The allegation that Jessica Padgett's stepfather videotaped himself having sex with her dead body did not surprise Dr. Fred Berlin, a sexual disorders expert who testified at the trial of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
Necrophilia pornography can be found online, Berlin noted, and there is an Internet community of people who share an interest in having sex with corpses.
"The struggle with the Internet, though, is determining which online accounts are real and which are just fantasy," Berlin said.
If Gregory R. Graf, 53, of Allen Township, is convicted of murdering the 33-year-year Padgett and sexually abusing her corpse in his home, he'll join a short but disturbing list of killers who have committed one of the ultimate taboos.
Serial killers Ted Bundy and Ed Gein admitted to sexually abusing the bodies of people they murdered, as did mass murderer Henry Lee Lucas, who reportedly told investigators that he preferred sex with the dead because "I like peace and quiet."
Berlin is the founder of the Johns Hopkins Sexual Disorders Clinic and serves as director of its Sexual Behaviors Consultation Unit. He testified as a defense expert at Dahmer's trial, helping jurors understand why Dahmer was compelled to sexually abuse the bodies of all 17 of his victims.
Berlin said necrophilia is exceedingly rare, but can often lead to tragic circumstances. Dahmer, for example, would drug young men so he could pretend they were corpses.
"He was acting out a fantasy which escalated into violence," he said.
For some, necrophilia brings to mind serial killers such as Dahmer and Bundy who had multiple victims, but Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli dismissed that idea in this case.
"The thought always passes your mind," Morganelli said. "I have no evidence of that at the present time."
Necrophilia is best described as sexual arousal stimulated by a dead body. Necrophiliacs get sexually excited by fantasies about, or actual contact with, a corpse.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health professionals in the United States, the criteria for necrophilia are the presence, over a period of at least six months, of recurrent and intense urges and sexually arousing fantasies involving corpses that are either acted upon or have been markedly distressing.
The condition is not curable, Berlin said, but can be managed with a combination of sexual appetite suppressing medication and therapy.
Morganelli disclosed on Friday that Graf allegedly made a video of himself engaged in several sex acts with Padgett's body, saying it was clear from the images that she was dead.
He said the state police investigation is ongoing, and troopers continue to examine Graf's computer where the video was found.
As with most sexual perversions, necrophilia is usually committed by males between the ages of 20 and 50, studies show. Some necrophiliacs seek jobs that give them access to corpses, such as morgue attendants and cemetery caretakers.
"The vast majority of people who work at these places are not interested in sex with the dead, but people do tend to gravitate to places that give them access to things that they are attuned to sexually," Berlin said.
Berlin, who specializes in the evaluation and treatment of adults and adolescents with psychosexual disorders, said it would not surprise him if no one close to Graf knew about his alleged interest in necrophilia. He said it's a shame that Graf didn't talk to a doctor about his urges before they allegedly turned violent.
"One of the unfortunate things about our society is that we do not encourage people to speak up about any deviate sexual thoughts they are having," Berlin said. "Instead, we're always picking up the pieces."
The case is not the first Morganelli has prosecuted with potential elements of necrophilia. In 2001, a Northampton County jury convicted 23-year-old Douglas Crist of murdering Debra LaForm, the 42-year-old mother of his fiancee.
Jurors concluded that Crist bludgeoned LaForm with a hammer in her Bethlehem home, then set a fire to erase evidence. Crist was also charged with rape, but jurors acquitted him on that count because they believed the sexual assault occurred after her death.
Crist is serving a life sentence for the killing.
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