Prior Criminal History used to determine bail - not predictive of violence

       NO CRIMINAL HISTORY REVEALS LITTLE ABOUT INTENT TO HARM IN CASES OF DV                                    

New Braintree, MA  Once again domestic violence has resulted in deadly force being used to stop one man from killing his intimate partner and the child they have together.  This man paid no attention to the court ordered protection order that was in place bringing lethal force to bear upon his family.  Only this time, it is he who died in the violent final act before he could finish what he had come to do.  Police were ready for violence and met force with appropriate force resulting in death.  The surviving victims are fortunate for the action of the brave and courageous officers on duty in Calais, Maine on this night or they may have lost their lives in a murder-suicide - now all too common in northern, Maine.

The details of this Calais, ME case of domestic violence are being carefully guarded.  It is known that Daniel Phinney, 26 was out on bail after being arrested and charged with domestic violence and criminal threatening in May 2013.  At that point he must have both physically assaulted his significant other and threatened to kill or maim his family resulting in the charge of criminal threatening.  Police are quick to say that Phinney had no prior criminal history perhaps in an effort to circumvent the obvious outrage evoked by the system of bail in Maine that releases violent abusers over and over again.  Had anyone made an effort to determine the degree of risk posed by Daniel Phinney prior to his release?  Had anyone registered safety concerns based on the defendant’s behavior and history?  Had they undertaken a psychological assessment of Phinney that may have provided important details about his impulse control, substance use, and proclivity toward violence?  These details may become more apparent in the coming days.

The case is reminiscent of the 2011 Steven Lake homicide in Dexter.  Lake had twice been released on bail before murdering his family.  The medical autopsy concluded that “in spite of psychological counseling (the state) failed to appreciate the degree of anger and violence in Steven Lake”.  He had also been charged with criminal threatening after holding his family at gunpoint as he drove home the point about how much he loved them but he could not let Amy move on. 

I was a member of a team that conducted a psychological autopsy on Lake that resulted in over 50 recommendations to the esteemed Maine Attorney General’s Homicide Review panel in November 2012.  At first glance what is clear is brash indifference toward the court protection order and the availability of firearms to the defendant.  It is now important to study the case of Daniel Phinney and learn from the many red flags he waved in the weeks prior to his death.  These events can be stopping and containments points in future cases of domestic violence and domestic violence homicide.  No family should be kept in fear by a spouse whose loathsome behavior derails all human spirit and sense of dignity.

When domestic violence starts in high school

NEW BRAINTREE, MA March 24, 2013  The topic of dating violence has been of increasing interest to social scientists and others working with adolescents.  Most physicians make the subject of dating violence a regular part of the interview process by asking questions about jealousy, over control and violence with their boyfriends or girlfriends.  Parents are urged to keep open communication with their adolescent children as they begin having dating relationships.  The average teenager goes out on a "first date" when he or she is about 14 years of age.  How do you do this when peer relationships tend to take on greater importance once kids get into high school?

First and foremost for parents with teens who are dating is a set of rules and an agreed upon curfew.  The rules must include a zero tolerance policy for drinking and drugging.  Across the United States the legal drinking age is 21 year old.  A teen who comes home smelling of beer has broken the law and is subject to arrest.  Younger teens should go out with a group of friends.  Having rules like these can help a nervous teenager handle the pressures of dating.  Early on in a relationship it is customary that the dating pair may be driven to and from a movie theater by one of the parents.  This helps with parental control over curfews and what stops are made on the way home. Arguably, curfews are meant to be tested but in healthy homes the breach of curfew can  be handled with a subtle correction and reasonable consequences.  It is very important to get to know the person who has asked to take your prized possession out on a date.  This way you can form an impression of him with your own eyes and ears.  See how comfortable he or she is with a short visit with mom and dad.  I encourage parents to limit their kids day time encounters - staying local.  A red flag goes up when dates start going 1-2 hours away for concerts, etc.

Dating violence takes place is less than obvious ways and usually starts as controlling jealousy. Something as innocuous as being told what to wear may signal an underlying attempt at unhealthy control.  Dating violence is almost always kept secret from a set of parents. This was brought to bear upon the parents of Lauren Astley, a Wayland, MA teenager who was murdered in 2010 after breaking up with a long-time boyfriend.  Convicted murderer Nathaniel Fujita could not take no for an answer and pushed his victim to meet him privately following a high school graduation party when she was killed.  Fujita repeatedly sent text messages to Astley seeking her attention.  D.V. Profilers want young women to take extra time when getting into an intimate relationship with eyes wide open.

