Of all the accounts, Vicki White has been described by her superiors as a “model employee” and a “trusted person” and the case left friends, family and everyone who knew her stunned by the possibility that she developed sympathy for a man accused of murder and probably helped him escape.
But Vicki White is not alone. A quick look at the history of some very scandalous killers and serial killers shows that they had many followers of fans and many of them married their fans while they were in prison.
Experts say there is a term for this type of attraction.
“Sometimes referred to in our culture as ‘Bad Boy Syndrome’, hybristophilia is the attraction and / or sexual interest in those who commit crimes, especially heinous and violent crimes such as rape and murder,” said Dr Casey Jordan, a criminologist and professor. in Justice and Legal Administration at West Connecticut State University.
“Vicky White certainly believes she’s in love with Casey White because it gives her the feeling that she’s alive after decades of feeling stable, secure and” reliable, “Jordan added.
Here are some examples of romances unhindered by prison bars:
Richard Matt and David Sweet
Jail Mitchell, a prison officer who helped two convicted murderers, Richard Matt and David Sweet, escape prison in upstate New York in 2015, was convicted of encouraging prison smuggling and facilitating crime and was released in 2020, after serving five years in prison.
Authorities said Mitchell, a prison tailor, provided Matt and Sweet with tools they used to cut through cell walls to escape the facility in Danemore, New York. But in the end, she failed to fulfill her role in the escape plan, which included killing Matt of Mitchell’s husband, Lyle Mitchell.
“Prisoner Matt and I got along well. We talked every day and he treated me with respect and kindness to me. It makes me feel special,” Mitchell said in his confession.
Jordan says Vicki White’s psychology seems to be the same as Mitchell’s.
The deep emptiness they feel in middle age as they struggle with the aging process and the grief of diminishing attractiveness and loss of excitement in their lives is somehow filled by Bad Boy’s attention … they act just like a teenager and they take unimaginable risks without caring how it will end, ”Jordan explained.
“I know I agreed to help them escape and run away with them, but I panicked and couldn’t carry out the rest of the plan. “I really love my husband, and that’s why I didn’t meet Prisoner Matt and Prisoner Pot,” Mitchell said in a statement at the time.
“Human behavior is complex and the motives behind the behavior can be many reasons. And so for some, depending on what motivated their behavior or the psychiatric conditions they have, it may absolutely be when they are out of context, or something else happens in their lives that they realize the mistake of their path. ” said Dr. Ariel Baskin-Somers, an associate professor of psychology and psychiatry at Yale University.
Ted Bundy
Ted Bundy fell in love with young women and eventually confessed to more than two dozen murders before being executed, but may have been involved in further killings.
While on trial for murder, he married Carol Ann Boone, who later bore his child. Boone, who worked with Bundy at the Washington State Department of Emergency Services, testified about him as a witness to the character, and they married during the trial, literally while she was testifying.
“Fixer-Saviors believe they have been given a sign (often by God or a higher power) to save the criminal. “She often refuses to admit evidence of guilt, insists he was framed, and believes she has a unique idea of his psyche,” Jordan said.
Bundy, with his good looks and higher education, can also be very charming. He had studied psychology in college, volunteered for a suicide hotline while in school, and at one point served as assistant director of the Seattle Crime Prevention Advisory Committee.
“Only on a universal level do people want to feel wanted and feel connected and complimented, and some of these men are very good at doing these things. Ted Bundy was very charming and very engaging. “Imagine for every human being, after being somehow sucked in, fascinated and engaged, you do everything you can to reduce examples of behavior that may be more problematic,” said Baskin-Somers.
Charles Manson
The mass murderer Charles Manson, 80, was planning to marry 26-year-old Afton “Star” Burton while he was in prison. She began communicating with him through letters and phone calls and then moved near Corcoran State Prison in California, where he was imprisoned when she was 19 years old.
She believed in his innocence, spent years trying to clear his name, and continued to support him, even though she said she knew people thought she was crazy.
“I do not care what these people think. There is no difference. The person I know is not what they have in movies or documentaries and books. He is not like that. He does not tell people what to do. He is not manipulative at all, “Burton said at the time.
“These women often have a long history of messing with the ‘bad boys’ and trying to fix their bad ways or bring them to salvation. In their minds, their immortal faith and devotion will bring it, “Jordan said.
Baskin-Somers said some convicted murderers exhibited characteristics consistent with a disorder called psychopathy. “This disorder is related to superficial and charming behavior and a lack of real relationships … they would just use women to do things: help them get out of jail, pay for services,” she explained.
Eric and Lyle Menendez
Eric Menendez and his brother Lyle, who were convicted of killing their parents in 1989, both married while in prison. Lyle Menendez married his longtime girlfriend Anna Erickson, a former model, but they later divorced and he remarried. And Eric Menendez married Tammy Ruth Sacoman.
“The main reason for the attraction is really the shame of these criminals … who have been super publicized and nicknamed,” Jordan said.
“Many deeply insecure people, who crave the attention and approval of a well-known person, look for a famous criminal as the object of their love and attraction. “Their lives are usually empty and boring, with no prospect of achievement or self-actualization, so they believe their relationship with the killer will fill the void,” Jordan added.
CNN’s Toby Lyles contributed to this story.
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