Schoolgirl blogger poisons mother in homage to killer

[Slyboots]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...854972,00.html

A HIGH-SCHOOL girl has been arrested for gradually poisoning her mother to the brink of death and keeping a blog of her progress — all done as a grim homage to a British serial killer whom she idolised.

Over the summer the 16-year-old student is alleged to have laced her mother’s food with increasing doses of thallium, a potent rat poison. Her mother is now critically ill and in a coma.

The girl, who is from rural Shizuoka, central Japan, was apparently inspired by Graham Young, the notorious Teacup Poisoner of Bovingdon, Hertfordshire, who, in 1962, aged 14, slowly killed his stepmother with what was thought to be the same lethal substance. Asked by the compilers of her school yearbook to identify the historical figure she admired the most, she named Young.

In further emulation of her deranged hero, who poisoned numerous family members and work colleagues and died in Parkhurst after nine years in Broadmoor, the Japanese girl recorded her mother’s horrific daily sufferings in a matter-of-fact internet diary.

The girl’s blog has been removed from the internet but extracts apparently copied from it survive on other Japanese websites.

“It’s a bright, sunny day today, and I administered a delivery of acetic thallium,” the girl wrote in August. “The man in the pharmacy didn’t realise he had sold me such a powerful drug.”

Other entries attempt to match the meticulously scientific style of Young’s macabre diary, where he transcribed in detail the effects of each poison he administered and weighed up whether his subjects should live or die in excruciating pain.

The girl refers directly to Young’s diary in her blog, and is said to have been heavily influenced by a 1995 film, The Young Poisoner’s Handbook, which was dubbed into Japanese and dramatises Young’s macabre fascinations with lethal substances.

Two weeks before her 47-year-old mother slipped into a coma, the girl wrote: “Today mother has deteriorated. She has been complaining of a worsening pain in her leg and has now become immobile.”

Several days later, her blog mentioned rashes on the victim’s body and problems with her breathing. The girl goes on to report her mother’s hallucinations and other agonies, before criticising her inadequate life insurance policy.

Both the girl and Young tested poisons on living things. Young treated his co-workers as human guinea-pigs, while the Shizuoka girl is believed to have relied on animals. A severed cat’s head is understood to have been discovered in her room along with a stash of thallium. “Up until now I have killed various creatures,” her blog reports, before describing the mother’s poisoning. “It was fun to play with them, but all the same rather tiring. It took rather a long time to dispose of the lumps of dead flesh.”

The blog consistently uses the word boku, the Japanese word for “I”, but a form used only by men. Police sources believe this may point to the girl’s close identification with Young.

Like Young, the Shizuoka girl appears to have had little problem buying the thallium from local stores and on the internet. “I even received sympathy from my teachers when I tearfully talked about my sick mother,” says her blog. “I guess people are cheated more easily than expected.”

She denies attempted murder, but told police that her mother was suffering from thallium poisoning. Over the summer she is believed to have taken thallium herself, just as Young did, in an attempt to allay suspicion. The police were alerted to the girl’s alleged activities by her brother.

WEB DIARY OF A HIGH SCHOOL GIRL

July 3
“Let me introduce a book: Graham Young’s diary on killing with poison. The autobiography of a man I respect. He murdered someone at the age of 14.”

September 4
“To kill a living creature. The moment of sticking a knife into something. The warmth of the blood. The little sigh. It is all a comfort to me.”

September 26
“My mother will go to hospital tomorrow and nobody has yet found out what the cause is. To my regret, she is not covered by good insurance, so life will be a little difficult.”

October
“I took a photo of her today as I did yesterday. My brother said I had a penetrating stare and that he was horrified.”

October
“According to my aunt, my mother has started having hallucinations. She seems to be suffering from insects that don’t exist or white shadows by the door.”

GRAHAM YOUNG
# As a child he was fascinated with poisons and their effects, and the Nazis, becoming a worshipper of Hitler

# In 1961, at the age of 14, he started to poison members of his family, enough to make them violently ill

# In 1962 his stepmother died of a lethal dose. Young was arrested and jailed for 15 years for the attempted murder of his father, sister and friend

# On his release in 1971, he found a job and poisoned several co-workers, killing two of them. He was convicted in 1972 and given life

# He was dubbed the Teacup Poisoner but wanted to be known as the world’s poisoner. He died in 1990

# The film The Young Poisoner’s Handbook (1995) was based on him

This is one of the most disturbing things I have ever read. This girl has serious issues and should be treated right away. Something that came in mind tho, would the mother have know something if she came into the daughters room and finds cat heads? Unless the mother gaver her too much freedom or didn't look around, there should have been warning signs.

[World's King]

Why is it that all the good girls never live near me?

[JustJess]

This is a case where I would believe in the death penalty. There's no rehabbing a psychopath - they are simply lacking the ability to care about societal rules and norms. Just kill her and be done with it.
poor mom.

