Case 3: A Child Murderer
Luke, age 12, appeared on the surface to be a normal child who seemed reasonably
happy and respectful of others, but there were differences in his appearance that made
him a target for his schoolmates. His ears were a bit deformed; he had a noticeable
speech impediment, wore thick glasses, and had a hearing impairment. Luke also was
struggling in school due to his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and as a
result, he was 2 years behind his classmates. Luke struggled to fit in with kids younger
than him. He greatly resented the taunting and had no real friends. He was very sad
and angry at the recent loss of his grandfather with whom he had been living since his
parents’ divorce. His new stepfather had a violent temper and was very controlling. The
tension was so severe that his 17-year-old sister announced one day that the stepfather
had molested her and promptly moved out. Luke had also learned accidentally from
another student at school that Luke’s real father lived just 30 miles away and that he
had met him before. Luke had never seen his biological father. All these factors deeply
affected Luke’s self-esteem and his growing anger toward others.
One day while walking alone in a local park, Luke noticed a young, cute little boy by
himself. Luke called to the boy and offered to show him some kittens he had just found
in the woods nearby. Once inside the wooded area, Luke attacked and strangled the
boy. He then smashed in the boy’s skull with a large rock and sodomized him with a
stick. After making up several misleading stories, Eric eventually confessed that he
alone had killed the boy but could not explain his actions, nor did he appear particularly
concerned about the killing. What was it that made Luke kill? Was Luke biologically
predisposed to violence? Was it lack of parental nurturing? Could there have been other
environmental factors influencing Luke? Luke was sentenced to several years in prison.
–old sister announced one day that the stepfat A Ponzi Scheme
Luke, age 12, appeared on the surface to be a normal child who seemed reasonably
happy and respectful of others, but there were differences in his appearance that made
him a target for his schoolmates. His ears were a bit deformed; he had a noticeable
speech impediment, wore thick glasses, and had a hearing impairment. Luke also was
struggling in school due to his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and as a
result, he was 2 years behind his classmates. Luke struggled to fit in with kids younger
than him. He greatly resented the taunting and had no real friends. He was very sad
and angry at the recent loss of his grandfather with whom he had been living since his
parents’ divorce. His new stepfather had a violent temper and was very controlling. The
tension was so severe that his 17-year-old sister announced one day that the stepfather
had molested her and promptly moved out. Luke had also learned accidentally from
another student at school that Luke’s real father lived just 30 miles away and that he
had met him before. Luke had never seen his biological father. All these factors deeply
affected Luke’s self-esteem and his growing anger toward others.
One day while walking alone in a local park, Luke noticed a young, cute little boy by
himself. Luke called to the boy and offered to show him some kittens he had just found
in the woods nearby. Once inside the wooded area, Luke attacked and strangled the
boy. He then smashed in the boy’s skull with a large rock and sodomized him with a
stick. After making up several misleading stories, Eric eventually confessed that he
alone had killed the boy but could not explain his actions, nor did he appear particularly
concerned about the killing. What was it that made Luke kill? Was Luke biologically
predisposed to violence? Was it lack of parental nurturing? Could there have been other
environmental factors influencing Luke? Luke was sentenced to several years in prison.
–old sister announced one day that the stepfat A Ponzi Scheme
Assignment (3- to 5-page paper, double spaced and APA formatted, not including references, title page, or abstract)
Based on the data you gathered in the Risk Assessment Template, address the following in your Assignment:
- Summarize the case you selected.
- Identify and analyze the demographics and risk factors (e.g., acute, direct, proxy, short and long term) present in the case that contribute to the subject becoming a victim or offender.
- For offenders, identify and analyze the risk factors that may influence a person, once they have committed their first crime, to continue engaging in criminal behavior.
- For victims, identify and analyze the risk factors that might facilitate continued victimization.
- Explain whether there is a correlation between risk factors and the types of crimes that are likely to occur and why.
- Rate the subject (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being most likely) as to how likely is it they will commit a crime or become a victim.
Your conclusions should be supported with scholarly evidence from your research and/or the Learning Resources and properly cited using APA style.