KILLERS THAT TARGET THE ELDERLY

Mission-oriented murderers tend to focus on specific types of people they believe they need to rid from the world. This can include; prostitutes, homosexuals, blacks, Catholics, etc. The result of a delusion, mission killers believe they are truly bringing a needed change by eradicating these individuals. Unsurprisingly, these groups also tend to be those that are marginalized from society as a whole, or even seen as a nuisance on account of the possible burden they present to Joe Public. The elderly, in particular, match these criteria to an unfortunate degree. As health fails and dependency increases, people who have moved into their twilight years become more open to the predatory tendencies of killers.

The description of older folks as a burden may seem harsh. Although, a look at societies around the world in, “The Cultural Context of Aging” by Jay Sokolovsky shows that in up to 50% of those examined utilized forms of death hastening to encourage the passing of those too old and sick to be productive. In some cultures, this constituted putting the old on the lowest priority to receive food when it was being rationed; however, in New Guinea a study showed that the elderly were treated with the utmost respect, until they became helpless, at which point they would be buried alive by their children. This does not in any way excuse the outright murder of the elderly, but rather may hint at similar eradication oriented goals existing in otherwise acceptable civilizations.

While some mission killers may believe they are removing the cumbersome and bringing relief to the surrounding population, a contrasting quest comes to light in monsters that think the ones they are helping are the victims themselves. In a very Kevorkian mentality, indeed some murderers believe their goal should be to ease the pain of the sick and dying permanently through fatal means. Included in this category are healers that target the elderly known as “Angels of Death”, or medical practitioners that kill by utilizing the tools of their trade. Overdoses of strong painkillers (morphine, barbiturates) are a common tactic as they can be easily molded under the guise of treatment for pains the victim may actually be experiencing. These murders can often go undetected, as the victim may have been close to death and the sick can slip away from those trying to help all too sudden. A key example of this type of murder would be one of the most prolific serial killers in history, Dr. Harold Shipman.

Harold Shipman was born June 14, 1946 to a blue collar family in England. His childhood was heavily influenced and mandated by his mother, Vera. Vera would tell him who he could speak to or interact with and insisted he always keep a well-dressed appearance and act properly. Harold was a reasonably good student throughout his public school education, although his focus began to falter, as he grew older. When Harold was in his teens, Vera developed lung cancer and wasted away slowly and painfully until she died when Harold was 17 in 1963. During this time, Vera would be in a great deal of pain and could only find relief when the General Practitioner that visited their home would inject her with morphine. Harold kept a constant vigil near his mother’s bed during this time and watched as she drifted away from life at last with the help of the potent drug.

Harold Shipman graduated from the Leeds School of Medicine in 1970. Soon after he took a job as a General Practitioner in Todmorden, West Yorkshire. He was caught once and fined for forging prescriptions in order to obtain pethidine (an opioid painkiller) for his own use. Dr. Shipman soon rose to become a respected member of the community, even being interview in 1983 in a television documentary about how the mentally ill should be humanely treated. A long a prestigious medical career was more than enough cover to distract the public from the fact that a large amount of the elderly patients Shipman treated died.

Shipman was caught after a police investigation surrounding his last victim Kathleen Grundy, a former Mayor, exhumed her body and showed traces of heroin (used at the time as a painkiller) in her blood stream. Shipman was the last one to have seen her alive and noted “old age” as the cause on her Death Certificate. Ms. Grundy’s daughter went to the police after she was informed that her mother had written a will excluding her, but leaving 386,000 pounds to Shipman. He was arrested in September 1998 and further investigation revealed 14 more deaths whose blood may be on the good doctor’s hands. Shipman was tried, convicted, and condemned to 15 consecutive life sentences; he was also given 4 more years for forging the will. While his guilt seemed absolute in those matters, an in depth police research process known as The Shipman Inquiry determined he may have taken the lives of up to 250 people in all with his fatal cocktails of painkillers. Shipman denied his guilt until the end, which came abruptly as he took his own life in his cell in January 2004, on the night of his 58th birthday.

While the belief behind Shipman’s actions may have been to bring solace to those in pain at first, it becomes evident by the end that he had moved into the much darker plane of a predator. He knew all too well the weakness of his prey, how to manipulate those around him into assisting in his cover-ups, and he had at his disposal a near flawless M.O in treating those already so sick as to not arise suspicion. Although, It would seem that the condemning act of leaving Kathleen Grundy’s estate to himself was one of two things to Shipman. Either he was making a desperate cry for help as he could not stop killing on his own, or it had been an overtly brazen act of confidence, assuming he would never be caught for his crimes and could therefore retire early.

Far off from the mercy killings of an Angel of Death, comes a murderer from Iran known simply as Mahin. A 32-year-old woman, Mahin killed at least 6 people, including 4 elderly women. She would offer them a ride home from the shrines in the city where they had been praying. Mahin told the women they reminded her of her mother and then offer them some fruit juice, which she had spiked with a powerful anesthetic. She would then suffocate her victim and take any jewelry or valuables.

Mahin was finally caught when a 60 year-old woman who had escaped her car after finding her behavior suspicious read about the killings and went to the police. She described the car and the woman, and a quick examination of their records showed a match; Mahin would show up on the police radar the same way a bizarre number of killers have, by recently having been pulled over for a traffic violation.

During her confession of the crimes, Mahin explained that she had been in serious debt of up to $32,000 and so acted out of desperation. She was inspired to commit the murders in such a way by the Agatha Christie novels she had read. Proving to be more of a Profit killer, Mahin’s actions, while premeditated, could be described as an impulse as she may not have brought herself to commit such atrocities if her own living situation had been better.

While the spectrum of monsters that go after the old may vary just as much as other type of killer, an encompassing factor that seems to link them all is control. Both Shipman and Mahin were both able to control their victims through manipulation and trust. The physical control they were both undoubtedly able to assert, should it even have given rise, made them that much more dominating in the short parasitic relationships they had with their victims. They guised themselves as ones willing to help, and preyed on years of learning on the parts of those that suffered to accept the aid of others. Trust is control, and for those with malicious intents, it can be all the power necessary. Not that I’m saying you shouldn’t trust your neighbor, but watch them around your grandma.