Psychologists have long-recognised the overlap that exists between aspects of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), and Psychopathy. Both are conditions that plague society in different ways. It is generally thought that these two conditions affect around one per cent of the general population; however, this changes markedly depending on which aspect of society you are looking at. For instance, a disproportionate number of the violent criminal population are psychopaths; likewise, a disproportionate number of adoptees are narcissists. Similarly, some professions seem to attract a disproportionate number of narcissists or psychopaths.
In general, narcissism can be called the "less serious" of the two, for the simple reason that the evidence seems to show how psychopaths are criminally far more dangerous (and criminally-prolific) than narcissists. Psychopathy as a syndrome is thought to be some combination of narcissistic traits and "anti-social" traits (a fuller description of psychopathic behaviour and its causes can be see here). Narcissism can be summarised as a dysfunctional self-centredness and over-evaluation of one's attributes, which uses society and other people to gain "narcissistic supply" i.e. a feeling of love and attention. We'll go into this in more detail shortly. Psychopaths share these narcissistic aspects to a greater or lesser degree, but more importantly, also have an "anti-social" personality i.e. they have no respect for society and social norms. It is this "anti-social" aspect that explains why psychopaths are, by definition, more dangerous to others and society in general. Narcissists can also be highly damaging to others around them, but is usually manifested in a different form.
One of key differences between narcissism and psychopathy is motivation. As said before, narcissists' motivation centres on finding sources of "narcissistic supply". A psychopath's motivation is more simply amoral convenience. Understanding this difference in motivation is key to understanding the differences between how narcissists and psychopaths think.
An interesting example of this is to compare the lives and motivations of two infamous serial killers. While these are "extreme" cases, the comparison in their motivations provides an intriguing insight. The serial killer, Ian Brady, killed a number of children in the 1960s in the Manchester area. There was no obvious motive for the crimes, and he said he carried out these crimes as an "existential experiment" - in other words, he did it to see what it would feel like. Once caught, he showed no remorse for the killings, and has lived his life out in comparative comfort (and living infamy) behind bars ever since. His thinking shows a complete disregard for social norms, or the acknowledgement of the seriousness of these acts. In this way, he is a fairly clear case of a psychopathic serial killer - although, some elements of narcissism were also there (as with all psychopaths). Furthermore, this psychopathic mentality displays the indifference that Brady had towards his acts: he felt like doing it, so he did it. He was indifferent to the consequences, to the victims as well as the consequences to his own life. In general, the coldness of Brady's personality (the "dead-eyed stare", a common characteristic of the psychopath) clearly demonstrated his inherent psychopathy.
This "indifference" (or "indifferent aspect") is common to psychopaths, but less so in narcissists. In the case of "psychopathic narcissists" or narcissists who take their motivation to the ultimate extreme (i.e. murder), the motivation here is more likely about "feeling like God", or a form of ultimate control over the victim. A famous example of this is Harold Shipman, AKA "Dr Death". People like this seek "narcissistic supply" from successfully committing the ultimate social taboo, and getting away with it. However, equally, their narcissism is often ultimately their undoing (as was ultimately the case with Shipman), as they "over-reach"- and may inwardly seek the public recognition they crave, that can only be gained through capture. A serial killer who was diagnosed has having Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Jack Unterweger, was an Austrian responsible for killing up to a dozen women, mostly prostitutes. An outgoing, larger-than-life minor "celebrity" at the time due to his published work on life in prison, his life was lived in the spotlight, first in infamy, then redemption, then fame and adulation, and finally once again in infamy. Narcissism was the driving force in his life, which ultimately led to his suicide once he had been sentenced to return to prison.
Similarities versus differences
Narcissists and psychopaths share the same perspective on society: they see society as something to be used, although they use it for different reasons. Narcissists and psychopaths use people as a leech does a host. They see people as objects. They are self-centred and lacking in empathy for others' feelings and point of view. They are entitled, feeling the right to special treatment, regardless of their lack of deserving it. Likewise, both narcissists and psychopaths are lazy in achieving goals, unable to commit to long-term plans, and quickly become bored. This attitude also overlaps into relationships and sex: they see partners as tools for their own self-enjoyment. They change their partner as soon as things start to get too "serious" or when their short attention span seeks another "conquest". Both narcissists and psychopaths have an essentially superficial view of the world.
