Monthly Archives: October 2021

Many of my passion blogs involve how the perpetrator of a crime has some type of fan base or support group and Rio raised the question of why that is. This is why I decided to change up the typical “true crime case” weekly passion blog(s) and discuss why killers have supporters. According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, hybristophilia is the sexual interest in and attraction to those who commit crimes. This term was coined in the 1950s by psychologist John Money. His studies concluded that this perversion is mostly seen in heterosexual women in which they have some type of attraction and obsession with offenders who have a criminal record of rape, homicide, or robbery. This is also referred to as Bonnie and Clyde syndrome.

Though hybristophilia is a thing, it is hard to note the number of people who are affected with this paraphilia due to lack of research. To add, it is coined as a paraphilia because it endangers one’s mental and physical integrity. There are two types of hybristophilia: passive and aggressive. Passive hybristophilia are only attracted to criminals in a romantic and sexual way, but will not take part in the work the criminal does. Passive hybristophiles are convinced that their love will deter them from the track they are on. A good example of a passive hybristophile is Ted Bundy’s ex lover, Elizabeth Kendall. On the other hand, aggressive hybristophilia is when the attracted person will engage in the criminal acts the perpetrator is involved in. This can mean luring victims or directly engaging in these crimes. An example of this is the Barbie and Ken killers.

What causes hybristophilia?

The specific causes for this type of behavior are not definite and somewhat unclear, but from the minimal research done, studies show that a history of abuse, biology (genetics), dark triad, and social stereotypes. Many people who suffer from trauma unconsciously like to relieve their experiences as a way to cope with them, or it may be all they know so that is what they gravitate to. Studies show that women who experience trauma or abuse like more aggressive sexual and romantic partners. From personal experience, I can say that this is true. Some women I know will gravitate more towards a no good person versus a great person because that is all they know. Evolutionarily, the female species has been more attracted to aggressive males and this is because outward aggression is viewed as a display of power and manliness. Women believe these type of men will protect them and raise strong children. The dark triad refers to a combination of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy, which are attractive traits to some types of women; men who have these traits are typically criminals. Lastly, social stereotypes always influence a person one way or another. Some people in society have a “Monkey see, Monkey do” mentality, which can influence this behavior.

Are there any treatments for this?

There is no definitive treatment in place to combat this type of behavior. This type of paraphilia is not viewed as a mental disorder, which is a main factor in this outcome. The origin of the concept also influences this; it is an abstract idea and is complex to handle in the clinical setting. Studies on different types of paraphilia show that psychotherapeutic interventions based on behavioral and cognitive techniques are useful in some cases and the use of hormones and psychotropic medications can be helpful.

Trigger Warning: Death, Bullying, Alcohol Abuse

Alexander Pichushkin was known for keeping account of his victims on a chessboard. He kept a log of each of his victims on the board and at the time of his arrest, out of the 64 total squares on a chessboard, 61 were filled. He was born April 9, 1974 and he grew up Mytishchi, Moscow with his mother Natasha and his younger half-sister, Katya. His dad left the picture when he was 1 and his family grew up in the same apartment his entire life. The family apartment was a six minute walk from a so-called “bad neighborhood” by the name of Bitsevsky Park. It was said that Alex had a pretty normal early life, but when he reached the age of 4, that all changed. He fell off a swing and got hit with the same swing, and his mother did not take him to the hospital. Experts to believe there was damage to his frontal cortex and brain. This kind of damage is known to produce poor impulse control and can cause a spike in aggression levels which is exactly what happened to Alex following the incident.

Alex stated that school was not easy for him because he was verbally and physically abused and bullied by his peers. His mother then moves him into a school for children with learning disabilities to hope for better outcomes, but his grandfather felt as if the school was hindering Alex from expressing his gifts and talents. This leads to Alex moving with his grandfather and taking up activities outside of school and this is where chess comes in. Alex would play chess against older men with his grandfather at a local park. This park was located in an area many would describe as pretty grim. Alex caught on very fast and got very good at the game of chess. Alex’s grandfather would pass away at age 15, forcing him to move back with his mother and return to his old school where he was bullied. Due to these circumstances, he becomes an alcoholic.

He continues to play chess but is convinced that when he is drunk, he is 10 times better at a the game which spikes his drinking issue. Around this time, he begins to “jokingly” record himself threatening younger kids at the park. By 1992, Alex decides that torturing kids isn’t enough to fulfill his feelings of power and control, so he kills someone. On July 27, 1992, Alex is 18 and he confides in his classmate Michael and tells him that he wants to go on a killing spree and asks if he could join him. Michael agrees but when they begin the mission, Alex feels like Michael is not taking it as serious, so he kills him. Alex describes the feeling of this murder as someones “first love”. He was questioned by police but no charges were filed. He commits another murder that same year and yet again was questioned but police but the death was ruled a suicide. He does not commit another murder for another 9 years.

