Couples Who Kill: Profiles of Deviant Duos - Hardcover

Davis, Carol Anne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0749083573 ISBN 13: 9780749083571

Publisher: Allison & Busby, 2005

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review

"A chilling read and not for the faint-hearted"--Scotland on Sunday

From the Author

Couples Who Kill profiles twenty six British and American murderers, many of them serial killers. Each profile explores the killer's background, the relationship with their co-killer, the homicides, and what has happened since the trial.

There are also fifteen case studies in themed chapters such as British Couples Who Kill Children and Bizarre Couples Who Kill, the latter including cases from Germany, Mexico and France.

Several of the couples were sadistic lovers, others were friends or close relatives. Yet even those who swore undying love had often turned on each other by the time they went to trial.

Because couples who kill are often lust murderers, the victims were mainly in their teens or early twenties. But there are exceptions - the oldest victim was seventy seven, the youngest only a few minutes old.

Though the cases are harrowing, there is occasionally hope: one teenage killer, hugely influenced by his much more damaged girlfriend, has studied psychology in prison for many years now, apparently understands his earlier pathology and genuinely seems to have turned his life around.

Once again I'm grateful to the authority figures I consulted, including a man who met serial killer Charles Ng and a woman who was abducted by Rose & Fred West. I also interviewed a crime writer who'd co-authored a book with a Home Office pathologist who autopsied one of the victims of a particularly vicious and largely forgotten British triple killer.

About this edition

• Publisher: Allison & Busby
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0749083573
• ISBN 13: 9780749083571
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 288