Homicide Outside the Family Sphere: Confession in Police Interrogation, Offender Motivation and Characteristics – An Exploratory Study

Abstract

This study aimed to describe extrafamilial homicide offenders’ confessions in police interrogation. The Quebec Coroner’s office supplied data from 76 homicide files including coroner reports. Pearson’s Chi-squared analyses showed that the offenders were significantly different according to confession type for the method used and the antisocial, borderline, and narcissistic personality disorder traits. A two-step cluster analysis revealed three profiles: Confession—quarreler and sexual; Confession—quarreler and mental illness; No confession—quarreler and criminality. Our findings further our understanding of confessions in police interrogation by adding psychological variables and could allow investigators to refine their interrogation strategies.