Psychopathy is no longer a diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as of the third edition. Rather the diagnosis would be antisocial personality disorder with psychopathic traits. These psychopathic traits are characterised by “a lack of anxiety or fear and by a bold interpersonal style that may mask maladaptive behaviours”, e.g. not adjusting adequately or appropriately to certain environments or situations.

Psychopathic traits are assessed using a variety of measurement tools, most famously Robert D. Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R), brought to the mainstream by author Jon Ronson in his book The Psychopath Test. Dr Hare’s checklist is a list of 20 traits which the assessed is scored on a three-point scale, for example, item 6 is lack of remorse or guilt and the recipient is assessed, giving a grade of 0 for no match, 1 for a partial match or 2 for a good match. If someone scores above 30 on the checklist, they are considered to have psychopathic traits, for instance, serial killer/serial rapist Ted Bundy was evaluated at 39/40.

Visit www.truecrimenz.com for more information on this case including sources and credits.

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Written and edited by Sirius Rust

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The podcast version is the intended way to consume this story but we make a transcript available for those that would rather read instead.

This can be found below.

Investigates III: Psychopathy

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DISCLAIMER:

This episode is an investigation into psychopathy. In turn, this podcast discusses and contains some very disturbing and violent language and descriptions, including graphic descriptions of violence against children.

Listener discretion is strongly advised.

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INTRODUCTION TO A PSYCHOPATH

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I regret that children died, but I felt like God. It was the power of God over a human being… It was the pleasure it gave me. I got very little pleasure from anything else in life. But in the strangling of children, I found a degree and a sensation of pleasure. And of accomplishment. Because it was such a good feeling I wanted to duplicate it. And so I went out to seek duplication.

A quote from an interview with serial child killer Peter Woodcock from the BBC documentary, The Mask of Sanity

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ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) defines antisocial personality disorder as being characterised by at least three of the following traits:

Failure to conform to social norms and laws, as indicated by repeatedly engaging in illegal activities.
Deceitfulness, as indicated by continuously lying, using aliases, or conning others for personal gain and pleasure.
Exhibiting impulsivity or failing to plan ahead.
Irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeatedly getting into fights or physically assaulting others.
Reckless behaviours that disregard the safety of others.
Irresponsibility, as indicated by repeatedly failing to consistently work or honour financial obligations.
Lack of remorse after hurting or mistreating another person.

In order to be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder under the DSM-5, one must be at least 18 years old, and show evidence of the onset of conduct disorder before age 15, and the antisocial behaviour cannot be explained by schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

PSYCHOPATHY

Those traits are:

Glibness/superficial charm
Grandiose sense of self-worth
Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom
Pathological lying
Conning/manipulative
Lack of remorse or guilt
Shallow affect
Callous/lack of empathy
Parasitic lifestyle
Poor behavioural controls
Promiscuous sexual behaviour
Early behaviour problems
Lack of realistic long-term goals
Impulsivity
Irresponsibility
Failure to accept responsibility for own actions
Many short-term marital relationships
Juvenile delinquency
Revocation of conditional release
Criminal versatility

However, over time, researchers have revised the 20-item checklist to a triarchic model, meaning three observable characteristics of psychopathy:

Boldness. Low fear including stress tolerance, toleration of unfamiliarity and danger, and high self-confidence and social assertiveness.
Disinhibition. Poor impulse control including problems with planning and foresight, lacking affect and urge control, demand for immediate gratification, and poor behavioural restraints.
Meanness. Lacking empathy and close attachments with others, disdain of close attachments, use of cruelty to gain empowerment, exploitative tendencies, defiance of authority, and destructive excitement seeking.

An example of a psychopath lacking empathy can be found in the book The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson when the author shows a picture of a frightened person to a psychopath and asks them to identify the emotion. The psychopath calmly replies “I don’t know what emotion [it] is but it was the face people pulled just before I kill them”.

