Paranoid Schizophrenia

[diana]

Two recent cases dovetail in respect to post mortem mutilations reminiscent of Jack.

The Canadian bus decapitation -- Mr. Li is a paranoid schizophrenic.

The murder of Samantha Bissett -- Robert Napper is a paranoid schizophrenic.

Ergo . . .

[Ashkenaz]

Peter Sutcliffe also suffers from this condition.

I am amazed that he remained at large for as long as he did. I would have thought that anyone with such a serious mental health issue would have been unable to evade detection.

[DarkPassenger]

Peter Sutcliffe faked his condition to spend his life in smug comfort in Broadmoor. He know exactly what he was doing at the time he did it.

[Limehouse]

Peter Sutcliffe faked his condition to spend his life in smug comfort in Broadmoor. He know exactly what he was doing at the time he did it.

I agree that Sutcliffe faked his condition but I would challenge the notion that Broadmoor is snug. I've visited Broadmoor and it is a very challenging environment to live and work in. Sutcliffe faked his symptoms because he thought a sentence served in Broadmoor would be 'easier' because there would be similar inmates to himself and because he thought there would be a possibility of release when he appeared to be 'cured'.

[DarkPassenger]

What do you mean by challenging?

[robhouse]

Is it absolutely certain that Sutcliffe faked his schizophrenia?

I know that his condition was the central point of his trial, and his supposed delusions were discussed in great detail. I thought that his mental condition was never really resolved, and there was debate over this at the time? (But I may be wrong) I realize the jury did not buy it.

Rob H

[DarkPassenger]

He stabbed one girl in the vagina a dozen or so times in what Capt Jack and others would describe as a totally non-sexual attack and just a coincidental place to stab her.

He probably did go mad in jail, and that's why he went to Broadmoor in 1983.

[Chava]

Sutcliffe was faking. The 'voices' weren't mentioned until his trial. No one prior to that heard anything about them. He was crazy. But I don't know that he was paranoid schiz.

This guy Napper, however, does seem to be a bona fide paranoid schizophrenic, and was diagnosed, I believe, long before he was picked up for murder. I thought the same thing when I read the coverage: could this have been what the Ripper was about? Abused as a child. Obviously incredibly angry at women. Mental disorder and impulses towards extreme violence. Napper committed a lot of crimes right out in the open as well as at least one indoors. Perhaps his mental state precluded his feeling concerns about being seen/caught. I wonder if it was the same for the Ripper. That maybe his very insouciance allowed him to go unnoticed.

[Ben]

Hi Chava,

Napper committed a lot of crimes right out in the open as well as at least one indoors. Perhaps his mental state precluded his feeling concerns about being seen/caught. I wonder if it was the same for the Ripper.

Bear in mind though that Napper was also in the habit of stalking his victims for extended periods, a practice that is often resorted to by attackers who wish to minimize the chances of being seen or caught in the act by only seeking the most opportune moment to strike. That's not to say he didn't grow in confidence as he continued to attack uncaptured, but I wouldn't say he was oblivious to the possibility of capture.

Best regards,
Ben

[Sara]

Paranoid schizophrenia does not seem to preclude a high degree of cunning, quite the contrary.

It seems to me that serial killers in general - even the very mentally unbalanced - do put some forward planning into their attacks, and are only pushed to throw caution to the winds when the urge to strike becomes overwhelming. But they usually case the terrain beforehand and stick to familiar territory for that reason.

(The BTK killer in Wichita is another who varied his methods to some extent, and stalked his victims, but was very lucky indeed to get away with his murders for so long - due to the usual combination of police short-sightedness and sheer chance that he wasn't spotted. Noty that he was a paranoid schizophrenic, but all these serial cases seems to have certian features in common)

[Mitch Rowe]

Paranoid schizophrenia does not seem to preclude a high degree of cunning, quite the contrary.

Yes.. I agree. Social skills are lacking. Ability to speak correctly is another. Talking and making sounds and the inability to control these things is another.

I think its highly unlikely JTR had anything more than deep rooted psychological problems. And thats not mental illness.

[Limehouse]

What do you mean by challenging?

Broadmoor is challenging in that there's a strict routine, people become quickly institutionalised, there is competition between inmates to be 'top dogs', there is violence, self-harm, squabbling among inmates and an over-powing oppressive atmosphere.

[Chava]

Hi Ben,

I didn't know that about Napper. I've only seen the recent coverage. Was he stalking Rachel Nickell as well?

[Natalie Severn]

Is it absolutely certain that Sutcliffe faked his schizophrenia?

I know that his condition was the central point of his trial, and his supposed delusions were discussed in great detail. I thought that his mental condition was never really resolved, and there was debate over this at the time? (But I may be wrong) I realize the jury did not buy it.

Rob H

They were shown his carefully devised "sex suit" in which he could be free to bring himself to sexual satisfaction.That would ring alarm bells coming from anyone claiming he murdered "under instruction" [after hearing voices etc.] A murder undertaken during a paranoid obsession and psychosis would not be a "sensual" or "sexual" experience----much more likely the mind would have been in a state of detachment/out of body kind of thing.That wasnt Sutcliffe,from what I have read about him,which isnt a huge amount but enough to get a picture.

[Barnaby]

What - if either - better fits JTR: a paranoid schizophrenic or someone with antisocial personality disorder (e.g., Ted Bundy)?