If you are knowledgeable about serial killers and have done your reading, or even watched
a few of our shows on the topic, you’ll know that many, if not most of these killers
dealt with some kind of trauma in their childhood.
Wickedness usually has its genesis, and that is often a messed-up family: abusive father,
overbearing mother, molestation, abandonment, oppressive religious zeal, etc.
But it’s not always the case, and we might ask if evil is sometimes more nature than
nurture.
It might also be likely that the children of violent parents will learn to detest such
violence.
The kids of cruel parents might end up being angels, but it’s likely they’ll bear some
scars.
Today we’ll look into the kids of actual murderers and see how they grew up, in this
episode of the Infographics Show, 7 Children of Serial Killers.
7.
The daughter of Ted Bundy We’ll start with Ted, because for the American
people he seems to be the epitome of the psychopathic killer; a stalker, a slasher, a boogeyman
in a suit that sneaks into your room and kills you in your sleep.
He was also known to be a necrophiliac, so it’s hard to top Ted in terms of evil.
He did have a child and her name was Rose.
Was she the flower for the thorn of her father?
She was born in October 1981 and is now 36 years old.
Ted’s ex-wife, named Carole Ann Boone, gave birth to Rose while he was in prison.
Carole never said much to the press over the years about Rose, but on one occasion said
that she was “kind and intelligent.”
It’s rumored that Rose changed her last name and possibly has had two kids of her
own, who might well be watching this show today.
They might also not know who their notorious grandfather was.
There are some people on Quora who seem to think they know something about Rose, stating
that she’s a good Christian.
Another person wrote “She is currently living a happy life in anonymity.
She changed her name and she and her mother are still alive and happy.”
We don’t know if that is true, but it seems Rose Bundy certainly hasn’t been making
any headlines.
6.
The son of Yuri Chikatilo Now let’s look at the person often called
Russia’s worst serial killer.
While the “Rostov Ripper” was busy killing and mutilating 52 women and children mostly
in the 80s and 90s, he also had a child called, Yuri Jr.
How did Junior get on in life?
Well, it’s said during his life he also went to the dark side, being charged with
fraud and extortion.
A UK tabloid adds rape, racketeering and kidnapping to that list, but we can’t find another
source to back that up and UK tabloids are less than trustworthy at times.
The Russian press tells us that in 2009 he was arrested for stabbing a man several times
in the belly in a bathroom in Ukraine.
Although Yuri said he was only partly to blame, telling the cops the man had stolen his car
and the two guys “got into a scrape.”
5.
The daughter of Keith Jesperson We know more about this killer’s daughter
because she has talked openly about her father, Keith, who raped and killed at least 8 women
in the USA in 1995.
The truck driver became known as the “Happy Face Killer” as his trademark was to leave
a painted happy face near victims or on letters he sent to the media.
His daughter, Mellissa Moore, told Oprah Winfrey that she had seen glimpses of her father’s
cruelty during her childhood.
“I could hear the cat screaming,” she said tearfully, telling Oprah about how her
sadistic father had put a cat in a barrel, doused it in gasoline and set it on fire.
It took her a while to come to terms with what her dad did, saying, “I couldn’t
see the heinous actions that he committed…I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
It was just too big for me.”
She wrote a book about her life and even hosted a TV show called, “Monster in my Family.”
4.
The son of Gary Ridgway Known as the Green River Killer this man was
convicted of killing 49 people in the 80s and 90s in Washington State, and so is one
of America’s most prolific serial killers.
His son Matthew has talked openly about his father, who he said was just a normal dad,
a “soccer dad” in fact, turning up to support him during his games.
“Even when I was in fourth grade, when I was with soccer, he'd always, you know, be
there for me.
I don't think I ever remember him not being there,” Matthew, then 29, told investigators
in 2001.
They would hang out during the weekends and eat donuts, ride bicycles, all the while the
doting father was killing women.
He once even picked a woman up with his son in the car.
The two went off but the woman didn’t return.
He told Matthew she had decided to walk.
