The literature on sexual homicide and serial murder has offered mostly desc
riptive or anecdotal accounts. What seems to underscore these crimes is a s
eries of paraphilias (i.e., sexually deviant behaviors) that give rise to v
iolent conduct. The motivational model of Burgess et al. and the trauma-con
trol model of Hickey indicate as much in their respective sexual homicide a
nd serial murder typologies. However neither model offers a detailed concep
tual account of the etiology and process of paraphilias, especially in rela
tionship to lust murder; or erotophonophilia. This article attempts to fill
this gap in the research. The authors demonstrate how the motivational and
trauma-control typologies are assimilable, making possible an integrated t
heoretical paraphilic schema. The authors explain how paraphilias as a syst
em of behavior function as motive in the sexually sadistic act of lust murd
er They conclude by exploring the implications of their conceptual synthesi
s for clinical forensic treatment and law enforcement practice.