent or former legally married partner. (Cotter, 2014). Just over one in five (22 per cent) were Figure 5.2 shows that just under carried out between dating intimate three of every five homicide victims 80 70 _ □ Victims Accused persons 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Alcohol Both alcohol Drugs or other Total, any No and drugs1 intoxicant 1, 2 consumption consumption Type of substance consumed Figure 5.2 Homicide Victims and Accused Persons, by Consumption of Intoxicating Substance, Canada 2003-13 1 “Drugs" includes both legal and illegal substances. 2 Includes persons who had consumed an intoxicating substance other than alcohol or a conventional legal or illegal drug, such as glue, gas, aerosol, or other solvents. Also includes victims and accused persons who had consumed an unknown type of intoxicant. Note: Excludes victims and accused persons for whom information on consumption of intoxicants was unknown. For the period 2003 to 2013, this information was unknown for 34 per cent of accused persons and 29 per cent of victims. SOURCE: Cotter, A. (2014, December 1). Homicide in Canada, 2013. Juristat. Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. Cat. No. 85-002-X, p. 20. Retrieved 10 March 2014, from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2014001/ article/14108-eng.pdf 86 Victimology (59 per cent) and just over seven in stranger or the relationship between the ten homicide victimizers (72 per cent) victim and the victimizer was unknown. were under the influence of some sort In other words, in 82.6 per cent of cases, of intoxicant at the time of the crim­ the victim and the offender knew one inal event. The most common in­ another. In just over one-eighth of cases toxicant for both groups was alcohol, (16.1 per cent), the homicide victim was consumed either alone (victims = 32 killed by someone they were in a cur­ per cent; offenders = 41 per cent) or in rent legal, common-law, or civil union conjunction with another type of drug with. In another 5.5 per cent of homi­ (victims =17 per cent; offenders = cides, the victim and the offender were 22 per cent). in another form of intimate relationship, such as currently or formerly dating. In only one in ten (6.2 per cent) were the Relationship between victim and attacker in a criminal rela­ Victim and Offender tionship. Statistics Canada offers as ex­ amples drug dealers and their clients, As demonstrated in Table 5.2, trends in sex workers, gang members, and loan solved homicides indicate that the vic­ sharks. This number should be consid­ tim of a homicide is more likely to know ered conservative (i.e., it might be higher) his or her attacker. This is certainly the because when two relationships are case of Lin Jun (Box 5.1), who was identified by police officers (i.e., gang thought to have met his killer in the pro­ members or brothers), then the pri­ cess of looking for a partner. In 2013, mary relationship is requested on the only 67 of 385 (17.4 per cent) solved form. Therefore, a criminal relationship homicides were either committed by a might not be identified if evidence for Table 5.2 Homicides, by Accused-Victim Relationship, Canada, 2013 and 2014 Average 2014 2013r 2004 to 2013 Number Number Number Relationship type1 of of of (victim killed by) Victims Percent2 Victims Percent2 Victims Percent2 Family relationship 131 34.1 134 33.2 151 32.9 Spousal relationship 62 16.1 47 11.6 67 14.5 Legal husband/wife 20 5.2 18 4.5 25 5.5 Common-law husband/ 25 6.5 18 4.5 26 5.7 wife Separated or divorced 11 2.9 4 1.0 9 1.9 husband/wife Separated common-law 5 1.3 5 1.2 5 1.2 husband/wife3 Same-sex spouse4 1 0.3 2 0.5 1 0.3  5 Criminal Event: Homicide 87 Table 5.2 continued Other family relationship5 69 18.0 87 21.5 84 18.4 Father or mother 18 4.7 20 5.0 28 6.0 Son or daughter 29 7.6 34 8.4 23 5.1 Sibling 6 1.6 12 3.0 11 2.3 Extended family6 16 4.2 21 5.2 23 5.0 Intimate relationship7 21 5.5 25 6.2 22 4.9 Acquaintance 142 37.0 150 37.1 161 35.2 Close friend 20 5.2 35 8.7 34 7.3 Neighbour 7 1.8 16 4.0 14 3.0 Authority figure 5 1.3 3 0.7 2 0.5 Business relationship (legal) 11 2.9 3 0.7 8 1.6 Casual acquaintance 99 25.8 93 23.0 104 22.7 Criminal relationship8 24 6.3 38 9.4 48 10.5 Stranger 66 17.2 57 14.1 76 16.6 Unknown relationship 1 N/A 2 N/A 4 N/A Total solved homicides9 385 100.0 406 100.0 462 100.0 Unsolved homicides 131 N/A 106 N/A 130 N/A Total homicides 516 N/A 512 N/A 592 N/A r revised 1 Includes homicides with a known accused. If there were more than one accused, only the closest relationship to the victim was recorded. 2 Solved homicides where the type of relationship was unknown are excluded from the calculation of percentages. 3 Response categories for “separated common-law husband” and “separated common-law wife” were introduced to the Homicide Survey in 2005. As such, the average number and per cent are calculated from 2005 to 2013. 4 Includes current and former same-sex spouses. 5 Includes biological, adopted, step, and foster relationships. 6 Includes nieces, nephews, grandchildren, uncles, aunts, cousins, in-laws, etc., related by blood, marriage (includ­ ing common-law) or adoption. 7 Includes dating relationships (current and former) and other intimate relationships. 8 Includes, for example, sex workers, drug dealers and their clients, loan sharks, or gang members. When more than one relationship applies (e.g. criminal relationship and close friend), police are asked to report the primary relationship. 9 Includes homicides with a known accused. Note: The sum of averages may not add up to the total average due to rounding. Percentages may not add up due to rounding. Figures prior to 2014 may differ from previously published figures due to ongoing updates to the data files as new information becomes available. Source: Miladinovic, Z. & Mulligan, L. (2015, Nov. 25). Homicide in Canada, 2014. Juristat. Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. Ottawa, ON: Minister of Industry. Cat. No. 85-002-x. p. 33. Retrieved 30 December 2015 from www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2015001 /article/14244-eng.pdf. 88 Victimology Box 5.1 Remembering Lin Jun Born 30 December 1978, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, Lin Jun moved to Beijing to prepare for his dream of moving to Canada. He studied French at the Alliance Française cul­ tural centre to improve his chances for immigration (MacKinnon, 2012). As early as 2001, he had opened a Sina Weibo account, a Chinese microblogging site similar to Twitter and Facebook, where he posted material that suggested he was openly gay. On 10 May 2010, he announced “I am going to Canada!" (MacKinnon, 2012, para. 13). Lin Jun arrived in Quebec in July 2011 (Peritz, Ha, & Morrow, 2012). Shortly thereafter he enrolled in the computer science program at Concordia University in Montreal. Once there, however, he noted that, “Suddenly I realized that I am about 10 years older than my classmates. They would have no problem calling me ‘uncle.’ It is so crushing" (MacKinnon, 2012). While at school he worked at a convenience store, where he never missed a single shift. He was considered a polite and responsible worker. People described Lin Jun as a gentle soul who frequented movies like The Smurfs in 3D and who liked Titanic. He posted pictures of his tabby cat on his Weibo site. He also posted street scenes of his new home for people at home to see. He uploaded pictures of a robot that he and his fellow students had built for a “mascot competition" and liked roman­ tic French songs. He was a fan of Steve Jobs, and mourned Jobs’s passing on the site. He told classmates and at least one of his teachers that one of his goals in life was to find love. MacKinnon (2012) writes that Mr. Lin’s Weibo account also revealed another side of Lin Jun. In most of the photographs posted on this Weibo account, he was alone and was either partially or fully naked. Once in Montreal, he adopted the name Justin, and he nicknamed himself on his Weibo site “Justin the Villain,” possibly reflecting some inner turmoil he was ex­ periencing. On Valentine’s Day, 2011, he posted a computer-altered, grotesque self-portrait of himself with cracked skin, missing teeth, and grey skin. In August 2011, Lin posted an image of a medical bracelet from Montreal General Hospital, stating he had caught his hand in a subway door. A month before his death, he uploaded an image of an empty subway car, and captioned it “midnight cannibalism train," possibly foreshadowing the manner of his death. Peritz, Ha, and Morrow (2012) estimate that in the spring of 2012, Lin Jun met Eric Clinton Newman (alias Luka Magnotta), a person who described himself on his own media pages as a white supremacist who worked as an actor in pornographic films. Lin Jun’s last Facebook post was 11 May 2012; he uploaded a picture of a park stating how beautiful it was. Ha and Moore (2012) report that, according to a missing persons report, his family had lost contact with him 24 May. Sometime in late May 2012, Lin Jun was videotaped as he was blindfolded and killed with an icepick. Parts of his body were cannibalized and other parts were mailed to political parties in Ottawa. SOURCES: Ha, T.T., & Moore, O. (2012, June 18). Body-parts victim identified as Chinese student at Concordia. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 16 March 2015, from www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/body-parts-victim- identified-as-chinese-student-at-concordia/article4224983/; MacKinnon, M. (2012, June 2). The many sides of Montreal murder victim Lin Jun. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 16 March 2015, from www.theglobeandmail.com/ news/world/the-many-sides-of-montreal-murder-victim-lin-jun/article4226195/; Peritz, I., Ha, T.T., & Morrow, A. (2012, June 2). Tragedy: Body-parts victim was romantic, looking for love. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 16 March 2015, from www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/body-parts-victim-was-a-romantic-looking-for-love/article4226141/  5 Criminal Event: Homicide a stronger relationship exists in the in­ compared with adults (28 per cent) in vestigation. For more on measurement 2013. Further almost one-third (30 per issues, please see Chapter 2. cent) of youth accused of homicide were involved in a gang, compared to nine per cent of adults. Homicide among Youth Table 5.3 shows homicide data gath­ Youth are among those highest at risk ered on victims for children, youth, and for homicide victimization. Although adults in Canada in 2013. This table the homicide rate generally has been de­ shows that there were 505 victims of clining since the early 1970s, homicides homicide during this time. This is more committed by youth were on the increase than the number of people accused and actually peaked in 2006 and 2009, (n = 452; Statistics Canada, 2014) of with a sharp decline since that time homicide in that same year. In Canada, (Cotter, 2014). In 2006, 15 per cent of individuals are considered youth if they all homicides in Canada were commit­ are 17 years of age or under. Children ted by youth between the ages of 12 and and youth made up approximately 17 (Li, 2007). As with adult homicide 8.3 per cent of all victims of homicide in trends, youth homicide risk is higher in Canada in 2013. Females are less likely the western regions of the country than to be child or youth victims of homicide in the central or eastern parts. According (females = 29.1 per cent; males = 70.9 to Cotter (2014), youth are more likely per cent). Males tend to be both the ma­ to victimize individuals accompanied by jority of child victims (68.2 per cent) one or more peers (38 per cent) when and youth victims (80 per cent). Female Table 5.3 Homicide Survey, Victims and Persons Accused of Homicide, ~ by Age Group and Sex, Canada Annual (number), 2013* Age Group Males Females Total Total all ages 358 147 505 Per cent of total 70.9% 29.1 % 100% 0-11 15 7 22 Per cent of sex 4.2% 4.8% 9% Per cent of total 68.2% 31.8% 100% 12-17 16 4 20 Per cent of sex 4.5% 2.7% 7.2% Per cent of total 80% 20% 100% 18 and over 327 136 463 Per cent of sex 91.3% 92.5% 97.7% Per cent of total 70.6% 29.4% 100% Per cent total 100% 100% 100% * Numbers may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. NOTE: Homicide includes Criminal Code offences of murder, manslaughter, and infanticide. SOURCE: Statistics Canada, CANSIM, Table 253-0003 and Homicide Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. 