Signs of dating abuse are the obvious bumps and bruises and should trigger a call to police when discovered.  Changes in behavior, like secrecy, may signal signs of stress and coercion in a dating relationship.  Professional help is needed whenever a person threatens suicide after a break-up.

The Myth of Mental Illness and School Violence

NEW BRAINTREE, MA March 23, 2013 The true incidence of violence among people diagnosed with a nervous and mental disorder is quite low. It is a common misconception that whenever something hideous occurs it must be mental illness that is the driving force behind its fury. In most cases this is neither the reality nor the underlying cause of terminal rage. In light of the information being uncovered about the Newtown, CT mass murderer, the specter of mental illness insures a convenient scapegoat. Updated information from Newtown recently confirmed that Adam Lanza had studied the media stories of prior mass killings as he planned for his despicable finale. In retrospect, I wonder what "red flags" have been uncovered that offer insight into his substantive motivation. People will speculate about random causes of Lanza's behavior unless it can be studied scientifically.     There are some instances when mental illness may be associated with serial homicide such as the Son of Sam killer who plied his murderous delusions in NYC during the 1970’s using a Charter Arm’s Bulldog .44 caliber revolver. David Berkowitz used that weapon to kill 6 and wound 7 during his spree. He claimed to have been commanded to kill random couples he saw in cars by a dog he believed possessed by the demon. After spending time in a mental institution following his conviction he was transferred to the state prison at Sing Sing and finally Attica to serve 6 life sentences. When he was on trial Berkowitz plead not guilty by reason of insanity – the delusions he had about communicating with demons. In the end, it was determined that Berkowitz was not mentally ill. The Columbine, CO high school killers, Klebold and Harris were methodical in their planning of the attacks on the school and its students. They built explosive devices and practiced their attack in the weeks before the assault on the school. By outward appearances these two were from middle class families with involved parents. Many believe Klebold and Harris were the victim of bullies.

     Psychological experts believe mentally ill persons lack the higher order planning to execute the complex steps necessary for these types of crimes. Neither Dan Klebold nor Eric Harris was mentally ill. The Virginia Tech killer Seung-Hui Cho murdered 31 students and faculty in 2007 after a period of decompensating rage. He wrote a profanity laden manifesto blaming everyone for their maltreatment of him that sounded paranoid and vindictive yet was able to send the videotaped diatribe to a news agency. Cho had been held in a psychiatric hospital 2 years prior to his rampage after becoming marginalized. Cho was able to organize his crime preparation and sequence the needed steps to meet his murderous goal. Was he mentally ill?

      The Psychological Autopsy is a clinical assessment of the time line and antemortem comportment of the perpetrator of compelling and despicable events.  These types of case studies explore changes in cognitive and behavioral functioning immediately before a terminal event of homicide. An extensive review of a case from 2010 that was published in 2011 generated over 50 recommendations about DV and factors to consider when victims are at greatest risk.  The cost of these interviews and substantive case review is the primary reason they are not regularly conducted.  It is also less compelling when the perpetrator has killed himself and survivors want to turn the page.  

     Recently, shooters have survived mass killings in an Aurora, CO and Tuscon, AZ. They are the face of mass murder today and as they move through the criminal justice system we may see more and more of them.  It is hoped that important information may be gleaned from studying their motives, personal history, and triggers to their rage.  
Read more at: www.msefton.wordpress.com 

No More Secrets...

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SECRECY - VICTIMS KEPT WITHOUT SUPPORT

New Braintree, MA  March 27, 2012  Domestic violence impacts men and woman everywhere according to Michael Sefton, Ph.D..  In the Fall of 2011, I was involved in the psychological autopsy analysis of pre-incident behaviors of the despicable monster who killed his wife and children in Dexter, Maine.  The murder-suicide occurred in June as students across the state began their summer vacations.  The victim was a kindergarten teacher who graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington.  She had 2 children.  The findings of our report were submitted to the Maine Domestic Violence Homicide Review Board in November, 2011.  We received a positive response from government sources and women's groups throughout Maine who found our report thoughtful and timely.  We generated over 50 recommendations for police, counselors, and the judiciary to combat the problem of domestic violence.  It can happen anywhere.  College campuses are not immune to the pernicious effects of this imbalance of power.  One in four woman experience domestic violence in her lifetime.  I am a University of Southern Maine graduate and I read The Maine Campus online news regularly.  Recently there have been reports of sexual assaults in campus dormitories.  Research suggests that police are notified about intimate partner violence only after the 9th incident.  By then the emotional abuse may have transitioned into physical violence and a demand for secrecy.  There should be zero tolerance for domestic abuse.  

