Case Study 1: Cayetano Santos Godino

Profiling exercise
Obviously such documents as police reports and pathologists’ reports are not
available to you. Using the information available to you in this module, and any
further information you can collect from research in books or the internet, complete
the following profile sheet. Try to avoid simple 'yes' or 'no' answers and give reasons
to support your answer. Using the information from your profile sheet, write a brief
pen picture of the offender of around 250 words.

1. Identify the type of murders that Godino committed. (Mass murder, spree
murder, serial murder).

2. Detail any specific incidents in the first 10 years of Godino’s life that would be
possible criminogenic factors that influenced his later violent offending; that is,
what early incidents are possible causes of his violence?
3. What were the offence characteristics for Godino’s first attempted murder at the
age of 7?

4. What factors prevented Godino’s first few murder attempts from becoming
murders? Did they have any influence on his MO for these early attempts?

5. Prior to entering Reform School, Godino had attempted a number of murders.

Were the victims specifically targeted? Why?
6. What were the motivations for these early crimes?

7. What are your thoughts regarding the change of MO between the early murder
attempts and the Arturo Laurora murder?

8. What role does fire play in several of Godino’s offences (including the murder of
Reyna Vainicoff)? What do you think is Godino’s motivation for the use of fire?
9. Is there any difference in those violent offences committed before and those after
his time in Reform School? (Think about MO, victim profile, location, etc.).

10. Did Godino’s modus operandi remain consistent over the course of the murders
and attempted murders? Why or why not?

11. Were the murder sites and discovery (abduction) sites the same in the majority
of murders (attempted and actual)?
12. Was the murder of Jesualdo Giordano a planned attack?

13. Provide a detailed description of offender characteristics at the point in 1912

when Godino was arrested. Consider as much detail as possible (including race,
gender, age, employment, education, family history, criminal history, etc.).

14. Was Godino an organised or disorganised killer? Provide evidence for your
answer.
15. Do the crime scenes (including crime scenes for attempted murders) reflect the
common findings of the medical reports submitted at Godino’s trial? Give
reasons for your answer.

16. When Godino was arrested for the murder of Jesualdo Giordano he was
questioned by the police. He explained he had ‘committed the murders for fun
and it was purely the desire to kill which motivated his actions.’ Do you think this
is accurate or not? In what ways do the attempted and actual murders reflect (or
not reflect) these motivations?

17. If you do not accept Godino’s confession above, what appears to be the primary
motive for the offences?
18. In your opinion, what was Godino’s psychological state of mind in 1912 when he
committed the Jesualdo Giordano murder?