Shared Madness True Stories Of Couples Who Kill

It is an extraordinary, but well-documented phenomenon--two people, who seem relatively harmless alone, team up, and the results are terrifyingly explosive. Such unfortunate unions have been behind some of the most shocking news stories of recent years. But what is it that makes couples like Myra Hindley and Ian Brady follow such a twisted path of sociopathic violence? He offers a rare, if uncomfortable, insight into the truth behind the headlines and exposes some of the most cold-blooded killers that the world has ever seen. Included are some well known cases, including the sickening murders committed by Fred and Rose West at their very own house of horror, 25 Cromwell Street. Other cases are more obscure, but equally fascinating, such as the story of Cynthia Coffman and James Gregory Marlow whose relationship led to three brutal murders. Every one of the 22 cases of shared madness is a uniquely revealing study, making this a must-read for anyone with an interest in true crime and criminal psychology.

Bestselling author Christopher Berry-Dee returns with a companion volume that delves even deeper into the evil world of psychopaths and their hideous crimes. In Talking with Psychopaths: Beyond Evil, criminologist Berry-Dee combines sections on killers whom he has known, interviewed, or corresponded with, with studies of psychopathic serial killers from the past, including Peter Kurten, the Dusseldorf Monster; John Christie, a murderer and necrophile; and Neville Heath, a ladykiller in every sense of the word. The result is a chilling narrative that sets the forensic examination of killers and their crimes within the context of murder in the 20th and 21st centuries, and the insoluble problem of identifying these psychopaths. This is not a book for the squeamish but is undeniably fascinating in its portrayal of just what one human being will do to another—while all too often moving among us unnoticed and unhindered. If their crimes seem as incomprehensible as they are horrific, it is undeniably true that the world’s most wicked killers may be much closer than we think.

Love and lust are among the most powerful of emotions, but when a joint thirst for violence is thrown into the mix, it creates the ultimate lethal cocktail. This title explores the deadly dynamic that exists within the relationship of men and women whose romantic obsession leads them to commit acts of bloody devastation.

What drives attractive male cousins to rape and kill ten young women? Why do an altar girl and her boyfriend lure innocent victims into their customised torture van? Couples who kill comprise only twenty per cent of killers, but they often murder serially and are responsible for particularly inhumane deaths. Sadistic friends, psychotic sisters and an increasingly pathological mother-son team are amongst those profiled in this exploration of the world's most deviant duos. There are infamous British cases, such as the Moors Murderers and the Wests, as well as many equally disturbing but less well-known ones. In the third of this series, which focuses on the psychology of murderers, Carol Anne Davis explores the formative influences of these killers and their deadly dynamics. Comprising of thirteen in-depth case studies and exclusive interviews with experts and one of the Wests' surviving victims, "Couples Who Kill" provides an unequalled study of this disturbing subject.

A true crime account and analysis of a California housewife’s murder of her husband and the revealing trial that followed. In October 2002, Susan Polk, the soft-spoken mother of three teenage boys, was arrested for stabbing her husband and former therapist, Dr. Felix Polk, to death. Three years later she was tried for first degree murder, choosing to act as her own attorney in a trial that rapidly devolved into one of the most outrageous media circuses in modern history. To a crowded courtroom, Susan Polk presented her defense—a bizarre story of unethical therapies, abuse, repressed memories, and satanic rituals—and, in doing so, exposed her madness. Carol Pogash was there. Seduced by Madness is the remarkably compelling, profoundly disturbing true story of the severe dysfunction of an affluent American family, as told by the leading journalist who worked the case. It is a spellbinding re-creation of a troubled life, a marriage, a murder, and a terrifying, inexorable descent into madness. Praise for Seduced by Madness “While the background is fascinating, the coverage of the trial is mesmerizing. Pogash takes the characters . . . and creates an edge-of-your-seat excitement. For fans of true crime, psychology, courtroom drama and truth-is-stranger-than fiction, this is a triumph.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)