The year is now 2001 and Alex is 27. Many described him as charming, shy, and somewhat strange. His first victim after his hiatus was a man he played chess with and in the next 8 weeks following he commits 9 more murders. Things calm down for a bit and during the fall and winter seasons he kills 5 more people. No one caught on and the main reason is believed to be because Alex was targeting mostly elderly homeless men and he was luring them into the woods with free cigarettes or alcohol. His main pickup line was that he wanted company while he mourned the death of his dog that he buried in the woods (which was indeed true). After drinking with the victims he would attacks them and throw them down the wells of the park that led to the sewers.

It did not take long for Alex to reach 20 victims and many began to be people he played chess with. He begins to then target women and kids. One of his female victims named Maria survived an attack but she was illegally living in Moscow, so police tell her that if she stays quiet about the attack she can reside there and she decides to stay quiet. Moscow police were not good with handling crime and Alex could have been caught then. Alex continues to kill 3 more people in the next 2 weeks. Alex attempts to attack a 13 year old boy and he escapes and goes to police. Police then tell him he needs to go home because he smells like alcohol and cigarettes. The boy then sees Alex again at a train station where he reports this to police and police yet again tell him to go home.

Mid 2005, Alex had 40 victims and he finds it to be boring, so he changes his killing technique. Instead of throwing the bodies in the sewer, he leaves them out in the open. This causes the cops to actually take notice, especially because one of the victims was a retired police officer. Police end up arresting the wrong guy, which infuriates Alex because this man is “taking his credit”. June 13, 2006, Alex went after his final victim which is his coworker, Marina. Marina leaves behind Alex’s phone number and name in case of an emergency and it was somewhat beneficial to catching him. Police call his phone asking has he saw Marina and he replies no and hangs up, two days go by and they finally show up to his apartment to arrest him. This gave him a long enough window of opportunity to escape.

Alex wanted it to be known that he was purposely sloppy so he could be caught and he did not want police taking credit for catching him because he intentionally outed himself. He confesses to over 60 murders and informs police to where he placed the bodies. Police film one of Alex’s reenactments of the crime and Alex loves the attention. He admits that killing fulfilled a sexual satisfaction for him. His trial started September 13, 2007 and it lasted for about 46 days. Alex was kept in a glass cage during trial for his own protection. Alex also admitted he liked toying with the cops during his killing spree and the more risky the murder, the more powerful he felt. He also was very braggadocio about his murders and how violent they were. His motivation was to beat the record of a very well known serial killer in Russia as well by the name of Andrei Chikatilo. He insisted that he be charged with all 63 murders, but he was only charged with 49 and 3 attempted murders. Alex was convicted on November 24, 2007 and was sentenced to life in prison.

Alex like many serial killers has a very large fan base.

Trigger Warning: Cannibalism, Drugs Use, Murder

Rose Larner was the middle child amongst her other 2 siblings and they lived in Lansing, Michigan. Rose’s parents divorced when she was 4 years old which led to her sharing time between both of her parent’s households. Rose was described as an excellent student by her peers and previous instructors. When Rose reached age 18 (year 1993), her friends and family would call her a “Vampire” as a joke due to her always being awake at night. Her family said during this time, Rose was going through her “angry teenage years”. Many adults who encountered Rose shared the common idea that she was a lot to handle, but very generous and was there when you needed her.

Rose would always be on the phone with her friends, and a particular friend that she would talk to often was a boy named Billy Brown. They had been friends since the 5th grade and they did many different things together throughout the course of their friendship. Another friend of hers was Bailey and they met in the 3rd grade and they were also very close. Bailey and Rose had the same birthday, August 19th. Rose definitely did have enemies though. This was because she was very blunt and had quite a smart mouth. Rose’s mom, also named Rose, exaggerated her daughter’s behavior so that she could admit her into Rivendell Psychiatric Hospital with the intent to bring peace to their household since she was very reckless. Rose was surprised to be there, but she agreed to stay and ended up liking it there after three months of stay. Her release did upset her though.

Soon after her release, she got her first job at a local KFC, but her behavior got worse. She would skip school, get arrested for shoplifting, bring alcohol to school, and more. One day while Rose and Bailey were playing basketball at a park, a man approached them and engaged in conversation. Him and Rose seemed to hit it off and Bailey began to feel out of place, so she walked home. Rose goes to Bailey’s house later that night and she shows up in a distraught state. This was because the guy she met ended up raping her. The guy pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and only spent a month in jail. Rose dropped out of high school at 16, but got her GED at 17.

