Dynamics of Sudden Murder

Over the Past twelve years I have had occasion to examine four confessed murderers. I also observed a fifth individual who fired at point-blank range, fortuitously distributing twelve bullets among three individuals, causing grievous but not fatal wounds. Since this individual actually placed a gun to one victim's forehead before firing, I feel justified in including him in this series; though he is not an actual murderer, it was not for lack of genuine trying. Unfortunately, none of these individuals was seen in a treatment situation. They were examined for nine to fifteen hours during pretrial investigations.

The term “sudden murder” in the title of this paper would appear superfluous inasmuch as all murders are in fact sudden. The term is used to differentiate these individuals from professional or hired killers or murderers with obvious premeditation. I have had no clinical experience with the latter types. The terms premeditated and unpremeditated were rejected because of their medicolegal connotations which are not germane to the aspects of murder to be dealt with in this paper. In the mind of each of these murderers a precipitating event galvanized him or her into action suddenly.

As this series of cases accumulated, one striking clinical phenomenon appeared. At first it was a faint leitmotif which gradually crescendoed wiht each additional case. In each examination there was a slight focusing of the murderer's attention off the mark, a subtle zigging while I was zagging, a tangential interest in what I presumed to be of paramount interest under the circumstances. In each of these accused, murder seemed incidental.

Once this clinical clue was noted, I ceased trying to drag the individual toward the preconceived, presumably essential facts of the crime. Instead I tried to remain open and to follow attentively wherever the other had to lead me. It was never a direct route. There were frequent time-consuming detours and blind alleys inasmuch as neither of the two i