On another occasion he had intercourse with the dead body of one of his victims while
Matthew was sleeping nearby.
He said his dad never even cursed, or ever yelled at him.
Talk about family secrets.
3.
The son of Joseph Kallinger Michael Kallinger was one of at least seven
sons of Joseph, a schizophrenic serial killer who had been horribly abused as a child himself.
It’s said Joseph killed one of his own sons, Joseph Jr. over a life insurance policy.
Young Michael though would see the horror of his dad’s ire firsthand.
In 1973 he took Michael across three U.S. states on a rape and murder spree, getting
into people’s homes by pretending he was a salesman and bringing along his innocent-looking
son.
Once inside the victims were often tied up and brutally murdered.
But it seems Michael had a hand in these crimes, according to eyewitness testimony, although
it was said he was under his father’s control.
He was still put on probation until he reached 25 years old.
One source says he then changed his name and was never seen again.
Joseph died of a seizure in prison in 1996.
2.
The daughter of Dennis Rader Mr. Rader, aka, the BTK killer, murdered at
least 10 people from 1974 to 1991 in Kansas, USA.
He was called BTK because of his signature, “Bind, Torture, Kill.”
This former cub scout leader had two children, one of whom has been outspoken about her father
and her life.
Her name is Kerri Rawson, and since her father’s arrest she has suffered from depression, PTSD,
not to mention being hounded by the press.
She said all she wanted was a quiet life, but she later came forward when angered at
a Stephen King novella that was supposedly based on what happened in her childhood home.
The story suggests that Kerri’s mother knew about the murders.
So, Kerri spoke to the press after a long silence, saying, “All of a sudden this famous
writer is talking on television about my family.
I just had enough and decided to finally say something and stick up for my mom.”
In 2017 she was working on her own book, called, “Someday My Heart Will Mend: Holding on
to Faith, Surviving the Trauma of My Dad, the BTK Serial Killer.”
Talking about the writing process she said, “It’s helping me to work on it, to face
what my dad did, and to deal with it.”
1.
The son of Fred and Rose West No doubt you’ve seen our show on perhaps
the most gruesome husband and wife that have tainted the halls of serial killer infamy.
The English couple had so many kids we can’t talk about them all, and of course, they killed
two of their own children, burying one of them in the garden at the house of horrors
known as 25 Cromwell Street.
Let’s focus on Stephen West, who has been outspoken about his life and his very peculiar
parents.
In 1995 he and his sister were interviewed, talking about the book they’d co-authored
about their lives growing up.
“I couldn't get a bank account, or a loan or anything.
You would fill in 25 Cromwell Street as your previous address, and they either thought
it was a joke and chucked the form away, or didn't want to know,” Stephen said.
He said he couldn’t get a job because of his name, and he was followed around by social
services and police, some of whom thought he might carry on the cycle of abuse.
He actually said he worried himself he might turn out that way.
“I've sat down and thought, Jesus Christ, what if it entered my mind one day to hurt
someone?
I know I'm so much like my dad in his nature,” Stephen admitted, but added he wasn’t referring
to the violent nature of his father.
Five years later he was jailed for having a sexual relationship with a 14-year old girl.
The judge was sympathetic, though, saying, “You went through an experience when you
were younger that no one would wish on anybody.”
Stephen was raped, beaten and constantly humiliated by his mum, Rose, was he was young, not to
mention some of things he must have seen in that house.
His defense lawyer told the court that this had somewhat skewed Stephen’s outlook on
sexuality and what is acceptable.
Up until then he had not committed any other crimes.
He got nine months.
The relationship with the girl was a mutual romance.
He was caught after taking her to a clinic to get her an abortion after making her pregnant.
He then went under more psychotherapy to help him deal with his traumas and also help him
understand right from wrong.
So, do you have any sympathy for this man even though he got someone so young pregnant?
How do you think you’d deal with finding out one of your parents was a vicious serial
killer?
What do you think about the nurture/nature issue?
Let us know in the comments!
Also, be sure to check out our other video called Cannibal Island: The Real Battle Royale!
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