Sunday, January 1, 2012

Introduction




Mother. Wife. Sister. Daughter.
Murderer. Rapist. Captor. Thief.

Why is it that the juxtaposition of those two sets of terms evokes a palpable shock wave of conflicting emotions within the reader? It is almost as though the groupings are automatically processed and classified by our brains as incongruent.

Since the dawn of time, women have played many roles in society, and have been depicted in many different ways in the theology, art, and literature which has defined our culture through the ages. Very rarely has woman been depicted as a creature who is equally capable of the viciousness and brutality which is so often associated with the masculine realm.


Most people accept that violence can be senseless, and carnal, and base. We acknowledge that there isn't always a valid or justifiable explanation for criminal behaviour; sometimes, some people do unspeakable things to one another purely for the physical and emotional satisfaction they obtain from domination and inflicting pain. It has been well-documented that for a small sub-section of our society, doing terrible, awful things feels good.

It is interesting to note that cases in which a woman was characterized in this way are rare to non-existent. Rarely (if ever) has a women been awarded complete licence and agency to commit cold blooded murder. The women in our court systems are presented as victims (direct or indirect) of their male-dominated society, without the will or the way to think and act for themselves. Women are presented as the victims of coercion, and they commit "crimes of passion." And women don't go to jail; they rehabilitate.

Could it be that females are born without that inherent "evil" gene, or is it rather a widespread societal reluctance to accept that women are capable of exemplifying what it perceives as perverse duality?

Fractured, vicious, beautiful.  
She is a rare creature, indeed.

Contained herein is a collection of articles, essays, books, reports, and letters which seek to explore the psychological, sociological, and cultural environments associated with the violent female offender.

38 comments:

  1. Kitty -- How do we contact you?

    ReplyDelete
  2. She is nothing but EVIL nothing special about this bitch, I would love to have her alone for 5 mins, but no worry, she'll rot in hell, she should be TERRIFIED of that thought alone

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. if you did get 5 minutes alone with her, wouldn't your actions during those 5 mins also be evil?

      Delete
  3. Simply: Which bitch? We gots lots of evil bitches here ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Kitty, just wanted to say thanks for your work and all your researches, i discovered your blog yesterday and i just cannot stop reading it though my english isn't that well.

    Greets from Europe!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Aww, thanks so much for your kind words of encouragement! It's tough to dwell on darkness, but I keep telling myself that the information is valuable, so I'm doing my part at making it accessible :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. wtf you do this all by yourself ? no way bra

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, all of it! I should probably get another hobby...

      Delete
  7. Hey, Kitty. I really like your site, it's amazing. There's so much info on it. But I was wondering if you were going to get any of Jeremy Steinke's page pics like you did Runaway Devil. That'd be pretty cool to see.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by, Anon! I haven't found any of Steinke's profile snaps available for download anywhere! I suspect that interest in him hasn't remained as strong over the years because he will most likely remain locked up indefinitely; the fact that Jax will soon be released back into the herd adds value to the information that is available about her.

      If I ever do come upon anything more related to Steinke's "persona," I will most definitely post it here!

      Cheers :)

      Delete
    2. Sorry, Kitty. I just posted, but I should've clicked "Reply" before leaving my response. But there was something else I wanted to say. Do you have that transcript of Jeremy speaking with the undercover agent? There is one on the net. Just thought you should know if you didn't already :)

      Delete
    3. I have read the transcript you are referring to, but thank you anyhow! I contemplated sharing it here, but ultimately decided to try to restrict my focus to J.R. as much as possible.

      Personally, I actually feel quite badly for Jeremy. That kid's brain isn't quite right; I'm not entirely sure he was in possession of the mental faculties required to make life-and-death decisions like the ones he made in the Richardson house that night. Perhaps if the other accused party in that case wasn't a 12 year old girl, the system would have gone a little easier on him.

      J.R. was/is a very smart girl. Steinke was/is on the borderline of mental retardation. Of the two of them, she was more in a position to understand what they were doing and what the consequences would be. Unfortunately, Steinke seems to be the only one truly paying for the mistakes that the two of them made together.

      And, of course, the fact that J.R. planned and carried out an assassination on her own FAMILY, makes her role in these crimes all the more sickening.

