Well, how is this possible: an adorable child grows up and becomes a violent criminal. Perhaps, initially, something was wrong with him, just no one noticed? Or has the harsh reality turned a naive kid into a serial killer?..
In the middle of the twentieth century, scientists for a moment believed that they had solved the mystery that tormented humanity for thousands of years, found the answer to the question of where cruel criminals come from. Geneticists argued that it was all about the unpaired Y chromosome: it is allegedly responsible for cruelty, propensity for violence and antisocial behavior. Their theory was confirmed by the fact that the 47th Y-chromosome was found in many convicted of serious crimes. As you know, a person normally has 23 pairs of chromosomes. Each pair is made up of a female - X and a male - Y. If an “extra” male gene is found, we can talk about an innate tendency to cruelty. And using genetic analysis to identify potential criminals while still in the cradle - in order to promptly correct behavior undesirable for society.
The theory, of course, is beautiful, slender, and the main one, very convenient - only it did not last long. Soon, additional studies were carried out - and it turned out that the same 47th male chromosome is present in many completely normal people, and has absolutely no effect on their behavior and mental health.
As for severe mental disorders, which, as they say, are visible to the naked eye, this is a completely different story. Naturally, such people are capable of anything, and why they do not receive timely medical care is a separate question.
But we are interested in something else: for the time being, the most famous maniacs lead an unremarkable life, they do not stand out from the crowd and in general often make a very pleasant impression. What, in fact, they use. What makes them do terrible things?
REWRITE SCENARIO
Each person has his own margin of mental strength. And if this "limit" is not high enough, and there are many traumatic situations (especially in childhood), fertile ground for the development of cruelty and other mental disorders may arise.
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The famous maniac John Wayne Gacy, who is often called the "killer clown" in the United States, suffered from the aggressive behavior of his alcoholic father as a child. The boy was unlucky twice: at the age of 9 he became a victim of a pedophile. It is clear that John did not receive the proper psychological support: the parents, as you might guess, had other problems. But for some time it seemed that Gacy had coped with the trauma: he started a family, worked hard … and at 24 he raped a teenager. I repeated the script from my own childhood - just exactly the opposite: now the victim was another guy. Gacy was sentenced to 10 years and … released after a year and a half. Yes, for exemplary behavior: maniacs, like no other, are able to hide and show off. It is surprising that after leaving prison, he remarried (how he convinced his future spouse to connect his life with him is unclear; however,eloquence and some magnetism also distinguish professional maniacs). Now Gacy decided to give people joy: in a clown costume, he performed at various events. And in the evenings he drove around the city in a car, trying to find a nice guy. He made acquaintance, rubbed into trust, brought to his home, and then tortured and raped. And when he felt that the victim was dying, he began to read passages from the Bible …
From 1972 to 1978, he killed 33 people.
MOM Farewell
If Gacy suffered from men as a child, then another serial killer - Carroll Edward Cole - from an early age was a "whipping boy" with his own mother. Cole was born shortly before World War II, and while his father was at the front, his mother constantly cheated on her husband in front of her little son - and then brutally beat the boy so that he would not dare tell his father anything. Even after the war, when the father returned home, she continued to beat the child.
The nightmare awaited Carroll not only at home: at school he was teased for his "girlish" name, until he thought of introducing himself by a second name: Eddie. But, probably, the total hatred of women has already sprouted. True, Cole's first victim was his classmate: ten-year-old Eddie drowned a boy in a lake. For many years this death was considered an accident, until Cole himself confessed to the murder. Probably, it was a "test of the pen": after that for many years Cole did not kill anyone, except perhaps himself, and that was unsuccessful. The man clearly did not want to live and needed help. He even turned to psychiatrists, shared his unhealthy fantasies about killing women. He was treated for some time, but was soon released with a vague diagnosis of personality disorder. As a result, the frustration turned into a series of tragedies: at 33, Cruel began to make his fantasies come true. According to the criminal himself, over the course of 9 years he killed at least 14 women. Perhaps more - he simply did not remember. “In every woman, I killed my mother,” the criminal declared without hiding hatred. Knowing its history, this is not even surprising. The murderer did not challenge the death sentence: after all, once he had already tried to commit suicide - but then no one heard him.
OFFENSIVE GIRLS
It is believed that only men are maniacs. Although there are also known female serial killers. True, there are not many of them. The most famous is American Eileen Carol Warnes.
Her mother, Diana Warnes, married Eileen's father at the age of 15, gave birth to a son at 16, and two months before the birth of her daughter filed for divorce: Eileen's father was imprisoned for rape and attempted murder of an eight-year-old boy. Eileen Warnes never met her dad: he hanged himself in a prison cell. However, she learned the fact that her father was a bad guy for life. Perhaps the grandfather too. The fact is that when Eileen was about 4 years old, her mother left her with her brother in the care of her grandmother and grandfather, and she flew away in an unknown direction. Eileen later claimed that her grandfather raped her, although experts considered her claim dubious. On the other hand, one cannot ignore the fact that all of Warnes's victims are mature men. The youngest was 40, the oldest was 65. It is quite possible that the grandfather did not rape his granddaughter, but she clearly harbored a grudge against him.
About a century earlier, another resentful girl, Jane Toppan, had turned into a “nurse from hell”. Her father was mentally ill, and at first Jane was raised in an orphanage. Then she was adopted. But the adoptive parents turned out to be people of modest income, which only angered Jane. In addition, her adoptive mother constantly reproached her, setting her own daughter Elizabeth as an example. Jane was angry with the whole world - but no one noticed it, so she calmly got a job as a nurse. She liked to mock the sick. At first, she injected them with drugs and watched their condition on the verge of life and death, while experiencing incredible excitement. Then stronger impressions were required - and Jane moved on to lethal doses. Naturally, over time, the hospital suspected something was wrong. Police proved 11 murdersJane Coppan herself confessed to 31 more "experiments" with fatal outcomes. She was considered insane and was locked in a psychiatric hospital, where until the end of her days she was under the influence of psychotropic drugs. Such is the irony of fate - another scenario in reverse …
FIRST CALLS
So far, we have talked about criminals who have experienced serious trauma, have a bad inheritance or an unhappy childhood. But many maniacs are brought up in prosperous families, study successfully, have friends - and suddenly, for no apparent reason, they turn into monsters. Why?
Let's start with the fact that "suddenly" nothing happens. At first glance, the usual manifestations of child cruelty can already be alarming signs, especially when it comes to a child over 6 years old. Suppose a girl forgot to feed the fish and saw that they were all dead. Or a toddler is delighted to grab a fluffy chicken and accidentally choke it. Such incidents can cause a wide variety of feelings in children, from feelings of deep grief to pity and guilt. But not joy and delight. The behavior of a student who enthusiastically torments a kitten or mocks a weak classmate should alert adults. Of course, not always, but in most cases child cruelty can be corrected - and in the future massive tragedies can be avoided. No need to look for excuses for strange actions - it is better to play it safe and visit a specialist. While a person has not yet learned to be cunning, hiding pathological features under the guise of charm and decency.
Anastasia STOLNIKOVA