Psychologists examine why women develop romantic attachments to convicted murderers, a phenomenon observed throughout history.
Understanding Hybristophilia
The fascination with individuals who have committed murder is known as hybristophilia. This is a paraphilia, or sexual disorder. It most often affects women who themselves carry some trauma, have been victims of abuse or crime, or have come close to death. This likely creates a sense of community with men who are marked by that death – men who have killed, explains Professor Beata Pastwa-Wojciechowska, head of the Personality Psychology and Forensic Psychology Department at the University of Gdańsk.
More often than about sex, it’s about the emotional aspect. In an interview with Gazeta.pl, Professor Pastwa-Wojciechowska explains what needs a woman might have fulfilled by a relationship with a murderer.
Historical Context
This is not a phenomenon of recent years or even decades. Humanity has observed this phenomenon since Roman times. Back then, it was women who took pleasure in watching gladiatorial fights, who later died. From a scientific point of view, this phenomenon has been observed and studied since the 1960s. These were times when in the US media began to publicize cases of serial and mass murderers. There appeared to be enormous interest in the topic, also in a romantic context – explained the expert.
The “Bonnie and Clyde” Syndrome
Hybristophilia is commonly called the “Bonnie and Clyde syndrome,” after the famous criminal couple from the 1930s. The young Bonnie Parker, a model student from Texas, enters into a relationship with recidivist Clyde Barrow. She leaves her husband and allows herself to be taken into the world of brutal crimes. Pursuing love, she loses her life. Their story, in reality very bloody and sad, gained a romantic tone through pop culture.
Polish Examples
In Poland, the most well-known case of hybristophilia is the wife of pedophile-murderer Mariusz Trynkiewicz and Judyta, a woman who fell in love with a murderer with cannibalistic tendencies – Kajetan Poznański.