However, there are also important differences. While both narcissists and psychopaths lack empathy and are both inherently self-centred, their behavioural aspect still bears striking differences. Lacking empathy and thus proper, in-depth emotions, both psychopaths and narcissists can also be susceptible to bursts of violent emotion. This has also been called "controlled emotion" i.e. with the appearance of a tantrum for effect.
The difference is that narcissists are more likely to show these traits more exuberantly, being prone to bouts of histrionics (interestingly, this can also be seen in homosexuals). Likewise, narcissists are more likely to outwardly display mood swings, both positive and negative, whereas psychopaths are much more likely to have the appearance of being emotionally dead. This emotional instability which is much more prevalent in narcissists stems from an inherent insecurity, which in turn stems from the root of the individual's narcissism: a traumatic or unloving childhood. Narcissism is thought to be a by-product of a lack of attention or emotionally-stunted early childhood, resulting in the child relying on its own self as a source of attention and love. For this reason, narcissists, as well as being emotionally unstable and insecure, are also likely to turn to alcohol and drug abuse, and may even - in the last resort - turn to suicide. These are all forms of "attention seeking", although to an outsider they may appear to be something quite different. At their heart, narcissists are insecure, child-like, almost pathetic, individuals, who have never truly adapted to adulthood. Being a narcissist is a fundamentally unhappy experience, where the individual is rarely - and only only fleetingly - "happy", always in search of the next source of narcissistic supply.
By contrast, psychopaths, are rarely "insecure": on the contrary, they usually have high levels of self-esteem, and are well in control of their "emotions" (if they have any); as said before, these are usually used as another tool as part of the psychopaths repertoire. Unlike the child-like narcissist, the psychopath is a true predator: lacking empathy and seeing human emotions as "weakness"; they can also be extremely adept at knowing how to manipulate others. This is what makes psychopaths so dangerous. Narcissists, being more self-obsessed, are (arguably) less so. Psychopaths are thought to be a by-product of a combination of biological and environmental factors, and thus for this reason, a different type of beast from a narcissist.
While the narcissist can be symbolised as an annoying, needy, infantile child, the psychopath is the "wolf in sheep's clothing", always on the prowl, while acting as the innocuous "Samaritan". In this sense, narcissists are also often much more easy to spot due to their overblown personalities; the psychopath is more skilled at hiding their true nature, making him even more dangerous.
Showing posts with label serial killers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label serial killers. Show all posts
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Monday, September 14, 2015
The psychopathic narcissist as serial killer (2): Jack Unterweger
In my last article on the subject of psychopathic narcissists, we looked at the example of Harold Shipman, who was responsible for the deaths of over two hundred people. His narcissistic traits were arguably evident from his teenage years, and then transmuted into something altogether far more sinister and horrifying as he reached adulthood. His method of extracting "narcissistic supply" was feeling like God, by having the ultimate power over the life and death of his patients, whist simultaneously having the status as a well-respected doctor in the tight-knit local community.
Another serial killer, this time the Austrian Jack Unterweger, was an altogether different creature. As we shall see, his narcissism took more flamboyant and public form (and therefore shocking in a different way). Unterweger's story was one that appeared to belong in the realms of Hollywood crime thrillers and the tales of "glamour" crime writers; almost stranger than fiction.
Jack Unterweger
Unterweger was born as the (probably unwanted) child of his Viennese barmaid mother and an American soldier, in the years following the Second World War. It was said she was also a prostitute. His mother was an ineffective and unreliable figure for her son, who was quickly given to the protection of his grand-father. However, his grand-father was little better. The young Jack lived in his grand-father's cabin, which his grand-father regularly brought prostitutes to. There being no proper privacy, the young Jack was forced to see and hear everything. The grand-father was also an abusive alcoholic.
As an adolescent and young adult he was a petty offender, and a repeat sex offender, which involved long spells in prison. By his early twenties he was effectively a callous criminal and social parasite. In 1974, his crimes took an even darker turn. While in Germany, he killed a young German woman, and was extradited to Austria to serve his life sentence.
