Geraldo Rivera provided his analysis of the ”¦ Natalee Holloway disappearance case. Prime suspect Joran Van Der Sloot has given a series of interviews proclaiming his total innocence. “The lie that he has fastened on,” Rivera pronounced, “is that he took her on the beach but didn’t have sex because he didn’t have a condom, then left her on the there. It’s at odds with the story he told earlier, but as he tells this story he becomes more confident and more glib. I believe there is a pathological aspect to this man.” The Factor concurred that Van Der Sloot seems psychologically unbalanced. “I can’t figure out why he wants do these interviews because he comes off as a sociopath. If he makes one slip-up he’s done. It looks to me like he’s a danger junkie – he likes this cat-and-mouse game, it’s exciting to him” (source)
Does it matter whether or not Joran van der Sloot is a sociopath/psychopath? Why not just be satisfied that he is a “criminal” and an evil person?
Yes, it does matter, because when dealing with a sociopath the usual rules of human interaction do not apply. Anyone who treats a sociopath as they would a non-disordered person is likely to get burned and to be implicated in the evil that sociopath does. Joran van der Sloot’s story illustrates this principle.
Joran’s father, Paulus, was an attorney many believed knew the truth about what happened to Natalie Halloway, the first young woman Joran was accused of murdering. Paulus strongly supported his son after the murder accusations first arose, and was even charged himself as an accessory after the fact, though the charges were dropped.
Paulus van der Sloot died of a sudden cardiac death last February and so did not live to see the result of his enabling of his son. Joran’s mother, Anita, is now alone to deal with the repercussions of the family’s enabling.
The lesson to be learned is that if you have a family member who has been charged with a serious crime, and that family member has psychopathic personality traits, or is diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, DO NOT HELP THAT PERSON IN ANY WAY.
Over and over again, we have said on this website that sociopaths are able to do evil in a large part because they are enabled by family members and various governmental agencies- including the judicial system and law enforcement. Well, law enforcement does it again.
It turns out that the FBI wired Joran $25,000 as part of a “sting” operation, as they were trying to arrest him for shaking down Natalie Halloway’s parents. According to former agent Paul Lindsay, “the FBI formula for extortion stings is, “set ’em up, pay ’em off, get ’em to talk, never let them leave the room without handcuffs on.” Because the FBI did not understand the psychology of their suspect, they let him leave the room and were out smarted by a sociopath.
The lesson to be learned here is that next time the FBI wants to sting a sociopath they should contact Lovefraud so that Donna and I can tell them not to give a sociopath any money”¦ that is unless they want the sociopath to use the money to kill someone.
One more lesson to be learned from the van der Sloot case is that media psychiatrists should stop confusing people with their false categorical statements. I came across this analysis of van der Sloot by psychiatrist Keith Ablow (who I have criticized before):
“Serial killers whether organized or disorganized are always made, never born. Having interviewed dozens of killers myself, I can tell you that it turns out that evil never appears ”˜out of the womb’.”
Well, I knew Rodney Alcala, and I can tell you that he was born with a disposition to become a serial killer that was present in his early childhood. Serial killers are both born and made. Evil is in the genes of some people but like many other traits it needs the right soil to take root and blossom.
I absolutely cannot stand cruelty to animals, it’s the biggest red flag in a child…wake up wake up and end the suffering of animals…all animals on the planet deserve respect, acceptance and compassion. To every poorly treated animal, forgive us we are retarded in certain areas, we cover up, deny and pretend everything is fine…and continue to treat you like shit, so that when a psychopath kills one of you, nothing is done!!!!!
“even a small mouse has anger” tribe unknown
as for the murdering sociopath entertaining himself at the expense of those women? it’s a disgrace. it’s a circus he gets to perform in. My heart goes out to the women whos lives he STOLE, that’s where my energy is and that is where it stays…it’s back to the same old one step forward 3 steps back….
And maybe this was not so far off topic, because Vandrsloots father might be guilty of the same thing.
I would be very intriuged to know what kind of signs he might have displayed as a child…any history. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is something…
Three danger signs in kids that signal future serial killers: cruelty to anuimals, bed-wetting, and setting fires. Not so much if only one of these is present, but if you have all three, get help as soon as possible.
Rosa,
I get tired of all the talking heads on t.v., giving their “expert” opinions, some of it helpful and some of it b.s. In fact, I get sick of watching the news, seeing all those slick people, giving out the news. Thus, I really don’t watch much t.v. – too much information thrown at you. The only news show that I really enjoy is the Today Show, really liking Meredith Viera – she’s down-to-earth and you have the impression that she genuinely cares about people (she’s not full of herself), also knowing how to have fun – she’s a balanced person.
kim,
I hope that Dr. Phil took the mother and grandmother aside (after the show) and spelled it out to them – this kid is a psychopath (most likely). They need to educate themselves about the disorder ’cause the little guy sounds dangerous.
I have worked in inpatient settings with these kids and the ONLY thing I saw that they “got” was that they did realize that two great big former football playing mental health techs could over power them, but they knew just to the LIMIT of what they could do WITH GLEE and still not get tackled.
