Inside an Insane Mind

The Twitchell murder trial is in full swing here in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  Aside from the gruesome murder and dismemberment itself, the case is notorious because the accused is a fledgling playwright and movie director, dabbling mostly in the more morbid genres.  Prosecutors are claiming the motive for the murder was to make life imitate art.

Twitchell recorded details of his crime on his laptop in what he is claiming was a fictional script.  Prosecutors, though, claim its a true account of the brutal murder since the details it contains closely match the evidence.

Reporters at the trial have skimmed over the more troubling sections of both the document that Twitchell had named "SK Confessions" (SK for Serial Killer) and Twitchell's testimony, specifically deleting the details of the butchering of the body.

During my daily scan of news headlines, I ran across a opinion piece questioning whether reporters ought to censor the news and even whether or not they ought to report at all on sensational cases.  It was mentioned that The Edmonton Journal had printed a version of "SK Confessions".

This sent me on a search to find the document online, which I eventually did--just before bedtime.  About then I realized that perhaps I didn't really want to know the details that reporters had censored.

I saved the link so I could decide in the morning whether or not to view it.

Being a crime writer burdened with an insatiable curiosity about the criminal mind, I of course decided to open that document and read it.

Thankfully, the more gruesome detail about the crime are blacked out in the version I found.  The script is unsettling, though.  Twitchell is a good writer.  The story flows.  There are elements of romance behind the violence.  There's a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Twitchell thinks he knows his mind and rather proudly diagnoses himself a psychopath.  I personally don't think he rates that label.  I think he falls short, just as he fell short of becoming the serial killer he set out to be.

 If you want to read this diary of a killer, here is the link:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/51760361/Manuscript-from-Mark-Twitchell-s-laptop

Good Cops, Bad Cops

I didn’t have to look far in July to find intriguing crime headlines. Several local news stories (“local” as in Alberta, Canada) drew national and international attention. This month, my blog focuses on crime fighters, rather than criminals.

Please respect those involved in these headlines. Remember the accused are innocent until proven guilty and victims and their families may not find the crimes as entertaining as you and I might.

Even though it was not the most important news item, this witty headline captured my eye and held it—“Internal probe reveals naughty Mounties.” This CBC article by KATHLEEN HARRIS, Parliamentary Bureau starts off great, too: “OTTAWA -- From masturbating in a cruiser and surfing porn on the job to drunk driving and sexual assault, Mounties from all ranks have been busted for bad behaviour...”
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2010/07/18/14751266.html

Headlines that cast a pall over law enforcement or the justice system always catch my eye as I’ve had several professional readers complain that the cops, lawyers, and judges in my stories say, think, and do things that real ones would never say, think, or do. Headlines that prove even Canada’s world-famous Royal Canadian Mounted Police are as human as the rest of us, make me feel smug, self-righteous, and justified. (Because, I, too, am human!)

I respect all those in the law enforcement and legal professions and admire the great work they do. I know that both news headlines and fiction exploit the unusual to spark interest. Just as rain in Vancouver isn’t newsworthy, neither would the missteps and mistakes of members of the RCMP if it was a corrupt police force. It’s because we greatly admire the men and women in scarlet serge that their weaknesses fascinate us.

One of my favourite writing strategies is combining news stories to create a backdrop to my novels. This lends my stories a semblance of believability. If one were to combine the ‘naughty Mountie’ headline with another July headline, “Alberta man unarmed when shot by RCMP” http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2010/07/19/okotoks-calgary-shooting-.html#ixzz0uBSlcZnb we have the possibility of a great tale.

Of course the unarmed Alberta man allegedly made a great pretence of being armed and there is no indication that the officer who shot him was at all naughty, but the lovely thing about fiction is that one can ignore such facts and create excitement that rivals that of the truth. If it’s the truth that Mounties can get caught masturbating in their squad cars, it’s not too big a leap of faith to have a fictional cop shooting an unarmed rival who perhaps was after his woman or who had video evidence of him surfing porn sites...so something equally sordid.