Rose’s mom set a curfew of 1 a.m. for Rose during the summertime and she gave her a pager if contact was needed. During the summer, Rose met a local rapper named John Kehoe and she was really obsessed with him. They eventually ended up dating. Rose, Billy, and John would always hang together, and eventually in October, Rose asked her mom if John could move in with them because he needed a place to stay. Her mom was hesitant at first, but she allowed him to stay. She liked him up until she went into Rose’s room and saw a bunch of guns laying out with a bunch of cash. John was making tons of money being a drug dealer which lead to him being kicked out, and this is where the downfall begins.

John and Rose’s relationship fell apart after he was kicked out which deeply upsetter her. The more John ignored her, the more passionate she got about receiving his attention. In November, there was a local party for teens and Rose knew John would be there, so she went and it led to an argument. As a result, she drove her van into John’s truck. John made a threat to kill her, but all she wanted was answers. On December 6, 1993, Rose got home at 11:30pm after work and she made a call to a friend. Her brother who was on the couch overheard an argument occurring during this call and eventually Rose told her she loved him and headed out. Around 1:30 a.m. Rose shows up to her mother’s job at a local convenience store, and her mom knew something was off. She suggested that Rose took the family van since it was cold and late, but Rose insisted that she was fine and would go hang with friends. She then tells her mom she loves her and goes to hang with friends.

Around 8 a.m. the next morning, Rose’s mom had a feeling that something wasn’t right, especially because Rose was not home. She then calls detectives to report her missing. A day goes by and no word from Rose yet. Her mother drove around to the spots she would usually be with friends but no results. She then calls Billy, but finds out he was not home either so she assumed Rose is with him. A day later, Billy calls Rose’s mom to inform her that he hasn’t seen Rose in a couple of days and had no idea who she was. The friends she normally talked to all said they haven’t heard from her since December 7th, which was unlikely for Rose since she always talked to her friends. Helicopters and police searched for her and nothing turned up. Police then turn to the community for help, and they receive several tips about her whereabouts. Some included that she was at a mall, others were that she was beaten with a baseball bat. Over 100 tips came in and they mentioned two names: Billy Brown and John Kehoe.

Billy was brought in for questioning and overtime they knew that he was involved some how with her disappearance. In April 1996, Billy calls detectives and says the night Rose disappeared, the night involved drugs, sex, murder, and body parts inside of John’s grandparents house. Billy stated that John killed Rose and not him and they went to John’s brother, Tim’s house to lay low. A warrant went out for the arrest of Billy and Tim and they were going to be charged with accessory to murder. John got word that an issue was warrant for his arrest and fled. John and Tim fled to Mexico and were later found, arrested, and sent back to Michigan in 1996.

Here are the details of what happened that night:

On December 7, 1993, Rose calls Billy to see if he can contact John so they can smoke weed, have sex, and do “average party things”. John picks up Rose and Billy around 3 a.m. John then pulls over to a dark road and the three engage in some form of sexual intercourse. John later went into a store and when he left, the bag contained a filet knife, two bottles of charcoal lighter fluid, a hatchet, and some trash bags. They then drive out to John’s grandparent’s house where John and Rose have sex again, and then the 3 shower together. The three get dressed in the bathroom, but John steps out and returns with a cord which he places around Rose’s neck. The only time Billy stepped in was to ask why he was killing her and John stated, “That b*tch has got to go, and that’s what’s going to happen.” Rose was then dead and John proceeded to place her into the bathtub and cut her throat. John and Billy then do cocaine together, and he goes back to inflicting more injury to her body. He grabbed the hatchet and a block of wood and cut up Rose. John then put her body parts into the basement’s fireplace so they could burn. The remains of the body were placed into a trashcan and they cleaned up the house and left.

The two drove about 100 miles to Billy’s family property, dug a hole, laid a bed of logs into the pit, placed the midsection of her body into the pit, dumped the 10 gallons of gasoline on her body and set her remains on fire; this continued for about 10 hours. Billy reports that John took some of Rose’s flesh, put it on a piece of bread with mustard and ate it. When the fire was done, the two filled garbage bags with Rose’s ashes and they spread the ashes along the roadside and highways all the way to Big Rapids, Michigan which is where Tim lived. Tim said he would handled all of the tools used for the murder. Billy was offered a lesser sentence if he chose to testify against John, which he did, and he was sentenced to a year for accessory to murder. John stood his own trial and denied any connection to the murder, stating that everything Billy told investigators was actually what Billy did and not him. John was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. When given his sentence, he laughed. As of 2020, John is trying to get a new hearing to discuss his original trial, but things were put on hold because of COVID. John still stands firm that he is the accessory and Billy killed her because she denied him sex the day of her death. Weirdly enough, John is active on social media and it is believed that his accounts are ran by his fiancée.  Attached are some of his social media profiles.

http://johnortiz-kehoe.blogspot.com

Instagram: @johnortizkehoe