90 Victimology youth appear to be the least vulnerable of representative population. Of the 470 all homicide victims under the age of 18, Aboriginal deaths recorded, 70 per cent totalling 11 individuals (2.2 per cent) of involved male victims. 505 victims. Male children and youth are The majority (53 per cent) of male slightly more at risk for homicide than Aboriginal victims were killed by an ac­ females in this same category in 2013. quaintance, with 19 per cent killed by a non-intimate family member. Women were also more likely to be killed by a Aboriginal Peoples non-intimate family member (35 per cent) or by an intimate family member as Homicide Victims (27 per cent). Looking strictly at family Before we can talk about victimization versus other types of victimizers with re­ of Aboriginal peoples, we first have to spect to Aboriginal victims of homicide, discuss how “Aboriginalness” is meas­ women were far more likely than men ured. Statistics Canada establishes the to be killed by a family member (56 per ethnic identity of Aboriginal peoples cent and 34 per cent, respectively). by asking a series of questions about This pattern is more pronounced in the Aboriginal identity and status. If respon­ non-Aboriginal part of the population dents report that they self-identify with (76 per cent for women and 22 per cent an Aboriginal group (North American for men), which has a lower overall Indian, Métis, or Inuit), that they are chance of homicide victimization. More either a Registered or Treaty Indian, on the issue of missing and murdered or that they hold First Nation or Band Aboriginal women, and the report on membership, Statistics Canada identi­ their deaths, is included in Chapter 9. fies them as having Aboriginal identity. Johnson also reports that Aboriginal If we look to data collected prior to the peoples were more likely to know their 1996 Census, only a single question on attackers (88 per cent) when compared ethnic origin (i.e., ancestry) was used to to non-Aboriginals (83 per cent). When establish this identity (Siggner, 2003). we look at the relationship-gender in­ Miladinovic and Mulligan (2015) terplay, this figure is largely attributed report that the rate of Aboriginal ho­ to Aboriginal male victims. Aboriginal micide was almost six times higher women were more likely to be attacked (7.2 per 100,000 compared to 1.13 by a stranger (15 per cent) as compared per 100,000) than for non-Aboriginal to non-Aboriginal women (6 per cent), peoples. From 1997 to 2004 there were whereas Aboriginal men were less likely 2,468 victims of homicide in Canada. to be attacked by a stranger than their Of these, 19 per cent (470) were iden­ counterparts (Aboriginal: 13 per cent; tified as Aboriginal (Johnson, 2006). non-Aboriginal: 23 per cent). Because the Aboriginal population rep­ resents approximately 3 per cent of the Three Theories population (Kong & Beattie, 2005), this of Homicide figure suggests that Aboriginal peoples are strongly overrepresented in these Most homicides occur between men statistics by more than six times their who are acquaintances. Many of these  5 Criminal Event: Homicide 91 homicides are unplanned and occur Bar and Grill in Edmonton. During as the result of an argument that ac­ the argument Ronald was dragged celerates to lethal violence. Recall from out into the parking lot, where he was chapters 3 and 4 that two theories of beaten and fatally stabbed in the chest crime were developed to explain what by one of the other men (Man pleads happens in a typical homicide. The first guilty 2008). of these theories is Marvin Wolfgang’s In September 2005, James McNabb, (1958) victim precipitation. The second age 36, was a new resident of the is David Luckenbill’s (1977) theory of Neeginan Emergency Shelter in the situated transaction. Both theorists Winnipeg, where he was also work­ recognized that, in some cases, there was ing as a temporary labourer with a pattern to homicide victimization. A fellow resident Virlin Bird. Bird was third set of theories—critical and fem­ fired after being accused of stealing inist theories—looks beyond the interac­ someone’s cigarettes. Bird blamed tion of the typical homicide and seeks McNabb for the theft and attacked to explain the larger trends in homicide him outside the shelter a few days victimization. The statistics presented later. McNabb was stabbed eight above illustrate some of these patterns, times then repeatedly kicked after particularly the previous relationship he had fallen; he succumbed to his between the victim and the offender. injuries. Bird removed his bloody ball Many homicides occur between people cap and shirt in a nearby alley and who are known to each other and are then went to a Chinese restaurant, often the result of a disagreement. Before where he was arrested a short time we consider these theories, let us look at later (Winnipegger who killed, 2008). a few newspaper reports of homicides In August 2006, four teens in the that reflect these common patterns: remote northern community of Pau- ingassi, MB, were drinking “bean Jeff Shuckburgh, age 29, was the juice” (a homemade liquor concoc­ owner of Shuckaluck’s Pub in Calgary. tion) out of a pail when they decided On 7 January 2004, Adrian Walle to attack 30-year-old Jeremy Wes­ was at the pub and was escorted out ley Crow, father of four. Crow was after becoming unruly. He returned, beaten with a baseball bat, a pool only to continue his behaviour and cue, a hockey stick, and an axe over to be thrown out again. The third an extended period of time, while a time, he was escorted out of the nine-year-old girl watched. At one pub by Shuckburgh and two other point he was hit repeatedly with the bartenders. In the parking lot of the axe by each of the young men. He establishment, Shuckburgh was shot was heard to say “All right, that is and killed by Walle with a sawed-off enough now,” shortly before he was.22-calibre shotgun concealed in his dragged through the house and left clothing (Slade, 2008). outside to die. During the trial, one Ronald Boucher, Arnold Peter of Crow’s brothers said in his victim Cardinal, and Leonard Bellam were impact statement that the killing arguing on 