Children Who Kill: Profiles of Pre-Teen and Teenage Killers [Hardcover]

Carol Anne Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 18, 2003

Why do two young boys abduct, torture and kill a toddler? What makes a teenage girl plot with her classmates to kill her own father? Why does a child set fire to the homes of his classmates? We tend to think of children as innocents, incapable of murder but their crimes can be some of the most horrific and terrifying acts committed. In this new book Carol Anne Davis explores the actions and motivations of thirteen killers aged between ten and seventeen. Well known cases including those of Mary Bell, Robert Thompson and John Venables are examined alongside historical case studies and lesser known crimes. Children Who Kill is an intelligent and moving account of the dark and troubled childhoods that lead to murder.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

It is a rarely acknowledged fact that children are capable of crimes as heinous as those committed by adults. In this deeply disquieting book, the author profiles 13 killers between the ages of 10 and 17. The author begins with the story of Jesse Pomeroy, the Boston boy who, at the age of 12, began by torturing younger children and a couple of years later graduated to homicide. That was in 1873. Later, she writes about Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, the two 10-year-old Liverpool boys who achieved worldwide fame by luring toddler James Bulger from a shopping mall and murdering him. The subjects of this book are boys and girls who, for a variety of reasons, found the dark side of themselves far earlier than most people. The author keeps the editorializing to a minimum, preferring to let the plain facts speak for themselves. It's a good plan: the book is downright chilling. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Davis writes with verve" -- Publishers Weekly

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Allison & Busby LTD (April 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749006102
• ISBN-13: 978-0749006105
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,893,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but....., April 12, 2005

By 

K. Fugate "voracious reader" (O'Fallon, MO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Children Who Kill: Profiles of Pre-teen and Teenage Killers (2003) (Paperback)

There are few things as disturbing as accounts of children committing murder. Whenever one of these cases appears in the news, it touches a nerve in us all, and those of us who are parents can't help wondering "How could this have happened? Could my child be capable of something so hideous, or was the child who committed this crime some sort of unexplainable abberation?" "Children Who Kill" by Carol Anne Davis attempts to answer these questions, and it is a fascinating glimpse into the pathology of child murderers and a "must-read" for any true crime aficionado. However, having said that, I must mention that the writing style is so amateurish that, at times, I had trouble believing that I was reading the work of a published author. The book reads very much like a middle school research paper, sometimes to the point of being distracting. I took into consideration the fact that the author is British and I am an American, which would explain why some of the phrasing seemed odd to me, but do British schools not teach the use of commas or compound sentences? Fortunately for Ms. Davis, the subject matter is so compelling that one keeps reading despite the distractions. If you are a person who finds true crime fascinating, you will enjoy this book, but if poor writing bugs you, this book will drive you crazy.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars the truth behind the taboo, May 10, 2011

By 

Edelstein Arnon (ISRAEL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Children Who Kill: Profiles of Pre-teen and Teenage Killers (2003) (Paperback)

Carole Anne has the dignity and the courage to explore chilling cases of children who murdered others.
Every aspect of these children's life is explore in order to better understand the connection between child abuse and murder.
As a criminologist, I think that this book lacks two important things. First, it does not explain why a lot of children who suffered abuse didn't turn to be murderers. Second,a summary that connects between theory and the cases explored in the book, would add a better understanding of the cases.
Prof, Arnon Edelstein, Criminologist

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Food for thought, March 7, 2010

By 

Helen Simpson (Leeds, England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Children Who Kill: Profiles of Pre-teen and Teenage Killers (2003) (Paperback)

A fascinating background into a variety of high profile cases where children have resorted to murder; from 12 year old Jesse Pomeroy in America in the late nineteenth century to the 10 year olds who killed Jamie Bulger in Liverpool in 1993. Many people just categorise this type of crime as 'evil' and understandably find it hard to come to terms with children who go so far as to kill. However Davis manages to write a factual account of events and leaves judgement to the reader. As well as case studies she includes some very interesting statistics.