SDT Bonus Content

Profiler's report on Henry Dixon

CW: Contains mentions of sexual assault/abuse (no description). 

Summary of the forensic report on Henry Dixon, by Professor Solomon Benvinisti, member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Association of Criminal Profilers

Dated 9th August 2023

Henry Alexander Dixon was born on 18th September 1978 to an upper class family. He enjoyed a political career in the House of Commons and the House of Lords and was influential in many of the Conservative Party's decisions. However, all this is overshadowed by the fact that he killed 22 people and has claimed his place as one of the most prolific serial killers of the 21st Century.

The case has shocked the nation and made international headlines, especially in countries where his murders were carried out. Many people will see a poetic justice in the spectacular manner of his demise, while others will be disappointed that he was not found guilty by a court of law, and some families will never have answers as to why he committed his crimes. With this report, I hope to provide some insight into his likely motivations, and help to prevent such cases in the future.

The first part of the report will be dedicated towards categorising Dixon's murders within the FBI's typology of serial killers. Then, it will go on to discuss Dixon's early life and upbringing, the genesis of his offending behaviour and opportunities that were missed. It will then go on to discuss his modus operandi and notable features of his crimes before giving recommendations for the future.

What follows is a summary of the report's findings. The full report is 100 pages long and it will be available to the police and prison services, and a copy will be available to download from the Association of Criminal Profilers' website.

Categorisation

Defining a serial killer is controversial, but in conventional usage, a serial killer is generally defined as an offender who murders three or more people in a period of over a month.

The FBI divide serial killers into two main categories, organised and disorganised.

The organised serial killer plans murders thoroughly, and takes care to remove forensic evidence from the scene. The most likely demographic group is generally regarded as that of a white male in his 40s with an IQ over 100, but recent research has demonstrated that such offenders falling into other demographic groups are more common than often thought. Typically, this type of offender holds down a successful job and is often regarded as a pillar of the community. Henry Dixon is widely regarded as such a killer, as for most of his career, he was meticulous at cleaning up crime scenes, had the help of numerous associates and avoided detection for 25 years.

The disorganised killer does not take care to remove evidence from the scene. The crime scenes are likely to be messy and chaotic, and time between murders is typically very short. This type of offender is more likely to report delusions or voices telling them to kill. While there are no indications he heard voices, during the final stages of his campaign Henry Dixon fell into the category of a disorganised killer who made minimal attempts to obscure his crimes, and could only do so due to money. The final murder he committed, that of a flight attendant on board his private jet, was an example of this.

This is not an exact categorisation. As in the case of Henry Dixon, organised killers often become disorganised if their stress levels rise, for example if they are aware they are close to being caught. The time between murders will decrease, and they will take less care with the scene. Conversely, disorganised killers can take on more elements of organisation with confidence and experience. With certain categories of victims, even disorganised killers can avoid detection for years.

A third category has been identified, the 'mixed' category, which contains both elements of organised and disorganised murderers, and it is my opinion that Henry Dixon fell into this category.