Homicide cases where the victim’s remains are hidden are particularly harmful to the victim’s families and the community.

For investigators, these cases can also be particularly complex. They not only have to solve the case, they also have to coordinate a search for the victim and manage the victim’s family and community expectations for timely justice.

When multiple people work together to hide a body, things get even more difficult for investigators, and little research has been done to study the group dynamics of people who work together in these situations.

My recently published research examining 36 cases of group-based body disposal in Australia between 1988 and 2020 has found unique hiding behaviours not previously identified.

Often, police rely on historical information regarding hiding patterns – such as offenders hiding remains in bushland, or in lakes and waterways – in addition to detailed information collected through........

© The Conversation