The thesis offers a new solution to a scientific task related to the formation of a methodology for investigating the murder of a hostage or abducted person.
It has been emphasised that the theoretical basis for the formation of the methodology for investigating the murders of a hostage or a kidnapped person is to clarify the state of scientific development of this problem by analysing the scientific developments of specialists in the fields of criminal law, criminology, criminal procedure, and criminalistics. The analysis of the state and level of solving issues related to the regulation of the theoretical and practical foundations of the criminal law qualification of criminal offences, the organisation and implementation of activities for the prevention, counteraction, and pre-trial investigation of criminal offences and crimes, and the formation of group, specific, and subspecific forensic methods has been carried out.
Attention has been focused on the peculiarities of qualification and investigation of criminal offences against the life and health of a person in general and premeditated murders (general and qualifying) in particular. An overview of the state of research on issues related to the investigation of murders, in particular a hostage or a kidnapped person, at the monographic level (theses, monographs), in scientific articles and reports (in periodicals, materials of conferences, seminars, round tables, symposiums, etc.), in scientific and practical publications (scientific, and methodological recommendations, scientific, practical, and practical manuals). It has been established that the developments on the peculiarities of the investigation of the murders of a hostage or a kidnapped person are fragmentary and do not fully solve the problems related to the formation of an appropriate separate forensic methodology.
The factors that in their totality determine the prospects for the formation of a methodology for investigating the murders of a hostage or a kidnapped person have been singled out and characterized: qualitative and quantitative indicators of crime in general and in a separate sphere of social relations; complexity of the mechanism for committing criminal offences of a particular type (group); lack of scientific papers, information, reference, and methodological literature in which recommendations on criminal law qualification, detection, documentation, and pre-trial investigation would be formed; low level of awareness of practitioners in the regularities of the mechanism for committing criminal offences of a particular type (group), the peculiarities of organisation, planning, and implementation of their investigation; insufficient level of scientific development of the problems of investigation of a particular type (group) of criminal offences; resonance of a criminal offence of a particular variety; political, socio-economic, and security changes in society that directly affect the criminogenic situation and the peculiarities of the implementation of criminal procedural activities, etc. It has been proven that the construction of the proposed separate forensic methodology is a prognostic activity.
