Examining the Criminal Patterns Within the Expressive-Instrumental Motivation Typology Among Homicides in China: Implications for Criminal Profiling

Abstract

This study investigated criminal patterns within the expressive-instrumental homicide typology by analysing homicide cases from 2013 to 2022. We coded and analysed a sample of 254 solved homicides from China Judgements Online through chi-square tests, binary logistic regression, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. First, we examined whether expressive and instrumental homicides demonstrated significant distinctions in offender and victim characteristics, and behavioural patterns. Second, we explored the associations between these behavioural indicators and the expressive-instrumental typology. Our results demonstrated that overkill, offenders' use of threat and control, victim targeting, and dealing of forensic evidence significantly differentiated expressive and instrumental homicides, and effectively predicted motivational typologies in homicides.