It was at this point, during his time in prison, that Jack appeared to undergo a transformative social change. Being able to effectively immerse himself into the world of literature and learning for the first time in his life, he sought to turn his life around, reform himself and go through a process of psychological re-birth. Like the infamous character "Alex" from "A Clockwork Orange", he had all the appearances of being a genuine case of the positive, powerful effect that social re-wiring and positive education can have on rehabilitation.
While in prison, he wrote and got published a biography of his life and his time in prison, that stood as a powerful telling of the effect that social conditions in prison have on the psyche. It was also made into a film, while Unterweger was still incarcerated. At the same time, he wrote and had published children's stories and poetry, and clearly sought to use his time in prison to re-educate and re-invent his life. His case and his rehabilitation were taken on board by influential figures in Austrian society, which, by early 1990, led to Unterweger being released from prison after the minimum term possible to be served for murder - fifteen years.
By this point, Unterweger had become a minor celebrity: he was forty years old; a well-dressed, handsome, larger-than-life figure, who had regular television appearances, discussing issues such a criminal rehabilitation, and had roles on national TV as a reporter and correspondent. He was a media darling and an object of fascination for many of Vienna's intelligensia. He lived in a well-to-do part of Vienna, with a smart flat and soon had a doting coterie of fans, many of them female. It was not long before he had a devoted girlfriend.
It was at this time that a spate of murders appeared in the Vienna area over the period of months, all of them prostitutes killed in the same way: strangulation, using the same type of knot. As an interested party, Unterweger took it upon himself to make some casual investigations into the case and its effect on that seedier side of society. Later, he went to Los Angeles and did similar work with the police to compare the differing vice cultures between countries. It happened that while Unterweger was in Los Angeles, three prostitutes were also murdered in the same way.
A detective who had known Unterweger since his murder case of fifteen years earlier recognised similarities between the way the prostitutes in Vienna had been killed, and the way that Unterweger had killed his female victim in 1974. Eventually, police put him under surveillance, given the apparent similarities in the M.O., in spite of the lack of clear motive, and Unterweger's "celebrity" profile.
When the police did then go to arrest Unterweger nearly two years after his first release from prison, he got wind of the police's plans, and fled the country, eventually ending up with his girlfriend in Florida, via Switzerland, Paris and New York. With the police investigation ongoing, Unterweger went to ground with his girlfriend in Florida. While he was trying to rally his supporters in Vienna against the (to his fans' minds, absurd) allegations, he cajoled his girlfriend to take up lap-dancing to support them both.
In fact, Unterweger's relationship with his partner was almost entirely parasitic. The money he had made from his career as "Jack the writer" was nowhere near as profitable as appeared, and he relied on his partner to help fund his larger-than-life existence. Indeed, his whole lifestyle was a sham, that had been financed on the moral support and wrangled pity of others. Playing the charmer and the manipulator as he had successfully with his partner and Viennese high society, he was now trying to make himself appear as the wronged victim.
Eventually he was extradited back to Austria, where his trial took place in 1994. The evidence against him was compelling, and it was then that all the dots could finally be joined. Not long after his release from prison, Unterweger had gone to Prague. It was during this time that a prostitute was strangled, using the same knot that would be seen in the Austrian killings. The prostitutes killed in Los Angeles when Unterweger was there were also killed in the same way. Likewise, a woman who had been killed elsewhere in Austria was killed at the same time that Unterweger had been attending a public event in the area.
Now it was clear what kind of monster Austria was dealing with. Unterweger had never "rehabilitated" at all: he had simply used the time in prison to get smarter. He was manipulator and parasite, reveling in the attention he had been getting as a "celebrity" (a sign of cerebral narcissism), while at the same time no doubt getting further boosts to his ego that he was killing women undetected. The sojourn to Los Angeles was surely "the icing on the cake" for Unterweger's dark, twisted narcissism: enjoying the protection and attention of the LA police, while at the same time sharing time with them as they investigated the murders that he had committed himself.
The motive for his murders can never be known, but again the "God" complex may have been a factor, as well a probable deep-seated hatred of his mother, who had been in all likelihood a prostitute herself. The narcissist in Unterweger may have seen these murders as some kind of way to "get back" at her. As said elsewhere, psychopathic narcissists like Unterweger are also misogynists (in the same way that PUAs also rationalise their behaviour), seeing women as objects to be used - "toys" to play with, and discard at will. These are all signs of objectifying others, as the narcissist - and a psychopathic narcissist such Unterweger - is incapable of empathising with others.