      Delete
  8. Thank you, Kitty :) I've looked for his stuff myself, but couldn't find anything.

    Hey, do you think "Runaway Devil" will ever get her online accounts back?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, man! I'd be a monkey's uncle if she were ever to start posting to any of those accounts again! Even if she wanted to, I'm not sure that she could.

      Her old MySpace account has been taken over by another girl. I don't think they know each other or anything; this kid seems to have just scooped up J.R.'s old url when it went back on the "market."

      http://www.myspace.com/x_madness_x

      Delete
    2. Yeah I saw that... bunk.

      I was just curious to see if she'd get her nexopia or vf accounts back. I just think it'd be cool to explore them.

      And about that Jeremy transcript, honestly I couldn't even read the whole thing, got kind of boring. I started just skimming my eyes through it at a certain point. One of the only reasons I chose to read it when i first discovered it was because I thought he'd talk more about J.R. But he barely did. I think he lies a bit in it too, but that's just what I believe, I could be wrong.

      Delete
    3. I believe she is prohibited from using the Internet at the moment as part of her rehabilitation, but once she's officially let off the leash she'll be free to do as she pleases.

      Given her fondness for social media, I'm sure she'll end up back in the pool, but most probably under a new username -- she wouldn't want to expose herself as a murderer after all the justice system has gone through to protect her identity!

      Delete
    4. Believe it or not, I read she is allowed social network activity, but it's all monitored.

      Delete
  9. So the funeral of J.R's family was in Ontario. Would you post pics of the place and Gravestones?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Anon! I haven't seen those pics floating around the web; the Richardson family is resting peacefully, out of the public eye.

      I'm worried JR will end up here (in Ontario) after she is released. Her extended family has gone on record to say that they forgive her, so perhaps they may open their home to her once she is freed? What's really scary is that her appearance has probably changed quite a bit, given that she was only 13 when we last saw her. She'll no doubt blend right back in amongst us.

      Delete
  10. I'm wondering if Karla Homolka will have to flee Guadeloupe now? If so, where is she most likely to go? France? Or some other small French speaking country. I hope she is unable to change her name again legally. Her website BebeDouceur is still up & running, I'm wondering why it hasn't been shut down yet. She must be getting some nasty emails & calls.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The site is up and running, but hasn't been updated in aeons. I suspect she's all but abandoned it, but I may be wrong.

      Delete
  11. What right do you have printing slanderous lies about innocent people? What right do you have posting photos of innocent parties that have nothing to do with these stories? Nobody gave you permission to print these lies!!!!!

    Where do you get off typing up a bunch of slanderous lies and affecting people's innocent lives? You didn't personally speak to anyone that was involved and all your information is based on lies! How about respecting the victim's families and showing some respect to everyone that suffered many years ago. Have you nothing better to do then dredge up a horrible tragedy? Haven't these families suffered enough?

    YOU are no better than the people behind bars that committed such crimes!!!!

    The victims' are paying the price for your entertainment! How utterly disgusting!!!!!!

    Have you no shame or dignity? What right do you have to hurt people in this way? You should be sued for causing pain to other people's lives! NOBODY wants to be reminded of what they went through, nor do they want lies printed about them.

    Not only are your facts untrue, but they are hurtful, mean, cruel and slanderous and undeserved!

    One can only hope that Karma returns the same respect back to you (or lack thereof)!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment, stop. I will try to respond as best as I can.

      a) I marked all but one of your comments today (this one) as "spam". I am always happy to address reader remarks on the content of this blog, but two handfuls of the exact same comment is spam IMO.

      b) You refer numerous times to "slanderous lies" that have been posted here. If you believe any of the information presented here is incorrect, please reference these instances directly so that I am able to examine them. Some of the material here is my own opinion, and I try to make that clear. However, a lot of the material here is also known information from reliable (cited) sources, and if any of that material is incorrect I would like to know about it so I can determine whether or not it should be changed.

      c) I am genuinely sorry that you feel that my goal is to inflict pain. As odd as it might sound, I felt (and still feel) profoundly affected by these horrible crimes, even though -- as you have said -- I have never personally spoken with anyone who is directly involved. I think it is clear that tragedies like this are capable of inflicting wounds far beyond their intended scope. I honestly believe that the whole of our society (particularly in Canada) was forever changed by the actions of the major players in this awful case. In many ways, this blog is my way of sorting it all out in my own head. I do not believe that my views on this case are unique, I have come to learn that many, many people feel the way that I do, and seek to understand the precise combination of factors in place which allowed these murders to not only occur in the first place, but to go unsolved and seemingly undetected (within Bernardo/Homolka's circle) for so long.