5 June 2005, in Rosie’s caused him to resume sniffing gas, 92 ictimology V while another brother said that he Walker on the left side of the had become more angry since the head; Walker died beside his bed in attack and had increased his alcohol his basement apartment (Williamson, consumption. Two teens, who could 2008). not be named because of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, pleaded guilty and were sentenced to time served in Homicide and Victim Precipitation custody and two years of supervised As we discussed in Chapter 3, Marvin probation (McIntyre, 2008). Wolfgang’s homicide study revealed that On 17 November 2006, Marco Durie in 26 per cent of cases, the eventual vic­ and his friends Ryan Milner, age 22, tim was the instigator in the victimizing and Kyle Hicks left Grimsby, ON, to event. Wolfgang coined the term “victim attend a hip-hop show at a Hamil­ precipitation” to describe these offences; ton nightclub. Milner became an the victim precipitated his or her own “overzealous fan” and the three were death by being the first to perpetrate kicked out of the club after getting too violence. Wolfgang also noted that the close to the band’s lead singer. Out­ victim and the offender often knew each side the club they became involved in other prior to the encounter and had a shouting match with George Gallo, often had prior disputes. The argument age 25, and Gallo’s friend. The fight that led to the homicide was often the became physical; Durie was stabbed product of a small disagreement that in both arms and lost a significant evolved into something much more seri­ amount of blood. He would later ous. The victim and the offender were testify in court that, as a result of almost always male, and the victim was these injuries, he had nerve damage more likely than the offender to have in both arms and did not have full been drinking alcohol. use of his hands. Milner was also The cases listed above illustrate these stabbed and was pronounced dead at points. Many of the cases involve the the scene when police arrived. Gallo consumption of alcohol and/or other turned himself in one month after the substances by the victim and/or the of­ attack and pleaded guilty to reduced fender or took place in an establishment charges of manslaughter and aggra­ that served alcohol. The victims and the vated assault in March 2008 (Hamil­ offenders are all men who participated ton man admits, 2008). in a series of events that led to homi­ At the end of August 2007, Gerald cide. Looking back at these reports, Walker, age 49, of Windsor, ON, it is often difficult to establish exactly met and befriended a drifter named what the victim was doing because the Donald Miller, age 46, who had only stories are principally concerned with recently stepped off a bus in the city. the actions of the offender. We can of­ Walker agreed to let Miller stay in ten glean what the victim experienced his apartment. In the early hours of but only through this offender-focused 2 September, after a night of drink­ lens. Unless the victim’s actions in such ing and smoking marijuana, Miller cases are extraordinary, they are often lost his temper and fatally struck not reported.  5 Criminal Event: Homicide 93 The cases also feature what Wolfgang she interpreted the actions of the victim would call victim precipitation. In one as offensive. case the eventual victim became loud The majority of homicides—even and obnoxious as an “overzealous fan.” those in Wolfgang’s study—do not fit In another, the victim was thought to the pattern of victim precipitation. have committed the theft that cost the Therefore, this theory fails to provide offender his job. In the other cases, an adequate explanation of homicide however, it is unclear who started the victimization. Boxes 5.2 and 5.3 high­ series of events that eventually lead to light two homicides that were not vic­ the act of lethal victimization. In the tim precipitated. Neither Jane Creba nor case of the stabbing at Shuckaluck’s Nina de Villiers knew their murderers. Pub, it is assumed that the offender They also did not instigate the events gave reason to be removed from the that caused their deaths but were unfor­ pub three times and that he had the tunate victims of seemingly random vio­ opportunity to leave the premises after lence. Therefore, at the very least, this each incident. However, it is unclear theory falls short of explaining the lethal who started the argument between the victimization carried out by strangers three men at Rosie’s. Likewise, it is not and by those who routinely abuse oth­ known why Jeremy Crow and the four ers to the point of death. young offenders were in close proxim­ ity to one another or why the teenagers Homicide and the Situated Transaction felt that resorting to lethal victimiza­ tion was an option. It is not clear why In his study of 71 California homicides, Donald Miller lost his temper and killed David Luckenbill (1977) noted that con­ his host. Our bias remains with the of­ gregating in a common physical space fender in these cases. causes people to act in ways conducive Included in the theory of victim pre­ to their spatial limitations. He identi­ cipitation is the importance of interpre­ fied six stages to the situated transaction tation. The concept presumes that the where a homicide was the end result, eventual victim carries out some sort of beginning with an affront to “face” and act that someone finds offensive. Also ending with the eventual offender either outlined in this theory is the idea that if remaining at the scene or fleeing from the eventual offender had not found the it. These stages are discussed in greater act offensive or had taken evasive man­ detail in Chapter 4. oeuvres to avoid further escalation, the Like Wolfgang, Luckenbill noted that homicide might not have taken place. not all homicides followed the situated Because often only the offender can pro­ transaction but that the theory explained vide the details of the event, the possi­ an observed pattern in one of the most bility of bias exists. This situation can be common forms of homicide. This theory summed up by the old adage ‘History is also relies heavily on interpretation, defined by the victors.” In other