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My dear Mrs Budd, In 1894 a friend of mine shipped as a deckhand on the steamer Tacoma, Capt John Davis. They sailed from San Francisco to Hong Kong China. On arriving there he and two others went ashore and got drunk. When they returned the boat was gone. At that time there was a famine in China. Meat of any kind was from $1 to 3 Dollars a pound. So great was the suffering among the very poor that all children under 12 were sold to the Butchers to be cut up and sold for food in order to keep others from starving. A boy or girl under 14 was not safe in the street. You could go in any shop and ask for steak – chops – or stew meat. Part of the naked body of a boy or girl would be brought out and just what you wanted cut from it. A boy or girls behind which is the sweetest part of the body and sold as veal cutlet brought the highest price. John staid there so long he acquired a taste for human flesh. On his return to N.Y. he stole two boys one 7 one 11. Took them to his home stripped them naked tied them in a closet then burned everything they had on. Several times every day and night he spanked them – tortured them – to make their meat good and tender. First he killed the 11 yr old boy, because he had the fattest ass and of course the most meat on it. Every part of his body was cooked and eaten except Head – bones and guts. He was roasted in the oven, (all of his ass) boiled, broiled, fried, stewed. The little boy was next, went the same way. At that time I was living at 409 E 100 St, rear – right side. He told me so often how good human flesh was I made up my mind to taste it. On Sunday June the 3 – 1928 I called on you at 406 W 15 St. Brought you pot cheese – strawberries. We had lunch. Grace sat in my lap and kissed me. I made up my mind to eat her, on the pretense of taking her to a party. You said Yes she could go. I took her to an empty house in Westchester I had already picked out. When we got there, I told her to remain outside. She picked wild flowers. I went upstairs and stripped all my clothes off. I knew if I did not I would get her blood on them. When all was ready I went to the window and called her. Then I hid in a closet until she was in the room. When she saw me all naked she began to cry and tried to run down stairs. I grabbed her and she said she would tell her mama. First I stripped her naked. How she did kick – bite and scratch. I choked her to death then cut her in small pieces so I could take my meat to my rooms, cook and eat it. How sweet and tender her little ass was roasted in the oven. It took me 9 days to eat her entire body. I did not fuck her, though, I could of had I wished. She died a virgin.”

A letter from serial killer and cannibal Albert Fish to the parents of one of his victims, Grace Budd.

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PROGNOSIS

Statistics vary, but psychopathic traits affect approximately 4% of the general population. This means of every 25 people you meet, likely one is a psychopath. Also of the 4% of the psychopathic population, 3% are male and 1% are female.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, many affected by these traits ended up within the prison system. An analysis of prisoners within North America has found that 20.5% of inmates scored 30 or higher on the psychopathic checklist indicating psychopathy.

Unfortunately, the prognosis of a psychopath is quite poor. Psychopathy is largely considered to be untreatable. Attempts to treat psychopathy with psychiatry have been a failure. There is some evidence that psychiatric medications such as antipsychotics, antidepressants and mood stabilisers have found some success at settling the more violent symptoms of psychopathy, although the reduction is minimal.

There have been experimental treatments to treat psychopathy such as Elliott Barker’s Oak Ridge experiments of the 1970s. In these experiments, violent psychopaths were trapped in a room together naked and took massive amounts of Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). They would then have intimate group therapy sessions together in the hope to develop greater levels of empathy. However, the experiments were a failure and in some cases the experimentees said the experience allowed them to become more manipulative as it taught them how to better fake empathy.

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This is the Zodiac speaking.

I am the murderer of the taxi driver over by Washington St & Maple St last night, to prove this here is a blood stained piece of his shirt. I am the same man who did in the people in the north bay area.

The S.F. Police could have caught me last night if they had searched the park properly instead of holding road races with their motorcicles seeing who could make the most noise. The car drivers should have just parked their cars and sat there quietly waiting for me to come out of cover.

School children make nice targets, I think I shall wipe out a school bus some morning. Just shoot out the front tire & then pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out.

A 1969 letter sent from the Zodiac Killer to the San Francisco Chronicle following the killing of Paul Stine

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CAUSES

What creates a psychopath? It is a common misconception that a person is born with psychopathic traits. While studies have found that genetics have a moderate impact on individuals with psychopathy (i.e. having parents that are psychopathic), environment and upbringing also play large factors in the development of the condition.

According to a study by Farrington of a sample of London males aged between 8 and 48 who scored above 10 on the Psychopath Checklist, the most common environmental factors are having a convicted parent, being physically neglected, low involvement of the father with the boy, low family income, coming from a disrupted family, poor supervision, abuse, harsh discipline, large family size, young mother, having a depressed mother, low social class, and poor housing.

There is also some evidence to suggest that head injuries at a young age can create emotional and moral impairment which reduces the child’s ability to develop empathy and social emotions like guilt or shame.

According to the non-profit organisation Psychopathy Is, an organisation dedicated to alleviating the suffering caused by psychopathy throughout life by addressing the needs and concerns of those with psychopathy as well as their families and communities, warm and responsive parenting is a protective factor against developing psychopathy in early childhood.