      As I stated previously, I would be happy to discuss any direct examples of false or erroneous information found within the posts on this blog; I strive to ensure the material presented here is factual, regardless of whether or not I believe people will agree with me 100% of the time.

      Thank you again for your comment. I have taken what you've said to heart, and will consider a few minor changes in the coming days :)

      Delete
    2. Kitty-
      Not sure if you've heard this before, but a really good model for understanding these crimes and why they occur, as well as the gendered differences in criminality, is feminist psychology. It's a branch of psych itself, but my academic background is in psych & women studies/feminist philosophies, and it has really opened my eyes & made sense of what seem like otherwise senseless, unintelligible acts. Understanding the systematic & institutional factors (like the sexualization of violence against women in our society), sexism, feminist theory, & abnormal psych (but especially gendered/sexual trauma, grooming, addiction/maladaptive coping, disassociation, cognitive dissonance & personality disorders)... it's like having all the pieces to put the puzzle together, how culture & societal issues intersect with the individual's own predispositions & experiences. It's depressing work but its also empowering to have an understanding, answers. Like how feminist psych. research has lead to evidence based treatment for reducing recidivism in domestic violence offenders. Or the large body of feminist work about power dynamics & control.

      hope this is helpful in some way. thanks for the site :)

      Delete
  12. A REPLY HAD TO BE POSTED MORE THAN ONCE, BECAUSE IT AFFECTS ALL OF YOUR POSTS! IT'S NOT CONSIDERED SPAM!

    Your information is slanderous lies and we are not going to play the game of “he said, she said”! Your sources are not reliable and they were bogus when they were first printed many years ago. People have written books in order to profit from these crimes! Even though the GENUINE facts and evidence were shocking enough about the criminals behind bars, that wasn’t enough entertainment for their audience. Many writers took it upon themselves to fabricate and lie about information in order to boost their sales and expand their audience.

    TOO MANY people think that if it is written in print, it’s true, well, sorry to say, but it is DEFINITELY NOT!!
    Your sources are not reliable and a lot of them are from “rag magazines”! Almost identical to papers that everyone is aware of that have been sued many, many times.

    The victims here should not have to pay a lawyer to go after them or YOU for printing these slanderous lies. They did nothing wrong and are decent people!
    What right do you have to take people’s photos and print them on this site, without their permission? Those photos were not originally posted for you to use as a source of entertainment. You have interfered with people’s businesses, careers and lives! In many cases, it took over 20 years for this bad publicity to stop and to no longer have threads on the Internet and then you come along and dig everything up from the grave, for no apparent reason, only to make the victims sufferer all over again.

    Everyone has an opinion on a horrible crime, but that doesn’t give you the right to post personal photos or information about the victims that were dragged through it all by no fault of their own many years later!
    NOBODY that is decent wants to be connected to these horrible crimes when they are innocent.

    The person/people that committed these crimes are punished and they should be! BUT LEAVE THE VICTIMS ALONE!
    YOU DREDGING EVERYTHING UP AND ATTACHING LINKS TO PEOPLE THAT HAVE MOVED ON WITH THEIR LIVES IS JUST DISGRACEFUL!

    Your goal IS to inflict pain, because if you had any common decency, you would realize that digging up a horrible tragedy that happened many years ago for no apparent, feasible reason, BUT TO CAUSE A REACTION, is just wrong on so many levels!

    Your sources are NOT reliable! Your information is based on people that were NOT directly involved. You are not a lawyer, you do not have the knowledge or authority to “determine what should or shouldn’t be printed!”

    If you want to “sort out what happened many years ago”, than do it in your own head, don’t hurt everyone that was dragged through it all.

    I am sure that you have heard of the phrase “being raped twice”. Well, that’s what you are doing to these innocent people by posting personal information about them. You are inflicting pain on them, SO STOP!

