For decades, stalking has been a subject of research, especially in the United States, Australia, and Canada as those were the first countries to pass anti-stalking legislation. In the U.S., California created the first stalking statute in 1990 (Kentucky passed stalking legislation in 1992). Research indicates that most stalkers are current or former intimates (Mohandie, Meloy, McGowan, & Williams, 2006; Spitzberg & Cupach, 2007; Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998). The 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NIPSVS) reported that about 3.9% of U.S.

Sexual assaults cause psychological and emotional harm to victims, physical injuries, and in extreme cases death (Mieczkowski & Beauregard, 2010; Scott & Beaman, 2004). While each rape and the experience of the victim is unique, studies find that harm is often intensified when vaginal, anal, or oral penetration occur (i.e., completed rape) (e.g., Ullman, 2007). The majority of research focusing on rape completion has found that victim resistance decreases the likelihood of a sexual assault culminating in penetration (Sarah Ullman, 2007), but it may not be that simple.

Studies find that the most frequently used weapon in homicides is a firearm (Catanesi et al., 2011; Cooper & Smith, 2012). However, the use of firearms varies by the offender’s motivation for the crime. For example, Decker (1996) found that when the motive is instrumental, a firearm is used in incidents involving family members, close friends, and other intimates. He also found that the motive is more likely to be expressive in acquaintance-involved homicides that involve physical force, and in stranger homicides that involve a firearm.

Police training on homicide investigations has always suggested that the “first 48 hours” is the most important time period in a homicide investigation (e.g., Carter, 2013). Homicide clearance rates in Canada show that in about half of solved homicides, a suspect is apprehended within the first 48 hours and up to 70% are apprehended within the first week (Cotter, 2014). Some of these cases are solved quickly because the offender was caught at the scene, there was eyewitness identification, or the offender turned himself in (Beauregard & Martineau, 2014).