How to spot a family killer

• Experts discover ‘distinct psychological’ traits in men who murder their partners and children

They are often crimes of passion, occurring without warning and leaving families shattered in the aftermath. But it may be possible to predict whether someone is likely to murder their wife or family members in a spontaneous fit of rage, according to new research by psychologists.

They say people who commit familicide or uxoricide have a significantly different psychological profile than murderers who kill strangers. The findings may make it possible to even prevent such murders from taking place by intervening early to treat the person’s mental health. Domestic homicide is one of the most common and frequent types of murder in the US where one third of all women murdered are killed by their husband, boyfriend or former partner.

HOW TO SPOT A SERIAL KILLER

Dr Elizabeth Yardley from Birmingham City University,and Real Crime magazine recently highlighted five key traits of serial killers:

Power Junkie

Intent on exerting some kind of control over the people around them, they often hold back bits of crucial information in a bid to maintain power over the situation, gain attention and assert a warped sense of authority.

Manipulator

Apparent vulnerability and the need to please have been used time and time again by serial killers as a way of hiding a sinister personality.

Egotist

Egoistical serial killers often can’t help but brag about atrocities they’ve committed, whether it’s aimed at their accomplices, the next victim, law enforcement, or just themselves.

Superficial charmer

Serial killers tend to have a good grasp of other people’s emotions and are quick to pick up on vulnerabilities in order to convince them into doing things they normally would not.

Average Joe

Possibly the scariest trait of all, many serial killers look like a pillar of the community on first sight as a way of gaining trust. In the UK, an average of two women are killed each week by their partner or ex-partner. Dr Robert Hanlon, director of the forensic psychology research laboratory at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said: ‘The findings provide important information that may help prevent future domestic homicides, because they help identify individuals at risk of committing domestic murders.

‘The killers in this group are very similar to each other and different from men who commit non-domestic murders, which are often premeditated.’ For the study, which is published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences, Dr Hanlon interviewed and evaluated 153 murderers for more than 1,500 hours. Participants were men and women who had been charged with or convicted of first-degree murder in Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Colorado and Arizona. The study found men who commit spontaneous domestic homicides, as they are known, have more severe mental illness and particularly psychotic disorders than other people.

They also tend to have fewer previous convictions, are less intelligent and have more cognitive impairment. Dr Hanlon said: ‘These murders are in the heat of passion and generally involve drugs or alcohol and often are driven by jealousy or revenge following a separation or a split.

‘This is grabbing the kitchen knife out of the drawer in a fit of anger and stabbing her 42 times.’ He said it may be possible to identify those most at risk of committing this type of murder and intervening to help prevent it from happening. These crimes are often preventable if family members are more informed about the potential danger from having someone who is severely mentally ill in the home and who may have shown violent tendencies in the past.

‘Family members may lull themselves into a state of false beliefs thinking “my son would never hurt me” or “my husband may have a short fuse but he would never seriously harm me”. ‘You can stay with relatives, call domestic violence hotlines and say, “I’m scared something is going to happen to me”. ‘Start the wheels turning and get assistance.’

Courtesy: Daily Mail.