Couples Who Kill by Carol Anne Davis

Couples who kill comprise only twenty per cent of killers, but they often murder serially and are responsible for particularly inhumane deaths. Comprising thirteen case studies, this book, which focuses on the psychology of murderers, explores the formative influences of these killers and their deadly dynamics.

As soon as we see "couples" we immediately see "man and woman" right? This book covers 13 cases of couples who have killed but it actually refers to killer duos rather than "couples" as we know it.

This book is one of the books I bought used from my little bookstore with the dodgy guy with the ladder who lurks in the backroom unless a customer needs him to reach a high shelf so he appears with his ladder and then returns to the back.For E.H. who wanted to know what he does at the back,he actually fixes toasters and stuff unless he needs to help out customers by getting down the very high books.This book is also one of the ones I promised to review in the last blogiesta which was a 1000 moons ago.

Back to the book,this was a good read.It blends psychological facts into a well researched storyline.Most of the case studies has childhood background on the main characters,the crime itself and the victims,once caught it delves into the defense strategy of each participant,the prison sentences each received,the myth on each specific case i.e. what actually happened,who killed who,etc...,then the dynamics between the killers which resulted in the murderous spree,and finally (I love this!)an update on where the killers are now.

Case 1-Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris
former prison friends who kidnapped,raped and killed teenage girls

Case 2-Frances and Marc Schreuder
Mother and teenage son who conspired and killed the mother's father and the son's grandfather.

Case 3-Alton Coleman and Debra Brown
They were a couple in the conventional sense of the word.This pair is unusual in that they were a killing black male/white female duo.They killed multiple times.There was no apparent MO, with males and females being killed,the only striking similarity is that all the victims were black.

Case 4-Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono
These were two cousins who embarked on a serial torture-killing spree.(There is a full book dedicated to this true crime story called The Hillside Stranglers:ISBN 978-0786711581)

Case 5-Dean Corll and Wayne Henley
This is also a couple in the conventional sense of the word.They were homosexiual lovers who went on to torture and kill at least 27 boys.

Case 6-Diane Zamora and David Graham
This is the fairly well known true crime story of a young couple who after a fight,David pretended to have had sex with another girl.Diane Zamora,in a fit of jealoysy and anger,decided that David must kill this girl in order to preserve the sanctity of their relationship.

Case 7-Leonard Lake and Charles Ng
These two murderers killed babies as well.They also filmed the killings.Thi is quite a well known and publicized case.There is a book devoted entirely to this true crime story:ISBN 978-0786019267)

Case 8-Marlene Olive and Charles Riley
Marlen Olive had a highly abusive childhood and no doubt from that developed her manipulative nature which ended up with her manipulating her teenage boyfriend Charles Riley into killing for her.

Case 9-Lucas Salmon and George Woldt
A pair of friends where Lucas was a sexually repressed misfit and George Woldt,a wife beater,eager to take the dominant role in this killing relationship.Together they killed one girl.For a full book on this specific true crime story read my review here on Partners In Evil by Steve Jackson

Case 10-James Daveggio and Michelle Michaud
This killer couple sexually assaulted 17 female victims,ending up in murder.

Case 11-Amy Grossberg and Brian Peterson
A young teenage couple who decided the best form of birth control was to have the baby,strangle it,and then throw the baby away with the garbage.For a full book dedicated to this true crime story read my review here on Always In Our Hearts by Doug Most.

Case 12-Myra Hindley and Ian Brady
A killer couple who over the period of their crime spree killed many young victims.(I am not too happy with this writer's views on Myra Hindley being more battered than an equal member of this killing couple.Considering she is the one who would coerce young victims to their death,I find that viewpoint a bit sickening)

Case 13-Rose and Fred West
The ultimate killer couple,this couple raped,tortured and killed their victims,even their own children.(Review coming soon on the book Fred And Rose by Howard Sounes)

Further a chapter on British couples who kill children,another chapter on British couples who kill serially,another on British couples where one partner is exonerated.

Chapter 17 is on bizarre couples who kill with quite a few examples with very interesting storylines including brief backgrounds on each.

The final chapter entitled "The Abuse Excuse" provides a brief summaration of the case studfies mentioned earlier this time delving into the psychology of each crime and the after effects of abuse.

I would recommend reading this book if you are especially interested in the childhood background and psychology of killers.