    If you have “taken to heart” what we have said, than show some respect to the families that are still hurting! Think the next time before you post something about the innocent parties! How it will affect the rest of their lives, their careers and everyone around them!

    Just because you CAN, does NOT mean that you should!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. With all due respect, discussion of this case and the people involved has never stopped; it has continued to this day due to the ripple effect that it has had on society as a whole.

      As I said in my previous reply (you're post-jumping), I am more than willing to evaluate any information you think may be incorrect but I am not about to abandon the opinions I have formed through years of research based upon one person's broad and non-specific criticism. For what it's worth, all the material presented here is already available online, publicly and for free. If people out there are looking for this information (and they are), they can find it themselves easily enough.

      Yes, I have heard the phrase "being raped twice," and I have also heard that "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." I am truly sorry that the horrifying details of this case aren't disappearing from the collective consciousness quickly enough for your liking.

      Believe it or not, I do think often of the real victims in this utter tragedy; I think of them every single day as I am looking over my shoulder as I get off the bus, walk down the street, and fumble with my keys at the front door - especially late at night.

      If you, or someone you know, is associated with this case - through name or otherwise - I am truly sorry for you. However, blaming me for the fact that Google never forgets is not going to change the fact that these things happened and that real people were involved. Refusing to discuss the past cannot undo it.

      You will notice that I have treated the victims with the utmost respect; you won't find any murder transcripts, crime scene photos, or leaked autopsies on this blog. Along this line, I find your use of the word "raped" to emphasize your point somewhat troubling unless you were one of Bernardo/Homolka's young assault victims. People actually *were* raped in this awful case, and some of those attacks go unacknowledged and unprosecuted to this day.

      I have made some edits to a number of posts, as I meant what I said about taking your comments and suggestions to heart. You are correct, I am not a lawyer, and I do not profess to know everything. However, concerning the content of this blog, I most certainly do have "the authority to determine what should or shouldn't be printed." Furthermore, once something has been posted publicly on the Internet, it ceases to be personal and private information.

      You can demonize me, personally, all you like but that doesn't change the fact that these links you are referring to already exist and most likely will into the foreseeable future.

      Delete
  13. Replies
    1. I'm really not sure I understand why you have chosen to single out the material found here when none of my posts are the first one sees after performing a simple search on any of the people involved with this case. All of these are names we have heard before; certainly, I am not the first to have discussed them.

      I wish I had the power to make it so that (insert name here) never had the unfortunate experience of crossing paths with mongrels like Bernardo and Homolka, but obviously, I cannot. History writes itself.

      I have modified some of the content which I believe you are primarily concerned with, and honestly wish you the peace you are searching for.

      Delete
  14. You are right, "you don't understand", so give the victim(s)the benefit of the doubt and leave the tragedies alone where they belong!!! Many victims have spent years trying to forget all that they have been through and by you posting new comments, new photos, new links, you are forcing them to relive what they went through all over again. Whenever an "innocent/separate" party does a Google for possible business information, future events, ANYTHING but these tragedies, etc., that party gets led to all this negative, slanderous crap! The old links die down, but by you adding to everything, they are the first to surface! Your links are connected to innocent parties!

    Show some compassion! Just because you aren't in the people's shoes that are affected by these tragedies, you can't be so blind to think that your actions (ahem...."research")are not hurting innocent people.

    If anyone wants to relive what happened many years ago, then they can do the research on their own, they don't need fiction to cloud their judgement.

    If you want the innocent people that were affected by these tragedies "to have peace", than leave them alone.

    They don't need to be thrown under a bus!!

    You have many photos posted on this site and you did NOT receive permission to use them and you can be sued.

    YOU are affecting the victim's future and you have no right. We can't explain this to you anymore, done the best we can.

    We don't wish to continue with this post any further. If you don't get it by now, you never will. We weren't looking for your site and when your recent posts/links surfaced they hurt everyone!

    Don't bother replying, because the communication stops here!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Attacking me personally won't change these associations, no matter how many capital letters and exclamation points you use.

      The photos which I believe you are concerned with have been removed; not because you threatened me, but because I consider myself to be a reasonably sensible person and I have come to see the error in my initial judgement. Specifically, I removed the photos of N.B. because, although they are in the public domain, she really doesn't deserve any more undue attention because of who she happened to date a million years ago. Just because some people are curious doesn't always mean we need to know, and I am willing to admit that my interest in this case got the better of me (as it does sometimes!).

