Although great strides have been made particularly during the last decade in our understanding of sexual serial murder, much remains to be learnt about this phenomenon. There thus exists the rationale for continued theoretical development and empirical enquiry. The existing literature suggests that Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory has been given limited consideration as a theoretical framework which could contribute to the understanding of serial sexual murder. The focus of this article is to apply the theory to the case of convicted serial rapist and killer, Bobby Joe Long, to demonstrate its potential usefulness as a framework within which serial sexual murder could be conceptually formulated and empirically investigated. The findings of the case study indicate particular applicability of Freudian concepts including phallic/Oedipal fixation leading to a weak superego, precocity and disturbed peer relating during latency leading to a lack of empathy, failure during the genital stage to sublimate the sexual and aggressive instincts, narcissistic object choice, development of perversion and sadism, and the compulsion to repeat.