The infamous case of Lyle and Erik Menendez captured the nation’s attention during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Revolving around the brutal murder of their parents, José and Mary “Kitty” Menendez, within the den of their Beverly Hills mansion, shocked millions. Despite initially escaping suspicion, Lyle and Erik Menendez were later convicted of gunning down their father with six shotgun blasts and their mother with ten. Such brutality led the authorities to believe this was the result of a mob hit. The Menendez brothers’ defense centered around certain risk factors that ultimately drove them to commit such a heinous act. Why the Menendez Brothers, 2017? Lyle and Erik Menendez, born into wealth, experienced a privileged and luxurious upbringing. …show more content…
Kitty told Lyle that he had ruined the family, and José took her into the den. The brothers believed that this was the moment when they were going to be killed. They grabbed their guns, burst into the den, and started firing. Unaware of who was firing at which parent, they kept shooting. Afterward, Erik collapsed on the stairs when he heard one final gunshot at his mother. José was shot six times, and Kitty was shot ten times. (The Menendez Murders: Erik Tells All, 2017). They waited for the police to show up, but they never did, causing them to start picking up the bullet shells. In an attempt to create an alibi, they drove to the movie theater to get tickets. At this point, they decided to dispose of the shotguns by hiding them in a bush on the side of the road. Upon returning home, Lyle called the police and told the 911 dispatcher that someone had killed his parents. (The Menendez Murders: Erik Tells All, 2017). The brothers informed police that their father was dealing with some unsavory characters, suggesting a probable mafia connection. What initially raised suspicions was the amount of money they started spending, buying cars and Rolex watches, spending
The brutal murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey on Christmas night in 1996 shocked America to its core. Just as the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and murder seven decades earlier had seared the nation’s consciousness, this murder – of a beautiful and talented child in a wealthy Boulder, Colorado home --renewed every parent’s worst nightmare. It has been nearly three years since this violent crime occurred and no one has been brought to justice.
When one thinks of serial killers, the first thoughts that come to that person are usually of cold blooded adults. Two young, carefree teenagers almost never come to mind, and most would never even consider the idea. Charles Starkweather and Caril Fugate may just change the way people think of serial killers. The young couple rampaged across the state of Nebraska in early 1958, murdering ten people along the way. Most wonder what could cause such young people to turn into murderers with what seemed to be no conscience at all. Did Starkweather have a bad childhood? Bullying could have played a part in causing Charles to turn out the way he was. Caril Fugate became involved with Starkweather at the age of 13 and many questioned if it was possible for someone so young to have played a part in something as awful as murder. As the duo traveled, fear was struck into the public. No one knew why the victims were chosen. Did Starkweather or Fugate have a grudge against them? Were they trying to stop the two, or was it just sheer bad luck? Like most criminals, the pair was caught. They each had very different verdicts. Charles Starkweather and Caril Fugate changed the history of Nebraska drastically in just a short amount of time.
In chapter 3 of the Crime and Justice in America textbook, Joycelyn Pollock provides information about the three theories of crime. These theories help us to explain the motivation behind different criminal acts. The reasons why one would commit a crime may be due to biological, psychological, or sociological influences. This paper will explore the high profile cases of The State vs. Casey Anthony and The United States vs. Enron, and link them to one the theories of crime causation detailed by Pollock in chapter 3. We will explore the evidence of what motivated these people to commit the crimes they were charged with.
A notorious murderer or serial killer is the typical next door neighbor one would hardly associate with a serious crime: an educated psychopath with little regard for life. Most of them commit murder for some misplaced psychological benefits. Their actions border on insanity as some commit theft by stealing their victims’ belongings and commiting rapes, an indication of a need for financial gain or a craving for distorted sexual desires. It is disheartening that people always associate the city of Chicago with crime, ranging from the prohibition-period gangsters to modern-day criminals; however, it is understandable because these crimes have a history going back several decades, and most received wide media coverage and documentation. Their names and pseudonyms are imbeded in the collective minds of the people. In all cases, these serial killings claim national attention and elicit heated debate, but this infamy sometimes fascinates the public to the extend that it sparks an initial interest in potential criminals. An examination into the characteristics of serial killers who were active in the Chicago area reveals they have varied motivations for their crimes but the overriding factors tend to include financial gains, sexual perversion, racial hatreds, and infamy. Chicago’s infamous reputation as a lawless and corruption riddled city stems from the motives for crimes committed by particular individuals in the Chicago area and the media attention these cases gained.
July 15, 1999, was an ordinary night for Kristopher Lohrmeyer as he left work at the Colorado City Creamer, a popular ice cream parlor. Kristopher had no idea that his life was about to end. When Michael Brown, 17, Derrick Miller and Andrew (Andy) Medina, 15, approached Kristopher and demanded his money and his car keys. Before the boys knew it shots had been fired and Kristopher was dead. About an hour after the fatal shooting of Kristopher Lohrmeyer, all three men were in custody and telling their version of the night’s events. Michael and Derrick who had run away after the shooting confessed to police and named Andy as the shooter. According to the three boy’s testimony, they had only recently met and needed away to get some quick cash, so they developed a carjacking scheme and headed to Andy’s house to pick up 2 stolen handguns. The three boys were uneducated and had spent most of their time on the streets in search of drugs. The judge ruled that they would be held without bail and there was probable cause to charge them all with first-degree murder (Thrown Away, 2005).
