Criminologists identify types of killer who use Facebook to carry out crimes
British criminologists identify profiles of murderers who use popular social networking site but stress technology itself is inherently safe
Researchers at Birmingham City University have identified six types of killer who use Facebook to commit crimes, in the first study of how the social networking site can affect criminal behaviour.
Dr Elizabeth Yardley and Professor David Wilson, from the British university's centre of applied criminology, analysed cases of murder in which the site had been reported as a significant factor.
They found 48 examples from across the world, including that of Wayne Forrester, a British truck driver who killed his wife, Emma, in 2008 after reading her Facebook posts in which she claimed that they had separated and she wanted to meet other men.
She had also changed her Facebook relationship status to "single".
The researchers identified the types of killers as: reactor, informer, antagonist, fantasist, predator and impostor.
A reactor is as straightforward as it sounds: someone who sees something that enrages them on Facebook, and they react violently - often with lethal force.