Killing in general is a horrific idea and thing to do. I’m not talking about killing spiders or flies. I’m talking about killing other human beings.
For me, the different murders and malicious crimes are not surprising anymore. As many articles and stories that I have read, seen, or heard, the horrible acts that people are capable of are not shocking enough to me.
This may seem like I am desensitized or do not care about what happens to others, but it is quite the opposite. It helps me realize that what you think is impossible can actually happen to any one of us. I pride myself on not thinking that I am invincible and nothing will ever hurt me.
The one type of crime that I cannot fathom or even begin to understand are crimes against a child- whether their own or someone else’s.There is a reason there is no word for losing a child. Even the worst criminals in prison willingly attack a new inmate who hurt or murdered a child. Crimes against children could be regarded as one of the most heinous crimes ever.
But how can we begin to understand a killer’s mind in general? No matter whom their victim is, it is tough to wrap our mind around how they were feeling in that moment of rage.
I am a big fan of relating one particular thing to another. So what better way than to try and dissect who a child killer is versus a child who kills their parent? Or let us dig even deeper…are parents who kill their children just late at being the kids who kill their parents?
Sort of a mind boggling question isn’t it? But it could be a possibility. According to the American Anthropological Association (AAA), 3-5 children are killed per day by their parents. That is 1400+ a year about. More than 200 women are committing this crime, which means many of those mothers are killing more than one of their children. Like WHAT?! I may not have kids, but if my mom even thought about actually killing me or my siblings, there would be hell to pay. Of course, you have to look at the ages of the children and think if they could have even prevented it, if possible.
What makes a parent want to kill their child?
-Jealousy
-Hate
-Unwanted
-Scared
-Rape (conceived child by rape and think this is terrible way to bring a child into the world)
-Mental Illness è Prior to Postpartum
The same could be said for a child who kills their parent plus:
-Abused
-Isolation
Notice the similarities? Trauma of any kind ca cause someone to do crazy things to themselves or others. Any human being can block out something terrible or sad. Or they use that event to do something permanent to themselves or others.
If someone who was previously or currently abused allowed to get away with murder?
If a parent was abused as a child, do they know any better? And if a child was abused by a parent, is it self-defense? Lots of questions and so little answers.
Casey Anthony allegedly killed her sweet little girl Caylee; her lawyers claiming that Casey’s own father had previously abused her years ago. If she actually did kill her daughter so she could be free and party all the time, is that okay? Does she deserve a get out of jail free card? (In my opinion, that’s what she got- I have too much to say on her case and not enough vocabulary to explain how I feel about it.)
Here are just some of the parents who have committed these types of crimes:
- Patricia Blackmon, 29 yo, killed her 2 yo in Dothan, AL in May 1999
- Kenisha Berry, 20 yo, covered her 4 day old son with duct tape
- Debra Jean Milke, 25 yo, killed 4 yo son in AZ 1989
- Dora Luz Durenrostro, 34 yo, killed her 2 daughters and son (4,9,8 yo respectively) in CA 1994
- Caro Socorro, 42 yo, kills 3 sons (5,8,11 yo) in Santa Rosa Valley, CA 1999
- Susan Eubanks, 33 yo, murdered 4 sons (4,6,7,14 yo) in San Marcos, CA 1996
- Caroline Young, 49 yo, killed her 4 yo granddaughter and 6 yo grandson, from Haywood, CA
- Robin Lee Row, 35 yo, killed 10 yo son and 8 yo daughter as well as her husband in Boise, ID 1992
- Michelle Sue Tharp, 29 yo, from Burgettstown, PA, killed her 7 yo daughter.
- Frances Elaine Newton, 21 yo, murdered 7 yo son, 2 yo daughter as well as her husband in Houston,TX
- Darlie Lynn Routier, 26 yo, killed 5 yo son in Rowlett, TX
- Teresa Michelle Lewis, 33 yo, killed 26 yo step-son as well as her husband in Keeling, VA
One of the women that stood out the most when reading her case was Kenisha Berry. She had faced further charges for abandonment of another infant, named Parris, in 2003. She left her baby in a roadside ditch, who was covered in ants and ended up surviving. When the infant was found by an 83 year old, Berry went into the police station to claim the child was hers. Berry ended up also being the mother of a third child (Baby Hope) through DNA evidence, who was 4.5 years apart from baby Parris. No where in my findings did it say how close in age the baby duct taped was from Parris and Hope. If you find out, let me know.
Now what do you think? If you go to the police station to make a claim that a child found is yours…but you want to get away with abandoning your child…why even show at the station? Did she just not care? Did she think the baby was not going to survive because he/she wouldn’t eat? Did she have a psychosis? What the hell happened?
**SIDE NOTE**
I just recently read an article about how a woman who was abandoned as a baby has invented the Baby Lock Box that are installed at fire stations. This allows mother’s who can no longer take care of their child to place the baby in the box; an alarm sounds and the box locks. It is sort of like a last resort, no harm no foul for the parent’s who truly cannot take care of the child anymore without being reprimanded. They are called Safe Haven; the link is below in case you want to read more about it.
Do you think that is a good idea? Or will too many people take advantage of it to get out of perhaps child abuse charges? What about the parent’s who kill their child knowing there is a Safe Haven box around the corner? What about teen pregnancies where girls try to hide their pregnancy and get away with it time after time? A couple things to think about…
**END SIDE NOTE**
Now to go along with the thought of parents killing their children, what about the Menendez brothers who killed their parents? They claimed sexual and physical abuse from their father- does that give them the right to kill their parents and blow the inheritance? I mean, they certainly shouldn’t have lied about it in the beginning, but what if they had been blunt about it and called the police as soon as it happened instead of when Lyle ‘found’ them murdered?
Is there any justification when it comes to self defense? OR do some of you think that killing is killing and that is the end of it, you shouldn’t kill anyone even if your own life depended on it?
In my own opinion, if my life depended on it, I want to be the one to make it out alive. I may not be muscle and taller than whoever is trying to kill me, but I would absolutely fight instead of letting them kill me. Some people may or may not have the right survival skills in order to make it out alive. Some people need to be taught how to survive while others may instinctively know “I have to do this, this and that in order to get outta here”.
The next post will be about Andrea Yates. I know it is a well known case, but to me it is one of the more intricate cases.
Leave a comment and tell me what your thoughts are!
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