An expert has explained why some women are attracted to killers like Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy and Chris Watts, despite their horrific violent crimes.
dr Sohom Das, 44, is a forensic psychiatrist based in London and a YouTube content creator who creates videos on mental health topics for his channel, A Psych for Sore Minds.
In a recent video, he addressed why some women are attracted to men who commit the most violent crimes, and offered multiple explanations – from childhood trauma to a condition called hybristophilia.
In his video, Dr. Why some women are attracted to violent criminals: “I mentioned Ted Bundy, but there are other high-profile killers, including Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, and then Night Stalker Richard Ramirez, who received letters and gifts from women around the world .
“To me, the Dahmer case is extremely shocking because these pure, good-hearted women managed to overlook the cannibalism…the sexual insult, the dismemberment, they even overlooked his own sexuality and still stole properly.”
Despite being convicted of numerous murders, Jeffrey Dahmer (pictured in court in 1991) received fan mail and suggestions while in prison
The psychiatrist also referred to the more recent case of Chris Watts, who murdered his pregnant wife Shanann and their two daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, in 2018.
He says, “Chris Watts received love letters and photos from female admirers … One even sent a photo of herself in a bikini to Chris Watts in prison.”
Looking at possible reasons for this, Dr. The psychosis as the first factor.
1. Psychosis
He describes a case where a woman with psychosis believed she was telepathically communicating with a criminal and that they were in a relationship, even though the two had never met.
In these cases, he says, the women are “mentally ill…they don’t make rational decisions.”
He adds, “Also, this is an extremely rare presentation, so we can just brush it aside… I just wanted to give it an honorable mention.”
2. History of trauma
A more common explanation, according to Dr. That’s a history of trauma.
He explains, “So they were either physically sexually abused and/or emotionally abused by either a partner or their parents [and] They want to repeat this kind of cycle, either unconsciously or intentionally.
“So, unfortunately, these women gravitate toward the familiar rather than the safe. And we see this phenomenon in victims of abuse.
“Sometimes they become perpetrators themselves, and…tragically, some young girls who experienced domestic violence as children…choose violent partners when they become adults themselves, in part because they see violence as a means of conflict resolution.”
Ironically, he explains, these women feel safe in their relationships with killers because, despite being violent offenders, they are behind bars and allow the women to “actually control and dominate the relationship, perhaps for the first time ever.”
Despite being convicted of a string of murders in the 1970s, serial killer Ted Bundy (pictured) still had groupies and even got married while awaiting execution on death row
dr Sohom Das (pictured) is a London-based forensic psychiatrist who also creates YouTube content on his channel A Psych for Sore Minds
Despite being found guilty after the murder of his pregnant wife and their two young daughters, Chris Watts (pictured) has received mail from fans – including photos of women in bikinis
3. Redeemer Complex
There are other cases where women “feel like they can save or transform the prisoner or the killer” and see it as a challenge.
4. Idealized relationship
As a further psychological aspect, the psychiatrist mentions that “some of these women have this idea of a perfect relationship”.
By being in a relationship with someone in prison, they “don’t have to endure the day-to-day problems that actually come with most relationships.”
He explains: “You don’t have to go through the day-to-day things. There is no laundry to do. There is no need to cook for him. There are no more smelly socks on the stairs.”
5. Hybristophilia
The last element that Dr. What was addressed was a condition known as hybristophilia.
He explains, “I think it’s very fair to say that some of these women do it because they … crave attention or stardom. In extreme cases it is a phenomenon called hybristophilia, also known as Bonnie and Clyde syndrome.”
What is hybristophilia?
Hybristophilia is a paraphilia defined by the American Psychological Association (APA) as “a group of disorders in which unusual or bizarre fantasies or behaviors are required for sexual arousal.”
It’s colloquially known as “Bonnie & Clyde Syndrome,” after the American crime couple immortalized in the film of the same name.
People with hybristophilia have a sexual interest and attraction to those who commit crimes, according to the APA.
In some cases, this may target people incarcerated for various types of criminal activity.
This is a type of paraphilia, intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, including situations, fantasies, behaviors, and specific people.
dr This indicates that this is not a phenomenon confined to any particular social economy class, as it has affected all types of women (it has also been documented in men, but to a much lesser extent).
He says: “I’ve heard that there are examples of educated women with careers, including lawyers, who have fallen for or married murderers and are either sentenced to death or never released.”
The psychiatrist goes on to explain that he thinks a lot of this “is connected to celebrity worship and some women have done it very openly.”
“So they were clearly hoping to share some of the media spotlight or land a book or film deal afterward,” he says. “And all of that I think is psychologically connected to being famous and notorious.
“And I think that’s a relatively new phenomenon, something that we’ve seen tremendous growth before our eyes over the past few decades … we see it in reality TV stars, they often get famous just for the sake of fame.” And I think the public is feeding this and we are partly to blame.
Finally, he goes into the traits of the serial killers themselves and how they are attractive to women.
“I think it’s fair to say that many of them are psychopaths and narcissists, and these groups of people are often attracted to women because of their ability to be charismatic and charm vulnerable people who are susceptible to this type of manipulation.” are vulnerable,” he says.
“Narcissists are very grandiose and have a high right to things like sex and relationships.
“Psychopaths are like that, so they have this inflated self-esteem, but they’re also very charming and they’re calculating and they’re pretty sneaky, so they know very well what to say to make women feel special, loved.” to feel privileged to feel part of a special bond.’
dr Das told FEMAIL that he started his channel because he saw numerous YouTubers sharing inaccurate information online, psychoanalyzing people incorrectly and coming to the wrong conclusions.
“I just wanted to create material that came from someone who actually works with mentally disturbed offenders,” he explained.
He added that interest in true crime is growing and with the increasing amount of content available, viewers are increasingly looking for expert opinion and analysis when it comes to criminals.
He explained: “There is so much true crime content being released now, from professional content from Netflix to podcasts.
“So it’s almost like you have to find a new angle … just telling you about murders isn’t enough because people have heard about hundreds of cases now.
“I think a really interesting and probably one of the most complex angles is to understand why people do what they do.”
dr Sohom Das told FEMAIL he always had a fascination with true crime, but when he was young he didn’t know there were career opportunities to satisfy that interest.
At medical school, while studying various disciplines, he was drawn to psychiatry.
Then, as a resident, he worked, among other things, for six months in a medium-security unit in north London.
He said: “Every patient was male and every patient had used quite serious violence, some of them had killed people.
“Their backstories… are fascinating. There’s always something to trace it back to, the reason…they end up living violent lifestyles, and it’s often the same factors that contribute…Poverty, abuse, and drug or alcohol use are also a big factor.”
dr Sohom That’s it TwitterInstagram and TikTok as well as YouTube.