      As for the names and associations, I really can't do much about that; the information was available long before I began blogging about it, and it will be there long after I've stopped. I'm still not sure what, exactly, you find to be slanderous or untrue. Until you (or someone else) provides me with specific sections which should be revised, I can't help you any more.

      Delete
  15. This "StopStoptheviolence" person comes across as insincere & someone with a lot to hide. Can we say threatened? Just MO.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Also comes across as someone who may be used to getting their own way following a good, old fashioned temper tantrum.

      Delete
  16. The Bernardo Homolka case was one of the most horrific & widely publicized cases in Canadian history. People will always talk about it. Seriously this Stoptheviolence person sounds like a complete nutter. Sorry, I call it as I see it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't want to say it; glad someone else did ;)

      Delete
  17. to stop the violence...........

    I frequent this site because it is the easiest way to access information out there. im sure kitty is aware that as all of this information has been compiled by people other than those involved and is subject to human error. And she really does take the time to back up her sources if you take the time to ask her nicely as I did. she does not claim intellectual rights to any of it, she just wants those with an interest to be able to access the info they are looking for. as enlightened human beings it is our responsibility to intellectually critique what we are reading (which is why I own invisible darkness but not finding karla........)

    I personally almost became a victim of PB/KH (but the "FACTS" don't support my experience either, does that mean im lying....???) I go to this site frequently for information because I wanna make damned sure our paths never cross again.......not for the reason you think, I am aware that I am no longer a 13 year old southern Ontario virgin..........however if I ever see her eyes (or his for that matter but I know I wont) I do not want to go to jail for doing to her what im sure her husband and her intended to do to me....................
    so thank you kitty I know that even if the information you post turns out to be inaccurate you will fix the error. you are doing this because like me all young women in S.O. were terrified and victimized either directly or indirectly by this case. we all were afraid to leave our homes, we all called in family and friends fitting the description hoping to catch paul (and karla) and sometimes these false calls destroyed families but when your neighbour is named paul and he looks like the scarbourough rapist......you cant fucking sleep at night even though you know it cant be the same dude........... so you can see that this case ended up victimizing more than the 3 families who suffered the worst of it, and the number of surviving victims are no better off than the deceased (except perhaps now tammy Kristin and leslie have some peace when the rest of us have flashbacks...........)

    Kitty isn't writing this because shes a sadistic fuck, shes writing this because shes still affected too. I suggest to all haters, unless you are a French mahaffey , jane, or other former victim, keep your opinions to yourself. some of us need to know that we are safe, either from her or from ourselves...I assume that anyone with a personal vested interest such as I is actually calmed by the fact that this hasn't been forgotten and that even though the Canadian government allowed her to play them for fools and get away, we feel someone out there still has our back as victims or potential victims........

    and I also know that perhaps other survivors may feel differently but I assume they have the respect to tell kitty in private knowing how personal this case is to everyone who grew up in the golden horseshoe. A local wouldn't slam her efforts in public, they'd be respectful of her if they want her to respect them and message their stories in private (like I did at first).........so stoptheviolence and other haters, how can we stop the violence, when we don't know where it is and our government who is supposed to protect us protects the devil instead

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, thank so much for posting this. Admittedly, stop's dramatic postings caused me to question the validity of what I have been doing with this blog, so it's great to hear from folks on the other side of the pond, as well.

      Not all of us want to forget -- and not because we find this sort of thing "entertaining," but because we want to do what we can to ensure it doesn't happen again. And as for respecting the victims of these horrendous crimes, I'm not so sure they would want to be forgotten, either. If the lessons aren't learned, and if the public at large forgets, than we have nobody but ourselves to blame when history repeats itself.

      And Anon is right -- I am interested in the truth, pure and simple. If anyone finds anything presented on this site to be incorrect, please let me know and I will happily look into making the necessary corrections.

      Thanks again, Anon; you have my email now in case you ever just want to vent stuff :)

      Delete
  18. I'll bet you won't guess what muscle in your body is the #1 muscle that eliminates joint and back pain, anxiety and excessive fat.

    If this "secret" highly powerful primal muscle is healthy, you are healthy.

    ReplyDelete