Last week, the Josh Powell story exploded in the media. Powell, of Graham, Washington, was supposed to have a supervised visit with his two young sons. Instead, he slammed the door in the face of the social worker, hacked the boys with a hatchet, and then blew up his house. Powell and the two sons died. I watched three news shows about the tragedy—Dateline on MSNBC, 20/20 on ABC, and Dr. Drew on HLN (Headline News). All of the programs reflected shock, horror and outrage. Dr. Drew Pinsky did actually call Josh Powell a psychopath. But what struck me about the coverage was that this tragedy was almost predictable. All the warning signs were there, if anyone had a complete picture of what w …
Joe Paterno and ignorance of evil
Joe Paterno, the legendary Penn State football coach, has died. I can't help but wonder if the travesty of the last few months, with his former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, being charged with sexually molesting 10 young boys over 15 years, killed him. I'm not an alumna of Penn State. (I am, however, an alumna of Syracuse University, with its own scandal of an assistant basketball coach allegedly molesting boys.) Still, I hate to see the storied career of Joe Paterno forever blackened by the malevolent behavior of one man, if that proves to be the case. Some people argue that Paterno had to know what was going on. They argue that Paterno was so concerned about his legacy, the …
Is the cruise ship captain a psychopath? I think so, and here’s why
By Joyce Alexander, RNP (retired) The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia wrecked a few days ago and early reports said that it had hit some rocks. Quickly though, reports came out that the captain, Francesco Schettino, had driven the ship closer than normal to those rocks on the way out of port in order to show off the ship to the residents. An article from the New York Times gives more details. More bodies found on ship, as transcripts reveal rebuke to captain Interviews from some of the over 4,020 passengers of the liner stated in news reports that it was “like the Titanic.” Only shortly after the shipwreck it was determined that the captain had left the ship early on, and als …
Is the cruise ship captain a psychopath? I think so, and here’s whyRead More
Murder disproves mental health myths
The story is shocking. On Friday, Leo Moran, 75, of Chester Township, New Jersey, was charged with the murder of Charlotte Moran, who was 74. They had been high school sweethearts and were married for 54 years. A man who grew up with Leo Moran described them as the perfect couple. So what sparked the violence? Moran's wife and son repeatedly insisted that he get counseling. He finally agreed to go, and then, according to his family, was not honest with the counselor. Please stop now and read Chester man accused of killing wife of 54 years believed she was unfaithful, working against him, on NJ.com. Sometimes we see cases of an elderly person killing his or her spouse of many years …
Why Me?
Editor's note: The following article refers to spiritual concepts. Please read Lovefraud's statement on Spiritual Recovery. My father is a sociopath. He is also a convicted serial killer who resides on Florida's Death Row. I idolized my dad as a kid and wanted to be just like him, but I could not. Life, I thought, had betrayed me and given me something so cruel that I could never trust again. I didn't believe that I could ever make sense of this experience. How could I possibly come to terms with having been raised by such a monster? How could I possibly find peace in my life after being victimized as a child and young adult? How could I come to terms with a question that I though …
BOOK REVIEW: Travis Vining writes about life with his serial-killer father and miracles
Editor's note: The following article refers to spiritual concepts. Please read Lovefraud's statement on Spiritual Recovery. Most of us who have tangled with sociopaths have stories that our friends and families find hard to believe. Yet despite what we've been through, we know that some of us have been through far worse. Travis Vining has one of those really bad stories. He's written the book. Perhaps someday we'll see the movie. Travis wrote a series of articles for Lovefraud back in 2008, which you can find in the Travis Vining Category. He will begin contributing articles again, starting tomorrow. Growing up with a sociopath Travis' father is a sociopath. But the man wasn't …
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Woman sues over web of Internet deceit
A case is now percolating through the Illinois courts that may have implications on whether perpetrators of online deception can be sued for damages. The case is Paula Bonhomme v. Janna St. James. Bonhomme lives in Los Angeles. She is a fan of the TV show Deadwood, and back in 2005, joined a chat room about the show. There she met St. James. St. James eventually introduced Bonhomme, online, to a man by the name of Jesse. Bonhomme and Jesse exchanged emails, phone calls and handwritten notes, and their relationship blossomed into a romance. Jesse introduced Bonhomme to his family and friends via email. Bonhomme sent gifts to Jesse and his family. They planned a future together, and …
Former Penn State football coach charged with sexually assaulting boys
Pennsylvania State University, home of the storied Nittany Lions football team and its legendary coach, Joe Paterno, was rocked by allegations that one of Paterno's former assistants, Jerry Sandusky, was charged with sexually assaulting eight young, disadvantaged boys. The point of the article I posted earlier today, about former Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Fumo, was abuse of power. This sex abuse scandal is a variation of the same theme. Sandusky's inappropriate behavior went on for years, probably because no one wanted to challenge a football dynasty. According to the grand jury report: • In 1998, Sandusky brought an 11-year-old boy into a Penn State locker room shower …
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A powerful sociopath taken down, and why we need to understand him
It's been awhile since I wrote about Vince Fumo, former Pennsylvania State Senator, representing Philadelphia, and now a resident of the federal prison camp in Ashland, Kentucky. In 2009, he was convicted of 137 counts of fraud, conspiracy, tax offenses and obstruction of justice. His crimes cost taxpayers and nonprofit organizations $4 million. Yet he received a sentence of only 55 months, which many, including me, considered to be a mere slap on the wrist. Federal prosecutors were so outraged at the leniency of Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter's sentence that they actually appealed it. The feds won. The appellate court found that Buckwalter had erred, and on Wednesday, Fumo will be in court …
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Spotting sociopaths by intuition
Russell Williams was a colonel in the Canadian Forces, a pilot who flew dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth II, and commander of the largest airbase in Canada. That is, until he was arrested for breaking into women's homes and stealing their underwear, sexual assault and murdering two young women. Lovefraud has written about Williams before: For Halloween: A real monster who liked to dress up. The question, of course, is how did such a predator achieve the rank of colonel? Should he have been flagged along the way? How was it that Williams received nothing but stellar reviews, and turned out to be a murderer? The Canadian Forces, stunned by what happened, launched an inquiry into …