Quoting the Psychopathy Is website under the Environmental Risk Factors headline, “… it is of the UTMOST importance for parents to understand that the type of warm parenting that can reduce psychopathy symptoms in at-risk children can be unintuitive and often seems to be the opposite of what affected children want. But parents who are trained to use therapeutic techniques of warm parenting with high-risk children can reduce those children’s chances of developing psychopathy… Warm parenting behaviours include smiling, speaking in a warm tone of voice, and using positive touch -for example, a gentle touch on the arm, a hug, or a high-five. Responsive parenting means responding appropriately to your child’s needs and emotions. Responsive parenting behaviours include, for example, expressing concern through your face and voice, asking questions, or offering a hug if your child is upset… It is important for parents of children with psychopathy to learn effective techniques in part because a child’s psychopathy can change parents’ behaviour toward their child over time in maladaptive ways. For example, some children with psychopathy resist affection. So parents may be less verbally or physically affectionate with these children because they believe that is what the child prefers. But children at risk for psychopathy may actually need MORE verbal and physical warmth than other children.”

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How many do I have to Kill before I get a name in the paper or some national attention. Do the cop think that all those deaths are not related? Golly -gee, yes the M.O. is different in each, but look a pattern is developing. The victims are tie up-most have been women-phone cut- bring some bondage mater sadist tendencies-no struggle, outside the death spot-no wintness except the Vain’s Kids. They were very lucky; a phone call save them. I was go-ng to tape the boys and put plastics bag over there head like I did Joseph, and Shirley. And then hang the girl. God-oh God what a beautiful sexual relief that would been. Josephine,when I hung her really turn me on; her pleading for mercy then the rope took whole, she helpless; staring at me with wide terror fill eyes the rope getting tighter-tighter. You don’t understand these things because your not underthe influence of factor x). The same thing that made Son of Sam, Jack the Ripper, Havery Glatman, Boston Strangler, Dr. H. H. Holmes Panty Hose Strangler OF Florida, Hillside Strangler, Ted of the West Coast and many more infamous character kill. Which seem s senseless, but we cannot help it. There is no help, no cure, except death or being caught and put away. It a terrible nightmarebut, you see I don’t lose any sleep over it. After a thing like Fox I ccome home and go about life like anyone else. And I will be like that until the urge hit me again. It not continuous and I don;t have a lot of time. It take time to set a kill, one mistake and it all over. Since I about blew it on the phone-handwriting is out-letter guide is to long and typewriter can be traced too,.My short poem of death and maybe a drawing;later on real picture and maybe a tape of the sound will come your way. How will you know me. Before a murder or murders you will receive a copy of the initials B.T.K. , you keep that copy the original will show up some day on guess who? May you not be the unluck one!

P.S.
How about some name for me, its time: 7 down and many more to go. I like the following How about you? ‘THE B.T.K. STRANGLER’, WICHITA STRANGLER’, ‘POETIC STRANGLER’, ‘THE BOND AGE STRANGLER’ OR PSYCHO’ THE WICHITA HANGMAN THE WICHITA EXECUTIONER, ‘THE GAROTE PHATHOM’, ‘THE ASPHIXIATER’.
B.T.K

A 1978 letter from serial killer Dennis Rader sent to a Witchata television station.

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NON-VIOLENT PSYCHOPATHS

While we usually identify psychopathy with violent behaviour, not all psychopaths are violent, in fact, the majority of psychopaths are non-violent. This subset of the disorder is characterised as non-violent psychopaths.

A 2020 study by Virginia Commonwealth University looked into why some psychopaths are successful in certain business fields while others are unsuccessful in life.

The study found that psychopaths that were successful had greater control over their antisocial impulses but other psychopathic traits such as grandiosity and manipulation actually benefited them in certain business fields such as being a CEO or a lawyer. Whereas, psychopaths who developed little to no impulse control over their antisocial behaviour in adolescence tended to become criminal offenders.

Author Emily Lasko, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology in the College of Humanities and Sciences who wrote the study “What Makes a ‘Successful’ Psychopath? Longitudinal Trajectories of Offenders’ Antisocial Behavior and Impulse Control as a Function of Psychopathy,” told Science Daily that, “Our findings support a novel model of psychopathy that we propose, which runs contradictory to the other existing models of psychopathy in that it focuses more on the strengths or ‘surpluses’ associated with psychopathy rather than just deficits… Psychopathy is not a personality trait simply composed of deficits — there are many forms that it can take.”