While in custody, psychological testing confirmed that he met the criteria for NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder). After sentencing, Unterweger carried out another act that confirmed his ultimate narcissism: unable to tolerate the thought of going back to prison, he hung himself. Living the life of a "celebrity" serial killer, perhaps he also felt it would also fitting to go out in a final, unambiguous ending.
Another serial killer, this time the Austrian Jack Unterweger, was an altogether different creature. As we shall see, his narcissism took more flamboyant and public form (and therefore shocking in a different way). Unterweger's story was one that appeared to belong in the realms of Hollywood crime thrillers and the tales of "glamour" crime writers; almost stranger than fiction.
Jack Unterweger
Unterweger was born as the (probably unwanted) child of his Viennese barmaid mother and an American soldier, in the years following the Second World War. It was said she was also a prostitute. His mother was an ineffective and unreliable figure for her son, who was quickly given to the protection of his grand-father. However, his grand-father was little better. The young Jack lived in his grand-father's cabin, which his grand-father regularly brought prostitutes to. There being no proper privacy, the young Jack was forced to see and hear everything. The grand-father was also an abusive alcoholic.
As an adolescent and young adult he was a petty offender, and a repeat sex offender, which involved long spells in prison. By his early twenties he was effectively a callous criminal and social parasite. In 1974, his crimes took an even darker turn. While in Germany, he killed a young German woman, and was extradited to Austria to serve his life sentence.
It was at this point, during his time in prison, that Jack appeared to undergo a transformative social change. Being able to effectively immerse himself into the world of literature and learning for the first time in his life, he sought to turn his life around, reform himself and go through a process of psychological re-birth. Like the infamous character "Alex" from "A Clockwork Orange", he had all the appearances of being a genuine case of the positive, powerful effect that social re-wiring and positive education can have on rehabilitation.
While in prison, he wrote and got published a biography of his life and his time in prison, that stood as a powerful telling of the effect that social conditions in prison have on the psyche. It was also made into a film, while Unterweger was still incarcerated. At the same time, he wrote and had published children's stories and poetry, and clearly sought to use his time in prison to re-educate and re-invent his life. His case and his rehabilitation were taken on board by influential figures in Austrian society, which, by early 1990, led to Unterweger being released from prison after the minimum term possible to be served for murder - fifteen years.
By this point, Unterweger had become a minor celebrity: he was forty years old; a well-dressed, handsome, larger-than-life figure, who had regular television appearances, discussing issues such a criminal rehabilitation, and had roles on national TV as a reporter and correspondent. He was a media darling and an object of fascination for many of Vienna's intelligensia. He lived in a well-to-do part of Vienna, with a smart flat and soon had a doting coterie of fans, many of them female. It was not long before he had a devoted girlfriend.
It was at this time that a spate of murders appeared in the Vienna area over the period of months, all of them prostitutes killed in the same way: strangulation, using the same type of knot. As an interested party, Unterweger took it upon himself to make some casual investigations into the case and its effect on that seedier side of society. Later, he went to Los Angeles and did similar work with the police to compare the differing vice cultures between countries. It happened that while Unterweger was in Los Angeles, three prostitutes were also murdered in the same way.
A detective who had known Unterweger since his murder case of fifteen years earlier recognised similarities between the way the prostitutes in Vienna had been killed, and the way that Unterweger had killed his female victim in 1974. Eventually, police put him under surveillance, given the apparent similarities in the M.O., in spite of the lack of clear motive, and Unterweger's "celebrity" profile.
When the police did then go to arrest Unterweger nearly two years after his first release from prison, he got wind of the police's plans, and fled the country, eventually ending up with his girlfriend in Florida, via Switzerland, Paris and New York. With the police investigation ongoing, Unterweger went to ground with his girlfriend in Florida. While he was trying to rally his supporters in Vienna against the (to his fans' minds, absurd) allegations, he cajoled his girlfriend to take up lap-dancing to support them both.
