Murder fantasies

Common but not necessarily lethal

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Daniel Brophy taught cooking at the Oregon Culinary Institute.  His wife Crampton Brophy described him as “a chef whose mantra is: life is a science project."  Mrs Brophy, a self-published romance novelist appeared to appreciate her husband’s efforts: “There are chickens and turkeys in my backyard, a fabulous vegetable garden which also grows tobacco for an insecticide and a hot meal on the table every night." 

Early on a June Saturday in 2018 while Daniel was getting organised at the Culinary Institute he was shot twice in the back.  His wife was a suspect, in part because she had written a piece entitled How to Kill Your Husband seven years before. Other evidence included her owning the same type of firearm used to murder her husband, and her car being caught on video on the scene, before and after the murder.

The prosecution alleged there were financial problems and an insurance policy which motivated the wife to murder her husband.  The judge did not allow her 2011 ‘How to’ writing as evidence since it was written so long before the crime.

Have you ever fantasized about killing someone?  Has someone done something so bad that you thought the world would be a better place if that person was bumped off, removed, despatched, or eliminated?  Maybe in your fantasy, you were not fearful or enraged, you just thought you would benefit if this particular person was taken out.

When does such thinking move from wishful to lethal action, as in the case of Crampton Brophy, who was found guilty of the murder of her husband and sentenced to life imprisonment with 25 years until the possibility of parole?

A survey of “normal” Americans published in 1993 indicates a high proportion had thought about murdering someone at some time.

There was a gender difference.  Can you imagine what that gender difference was?  You guessed right – more men than women.  But not a huge difference. Something like 70% of men, and around 60% of women had had such homicidal thoughts.

Another more recent study, but with Finnish students, produced similar results.  This time the gender split of those who had fantasised of murdering was around 80% and 65% for males and females.

In the Finnish study around 40% and 50% of men and women had not had such thoughts in the last two months.  But 8% and 5% of men and women had such thoughts many times in the last week.

Triggers for both men and women were public humiliation or desire for revenge.  Women mentioned quarrels, men the threat of violence.  Women targeted family members, ex-partners and stalkers.  Men went for a wider range of targets – strangers, acquaintances, friends, even public figures.

In the US and Finland, annual rates of homicide are approximately 65 and 16 per million respectively.  Way less than the rates of thinking about homicide – less than 1 in 100,000 act on their fantasies.

What makes the difference?  There are significant steps from vague ideas to lethal action. 

The huge majority of us feel bad or worried by thoughts like these. These feelings stop us from thinking through the steps from thought to plan to action. 

The risk factors for taking such steps include –

1.     A potential weapon is available – such as Mrs Brophy’s firearm

2.     There is a plan, maybe not written out in essay form, but a thought-through sequence of actions (’when…, then…’)

3.     You are more of a reactive person – are you inclined to ‘go for it’ when you spot a chance?

If you have thought of murder, and you score on these three factors – talk with a health professional or try a health line. I’ve worked in prisons – they are terrible places, and that’s when you get to go home at the end of the day, rather than spending long dreadful years there.

If you are bothered by such thoughts you could be trapped in a rumination spiral – thinking about the issue makes you feel bad, and perpetuates the thoughts.  Therapeutic approaches such as CBT or ACT have demonstrated effectiveness.  Even regular practice of mindfulness can make a difference.