Simon, Robert I. "Serial Killers, Evil, And Us." National Forum 80.4 (2000): 23. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
In a Google search of “serial killer memorabilia”, approximately 135,000 results would appear. While the U.S. produces over eighty-five percent of the world’s serial killers (“Why do Americans Idolize Serial Killers?” 11), Americans still tend to treat these murderers as icons and celebrities. As defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a serial killer is expressed as the unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events. While it is no secret that serial killers have a different mindset than that of a normal person, do these murderers have genetically different minds? Although there is no exact answer as to what causes certain people to have the urge to kill, studies from the “Minnesota Study of Twins
Most serial murderers have been deprived of any control over their home, their body, and their entire life. “Psychokillers take their fantasies and make them a reality living their dreams” (Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture 2). Both physical and especially emotional abuse is the consistent, reoccurring factor among a majority of serial killers. Traumatic abuse in childhood has long been viewed as a primary cause of violent behavior in adulthood (Dolan 24). Abusive parents do not generally vent their anger equally on all their children. Such parents tend to unleash the anger and negative emotions on their more difficult children; this potential aggression and physical and emotional abuse of the child shapes the future criminal. “Most serial murders are not classified as psychotics, but rather as psychopaths- their perception of reality is clear except that they feel no social or moral obligations” () Killers are taking control of their own lives through their fantasies in the only way they know fit, through
On August 20th, 1989 Lyle and Erik Menendez killed their parents inside their Beverly Hills home with fifteen shot gun blasts after years of alleged “sexual, psychological, and corporal abuse” (Berns 25). According to the author of “Murder as Therapy”, “The defense has done a marvelous job of assisting the brothers in playing up their victim roles” (Goldman 1). Because there was so much evidence piled up against the brothers, the defense team was forced to play to the jurors’ emotions if they wanted a chance at an acquittal. Prosecutor Pamela Bozanich was forced to concede that “Jose and Kitty obviously had terrific flaws-most people do in the course of reminding jurors that the case was about murder, not child abuse” (Adler 103). Bozanich “cast the details of abuse as cool, calculated lies” (Smolowe 48)...
Serial killers have long eluded law enforcement while simultaneously grabbing the attention of the public, and now more than ever, criminal psychologists are beginning to understand what makes a serial killer. In his true-crime documentary, In Cold Blood, Truman Capote depicts the horrifying murders of four members of the Clutter family and the search to find the criminals responsible for the deaths. Eventually, two killers are caught, one being Perry Smith, a detached and emotionless man. And although his carnage of the Clutters labeled him a mass murderer, many of Perry’s personality traits are characteristic of a serial killer. In fact, if detectives had not caught him, Perry could have easily become a serial killer.
Between their disturbing childhood, family secrets, a 14-million-dollar inheritance, a convoluted narrative spun by various witnesses, and multiple years of trials, Erik and Lyle Menendez both received
Ted Bundy was an American born rapist, a necrophile, a serial killer and a kidnapper who assaulted and murdered several young women during the 1970’s. The criminal kept on denying the charges for more than ten years and later confessed to having committed the thirty homicide crimes in seven different states before his execution (Rule, 2009). Bundy’s handsome and charismatic appearance made it possible for him to easily win the confidence of young women who were always his targets. He broke into the dwellings of his victims at night and bludgeoned them as they slept. He also approached young women in public places where he impersonated an authority figure or feigned injury on his victim before empowering and assaulting them in a more secluded area where he left them dead (Rule, 2009).
The reinterpretation of the Leopold and Loeb case illustrates that it significantly altered America’s perception of childhood experience, mental health, and the media’s role in criminal cases. At the time, society struggled to comprehend how two young teenagers were put on trial as murderers – children were given sympathy for being targeted as victims. However, today journalists and reporters blame the way children are raised for committing crimes. The environment they grow up in and the values that are instilled within them are what influence their every action. While Nathan and Richard were raised in upper-class families, both endured difficult childhoods.
' God, I've never done anything. Help me, help me, help me! God, why is this happening? Help Me!'; Robert Violante screamed as the Son of Sam's .44 caliber bullet tore through his temple (Mitchell p.15). At this moment Robert Violante must have asking himself why this was happening, what could cause someone to do something so atrocious? This paper examines issues related to the definition and study of serial murder. It probes the minds of some of the world's most infamous killers all the while asking the question WHY. It examines methodological issues such as problems with the FBI's so called serial murder profiling system: the fact that the serial killer stereotypes does not necessarily stand true. This paper argues that the killer is not the only one to blame for his/her actions. Together we will probe the minds of killers such as Charles Manson and John Wayne Gacy. I ask you, 'Are they Murderers or Victims?'; I personally have come to the conclusion that they are both murderers and victims.
On August 20, 1989, 15 shotgun blasts echoed through the neighborhood of Beverly Hills. Approximately 90 minutes later, a frantic 911 call was made by Lyle Menendez shouting “they shot and killed my parents!” Upon arrival, the police discovered Erik and Lyle Menendez hysterical