what makes some women want to become emotionally involved with killers

[lolaflores]

Just watched the Ted Bundy documentary on Netflix and was fascinated by the women who sat in the court room like groupies. And, chief amongst them, the woman who went on to have a child with him.
The Bundy scenario was nothing new, then or since. The short tv interviews outside the court house with a couple of the women made them seem like starry eyed fans of a rocki star.
Anyone have any insights into this sort of relationship?
Is the notoriety the attraction or some sort of thrill seeking.

Can I add to that, is the same phenomenon found with high profile female killers like Rose West or Myra Hindley?

Stockholm syndrome? I suppose you might argue that because women tend to be physically weaker than men the only sure way they can avoid violence is by identifying with and sympathising with men who commit violence in the subconscious hope that that man will be too emotionally involved with them to hurt them? I guess sympathy and compassion are heavily fetishised traits in women arent they so you might get a tonne of self esteem gains from showing sympathy where no one else can.

Ooh I am going to watch this. I thought something similar when I watched making a murderer and a woman became involved with the guy who was serving life. My understanding is that it is women who have attachment issues and although want to be in a relationship, they do so with someone who is unavailable to prevent any pain, at a subconscious level.

I mean it's a massive sexist trope in films and literatures and just western culture in general that there are these wild violent feral men who have their nature tamed by the sweetness, goodness, compassion and faith of some 'fantastic' heroine... that's held up as romantic.... so I can kind of see why it gets taken to this extreme by some mentally vulnerable women...

Some women are just desperate to have a man. My friend hooked up with a random NYPD cop on Instagram a few years ago, visited him in NY and stuck by him even when he was sent to prison

Ooh, glad someone else has watched it too! It's really good.

Not sure about the whole groupie thing : one thing for sure he was one hell of a charmer.

He was very good looking and he was exceptionally confident which is a bad combination for a lot of women.

I often wonder this when you read of women who marry death row prisoners, they’ve usually met through a pen pal scheme.
Are they banking on the fact (at least on some level) that they’re never going to get out and as such they’re ‘safe’?

There seems to be a personality type that loves to fix, or the whole ‘no one understands him like I do’ but there’s obviously a level of fascination with notoriety or these programs wouldn’t be so popular.

I'm watching it now. Its a very good programme. As for question though I can't answer. I wonder what became of his daughter?

Carole Anne Boone, who married Bundy during the Kimberly Diane Leach trial, and who had his daughter, Rose (although it was never established if she was indeed Bundy's child), was a long-time friend and confidant of Bundy's. Like Bundy's mother, Boone truly believed in his innocence, and she was in court supporting her (there were scenes during the documentary, of the two women comforting each other).

While I cannot understand her actions, she wasn't there as a groupie, she was there as a friend, supporting someone she believed to be innocent.

I suspect the truth did dawn on her at some point though, hence why she divorced him, moved away from Florida with her children (only Rose was [apparently] Bundy's), stopped all contact, changed hers and her children's names, went into hiding, and has never commented on the case publicly again since.

Wow! The programme didn't outline any of her life post Bundy but perhaps that's down to her own wishes.
Bundy is a stand out in the roll call of serial killers for his charm and looks but not without competition.
The angle of women saving certain men and joining in their protest of innocence is not something I considered. Or the psychological sense of distance in a relationship that preserves their safety.
The documentary was very well made and the sources were excellent. I found watching Bundy cross examine the policeman who found the victims really, really hard to watch.

Has the law been changed now that a defendant can't cross exam I e victim of crime?

Last Podcast on the Left (true crime comedy podcast) did an episode on this in 2016 called Serial Killers and the Women who love them.

People have tried to track Boone down, but haven't done so.

The only thing heard of her since she divorced him, is she was said to be "devastated" when he confessed three days before his execution, because she had initially believed in him.

The documentary was very good. What I'm always amazed about with the Bundy case, is the fact that when he was arrested in Florida, the police department had no idea who they had in their custody. People in Florida had largely not heard of Theodore/Ted Bundy. Back then news was largely local, and amazingly, Bundy wasn't a huge national story at that time (baffling really). He managed to rent an apartment, and that neighbour went out to dinner with him! That would surely never happen now, with the internet, and the era of global news in seconds.

Haven't read the full thread but there's a condition called hybristophillia (sp?) and it's both active and passive. It's basically where women either justify or are excited by men committing crimes, sometimes the more violent the better.

I found watching Bundy cross examine the policeman who found the victims really, really hard to watch.

^

I just started to watch this bit last night how the fuck was he allowed to cross examine the police?!

What I'm always amazed about with the Bundy case, is the fact that when he was arrested in Florida, the police department had no idea who they had in their custody

^

This too. Unbelievable! They obviously didn't have a mugshot from Seattle, which kind of makes you question the American justice system in the 70's.

And he escaped! Twice! And from what I gather, if he hadn't of escaped the 2nd time he wouldn't have committed all those murders (not to say he wouldn't have if he'd have been released after sentencing from the Deroach conviction)

Exciting+dangerous = thrills i guess, in some.

Top shelf bad boys. No acounting for taste am off to Google hybrusphillia.
It seems there really is no end to the twists and turns of human behaviour.

And is it just women?
If it is based on that gender stereotype if women wanting to save or redeem the criminal then it might either never or rarely be seen in men.

I've just watched it too and found those girls outside court just bizarre.

The Ann Rule book about him is really fascinating - she knew him personally too and it shows how he manipulated and used her when he needed to.

I read the ann rule book too. Another angle on him that made it easy to understand how the image he presented was a million miles away from the reality if who he was and how hard it was for anyone who k ew him to truly believe he'd commuted those crimes. He had the perfect cover.

Must occurred to me..was Lord Longford manipulated by Myra Hindley

Zac effron is playing Bundy in a new biopic.

Doesn’t seem complicated to me. All the vicarious pleasure of crime without the risks to life and liberty. Especially if your criminal beau is locked up nice and safe.

I recently met a women (through work) who had be working in belmarsh prison and was flattered by the attention she got - she went on and on about it

Wtf 😮

I think it’s a number if reasons. Feeling they can save them, they are the only ones who can understand them , of course less competition as they are locked up, fixing him

Bundy is a text book psychopath. I am watching the Ted Bundy Tapes and the journalist who interviewed him said that when he started to talk (in third person) about the murders his eyes suddenly went really dark almost black. I work with ex offenders some have committed very serious crimes and we see this sometimes - we call it shark eyes. They may not be acting threatening at all or in anyway hostile but their eyes change and it can be terrifying

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/677508/serial-killer-rose-west-murderer-marriage-proposal-every-month-county-durham

Not sure how sensationalist this is, it's the Daily Star after all, but I do remember reading a few articles about the guy from Slade and Rose West.

Seems like she had others interested in her too.