[X3N0]

I find the girls fascination with the effects of poisions and the idolisation with a male serial killer to the point where she reffered to herself masculinely in her writing intruiging. Definately a true psychopath, but an interview with the girl could lead to be very interesting if she revealed her true motives and what drove her to this point. At this young of an age though; rehabilitation may still be an option but im not knowledgeable in this area, so I really have no clue. Please keep us updated on what's happening to her.

Good thing the brother was more aware of his sisters actions, and was able to bring her to the authorities.

[denim]

Originally Posted by Slyboots

This girl has serious issues and should be treated right away.

She needs to be "treated" with a katana to the neck. And quickly.

[Willravel]

Originally Posted by JustJess

There's no rehabbing a psychopath - they are simply lacking the ability to care about societal rules and norms. Just kill her and be done with it.

Antisocial disorder can be treated, sometimes succesfully. There are treatments that could help this girl. I don't believe in a lost cause. Whomever is charged with her mental care should be very careful, as treating someone with this level of ASD is dangerous and diffcult to read.

I also feel a great deal of pity for the mother. That is truely a terrible way to leave this world.

[raeanna74]

In cases like this I sometimes wonder - Did she copy this man in hopes of getting the attention that he got, then perhaps she became psychotic more and more simply because she 'brainwashed' herself??

If you live a lie long enough you begin to believe it, sort of thing.

Or was she truely this insane to begin with. When did she begin to have this facination and what makes a person's mind warp in this way as to percieve this kind of behavior as acceptable. In one sense I would love to know what causes this in a person's mind but perhaps that would be too much of a nightmare to discover the truth.

Definately a creepy story for the campfire.

[ObieX]

Thats some crazy fucked up shit right there.

She would do well on the Battle Royale island. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266308/

[Ace_O_Spades]

Wow, that's some crazy copycat shit going on there... Impressionable people will be led to do the strangest things when they fixate on something.

[denim]

Originally Posted by willravel

Antisocial disorder can be treated, sometimes succesfully.

Why bother? Lotsa effort and time for very little likely return. But then, I'm not a big believer in "reform".

[JustJess]

I believe in reform, honestly.
But as a psychopath, there are actual elements of a "normal" psyche that are missing, chemical issues, neurological misfires.

Many studies have shown in the last 20 years that murderers and ultraviolent criminals have a startling evidence of brain disease. For example, in one such study, 20 of 31 confessed or sentenced murderers had specific neurological diagnoses. Some of the inmates had more than one disorders, and no subject was normal in all spheres. Among the diagnoses were schizophrenia, depression, epilepsy, alcoholism, alcoholic dementia, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, brain injury, dissociative disorders and others. More than 64 % of them appeared to have frontal lobe abnormalities. Fifty percent had brain atrophy and 40 % had EEG abnormalities. Almost 84 % of the subjects had been victims of severe physical and/or sexual abuse. The group of murderers included gang members, rapists, robbers, serial murderers, mass murderers, one subject who killed his infant son, and another who murdered three siblings.

In another study carried out in Canada in 1994, in the most violent group of 372 males imprisoned in a maximum-security mental hospital, 20 % had focal temporal abnormalities of the EEG, and 41 % had pathologic alterations of the brain structure in the temporal lobe. The corresponding rates for the least violent group were 2.4 % and 6.7 %, respectively, thus suggesting an important role of neurological damage in the genesis of violent personalities.

According to authors Nathaniel J. Pollone and James J. Hennessy, "[Various] studies over a period of nearly 40 years... suggest a relative incidence of neuropathology among violent offenders many times in excess of that found in the general population, at ratios ranging from a high of 31:1 in the case of homicide offenders through 21:1 among `habitual aggressive' offenders to a low of 4:1 in the case of `one-time aggressives.' We propose that, though such discrepancies do not confirm neuropathology as univariately causative of criminal aggression, neither is it reasonable to believe that they are simple artifacts of chance." (35th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Albuquerque, NM, March 14, 1998)

[denim]

Given the recidivism rate, I figure that there may be a way to "reform" people, but we've not found it yet. I personally figure that it has to do with the lack of a reasonable set of laws, as well.

[raeanna74]

Originally Posted by denim

Given the recidivism rate, I figure that there may be a way to "reform" people, but we've not found it yet. I personally figure that it has to do with the lack of a reasonable set of laws, as well.

I don't follow. Do you mean the laws now are too strict and difficult for people to avoid not breaking a law? Or are you saying there are not enough safe guards to prevent people from getting to close to the line?

[Willravel]

Originally Posted by denim

Why bother? Lotsa effort and time for very little likely return. But then, I'm not a big believer in "reform".

What if she is the next Ghandi, just waiting to be helped? I realize it's unlikely she will be reformed, and even less likely that she will do enough good to make up for her crime in most peoples eyes, but that's no reason not to try.

[Ustwo]

Originally Posted by willravel

What if she is the next Ghandi, just waiting to be helped? I realize it's unlikely she will be reformed, and even less likely that she will do enough good to make up for her crime in most peoples eyes, but that's no reason not to try.