Domestic violence homicide results from the insidious mistreatment of intimate partners and are usually preceded by red flags like jealousy, intimidation, and sexual aggression.  Violence is impossible to predict with 100 percent certainty but if you are in a relationship where aggression and threats ever occur you are at greater risk for being killed by your boyfriend or girlfriend than a complete stranger.  It is no difference in college than it might be in other relationship settings.  

Intimate partners should not intimidate nor bully one another and this must stop the first time it occurs.  Red flags include irrational anger, lack of empathy, symbolic intimidation, and refusal to take 'no' for an answer.  One sad fact we learned in the recent domestic violence homicide was that people knew what was going to happen.  Family members of the murderer told us that they were aware of his anger "never expected him to take the children."  They knew of this and said nothing to anyone until 4 people were dead.  Effective reduction of domestic violence means that victims need to trust someone - and speak up.  If you know that someone is being abused you must tell someone.  It can save the life of a friend or family member.  It might save your own life.  I was asked several times why I participated in the behavioral analysis of someone who was now gone?  What good can come from a creepy retrospective like this?  

The answer was that to do nothing would be a further act of inhumanity.  Along with 3 other good friends, we talked with over 65 people with direct knowledge of the abuser and the victims.  Family members and friends each with their own perspective.  At times, the shared pain became unbearable.  One cannot listen to such heartfelt expressions of loss without being changed and moved.  Domestic violence is a scourge in relationships everywhere - including idyllic Orono, ME and on campuses everywhere.  The lives of people in Dexter, Dover-Foxcroft, Harmony, and throughout New England were left reeling by the conflagration of violence that occurred on June 13.  The medical examiner acknowledged that "even though the abuser received some mental health counseling it was apparent, in retrospect, that the degree of violence and anger possessed by the abuser was not realized."  No one could imagine what would happen to the Lake family on that day.

The specter of intimate partner abuse may be the secret affliction that derails interpersonal attachment and empathy.  There is no place in a marriage or courtship for threats or intimidation or aggression.  College students experience physical assault at the hands of someone they know regularly.  Human relationships experience intimacy and attachment like no other species. What sets human beings apart is the capacity to empathize and feel what others feel.  If we loose sight of this we loose that which makes us human and become something less.

Michael Sefton, Ph.D.

An Empty Place at the Table - A Mother’s Wail

Michael Sefton, Ph.D.

A parent knows when something is wrong with their child.  They can see it and feel it simply by looking at the face of a son or daughter.  There is an energy one feels when looking upon your child’s face like when you come for parent pick-up in the afternoon.  The actions of Adam Lanza denuded all that is true and precious.

The inexplicable violence brought forth against children in Connecticut represents a new measure of evil that will stain the pallet of life forever for all who directly exposed.  The events of December 14^th leave us with an emptiness that scorches the threads of what make us each human.  The DNA of what we call family is a child’s place at the table of life.  A mother wails from the now empty place at the table. 

Can you imagine the unthinkable pain of suddenly losing a child at the hands of a sadistic, inhuman, malefactor.  The pain of loss is suffocating to those whose children are now gone.  Religious leaders and other experts know this.  There is nothing that can be said to relieve the suffering - except time.  A mother wails for her child from the terror and affliction through which they went before they were taken.  How can she go on knowing this?  Seeing this is unbearable and incompatible with life as she knows it.  Her place at life’s table too will be forever changed.

No parent should have to wait for news of a child’s fate and be forced to watch as terrified children are led from the safety of their school into a new reality where no one is spared from violence in these times that we live.  No parent should have to look at the photograph of their ravaged little boy or girl just to identify them for the    last time.  A mother wails at what she must do.  And the child-size coffin she must look upon in torment that contains her child and now contains her life.

We all wail for the children of Newtown and children everywhere who suffer the fate of misguided rage and one's forsaken mental health.  More should be done to understand the issues leading to the unconscionable violence causing unbridled pain and a mother's desperate wail.