Elizabeth Gurian

Gurian is a Charles A. Dana Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Norwich University and the Director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. She teaches about criminal violence, capital punishment, and courts, and mentors undergraduate students. Her research focuses on multicide offenders, including serial and mass murderers, lone actor terrorists, and mass shooters.

In 2016, Gurian was awarded an American Association of University Women publication grant for her work exploring serial murder adjudication and outcome patterns, which has since culminated in her book, Serial and Mass Murder: Understanding Multicide Through Offending Patterns, Explanations, and Outcomes. She has published in several leading criminology journals, and she has discussed her work through media such as BBC Radio, VPR, WCAX, and the New York Times and CBS podcast, “Why Women Kill.”

Ph.D. Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge
M.S. Criminal Justice, Northeastern University
B.S. Human Physiology, Boston University

Professor Gurian studies extreme forms of criminal violence, including serial and mass murder, lone-actor terrorism, co-offending, and capital punishment. Her research analyzes offending patterns, media narratives, and criminal justice responses to better understand disparities and improve evidence-based approaches to serious crime.

She holds a master’s in criminal justice from Northeastern University, where she worked with Dr. James Fox, and a doctorate from the University of Cambridge under Dr. Loraine Gelsthorpe. Her dissertation used a multi-method analysis of female and partnered homicide offenders.

Gurian mentors undergraduate researchers and encourages them to stay curious, push through obstacles, and seek support when working with emotionally heavy topics.

Her current projects include a Department of Defense collaboration with multiple universities and work with NUARI on The Murder Matrix, an online serial-killer data repository. Despite early advice to avoid specializing in serial murder, she continues to expand the field with new questions and fresh perspectives.

CJ 310 Courts
CRIM 316 Criminal Violence
CRIM 350 Capital Punishment
CJ 410 Senior Seminar

Gurian, E.A. (2022). Serial and mass murder: Understanding multicide through offending patterns, explanations, and outcomes. New York, NY: Routledge.

2020 Gurian, EA & Woodbury Tease, A. Shadow and substance: an examination of capital punishment through the lens of the Twilight Zone and Black Mirror. JCJPC, 20(1): 43-58.

2018 Gurian EA. Offending, adjudication, and outcome patterns of solo male, solo female, and partnered mass murderers. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62(7): 1906-1924.