In fact, Unterweger's relationship with his partner was almost entirely parasitic. The money he had made from his career as "Jack the writer" was nowhere near as profitable as appeared, and he relied on his partner to help fund his larger-than-life existence. Indeed, his whole lifestyle was a sham, that had been financed on the moral support and wrangled pity of others. Playing the charmer and the manipulator as he had successfully with his partner and Viennese high society, he was now trying to make himself appear as the wronged victim.
Eventually he was extradited back to Austria, where his trial took place in 1994. The evidence against him was compelling, and it was then that all the dots could finally be joined. Not long after his release from prison, Unterweger had gone to Prague. It was during this time that a prostitute was strangled, using the same knot that would be seen in the Austrian killings. The prostitutes killed in Los Angeles when Unterweger was there were also killed in the same way. Likewise, a woman who had been killed elsewhere in Austria was killed at the same time that Unterweger had been attending a public event in the area.
Now it was clear what kind of monster Austria was dealing with. Unterweger had never "rehabilitated" at all: he had simply used the time in prison to get smarter. He was manipulator and parasite, reveling in the attention he had been getting as a "celebrity" (a sign of cerebral narcissism), while at the same time no doubt getting further boosts to his ego that he was killing women undetected. The sojourn to Los Angeles was surely "the icing on the cake" for Unterweger's dark, twisted narcissism: enjoying the protection and attention of the LA police, while at the same time sharing time with them as they investigated the murders that he had committed himself.
The motive for his murders can never be known, but again the "God" complex may have been a factor, as well a probable deep-seated hatred of his mother, who had been in all likelihood a prostitute herself. The narcissist in Unterweger may have seen these murders as some kind of way to "get back" at her. As said elsewhere, psychopathic narcissists like Unterweger are also misogynists (in the same way that PUAs also rationalise their behaviour), seeing women as objects to be used - "toys" to play with, and discard at will. These are all signs of objectifying others, as the narcissist - and a psychopathic narcissist such Unterweger - is incapable of empathising with others.
While in custody, psychological testing confirmed that he met the criteria for NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder). After sentencing, Unterweger carried out another act that confirmed his ultimate narcissism: unable to tolerate the thought of going back to prison, he hung himself. Living the life of a "celebrity" serial killer, perhaps he also felt it would also fitting to go out in a final, unambiguous ending.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
The psychopathic narcissist as serial killer: Harold Shipman
A small number of narcissists are so amorally-egocentric that they literally feel they can get away with murder. As said elsewhere, there a degree of overlap between those with narcissism (NPD) and psychopathy: in essence, all psychopaths are to a greater or lesser degree narcissistic. A very small number of psychopaths are also killers.
The difference here is one of motive: a narcissist primarily lives for the purpose of obtaining "narcissistic supply"; a psychopath lives according to amoral whim and convenience. Therefore, a narcissistic serial killer would kill for the purpose of "narcissistic supply" (e.g.. "to feel like God"); a purely psychopathic killer would do so simply for the enjoyment of the act itself, or for the amoral purpose of achieving a goal (e.g. imagine a crime boss eliminating a rival or witness to a crime). In this (and the following) article, we will look at examples of serial killers who who are either proven narcissists (through testing) or whose narcissism seems strongly indicated by their actions and behaviour. These are narcissists who go to the ultimate amoral length to obtain their "narcissistic supply".
Harold "Fred" Shipman
This man is perhaps the world's (and certainly Britain's) most prolific serial killer, suspected to have killed more than two hundred people over a twenty-year period. He has been informally called "Dr Death", for very good reason.
Harold Shipman was born in the late 1940's to a father who was a long-distance truck driver, and a mother who endured a long-term battle with cancer throughout Harold's formative years. Thus, he was raised in a home environment that may have engendered some aspects of a narcissistic personality from childhood: a father who was absent from home for long periods, and a mother who, due to her terminal illness, would probably have been a weak figure at home. In such an environment, the malignant germ of narcissism can find root. Indeed, when his mother did finally pass away when he was finishing high school, a former school friend at the time remembers talking to Harold at the start of a school week and asking him what he did that previous weekend. Harold mentioned that his mother had died. Shocked and saddened, the school friend asked Harold what he did and how he felt; a keen sportsman at school, Harold replied casually that he "went for a run". Harold did not seem emotionally affected by his mother's death at all.
