Couples Who Kill [Hardcover]

Carol Anne Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2005

What drives attractive male cousins to rape and kill ten young women? Why does an altar girl and her boyfriend lure innocent victims into their customized torture van? Couples who kill comprise only twenty percent of killers -- but they often murder serially and are responsible for particularly inhumane deaths. Sadistic friends, twisted sisters, monstrous couples, and an increasingly pathological mother-son team are amongst those profiled in this exploration of the world’s most deviant duos. There are eleven American cases, numerous British cases, and other countries represented in this study detailing depraved criminal behavior. The profiles include California serial killers Leonard Lake and Charles Ng, Laurence Bittaker and Roy Norris, infanticide by New Jersey teenagers Amy Grossberg and Brian Peterson, the British "Moors Murderers", and other profiles of equally scandalous but less publicized murders. Carol Anne Davis explores the formative influences of these killers and their deadly dynamics. She also interviews one of the Wests’ surviving female victims and a man who spent time with a serial co-killer now on Death Row.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An eye-opening, if horrifying, read. A copy of it should be posted to all politicians. --Reviewing the Evidence

From the Author

Couples Who Kill profiles twenty six British and American murderers, many of them serial killers. Each profile explores the killer's background, the relationship with their co-killer, the homicides, and what has happened since the trial.

There are also fifteen case studies in themed chapters such as British Couples Who Kill Children and Bizarre Couples Who Kill, the latter including cases from Germany, Mexico and France.

Several of the couples were sadistic lovers, others were friends or close relatives. Yet even those who swore undying love had often turned on each other by the time they went to trial.

Because couples who kill are often lust murderers, the victims were mainly in their teens or early twenties. But there are exceptions - the oldest victim was seventy seven, the youngest only a few minutes old.

Though the cases are harrowing, there is occasionally hope: one teenage killer, hugely influenced by his much more damaged girlfriend, has studied psychology in prison for many years now, apparently understands his earlier pathology and genuinely seems to have turned his life around.

Once again I'm grateful to the authority figures I consulted, including a man who met serial killer Charles Ng and a woman who was abducted by Rose & Fred West. I also interviewed a crime writer who'd co-authored a book with a Home Office pathologist who autopsied one of the victims of a particularly vicious and largely forgotten British triple killer.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Allison & Busby (October 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749083573
• ISBN-13: 978-0749083571
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,462,287 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly researched criminal profiles, May 26, 2008

By 

Jessica Lux (Rosamond, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Couples Who Kill (Paperback)

Scottish true-crime writer Carol Anne Davis (who blogs at the outstanding In Cold Blog) released this collection of profiles of deviant duos in the UK in 2005. Three years later, this chilling collection is available to U.S. readers in a paperback printing. Davis discusses the most famous UK serial murder couples -- the moors murders and the case of Fred and Rosemary West - plus over a dozen more murdering couples from around the globe. She pays special attention to her subjects' childhoods, cataloging the physical and sexual abuse that is so common in their backgrounds.

Carol Anne Davis organizes her crime profiles by type -- couples who kill together vs. couples in which one partner is exonerated vs. homosexual couples, and so on. She does the headline-grabbing cases well, and introduces the reader to a number of other lesser-known (but no less fascinating) serial murderers. Her essays are complete criminal profiles, including the detective work required to take these criminals down. Highly recommended for true crime fans.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thirteen studies of couples who murder, April 27, 2006

By 

D. Donovan, Editor/Sr. Reviewer "California B... (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Couples Who Kill (Hardcover)

COUPLES WHO KILL: PROFILES OF DEVIANT DUOS is a chilling study of what drives attractive male cousins to rape and kill ten young women, why an altar girl and her boyfriend torture their victims, and more. These killers make up only twenty percent of murderers, but often are serial killers and responsible for terrible murders. Thirteen case studies are examined in a study which combines research with interviews with experts and surviving victims to make for eye-opening revelations about couples who kill together.