words, leaving questions as to the final version without the victim’s contribution to the of events. Because the eventual victim is interpretation of events, it is more likely dead, the eventual offender is often the that the offender would claim that he or key witness in describing the events and 94 Victimology Box 5.2 Jane Creba For Virginia and Bruce Creba, their “bright light tragically scattered into darkness on Boxing Day 2005” when their 15-year-old daughter, Jane, was killed during a gang shootout on Toronto’s Yonge Street. Jane Creba was shopping with her 18-year-old sister, Alison, who did not realize that Jane had crossed the street, been gunned down outside of the Eaton Centre, and taken to the hospital. After a frenzied search, Alison Creba called her mother, asking if her sister had returned home. When Virginia Creba realized that her daughter was not home she raced downtown and joined the search. Jane Creba died hours later in emergency surgery. The reaction to Jane Creba’s death was evident in the days and months that followed. A memorial of flowers, candles, and stuffed animals was set up on a stretch of sidewalk beginning at Yonge and Dundas streets and continuing several blocks north of the Eaton Centre. Her death was widely publicized, highlighting the fact that Toronto had dealt with many shooting-related homicides in 2005 or, as it became known in the city, the “year of the gun.” During this time, many people shared with the media their memories of the impact Jane Creba had had in her short 15 years. One classmate wrote that she was “the funni­ est, prettiest and all around nicest person.” Another friend said, “I can’t think of a single person who didn’t like her and everyone loved laughing and joking with her. She had the nicest fun-loving attitude toward everything and I know everyone will miss her.” Her family commented: “Her life has been transformed into a shooting star that will be forever a light for her devoted parents, uncles, aunts, cousins and close friends.” SOURCES: Blatchford, C., Friesen, J., & Appleby, T. (2005, December 29). Slain teenager veered blithely into crossfire: Dead victim in Yonge Street shootings has been identified as Jane Creba. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 19 January 2008, from www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/slain-teenager-veered-blithely-into-crossfire/ article 1132281/; Classmates of slain teenager share their loss (2005, December 30). CTV News Online. Retrieved 19 January 2008, from www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051230/grieving_students_051230? s_ name=election2006&no_ads=CTV; Family of slain Toronto teen remembers their “bright light" (2005, December 29). CBC News Online. Retrieved 19 January 2008, from www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2005/12/29/newshooting- Toronto051 229.html is therefore more likely to define the vic­ Recall that critical criminologists see tim’s actions as initially offensive. This disputes as one possible outcome of theory also fails to explain other com­ power dynamics. For example, the theor­ mon forms of homicide, such as spousal ies above do not consider why hom­ homicide, stranger homicide, and so on. icides are predominantly committed by men or why men and women have Feminist/Critical Explanations very different homicidal victimization of Homicide patterns. Victim precipitation suggests Unlike theories of victim precipitation that victims of spousal homicide some­ and situated transaction, feminist and/or how provoked their attackers repeat­ critical concepts include in their explan­ edly and therefore had control over ations of homicide victimization dif­ the violence they were being exposed ferent groups of victims and offenders. to. Situated transaction theory poses a  5 Criminal Event: Homicide 95 Box 5.3 Nina de Villiers On 9 August 1991, Nina de Villiers, a 19-year-old biochemistry student at McMaster University, was abducted and murdered while jogging in Burlington, near the shore of Lake Ontario. The apparent randomness of this act instilled fear in her community and resonated with Canadians across the country as well as deeply impacting her family and friends. “You are left so helpless,” her mother, Priscilla, recalls. “You lose your ego, your whole sense of having control over your life.” While trying to cope with their grief, de Villiers's family and friends learned that her murderer, Jonathan Yeo, had been released on bail and had a long history of physically and sexually assaulting women. The impression that de Villiers made on others can be seen in the way they paid tribute to her after her death. Her family created a petition encouraging the Canadian criminal justice system to be more responsive to the needs of Canadians; the initial submission of this petition included 2.5 million signatures. At Yeo's trial, the jury returned with 137 recom­ mendations to ensure that victimizers like Yeo did not continue to fall through the cracks of the criminal and mental health systems. In addition, a sexual assault and domestic violence crisis centre was named Nina’s Place, in memory of de Villiers at Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington, ON. At McMaster University the Nina de Villiers Garden was dedicated in front of University Hall in 1993; al­ most 1,000 people attended the ceremony to see the garden and remember de Villiers. The garden combined two things that she loved: music and flowers. Her mother recalled that her daughter “saw gardening as a way of finding peace. She would dig, plant, prune and com­ post and come back refreshed... a garden would have been Nina’s best birthday present.” SOURCES: The CAVEAT. (2000). Background. Retrieved 6 April 2008, from www.caveat.org/history; The CAVEAT. (1993). Lasting living tribute to Nina de Villiers. Retrieved 8 April 2008, from www.caveat.org/publications/sw/ cav_1993_nov.html; Macleans. (1995). de Villiers, Priscilla: Macleans 1995 Honour Roll. Retrieved 6 April 2008, from www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/macleans-1995-honor-roll/ ; Nina's Place. (2015). Retrieved 6 April 2008, from www.ninasplace.ca similar explanation as to why women offer suitable explanations for