*Get "Monster in My Family" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get "Dear Mr. Gacy" on Amazon here*
*Get Postmortem: What Survives the John Wayne Gacy Murders by Courtney Lund O'Neil on Amazon here*
*Get Boys Enter the House: The Victims of John Wayne Gacy and the Lives They Left Behind by David Nelson on Amazon here*
There's an interesting premise behind this show- the relative of a renowned killer meets with the family of one of their victims, mediated by Melissa G. Moore, the daughter of a serial killer. This could have gone wrong in so many ways.
The basics of the John Wayne Gacy case and capture are trotted out again, but this time Gacy's sister Karen Kuzma and her daughter Sheri Hockenberry are meeting Patti Szyc Rich, sister to victim John Szyc. Kuzma's memories of her brother, and the aftermath of his killings, takes up the majority of the time in the episode, culminating in the emotional meeting.
I am thankful that the show runners brought Moore aboard, and didn't turn this into a Jerry Springer-style nightmare of screaming and fisticuffs (at least from this lone episode). Kuzma is a damaged woman, and she is obviously as much a victim as other survivors of her brother's terror. We don't get as much time with Patti Rich, I would have liked to see more about her brother, even if it was boring minutiae. We're so used to hearing the story of the killer, I wish someone would do mini-biographies of any of these victims, and let us get to know these young boys and men.
This episode of "Monster in My Family" still presents some new information, and Rich, Kuzma, and Hockenberry display a strength that I don't know if I would have in the same situation. Also subtitled "Killer Clown: John Wayne Gacy" and "John Wayne Gacy, Jr.", and I've seen this numbered as Episode #5 of the first season.
Saturday, July 19, 2025
"Making a Monster" {"Rose West" Episode #1.1} (2020)
*Get "Making a Monster"-"Rose West" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get Love as Always, Mum xxx by Mae West with Neil McKay on Amazon here*
*Get Fred & Rose by Howard Sounes on Amazon here*
*Get Inside the Mind of Rose West: Wife, Mother, Monster by Tanya Farber and Jeremy Daniel on Amazon here*
Concentrating more on United Kingdom serial killer Rose West instead of her husband Fred West, this documentary episode is full of information and salaciousness.
The series covers infamous killers from a more cerebral angle, looking into their upbringing since serial killers aren't just born. Rosemary Pauline Letts was the fifth of seven children. Her father was a paranoid schizophrenic who had sexual relations with his daughters, and she in turn molested her younger brothers. She took this hyper-sexualization to her new home after she met and married Fred West, and her first murder was Fred's daughter by another woman. The couple would go on to kill at least twelve people combined, including another daughter, as Rose was willingly prostituted out. Something I did not know is that some of the Wests' children were fathered by the johns who the killer couple would entertain. The house became a home of depravity, anonymously sitting in the middle of Cromwell Street. It wasn't until suspicions were raised with the disappearance of their oldest daughter that the Wests would finally be caught. Fred committed suicide in 1995, and Rose was sentenced to prison for life without parole.
I've always been interested in the childhood and upbringings of these serial killers because of the fact that "born to kill" is a rare phenomenon. Reading about the childhoods and parents of today's infamous murderers confirms that they weren't born, but made, with some of these parents doing things that are almost as bad as the murders the adult children would later commit. The reenactment scenes are dark and scary, and while listening to Rose's story, you can see why the fates of their victims were sealed as soon as she met the equally disturbed Fred West. Imagining what their large brood of children went through while in the house is horrifying to think about, witnessing the degradation and killings of their own siblings. I would be very interested to see if any of the johns' children ever found out who their biological father was, and how that man feels about what he knowingly or unknowlingly created. As time goes on, we may not find out. While the professional mental health personnel add gravitas, some of director Howard's shots and writing border on the sleazy. The truth is ugly enough without some of the scenes- including a very fake looking beating.
Also subtitled "Matriarch of Cromwell Street," this episode dares to discuss the guilt of Rose West's upbringing (was she controlling Fred all along?). It's not a "fun" watch, but an informative one.
*Get Love as Always, Mum xxx by Mae West with Neil McKay on Amazon here*
*Get Fred & Rose by Howard Sounes on Amazon here*
*Get Inside the Mind of Rose West: Wife, Mother, Monster by Tanya Farber and Jeremy Daniel on Amazon here*
Concentrating more on United Kingdom serial killer Rose West instead of her husband Fred West, this documentary episode is full of information and salaciousness.
The series covers infamous killers from a more cerebral angle, looking into their upbringing since serial killers aren't just born. Rosemary Pauline Letts was the fifth of seven children. Her father was a paranoid schizophrenic who had sexual relations with his daughters, and she in turn molested her younger brothers. She took this hyper-sexualization to her new home after she met and married Fred West, and her first murder was Fred's daughter by another woman. The couple would go on to kill at least twelve people combined, including another daughter, as Rose was willingly prostituted out. Something I did not know is that some of the Wests' children were fathered by the johns who the killer couple would entertain. The house became a home of depravity, anonymously sitting in the middle of Cromwell Street. It wasn't until suspicions were raised with the disappearance of their oldest daughter that the Wests would finally be caught. Fred committed suicide in 1995, and Rose was sentenced to prison for life without parole.
