I was interviewed by Crime Door TV this week. I have included the headlines on the case, the question they gave me, and my responses. I will get back to addressing cases with my next blog. CRIME Minnesota woman convicted of killing her 6-year-old son just days after regaining full custody of him Mr. Weber, why would someone fight for custody of a child just to harm that child? There is no doubt Juissa Thaler committed a premeditated murder. Julissa Thaler made highly incriminating Google searches like: “How to keep child away from other parent with visitation,” “How to fake being home to the cops,” “How much blood can a 6-year-old lose,” “Qualifying accidental deaths,” “How much does life insurance pay for dead child.” Relationships are our greatest source of satisfaction and misery. Some people hate their ex more than they love their child. The most common reason people kill is narcissistic injury. Narcissistic injury = emotional trauma that overwhelms an individual's defense mechanisms and devastates their pride and self-worth. Juissa had the belief she had won custody and it was now over. When she discovered her husband was going to still fight their child, she became rageful. She had a preconceived notion of how custody should play out, and she wasn’t going to let him win. Julissa shot her 6-year-old son, Eli, 9 times. Juissa also had her own personal mental health issues. She was arrested for stealing drugs from a clinic. Thaler had a history of drug abuse, paranoia and hallucinations. Buffalo grocery store mass shooter apologizes for racist attack and receives sentence of life in prison Peyton Gendron sheds tears as he listens to African American families share stories of their loss of loved ones. Gendron killed 10 people during a racist attack on a black community and live streamed online during the killing. Gendron, pled guilty to one count of domestic act of terrorism motivated by hate, 10 counts of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder and a weapons possession charge for the mass shooting at Tops Friendly Markets on May 14, 2022. Mr. Weber, can someone who had these intense and violent feelings of hatred be genuinely sorry and remorseful less than a year later or is it more likely they’re trying their best to look better and changed in front of a judge? I honestly don’t feel Gendron has the insight he needs at this time, and I’d bet during the course of a conversation he would rationalize his behavior. Often in this situation, his apology is a statement prepared with his attorney. Gendron had researched previous hate shootings and had planned on hitting other supermarkets beyond the Buffalo store. His professed change of heart is little consolation to the families who lost decent people. Peyton Gendron’s incarceration and loss of internet access has now forced him to consider opinions other than his own. Prior to that he was homeschooled and was one of those conspiracy theorists who spent his time looking up information that confirmed his biases. Now that he is incarcerated, he is getting feedback from people in the real world and is beginning to see things differently. But hatred of his depth takes time to change. People can change. I am familiar with a case where a 16-year-old killed his entire family. After 20 years in prison came out and lived everyday providing service to others. He asked me if God will ever forgive him. I told him he’s asking the wrong person. I do know that all we ever have, is from now on… I also think that when parents testify, “I forgive you,” they typically aren’t ready for that either. But they are trying and there is something to be said for that. It takes time to process grief and to change. Peyton Gendron at 17, indicated he wanted to be involved in a murder suicide which was investigated by police. New York State has what is known as a red flag law, under which people found to be a danger can be forced to surrender their guns, but no one tried to invoke it against Mr. Gendron. The state police said he had not named a specific target in his threat to kill someone. Indiana church employee sentenced after stealing $574k for gambling, vacations: 'Fueled by pure greed' Mr. Weber, how does gambling impact someone mentally and why does it seem to impact people so differently? Gambling is a different beast. I’ve counseled couples who stated, “At first I thought he was having an affair. I was relieved to hear he was gambling.” Weeks later they would later say, “I wish it had just been an affair.” Gambling is the one addiction where you can lose everything you’ve ever worked for in 1 day. The most common psychological issue gamblers struggle with is “abandonment.” They typically feel abandoned by caregivers as a child and are beginning to feel the same in their current relationships. The hope is that someday they're going to have a ton of money and help everyone, and everyone will love them—like a child holding the bag of candy. There’s a saying among gamblers, “the more you gamble the more you lose,” since the more you gamble the more you play into the odds. Once addicts start losing, they begin “chasing losses,” believing because they lost so much, they are now on the verge of winning. They ignore the logic that their odds haven’t changed. People are most likely to develop a gambling addiction if they win early in their efforts. Instead of walking away with their winnings, they assume there is something special about them that will make them always win. The reward system, intermittent reinforcement, enables them to rationalize that the big win is just around the corner. A casino owner once told me I’m never concerned when people have a big win and walk out with a lot of money. They always return at some point and blow it all again. I can’t help but think of the people who are struggling who could have been helped with that money. I guess the theme this month was senseless crime. Please treat people with kindness. Thanks for listening, Frank *****Postponed until March due to storm*****
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AuthorFrank F. Weber is a forensic psychologist specializing in homicide and sexual and physical assault cases. He uses his unique understanding of how predator’s think, knowledge of victim trauma, actual court cases, and passion for writing true crime thrillers. His Award Winning books include "Murder Book" (2017) "The I-94 Murders" (2018) "Last Call" (2019) and "Lying Close" (September 2020). Archives
April 2024
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