I would be far willing to bet on 'kills someone' over 'next Ghandi'.

I can use your argument and turn it against abortion easier than you can use it for this girl.

Her only saving grace is that her mother managed to live, as such I'd be willing to allow her to live as well, but only confined.

[denim]

Originally Posted by raeanna74

I don't follow. Do you mean the laws now are too strict and difficult for people to avoid not breaking a law? Or are you saying there are not enough safe guards to prevent people from getting to close to the line?

I mean that the body of law we have now doesn't make much sense. If it did, we wouldn't have people being put away for stupid shit. That's NOT to say that this "little girl's" actions are stupid shit in that sense!

A sensible body of law would not favor, for instance, one religion over others, or one drug over others.

[denim]

Originally Posted by willravel

What if she is the next Ghandi, just waiting to be helped?

What if we waste resources on her instead of on the next Ghandi? I can tell you that I believe that's more likely.

[denim]

Originally Posted by Ustwo

Her only saving grace is that her mother managed to live, as such I'd be willing to allow her to live as well, but only confined.

And since it's no thanks to the girl, that's not her saving grace. Toast her now, and save society the trouble. Bring back Ol' Sparky.

[Willravel]

Originally Posted by denim

What if we waste resources on her instead of on the next Ghandi? I can tell you that I believe that's more likely.

What mental health resources are you talking about? The resources used on her are the resources that are in place to treat those who are severly mentally ill. In other words, if she is not likely to become the next Ghandi, then neither is anyone else those respources are going to.

[Bill O'Rights]

Originally Posted by JustJess

I believe in reform, honestly.

"September 4
“To kill a living creature. The moment of sticking a knife into something. The warmth of the blood. The little sigh. It is all a comfort to me.”"

This would cause me to question that

[denim]

Originally Posted by willravel

What mental health resources are you talking about?

I was thinking more of people's time, fuel, effort, stress, housing, food, air, water, space...

[The_wall]

IF they were to kill her they would be no better than her.

[BBtB]

Originally Posted by The_wall

IF they were to kill her they would be no better than her.

I believe this comment is as true as it is brief. Its been said before but I just wanted to state it again, this girl is obviously sick. Thats it. We are so quick to condemn and kill people like this that we don't bother to try to treat or study them. Even if they are unable to cure her of her sickness of they could simply understand it better through her they could prevent it in others. Though I would defintly agree with an earlier post as well, this mother obviously ignorned some big signs.

[Gilda]

It sounds like a Japanese horror movie.

She's obviously in need of treatment, and she should get that, but I think also that she should be kept away from general society.

Gilda

[ChistledStone]

Originally Posted by willravel

What if she is the next Ghandi, just waiting to be helped? I realize it's unlikely she will be reformed, and even less likely that she will do enough good to make up for her crime in most peoples eyes, but that's no reason not to try.

You can easily use that arguement against you. What if she is the next Hitler, in fact with her past record, I'm thinking she's more likely to be Hitler

[Mbnfc]

Originally Posted by ObieX

Thats some crazy fucked up shit right there.

She would do well on the Battle Royale island. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266308/

no she wouldnt! didnt u watch the lighthouse scene?

but yeah, this girl is crazy

[amire]

Originally Posted by The_wall

IF they were to kill her they would be no better than her.

I disagree with this. If the government were to slowly, painfully kill her through some sort of torturous combination of hallucinogenic drugs and poison and then make daily news bulletins about her condition, then yes, your statement would be correct. But to kill her in order to eliminate a menace to society is not even comparable to what she did.

[ObieX]

Originally Posted by Mbnfc

no she wouldnt! didnt u watch the lighthouse scene?

but yeah, this girl is crazy

Yea but this girl has the guts to use the poison w/o remorse. No cowering in the corner for her!

[FatFreeGoodness]

“If they were to kill her, they would be no better than her.”

I don’t see this as true. Dispassionately eliminating a stranger proven to be a dangerous psychopath capable of slowly murdering her mother for the fun of it, does not make one as bad as the psychopath.

The psycho is obviously intelligent, and capable of fooling people into thinking she is sane and blameless. If she were confined with the goal of rehabilitation and eventual release it is not beyond imagination that she could one day fool a psychiatrist into releasing her - to kill again. From what little I read of her writing, it is likely she would find this an amusing challenge.

So I don’t think that it would be prudent to EVER consider releasing her. Neither could you permit unsupervised contact with others people for psychiatric reasons… they might look too much like toys to her. She would have a lot of time to plan harm, and have nothing whatever to loose.

With this reasoning, I can see the trade off of “Do we kill her painlessly, with no malice? Or do we lock her up for a lifetime, with never a moment of unsupervised contact with another human being? Which is the best use of resources? For that matter, which is the most merciful?”
I suspect the choice will be a lifetime of confinement, and I personally agree. But, I can also see a reasonable person choosing the alternative.