male-to­ are more likely to die at the hands of male violence, but they fall flat when we an intimate or another family member apply them to matters of homicide such while men are more likely to be killed as uxoricide, or to homicide involving by another man who is not a relative. minorities. They also fail to adequately Feminist/critical theories argue that explain crimes identified as hate crimes social values have predominantly been (where a particular person or group is shaped by and for men. Therefore, male targeted for victimization because of violence against women is considered minority status such as racial or ethnic one manifestation of males exerting and identity and/or sexual orientation). reinforcing this dominance. As a nat­ Finally feminist/critical explanations ural extension of this patriarchal form of victimization and criminal behaviour of thinking, the theories of victim pre­ may explain why we identify the pat­ cipitation and situation transaction may terns of lethal victimization the way 96 Victimology that we do. For example, when some­ event with very little time between mur­ one is killed because he or she is ad­ ders. A mass murderer is a killer who heres to a particular religious doctrine murders his or her victims all at one or because he or she is homosexual, we time (Egger, 2002, 1990, 1984; Hickey, are quick to label the homicide a hate 2002; Levin & Fox, 1985; Leyton, crime. However, we are slower to iden­ 1986; Lunde, 1979). This type of killer tify crimes against women as hate crime. chooses a location and a set of targets, We started this chapter by looking at the then attempts to kill as many as possible Montreal Massacre. The victims in this in one sudden outburst. The victims of tragedy were systematically sought out the Montreal Massacre were victims of and gunned down because they were mass murder. They were all shot in a women. The offender made several very short time period, culminating statements, both during the victimiza­ with the killer shooting himself. tion period and in letters to be read af­ A spree murder shares some of the ter his death, about his profound hatred characteristics of mass murders, in that for women; he had even created a list of each killing event usually involves more other women whom he had identified than one victim. Unlike mass murder­ as “feminists.” Yet a close examination ers, however, the offender stops killing of the coverage of this case reveals that only temporarily and does not kill him few identify this crime as a hate crime. or herself or surrender, but moves on to kill again at another time. This pattern has only recently been identified, and Multiple Homicide Victims few examples illustrate this type of killer. Although the risk of being the victim of One of the most famous cases took place serial homicide is extremely rare (Scott, at the University of Texas at Austin in 2005), television and film stories about 1966. Charles Whitman, a student at the these events seem to capture people’s university, killed both his mother and imaginations and fuel their fears. The pat­ his wife before heading to the observa­ terns that have been identified above for tion deck on the 32-storey administra­ more common forms of homicide are very tive building on campus. From there he different from those that explore serial shot and killed 14 people and wounded homicides. Homicide experts have divided 31 others. He was eventually shot and the phenomenon of multiple murder into killed by an Austin police officer. three categories: mass murder, spree mur­ Serial murders differ from these der, and serial murder. Although the types other types of murders. Victims of serial appear distinct, considerable overlap exists murder are often killed one at a time, in their construction, largely due to the fact with long “cooling-off” periods between that they are defined by the presence or homicide events. Further differences ex­ absence of certain characteristics, includ­ ist within this category, depending on ing body count, time interval between kill­ whether the murderer is male or female. ings, number of murderous events, and, to On the one hand, male serial murder­ a lesser degree, intent of the murderer(s). ers tend to choose their victims from Mass murder is the act of killing a social group that holds less social many people in a single murderous power (Egger, 1990), such as women,  5 Criminal Event: Homicide 97 Box 5.4 Sereena Abotsway Sereena Abotsway, born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, had an infectious laugh and pas- sion for helping others. Even though one of her boyfriends turned her to a lifestyle of drugs, prostitution, and abusive relationships, she continued to have a “bubbly” attitude. Abotsway never made it home to celebrate her thirtieth birthday on 20 August 2001 with her adop­ tive mother, Anna Draayers, whom she had known since the age of four. The Draayers knew something was wrong when Abotsway didn’t come home: “She was our girl, and we loved her a lot. She phoned daily for 13 years since she left our home at age 17." The Friday following Abotsway’s birthday, the police informed the Draayers that their daughter was dead. She was the forty-eighth of fifty women to disappear from downtown Vancouver since 1983. In 2007, pig farmer Robert Pickton was found guilty of her murder and of the murders of five other women. Ironically, Abotsway had participated in several community marches asking for deeper investigations into the disappearances of the Vancouver women. She wrote a poem about them, saying “when you went missing each and every year, we all fought so hard to find you.” The stories shared by Abotsway’s friends display their sense of loss over their friend, who was a beam of hope and happiness in the dark life of prostitution and drugs. Cheryl Bear Barnetson said “we did definitely see the bright side of Sereena.... It was great to know her in that short period of time. She always had a smile for everybody. A big hello.... It was really tragic when we saw her picture on the missing women's list.” SOURCES: Fournier, S., Fraser, K., & Jiwa, S. (2002, February 26). Daughter phoned daily for 13 years. The Province. Retrieved 19 January 2008, from