Here are some more book details:
Couples Who Kill
Country: United Kingdom
Format: Softcover
Publisher: Allison & Busby
ISBN: 9780749081751
Publication date: March 2007
Pages: 398

And some more books by Carol Anne Davis which run along the same formats but about a different type of crime

Women Who Kill: Profiles of Female Serial Killers

Children Who Kill: Profiles of Pre-teen and Teenage Killers (2003)

Parents Who Kill: Murderers of Newborn, Pre-Teen and Teenage Children

Youthful Prey: Child Predators Who Kill

Erased By Marilee Strong

Marilee Strong brings years of experience probing the darker areas of human psychology to reveal what is really going on behind the endless stream of missing women stories that have dominated the news since the disappearance of Laci Peterson.The author presents a completely original theory about a disguised form of domestic homicide - eraser killing - and the strange and complex psychology of otherwise normal men driven to erase the women, and sometimes children, they claim to love from their lives. Erased reexamines the Peterson case and explores more than 50 others fascinating and notorious killings that fit this new psychological and criminal profile and exposes how easy it can be to get away with murder.

I will be honest and say that this was not the type of book which once I started reading I could not put down.It is just not that type of book.I put it down many times and yet I would keep coming back to read some more.It read a bit like a text book and I remember the days when I was still studying where the first time you read a text book it makes no sense,the second time with bits of note taking,it starts to take form and then finally everything falls into place and makes absolute sense(hopefully just before you take the actual written test/exam).I obviously only read this book once as I read for entertainment.I have however set it aside for a 2nd time read as I really do want to understand this crime of eraser killing.

Just see the table of contents I am going to include here:
Introduction: A Crime Without a Name.
PART ONE: ERASER KILLING: THE HISTORY AND PSYCHOLOGY OF A NEW CRIMINAL PROFILE.
1. Out of the Shadows.
2. The Dark Triad.
3. The Real American Tragedy.
PART TWO: GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER.
4. The Lady-Killer.
5. Disappearing Acts.
6. Hiding in Plain Sight.
7. Pregnant and Vulnerable: When a Child is Seen as a Threat.
PART THREE: A PSYCHOLOGICAL AUTOPSY OF A CLASSIC ERASER KILLING.
8. A Watery Grave.
9. Keeping Secrets.
10. Too Good to Be True.
11. Seeds of a Plan.
12. A Collision Course.
13. Sex, Lies, and Audiotape.
Conclusion: Fixing a Broken System.Bibliographical Sources.
About the Author.
Index.

I have read similar books to this and one of them is Base Instincts:What Makes Killers Kill which is written by a neurologist and what I liked about this book is the clear direction each chapter has and a short brief description at the beginning of each chapter which lets you know which direction this specific chapter is taking.This book did not have any of that.I was flailing most of the time,considering if I should start taking notes and then put them together so they make sense to me and then I thought,no,this should be the way the book should have been written in the first place.Another negative was the use of the words "eraser killing" and "eraser killer".So many times I thought I was getting hypnotized.In fact I am dreading come January when I go buy stationery for the kids for the new school year and getting to the part where I ask for an "eraser" and end up in a deep trance.Ok enough of the negative stuff.

Now for the good.I have easily read every book on the Laci Rocha (Peterson) killing and yet this book has so much more information on this case.Stuff which never came out in all those other books.Interesting things that those writers should have really included(if they even knew about it).There were parts of this book which moved so fast and was so incredibly interesting and then just as suddenly,we would enter a slow part and I would be tortured again.But I would hang in there because I knew what goes up must come down and go up again?i hoped.And it did.I would recommend reading this book because it provides a completely original viewpoint/insight into this act of eraser killing which is the "motiveless" killing of wives (usually pregnant) by their husbands who for the most part have been wonderful husbands.I especially decided to get this book because Base Instincts deals with killers on death row and Dr Jonathan Pincus expressly states that his studies do not cover men who kill their wives for no apparent reason.This book Erased promised information and explanations on this type of killing.This book also provides information on different cases where this type of crime occurs and this was extremely insightful as I had had no idea of the frequency of this type of crime.I really do wish the writing and information provided had been more structured maybe taking ordinary people like me into account.I believe it contains all the information needed or required just not laid out properly.

So bearing the above in mind,I do recommend reading the book and if you would like to take on this reading challenge then South African readers should access a copy of this book via Kalahari Books and for more reviews then access via the Amazon link below.
Erased: Missing Women, Murdered Wives
To prove to you all that I really mean this I have already ordered another book by Marilee Strong titled A Bright Red Scream which is about the aftereffects of childhood abuse and trauma.I will be more prepared for this style of writing.Sometimes you just have to get used to a certain way of writing before you can truly enjoy a book.So I have not given up yet but feel more prepared for Marilee Strong's next book.Watch out for that review.
Here are some more book details:

Country: United States of America
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: JOSSEY-BASS
ISBN: 9780787996390
Publication date: March 2008
Pages: 352
Illustrations: Illustrated

My Question:
If a pregnant woman is murdered should the killer be convicted for one or two murders?Should the length of time she is pregnant be taken into account,as in more than 6 months pregnant or some other rule?I have some ideas but I will post along with your comments!