I may sound like some soul-less old lady but when these kids like the one on DP (I saw the last half of that show) reach that Point I think there is NO hope for them, but in our society you MIGHT keep them locked up til 18 in a mental health unit of some kind (I say MIGHT) but the day they turn 18, UNTIL THEY HAVE COMMITTED A PROVEABLE CRIME, THEY ARE OUT! It is ONLY now coming that a PREVIOUS PROVEN SEX OFFENDER who is judged STILL DANGEROUS can be kept incarcerated though he has not YET committed another crime. I agree with that, but at the same time, it sort of makes me feel like We are living in Russia or China or somewhere “thought crime” is prosecuted.
Not all psychopaths abuse animals, wet the bed or set fires, my P son, who is a HIGH LEVEL violent psychopath, did NONE of these things as a young child or as an adolescent. He actually confined his violence to PEOPLE. My egg donor’s brother, my Uncle Monster, as far as I can find out, who was also a viscious and violent abuser of his wife, children and other women, as far as I know, never wet the bed, abused animals, or set fires. In fact, seemed very attached to various pet animals. He DID however start smothering his infant sister from her birth until she was 7 years old. He was 7 years old when he first started smothering her unconscious. He was 14 when his father found out and whooloped his butt for it and he stopped abusing his sister. MY GM, his mother, knew it about from the first but PROTECTED HIM from his dad finding out. She TRIED to protect her daughter by keeping her close to her where he couldn’t get to her unobserved, but that didn’t work. The excuse for the enabling was “if he got a spanking for doing that, he might run away from home.”
The enabling in that side of the family goes back for GENERATIONS at least to the early 1800s. Abusive men, enabling women. One generation after another. Male children protected and valuable, and female children, less valuable except as protectors of the males. I am proud to say that even though it took me a LONG TIME to “get it” THE BUCK STOPS WITH ME, I AM THE LAST GENERATION TO ENABLE THE MALES. I will do it No more!!!!! I’m done!
Having read this article, I strongly think that the disorder can run in families. I am pretty certain that my h-spath’s paternal side of the family had members afflicted with it. I learned from a sister-in-law (married to h-spath’s baby brother) that one uncle tried to stab his sister and ended up being committed to a mental hospital (this would be my father-in-law’s brother). I also learned that when my father-in-law (he’s deceased) was three years old, he tried to hit his baby sister with a stick (she was in her crib) because she wouldn’t play with him. He grew up to be a father who physically abused his kids, being a terrible parent. The kids really didn’t like having him around because he was unpleasant, not wanting to talk to any of them. I also remember hearing about a female cousin who ingratiated herself with a maiden aunt (my father-in-law’s sister), ending up her heir, inheriting all this woman’s assets. The family members (from what I heard) were angry with this relative, some of them refusing to speak to her, having anything to do with her. Interestingly, she ended up coming to my father-in-law’s funeral. I suspect that there were spaths on this side of the family, paternal side.
Is anyone bracing themselves for Van der Sloot to start playing the public for sympathy???
I am…
That’s why I visited here, right after I read the headlines:
Joran van der Sloot Fears for His Life in Peruvian Prison –
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20393769,00.html
Dear Bluejay, there i s LITTLE doubt in my mind at least that there is not a BIG component that is genetic (runs in families) as do other mental conditions, from depression, bi-polar, etc) but it also has an environmental component too. What the percentage of each in a given situation may vary, but I think it takes B OTH.
Purewater, Of course he will try the pity play, but you know, I have a feeling he can whine till hell freezes over and we can all go ice skating and NOT GET MUCH SYMPATHY at all from anyone outside his family. He has ACTED TOO ARROGANT and the latest KILLING IS SO BRUTAL AND SO WITHOUT A DOUBT WHAT HE DID that I think if he was placed in a 13th century rack and it was televised while they cranked it and pulled his arms and legs out of socket, then burned him alive, that there is NO ONE ON THE PLANET that would cry for him.
I don’t think he GETS that either. Those young men in Aruba who HELPED HIM dispose of the body, in my opinion also ought to be prosecuted but I doubt they will be. I read where he is trying to cut a deal to tell where and how Natalie died and where her body is (my guess is it is not retrievable and was dumped in the ocean) but will only tell it to the authorities in ARUBA—so he is wiggling as best he can to GET OUT of Peru, but I doubt that will work. As bad as the family wants to know, Peru is not likely to let this man out of their grasp. They might let officials from Aruba come there and interview him about Natalie, but Peru would never see him again if theyy let him slip through.
I do wish our FBI had nailed him when they gave him the “pay off” for the extortion sting. It would have saved this girl’s life in Peru, though of course no one would have known it. At least he would have been in prison for a while. Who knows how many others he might have killed if he hadn’t really gotten arrogant and stupid this time?
OxDrover,
I think genetics plus parental dynamics caused my h-spath to develop the disorder. In my h-spath’s case, I suspect (just from what I’ve learned about his family line), that there’s a STRONG POSSIBILITY that there were other relatives afflicted with the disorder.
The best place for Van der Sloot obviously is prison. It’s unfortunate that another young person had to die before we finally realized what he is, a sociopath, unable to be cured or helped in any way.
PureWaters2,
I read the People magazine article. Gosh, how awful. All I could think about was his mother – what she must be going through. Agony, I imagine. No-one can take her worries, concerns for her son (what Joran himself could experience in prison) away from her – she has to endure this mental torture somehow, someway. I feel for this woman.
I can’t believe it (actually, I can…) but, my username has been deleted again, on this site, and I’m now Purewaters3…
This is amazing.