www.missingpeople.net/cgi-bin/2002/sereen_abotsway-2002. htm; Meissner, D. (2007, January 19). Sereena Abotsway: Life was always about hope. Canadian Press. Retrieved 19 January 2008, from www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070117/missing_abotsway_071 1 17/20070119/ children, homosexuals, homeless people, victim experiences based on the gender and prostitutes. Sereena Abotsway, of the offender. They reported that vic­ the victim of a serial murderer in British tims of male serial murderers suffered Columbia (see Box 5.4), was in many more damage to their bodies, while still ways a typical victim of serial killers. alive or after death, than victims of fe­ She was a drug addict and was engaged male serial murderers. Both Scott (2005) in a risky lifestyle (prostitution) in or­ and Keeney and Heide (1994) found that der to support her addiction. Female women who committed serial murder serial murderers, on the other hand, are were less likely to use torture, resulting more likely to lethally victimize males in less physical damage. Female serial with whom they are intimate, their own murderers were more likely to use some children, or other adults and children in form of poison rather than more aggres­ their care (Scott, 2005). sive methods of killing and were more In Keeney and Heide’s (1994) study of likely to lure their victims rather than serial murderers, the authors compared stalk them. The reasons for killing also 98 Victimology differed markedly between male and fe­ is a secondary victim of homicide, as are male serial killers: females killed largely all who were close to Tina. for instrumental reasons, such as mone­ Secondary victims of homicide ex­ tary gain, or for affective reasons, achiev­ perience what Morrall, Hazelton, and ing some sort of emotional satisfaction Shackleton (2011) call “devastation”— from the killings. Sexual fantasy, while a they not only experience the be­ motivating force for male serial murder­ reavement of emotional loss but also ers, was not a factor for female killers. suffer symptoms of Post-Traumatic In many ways traditional theories of Stress Disorder (PTSD). The authors note homicide fail to explain these patterns in that even though various countries have serial homicide. This type of victimization victims’ rights documents, there is often is not the result of fights or interactions. little funding to support victims through Male serial killers choose victims who are the emotional distress they experience. not known to them, while female serial Victims must often cope with severe killers seek out victims who are tradition­ emotional trauma without resources. ally powerful in society. Female killers Morrall, Hazelton, and Shackleton also also establish a sense of trust between note that victims must deal as witnesses themselves and their victims (similar to with the aftershocks of the criminal jus­ how pedophiles groom their victims and tice system, often without being fully build trust) in order to make their vic­ informed about their cases. tims more vulnerable. Overall, a paucity Armour (2002) talked to 14 families of explanations exists for both victim ex­ of homicide victims to assess patterns in perience and offender behaviour in this their experiences. She found that victims category of multiple homicide. expressed six themes that were com­ mon, many happening simultaneously and compounding the emotional and Secondary Victims physical aftereffects of their loss. Many of Homicide families said that being told about the loss was like entering into a nightmare In all crimes except homicide, the primary from which they could not escape. They victim survives. Homicide, therefore, is a described feelings of emotional “drown­ bit unusual when we talk about victim ing” and of being bombarded with facts experience because the primary victim’s of the case and how their loved one experience ends with death. Homicide died. In one case, the mother of a vic­ leaves behind many others who must live tim recalled seeing the murderer, who through the tragedy and loss of a loved remained at large, in a mall. Many tried one. These victims are called secondary to make sense of why someone would victims. In many ways, they are a special shoot a person they loved. They waited group of secondary victims, as they are the for the pain of the loss to subside, often ones who suffer often great loss without finding that it did not. undergoing the direct victimization ex­ Secondly, secondary victims of hom­ perienced by the homicide victim. Thelma icide often felt betrayed by the people Favel, great aunt and primary caregiver around them who failed to live up of Tina Fontaine mentioned in Box 5.5 to expectations. Friends and family  5 Criminal Event: Homicide 99 Box 5.5 Tina Fontaine Remembered Born on New Year’s Day in 1998 Tina Fontaine grew up on Sagkeeng First Nation, just 93 kilometres north and west of Winnipeg. At 15, she was under the care of and had been living with her great aunt, Thelma Favel, on Reserve. On 1 July 2013, Tina decided to run away from home. Favel had taken care of Tina and her sister for 11 years. After Tina left home, Thelma called Child and Family Services (CFS) and asked them to take custody, understanding that her niece needed help. Tina was located sometime after she had run away from home and was placed in a foster home in Winnipeg. Thelma told media (Fiddler & Barghout, 2014) that prior to Tina’s running away, she was having trouble dealing with witnessing the beating death of her father when she was only 12, by two men who eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Thelma had taken in Tina and her sister as their father was battling cancer. Thelma had sought help from many agencies about Tina and said she had been turned away. Tina had also had reconnected with her biological mother, who Thelma said had introduced Tina to drugs. On 9 August 2014, Tina was reported missing. Lana Fontaine, Tina’s aunt, told reporters that Tina sometimes came to her house in Winnipeg when she ran away. Tina was also known to hang around the downtown area and the Portage Place shopping centre. However, on Sunday, 17 August, police knocked on Lana’s door to inform her that they had found her niece