# How common is two perpetrators in this sort of crime? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 5, 2021, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-two-perpetrators-in-this-sort-of-crime/943664 "2021-06-05T06:41:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Danger\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Danger\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danger_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2021, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-two-perpetrators-in-this-sort-of-crime/943664/1 "2021-06-05T06:41:48Z")
In 2000 two girls ages 8 and 10 were raped and murdered in Norway and two people were convicted. One of them is now released because he might be innocent. > **[Baneheia murders](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baneheia_murders)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > The Baneheia murders (Norwegian: Baneheia-drapene) was a double rape and murder that occurred in Norway on 19 May 2000. The victims were two girls, 10-year-old Lena Sløgedal Paulsen and 8-year-old Stine Sofie Austegard Sørstrønen. They were found raped and killed in the Baneheia area in Kristiansand. The murders received massive media attention in Norway in the early 2000s. > Two men were convicted (in 2001) for the murders: Jan Helge Andersen ... One of the aspects discussed is that this sort of crime is almost always done by a single perpetrator. I have been unable to find any statistics about this, so I am asking here. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2021, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-two-perpetrators-in-this-sort-of-crime/943664/2 "2021-06-05T12:47:19Z")
“It seems to be a lot less common to have two perpetrators” is not the statistic you’re looking for, but there have certainly been instances of duo sociopaths committing such crimes, such as the Hillside Stranglers and these two dolls: > **[Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Bittaker_and_Roy_Norris)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Lawrence Sigmund Bittaker (September 27, 1940 – December 13, 2019) and Roy Lewis Norris (February 5, 1948 – February 24, 2020), also known as the Tool Box Killers, were two American serial killers and rapists who committed the kidnapping, rape, torture, and murder of five teenage girls in southern California over a five-month period in 1979. > Described by FBI Special Agent John E. Douglas as the most disturbing individual for whom he has ever cr... ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2021, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-two-perpetrators-in-this-sort-of-crime/943664/3 "2021-06-05T13:01:15Z")
In the 1920’s, Clarence Darrow represented Leopold and Leob who apparently murdered a 10-year-old boy for fun. Leonard Lake and Charles Ng raped and murdered a number of women in California in the 1970’s. I read the Wiki article - what struck me is that Norway is not much different from North America, where prosecutors will lie cheat and deny to use every trick in the book rather than consider the possibility they made a mistake. The piece missing from the article is any description of how long and how well the two accused knew each other. I would think two people would have to be very very close friends for either to suggest to the other to discuss what sick fantasies they have and say “Hey, let’s commit a heinous rape and murder for real”. Usually one is the leader and the other the follower. The article mentions this is how things were portrayed in the trial, that Anderson was the follower, but the article does not explain how this was demonstrated, what sort of relationship the two had before the murders. ---
**Author:** ![Danger\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Danger\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danger_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2021, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-two-perpetrators-in-this-sort-of-crime/943664/4 "2021-06-05T13:48:53Z")
They were together all the time, and were seen as the local weirdos, that always got in trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2021, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-two-perpetrators-in-this-sort-of-crime/943664/5 "2021-06-06T07:19:03Z")
Would the killers of _In Cold Blood_ qualify as such a pairing? But their mass murders did not involve rape, though they did consider it. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2021, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-two-perpetrators-in-this-sort-of-crime/943664/6 "2021-06-06T08:41:08Z")
I mean “Gang rape” is a recognized term, so it can’t be that unusual. According to wikipedia > Rape gang members often have a binding force such as the same religion, race or place of residence thereby forming a close-knit peer pressure group, encouraged by the behavior of their fellow criminals. In a 2013 study based on 25-year crime data from US and Europe, between 10% to 20% of all rapes were gang rapes.