Signature murders: A report of the 1984 Cranbrook, British Columbia cases

Two females, Denean Worms and Brenda Hughes, were murdered in separate even ts in Cranbrook, British Columbia in 1984 within three months of each other . Terrence Wayne Burlingham was found guilty of both murders and he appeale d. The Supreme Court of Canada granted Burlingham a new trial in the Worms case, but no evidence from Burlingham's confession nor the murder weapon co uld be used. The Crown counsel requested an evaluation of the two murders t o determine if they were committed by the same person. The analyses of thos e murders revealed that they were linked by a personal "signature" of the k iller. The murder cases reported here demonstrate a control-oriented signat ure. The killer used .410 shotgun as his method of control and death, engag ed in overkill of each victim by shooting them twice in the head, and left the victims in sexually degrading positions. Another signature feature was the absence of typical wounds to the victims which would be expected from a serial sex offender. All of these characteristics, in combination, account ed for this killer's personal expression.