and that she was dead. Tina’s body had been thrown into the Red River, wrapped in a plastic bag. At Tina’s funeral, Robyn Fontaine, another of Tina's aunts, stated, “She was just so out­ going and happy, and she had every intent of finishing school and getting her job, and she just wanted the best for her little sister and her brothers” (CBC News, 2014, para. 9). Her family and friends held a special ceremony where they offered tobacco to a sacred flame that represented Tina’s spirit. By 2 December 2014, as the holidays approached, Carlson (2014) reported that Thel­ ma Favel had called the Manitoba crisis line nine times with thoughts of suicide. Thelma was also concerned that Tina's younger sister, Sarah, was having similar thoughts. Al­ though some services are available for victims of crime, Michele Audette, the president of the Native Women's Association of Canada noted that, “there’s really no strategy to make sure a family is taken care of by experts, and by experts I don’t just mean people with de­ grees, but also traditional healers and family supports.... The pain of an aboriginal family is filled with many layers of injustice” (Carlson, 2014, para. 7). She commented, “I just want to know what was happening to her when she took her last breath.... That’s the hardest part right now—waiting to see who would do something like this” (Carlson, 2014, para.14). Raymond Joseph Cormier, 53, was arrested in early December of 2015, in Vancouver, and was returned to Winnipeg for trial on a charge of second-degree murder (The Canadian Press, 2015). SOURCE: Carlson, C.B. (2014, December 2). Tina Fontaine’s family struggles with grief as holidays approach. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 13 March 2015, from www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/aboriginal-advocates-seek- culturally-specific-mental-health-programs/article21863897/; CBC News (2014, August 23). Tina Fontaine, slain teen, remembered at Manitoba funeral: Body of 15-year-old girl was recovered from the Red River in Winnipeg on Aug. 17. Retrieved 12 March 2015, from www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/tina-fontaine-slain-teen-remembered-at-manitoba- funeral-1.2745031; Fiddler, M., & Barghout, C. (2014, August 20). Tina Fontaine, slain teen, struggled with father’s beating death: Winnipeg police going door to door as they investigate homicide. CBC News. Retrieved 12 March 2015, from www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/tina-fontaine-slain-teen-struggled-with-father-s-beating-death-1.2741842 100 Victimology sometimes abandoned the secondary vision of life. Many felt it was important victim either physically (by leaving) or that their loved one’s death not be in emotionally (by refusing to talk about vain. Often secondary victims sought to the tragedy). Some reported feeling be­ educate others about their experiences, trayed by humanity after the experience, and many used the experience to direct in that it was difficult to comprehend their own lives—by becoming more in­ why one person would do this to an­ volved in their families and communi­ other. Some victims were lectured about ties, by advocating for a just cause, and how they must think about forgiveness. by living life more fully Third, secondary victims of homicide also reported that people disregarded their rights in the process of giving in­ Summary formation to police and the public or in This chapter has defined the vari­ trying to get information from officials. ous types of homicide identified in Because of the seriousness of the crime, Canadian law and explored trends in victims would often be thrust into the homicide victimization. While tradi­ limelight with no support. Others re­ tional theories of homicide, such as ported that, while trying to get infor­ those put forth by Wolfgang (1958) and mation from police, coroners, and so on, Luckenbill (1977), have contributed their requests were inappropriately dealt to our understanding of male-to-male with, often without compassion. homicides, they are less able to explain Fourth, families reported that in incidents that involve victims of minor­ some cases, they felt a stronger bond ity status; examples of these cases have with close family and friends over the been profiled in the chapter. As well, tragedy. This was especially true where little is known about victims of multiple understanding of the suffering experi­ homicide because the offender has been enced was expressed by others. the focus of most studies. Fifth, these families reported that Because homicide is considered one they had eventually been forced to of the most severe offences a person can adopt a new worldview that now in­ commit against another, victims of homi­ cluded this reality, including, but not cide are the type of victim most likely limited to, the fact that the victim was to be discovered and/or reported to the not going to come back and that they authorities, when compared to other did not control as much of their lives as types of crime victims. However, even they thought they did. here we do not have an adequate under­ Finally, secondary victims reported standing of the victim, his or her ex­ they had often had a realignment of val­ periences, or how his or her loved ones ues because they were able to see what recover from their loss. The fear gener­ life was about and to embrace the idea ated by this type of victimization and of being more passionate about what the recovery process of those left behind mattered to them. This passion was of­ will be discussed in later chapters. First, ten guided by a sense of integrity that though, we will look at victimization in gave coherence and strength to this new another specific crime: sexual assault.  5 Criminal Event: Homicide 101 Critical Thinking Questions 1. Review the case 01 the Montreal Massacre. List the primary, secondary, and tertiary victims of this tragic event. 2. Using the figures and tables presented in this chapter, identify at least three patterns that show differences between male and female homicide victims. 3. Aboriginal peoples in Canada face particular issues. What are these issues and how do they contribute to the higher homicide rate among this population?