Base Instincts:What Makes Killers Kill? by Jonathan H Pincus M.D.

Neurologist, Dr Jonathan Pincus examined and probed into the family and medical history of numerous serial killers and other violent criminals to analyze what creates and triggers the violent instinct. He discovered that virtually all suffered severe abuse as a child, as well as brain damage and mental illness. In these terrifying stories Pincus concludes that violent criminal behaviour is the product of a dysfunctional brain coupled with an abusive environment. focusing on these critical factors, how can we prevent the development of potentially violent persons from a young age before the damage becomes irreversable? And how do we evaluate the chances of rehabilitation?

I was watching a Dr Phil program called "I Survived" and as usual started crying.My ever so observant daughter then took the time to point out the following "I know you cry when the people die but these people survived,Mom.Do you just cry all the time?.I included the above to try and explain my reaction to this book.I cried for these men on death row,not for the men that they became but for the innocent child that they were once,that through the hardship they suffered in their lives that caused them to become the monsters that they are.I know that all babies are born perfect and absolutely innocent.That children if brought up with love and security all grow up to be productive members of society.I cry for the adults that they could have been if they had been lucky enough to have good parents.I am not sure that I have mentioned this but I am a strong believer that nurture has more of a basis in the making of a criminal than nature does.But I will highlight my reasons in the review of Base Instincts which follows after this.

Dr Jonathan Pincus presents the argument that a combination of frontal lobe damage(nature) and abuse as a child(nurture) results in some extreme cases in the making of a killer.His analysis is based on tests and interviews he conducted with over 150 men on death row.While I fully agree with the results of his studies I still stand firmly on my "nurture" stance.As I was reading I already had an e mail in mind to send with some questions I had.Fortunately my questions were answered later on in the book.While he argues that these killers are born with frontal lobe damage to the brain or caused in an accident(nature) as a basis,my opinion is that some of this frontal lobe damage is created as a result of the abuse that a child suffers.With such emotional and mental (not physical) trauma on a developing brain I believe that it can alter the dynamics of that young brain.The writer then mentions,in answer to what I just mentioned,that there is a group of people who also believe that,but that this argument is still in its infancy,and tests and studies are still being conducted.So I will wait for those results but I am convinced of that.My argument was further cemented with facts provided by Dr Jonathan Pincus on how the brain develops.The reaction to impulsion is only developed fully at age 25 and physically, brain plates only join completely by age 30.

So while I do not disagree with Jonathan Pincus on his theory we do disagree on where the frontal lobe damage originates from.His opinion is that it is either genetic or caused by an accident which places it under the "nature" option while I allocate frontal lobe damage purely to the "nurture" theory.That being said this was an extremely interesting book which answered so many questions I had.I have always wanted to get into the mind of a serial killer and even considered corresponding with some at one stage(to the utter horror of family members)but this book puts paid to that.

This book Base Instincts offers in each chapter a different scenario of how a certain killer reached his point of no return.The writer explores how he initially met each killer and how this information was coaxed out of him.For the cynical out there.please know that not a single one of those killers admitted to being abused(out of loyalty to their parent or caregiver).This information was gained from family,friends and medical records.

Also note that Jonathan Pincus does not include in his study men who killed for gain or had obvious motives.The killers who were in his study had crimes which all fell under the "senseless" motive.As far as the writer is concerned killers like Scott Peterson just boggle the mind but I am sure and hope that these types of killers will be made sense of in another book.

I could detail each chapter with the emphasis of each crime and study but that would really be a spoiler.Suffice to say that every angle is explored deeply with results and tests which are all explained in laymen's terms.I would absolutely recommend this book to everyone who has ever been interested in the science of the mind.One word of caution,the abuse that these criminals endured as children is described in detail.Some of the details were extremely upsetting as not in my worst nightmares have I encountered what these children went through.After I read this book I am not so firmly convinced of the death penalty but I do still strongly believe that once you have committed murder you are to go to jail for the rest of your life.No possiblity of parole.I have read too many books where serial killers have stated that only the first murder is difficult.It gets easier with practice.We definitely do not need people on the streets who have already gotten a taste of this.

I have also always believed that there should be no statute of limitations on child abuse.After you read this book you will come to realise that walking on the streets with us,in absolute freedom,are people who have created serial killer,and yet have never been made to account and pay for their crimes against children,and ultimately the subsequent murder of people,albeit indirectly.

I give this book the maximum number of stars available on any rating system.


If you would like to read this book then the links are below.Kalahari Books link is for South Africa only and the Amazon link can also be used to access other readers' reviews on this same book.
Kalahari Books
Base Instincts: What Makes Killers Kill?

Here are some more details on this book Base Instincts:What Makes Killers Kill?

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393323238
Publication date: June 2002
Pages: 240
Readership: General; Tertiary education; Professional & scholarly