As a quick side note, according to Time Magazine, the top ten careers that attract psychopaths are (in order) CEO, lawyer, media personality, salesperson, surgeon, journalist, police officer, clergyperson, chef and civil servant.

While non-violent psychopaths may not physically inflict pain on others, they still have the traits of manipulativeness and lack of empathy. According to Robert Hare, the creator of the Psychopath Checklist, psychopaths can observe the values of our society and mimic these values to better blend in. For example, they don’t necessarily see violence as wrong but understand there is punishment (i.e. prison time) for those actions.

So, again according to Robert Hare, a manipulative psychopath may use more psychological and emotional abuse to harm their victims. Abuse for which they will not receive a prison sentence.

These actions can manifest as demeaning comments, insults, gas-lighting, shifting blame, violating boundaries and exerting control over somebody.

This is all abuse that is used to wear the victim down psychologically as well as not necessarily being a criminal offence.

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I was diagnosed with mild psychopathy a month ago. I don’t really get what this question is asking, but I’ll try to answer it to the best of my abilities. I think the best way to describe is it that lying becomes natural. Personally, I was really interested in logic as a kid, and every single lie I told just had to make complete and total sense. Nowadays, the lies are just habitual, as is the reasoning behind each and every excuse. I don’t really feel guilt or anything when I lie, though it may just be due to how many I’ve told. If it makes a situation less awkward, or if telling a lie is the easy way out, then it’s probably the best move to make. My relationship with my family is pretty strained (though I’d argue it was pretty strained before I grew to be a compulsive liar) but I’m still friends with a lot of people, especially from elementary and secondary school. Perhaps that’s because of the “mild” part, or perhaps it’s just the nature of psychopaths.

It’s not complete apathy when it comes to certain aspects. I get occasional “sparks” of emotion, but they don’t last long and they don’t cause me to act on impulse. Imagine being a cyborg or a computer and how you would deal with ethics and whatnot. I guess [I] don’t particularly see the point of unnecessary emotion? It’s like, “oh, someone/something died. But what could I have done to save them?” And even if we could’ve done something, we just accept the fact that there’s no Control-Z on life. I personally just move on because I honestly don’t see the point in feeling anything over something I can’t change anymore.

To put it simply, it’s kind of tiring to pretend to be normal sometimes, though I imagine it’s a lot harder if you have violent tendencies. If you play your cards correctly, you could be the nicest, most charming person someone knows. It could earn you a position in the government. But if you don’t pretend to be somewhat “normal”, you could end up in a mental institution. Isn’t that funny?

If you’re asking about being a psychopath without the violence, I just don’t really see the point in inflicting pain or causing destruction if that gets me in any form of trouble. (Of course, unless I think the trouble is worth it, which I rarely do.) One major misconception about psychopaths is that they get extreme joy from violence and inflicting pain. No, not all of us are sadists. In fact, not a lot of us feel extreme joy at all. So that emo teen sitting across the street who throws rocks at squirrels could be a serial killer in the making, or maybe they just have anger issues. But they probably aren’t an actual psychopath.

I hope that answered your question. I tend to go off on tangents. Sorry. [The] tl;dr [is]: We (being nonviolent psychopaths) generally just don’t have normal reactions (read: don’t have reactions) to many situations. Family relations can be strained because we lack the love (I guess?) that binds us to our annoying relatives no matter how frustrated we get with them. Relationships with friends aren’t as strained because we just kind of like them (as entities but not necessarily people) and we aren’t forced to stick around them based on DNA similarities. Psychopaths are NOT always psychotics; we’re just your run-of-the-mill beings but 90% devoid of strong emotions and stable personality traits.

An answer by Dirko18, a Reddit user, to the question “Non-violent psychopaths of Reddit, what’s like having the disorder and how does it impact your relationships with other people?”

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CONNECTIVE TISSUE

Psychopathy is a complicated disorder that covers a wide range of topics. However, it would seem that the disorder has a huge impact on crime and prison statistics. According to Psychopathy Is, people with psychopathy are responsible for 30% to 40% of all violent crimes in the United States.

On top of this, prisoners with psychopathy are more than five times more likely to re-offend than a prisoner without psychopathy.

And with that, we have set the stage for the next episode of True Crime New Zealand. Join us next time as we delve into a crime that shocked and horrified the country during the early 2000s. A heinous crime committed by a man described by Detective Inspector Gavin Jones as “the closest thing I have ever seen to a psychopath… He is callous, cunning and calculating – he’s a psychopathic murderer.”