I've always been interested in the childhood and upbringings of these serial killers because of the fact that "born to kill" is a rare phenomenon. Reading about the childhoods and parents of today's infamous murderers confirms that they weren't born, but made, with some of these parents doing things that are almost as bad as the murders the adult children would later commit. The reenactment scenes are dark and scary, and while listening to Rose's story, you can see why the fates of their victims were sealed as soon as she met the equally disturbed Fred West. Imagining what their large brood of children went through while in the house is horrifying to think about, witnessing the degradation and killings of their own siblings. I would be very interested to see if any of the johns' children ever found out who their biological father was, and how that man feels about what he knowingly or unknowlingly created. As time goes on, we may not find out. While the professional mental health personnel add gravitas, some of director Howard's shots and writing border on the sleazy. The truth is ugly enough without some of the scenes- including a very fake looking beating.
Also subtitled "Matriarch of Cromwell Street," this episode dares to discuss the guilt of Rose West's upbringing (was she controlling Fred all along?). It's not a "fun" watch, but an informative one.
Saturday, July 12, 2025
"Born to Kill?" {"Fred West" Episode #1.1} (2005)
*Get "Born to Kill?" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get Love as Always, Mum xxx by Mae West with Neil McKay on Amazon here*
*Get Fred & Rose by Howard Sounes on Amazon here*
*Get Inside the Mind of Rose West: Wife, Mother, Monster by Tanya Farber and Jeremy Daniel on Amazon here*
For many decades, the United States seemed to corner the market on horrific serial killers. Then, Fred and Rose West were arrested.
The premise of the British series "Born to Kill?" asks if notorious murderers are born or bred? In the Fred West case, there seems to be a little bit of both. West was born in a tiny English village in 1941. Both of his parents were physically, mentally, and sexually abusive to their children. West carried this trauma throughout his life, exacerbated by head injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. His first victims were his pregnant nanny, and then his first wife. After he married his co-conspirator Rose, they murdered ten more girls and women, including another pregnant woman and their own daughter. The victims' remains were found in a field near Fred West's hometown, in their house's garden, and underneath their cellar and patio. After his arrest, Fred West hanged himself on New Year's Day 1995, and Rose was sentenced to life in prison. Their remaining children have little to do with each other, not wanting to relive the trauma of what they went through, and some have had their names changed and live anonymous lives (according to some online research).
These were not "movie serial killers," the documentary mentions the couple's depravity without going into the grisly details too much. The documentary itself has many of the early 2000's cable true crime series tropes- talking heads, artsy lighting, and so on. The most compelling footage is the interview with Owens, perhaps the only person to survive an attack from the Wests. Their punishment for what they did to her is infuriating. Reenactments are kept to a minimum, but the film makers do present chilling footage of the quiet, normal-looking field where West buried his first victims, as well as bringing Owens to the site where the Wests' house stood and the remaining victims were found (now a walkway). One of their children wrote a book about their life with the Wests. The episode, the first of a very popular series, does not delve too deeply into the actual psychology in answering the series' question, despite the impressive experts. The Wests are as infamous in the United Kingdom as all the one-name serial killers in the United States today- Bundy, Gacy, Dahmer, Wuornos, etc., and this episode provides a good introduction to the case.
*Get Love as Always, Mum xxx by Mae West with Neil McKay on Amazon here*
*Get Fred & Rose by Howard Sounes on Amazon here*
*Get Inside the Mind of Rose West: Wife, Mother, Monster by Tanya Farber and Jeremy Daniel on Amazon here*
For many decades, the United States seemed to corner the market on horrific serial killers. Then, Fred and Rose West were arrested.
The premise of the British series "Born to Kill?" asks if notorious murderers are born or bred? In the Fred West case, there seems to be a little bit of both. West was born in a tiny English village in 1941. Both of his parents were physically, mentally, and sexually abusive to their children. West carried this trauma throughout his life, exacerbated by head injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. His first victims were his pregnant nanny, and then his first wife. After he married his co-conspirator Rose, they murdered ten more girls and women, including another pregnant woman and their own daughter. The victims' remains were found in a field near Fred West's hometown, in their house's garden, and underneath their cellar and patio. After his arrest, Fred West hanged himself on New Year's Day 1995, and Rose was sentenced to life in prison. Their remaining children have little to do with each other, not wanting to relive the trauma of what they went through, and some have had their names changed and live anonymous lives (according to some online research).
These were not "movie serial killers," the documentary mentions the couple's depravity without going into the grisly details too much. The documentary itself has many of the early 2000's cable true crime series tropes- talking heads, artsy lighting, and so on. The most compelling footage is the interview with Owens, perhaps the only person to survive an attack from the Wests. Their punishment for what they did to her is infuriating. Reenactments are kept to a minimum, but the film makers do present chilling footage of the quiet, normal-looking field where West buried his first victims, as well as bringing Owens to the site where the Wests' house stood and the remaining victims were found (now a walkway). One of their children wrote a book about their life with the Wests. The episode, the first of a very popular series, does not delve too deeply into the actual psychology in answering the series' question, despite the impressive experts. The Wests are as infamous in the United Kingdom as all the one-name serial killers in the United States today- Bundy, Gacy, Dahmer, Wuornos, etc., and this episode provides a good introduction to the case.
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