From Crime to Perpetrator: Attributing Personality to Crime Scenes in Serial Killer Cases

• Grant number: 25/00556-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: July 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Anthropology
• Principal Investigator: Susana Soares Branco Durão
• Grantee: Pedro Henrique Barbosa Borda
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Since the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) introduced the concept of the "serial killer" in the 1970s, criminal profiling has played a pivotal role in shaping the understanding of serial killers. Developing a criminal profile involves a fundamental shift in scale, transforming evidence left at crime scenes into deductions about potential perpetrators. This project aims to explore the practice of criminal profiling in serial murder cases through documentary analysis, interviews, and fieldwork.