After finishing college, Shipman, who was from Nottingham, went to study medicine at Leeds. After qualifying to become a GP, he first went to practise in the West Pennine town of Todmorden in the mid 1970s. It was here where his criminal activity began, and also another marker of possible malignant narcissism: he began fraudulently obtaining medicinal drugs to feed a growing drug habit. This was eventually discovered, and he was fined by a local court, but not dismissed from the profession. Then he moved elsewhere, to the town of Hyde on the eastern outskirts of Manchester.
After working in a local Hyde surgery with other doctors for more than ten years, in 1991, he decided to go out on his own, and set up his own independent GP surgery, barely a stone's throw from the place he had left. He also took all of his patients with him, creating a bitter acrimony with his former colleagues at the Hyde practice he had left.
Shipman engendered a strong loyalty and interpersonal relationship with his patients. Although some people found him at times cold, off-hand and arrogant, many others respected his aura of professionalism and attention to detail. Compared to other doctors, Shipman went out of his way to make house calls to elderly patients, typically elderly women who lived alone. It would only be later when the significance of this would become clearer.
By early 1998, some other doctors who worked at a nearby surgery began to ask questions about the seemingly high number of deaths of his patients that Dr Shipman had signed-off on. Many of these deaths were also cremations. The police were discreetly asked to investigate in April, but being unfamiliar with some of the practices and regulations involved in the medical field, they failed to ask the right questions or look in the right places. After a short investigation, the case was closed.
Later on that summer, the death of former mayoress of Hyde, Kathleen Grundy, was signed off by Shipman as "old age", even though she was a very active women in the community. Suspicious of the suddenness of the death, it was investigated by her daughter; this was also due to discovering her mother's will had been changed shortly before her death, and due to the suspicious nature of the will: it gave everything to Dr Shipman. Only now, with a full police investigation did the nightmarish truth eventually come out.
Harold Shipman, over a twenty-year period, had been killing his patients alone in their homes using a lethal injection of drugs. The majority of his victims were elderly women, although some were middle aged (and some men). The sudden deaths of the victims often shocked their families, as many of them were the apparent picture of health. But due to Shipman's respected status within the local community, the alarm was never raised. While we can't know his motive for certain, the narcissism suggestive in his personality points to Shipman "feeling like God", with his status as a doctor having the ultimate power of life and death. It was also later revealed that items of jewelry were often missing from the victims' houses after they had died; again, this may be another manifestation of his narcissism, seeking a "memento" of his exploits, and also a further display of what he was able to get away with. The fact that his innumerable crimes remained undetected for all those years can only have boosted his inflated ego even further, and raised his contempt of the intelligence of those around him. By the time of the death of Kathleen Grundy, it is not hard to imagine that Shipman felt he was able to get away with almost anything, leading to his (in fact amateurish) attempt to falsify her will. It was his narcissism that ultimately led to his capture.
After being sentenced in 2000, Shipman was sent to prison for the rest of his life. Ultimately, his inflated ego probably unable to tolerate living in prison until the end of his days, Harold Shipman hung himself in 2004. The victims' families said they felt "cheated" - a typical feeling expressed by any victim of a narcissist.
The next article will look at the serial killer, "Jack The Writer" who ultimately was positively tested for Narcissistic Personality Disorder. His narcissism displayed itself in an altogether more public light, however...
The difference here is one of motive: a narcissist primarily lives for the purpose of obtaining "narcissistic supply"; a psychopath lives according to amoral whim and convenience. Therefore, a narcissistic serial killer would kill for the purpose of "narcissistic supply" (e.g.. "to feel like God"); a purely psychopathic killer would do so simply for the enjoyment of the act itself, or for the amoral purpose of achieving a goal (e.g. imagine a crime boss eliminating a rival or witness to a crime). In this (and the following) article, we will look at examples of serial killers who who are either proven narcissists (through testing) or whose narcissism seems strongly indicated by their actions and behaviour. These are narcissists who go to the ultimate amoral length to obtain their "narcissistic supply".
Harold "Fred" Shipman
This man is perhaps the world's (and certainly Britain's) most prolific serial killer, suspected to have killed more than two hundred people over a twenty-year period. He has been informally called "Dr Death", for very good reason.