A sad headline, but one that has many facets was: “Accused Mountie in deep depression Charged with second-degree murder in wife's death.” http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2010/07/12/edmonton-rcmp-constable-charged-court.html#ixzz0uBRpRSxf

The fact that the Mountie and the victim were immigrants from India, tinges the crime with the issue of culture shock and the stress it puts on relationships. Some neighbours reported seeing the victim assaulting her husband in the past--an interesting twist to domestic violence. Mental health issues often play a role in crime. Although it is usually schizophrenia that peaks reporters’ and novelists’ interest, in real life, depression has toppled many more a fine man—and woman.

Most Albertans would agree that most intriguing story in July was the case of the missing elderly couple, the discovery of their burnt out motorhome, and the search for the SUV they’d been towing. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2010/07/19/vader-mccann-arrrest.html#ixzz0uBQefMMs

Adding to the mystery is the reluctance of the police to discuss the case, which is normal while they’re investigating. However, the tidbits of info they did release in order to enlist the media and public help in locating the couple, sent active imaginations, racing. It won’t be until the investigation is concluded or (if police make arrests in connection with the case) until the evidence is unveiled in court that we will know what happened.

Meanwhile, the police are unwilling to defend themselves against accusation that the investigation was botched from the beginning. Reportedly the burned-out motorhome scene wasn’t investigated thoroughly until the family reported the couple missing—several days after the motorhome had been found. It’s also alleged that police initially dismissed witnesses who reported sighting the missing SUV across the provincial border in Prince George, B.C.

The way the investigation is being handled has sparked almost as much public interest as the mystery itself—an angle that I like. The main characters in my crime novels are not the criminals but law enforcement officials. The criminal mind, as fascinating as it is*, still plays second fiddle to the men and women who can outwit it.

I try to imbue my novels with social comment, giving them some value aside from pure entertainment. Inspired by these July news headlines, crime writers could weave into their plots information on culture shock, domestic violence, depression, the aftermath of a wrong split-second life-and-death decision, investigative errors, and the value of hindsight. We could also reveal to our readers some basic human behaviours which transcend career choices and uniforms.

Stories that explore such issues enable readers to better understand and empathize with people affected by them. In the past, such enlightenment has been known to inspire positive societal changes. In addition, well-written fiction has always served to strengthen readers who find themselves facing challenges similar to those faced by their literary heroes and heroines.

Until next month, may Crime be on your side.
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*If the criminal mind fascinates you, I invite you to read my website articles, “I met a man with empty eyes” http://www.eileenschuh.com/i-met-a-man-with-empty-eyes/ and “Empty eyes, empty heart”
http://www.eileenschuh.com/empty-eyes-empty-heart/

Eileen Schuh is the author of “Schrödinger’s Cat” a novella to be released by Wolfsinger Publications in 2011. Agent and publishing rights are available for her Back Tracker series of crime novels, the parallel novel, “Noraebang” and her adolescent crime novel, “Aerdrie”. More information about her published and unpublished work is on her website. http://www.eileenschuh.com

My Own Criminal Mind

I'm new to this blog, so I'll introduce myself in a sort of roundabout way.
After reading my books, friends sometimes confess to being shocked at how my mind works. At church yesterday (yup, I'm the choir director at the local Methodist church) a man came up to me and said without preface, "GO HOME AND DIE?"
He'd found my newest book on Amazon, an e-book from Red Rose Publishing. He thought it sounded quite violent, but he liked the idea of a Vietnam-era mystery once I explained it.
My historical series, which began in January with HER HIGHNESS' FIRST MURDER (Five Star)describes murders on the streets of Tudor London. One friend who read the galley to look for errors claimed she had trouble getting to sleep afterward. To me, it just made sense to combine my decades of teaching English and history and my love of mystery. Tudors and headless corpses? Makes sense to me.
I just contracted with LL Publishing on a paranormal, THE DEAD DETECTIVE AGENCY. Sure, it sounds, well, deadly, but what else do we read mysteries for?
My books are not grisly, dark or noir-ish. They are the best plot, characters, setting, and writing that I can devise. If after reading them you believe I have a criminal mind, just remember, we write murders so we don't really have to do them.