Harold Shipman was born in the late 1940's to a father who was a long-distance truck driver, and a mother who endured a long-term battle with cancer throughout Harold's formative years. Thus, he was raised in a home environment that may have engendered some aspects of a narcissistic personality from childhood: a father who was absent from home for long periods, and a mother who, due to her terminal illness, would probably have been a weak figure at home. In such an environment, the malignant germ of narcissism can find root. Indeed, when his mother did finally pass away when he was finishing high school, a former school friend at the time remembers talking to Harold at the start of a school week and asking him what he did that previous weekend. Harold mentioned that his mother had died. Shocked and saddened, the school friend asked Harold what he did and how he felt; a keen sportsman at school, Harold replied casually that he "went for a run". Harold did not seem emotionally affected by his mother's death at all.
After finishing college, Shipman, who was from Nottingham, went to study medicine at Leeds. After qualifying to become a GP, he first went to practise in the West Pennine town of Todmorden in the mid 1970s. It was here where his criminal activity began, and also another marker of possible malignant narcissism: he began fraudulently obtaining medicinal drugs to feed a growing drug habit. This was eventually discovered, and he was fined by a local court, but not dismissed from the profession. Then he moved elsewhere, to the town of Hyde on the eastern outskirts of Manchester.
After working in a local Hyde surgery with other doctors for more than ten years, in 1991, he decided to go out on his own, and set up his own independent GP surgery, barely a stone's throw from the place he had left. He also took all of his patients with him, creating a bitter acrimony with his former colleagues at the Hyde practice he had left.
Shipman engendered a strong loyalty and interpersonal relationship with his patients. Although some people found him at times cold, off-hand and arrogant, many others respected his aura of professionalism and attention to detail. Compared to other doctors, Shipman went out of his way to make house calls to elderly patients, typically elderly women who lived alone. It would only be later when the significance of this would become clearer.
By early 1998, some other doctors who worked at a nearby surgery began to ask questions about the seemingly high number of deaths of his patients that Dr Shipman had signed-off on. Many of these deaths were also cremations. The police were discreetly asked to investigate in April, but being unfamiliar with some of the practices and regulations involved in the medical field, they failed to ask the right questions or look in the right places. After a short investigation, the case was closed.
Later on that summer, the death of former mayoress of Hyde, Kathleen Grundy, was signed off by Shipman as "old age", even though she was a very active women in the community. Suspicious of the suddenness of the death, it was investigated by her daughter; this was also due to discovering her mother's will had been changed shortly before her death, and due to the suspicious nature of the will: it gave everything to Dr Shipman. Only now, with a full police investigation did the nightmarish truth eventually come out.
Harold Shipman, over a twenty-year period, had been killing his patients alone in their homes using a lethal injection of drugs. The majority of his victims were elderly women, although some were middle aged (and some men). The sudden deaths of the victims often shocked their families, as many of them were the apparent picture of health. But due to Shipman's respected status within the local community, the alarm was never raised. While we can't know his motive for certain, the narcissism suggestive in his personality points to Shipman "feeling like God", with his status as a doctor having the ultimate power of life and death. It was also later revealed that items of jewelry were often missing from the victims' houses after they had died; again, this may be another manifestation of his narcissism, seeking a "memento" of his exploits, and also a further display of what he was able to get away with. The fact that his innumerable crimes remained undetected for all those years can only have boosted his inflated ego even further, and raised his contempt of the intelligence of those around him. By the time of the death of Kathleen Grundy, it is not hard to imagine that Shipman felt he was able to get away with almost anything, leading to his (in fact amateurish) attempt to falsify her will. It was his narcissism that ultimately led to his capture.
After being sentenced in 2000, Shipman was sent to prison for the rest of his life. Ultimately, his inflated ego probably unable to tolerate living in prison until the end of his days, Harold Shipman hung himself in 2004. The victims' families said they felt "cheated" - a typical feeling expressed by any victim of a narcissist.
The next article will look at the serial killer, "Jack The Writer" who ultimately was positively tested for Narcissistic Personality Disorder. His narcissism displayed itself in an altogether more public light, however...
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