I've known four people who were diagnosed with schizophrenia - a very serious mental illness. It doesn't take people very long to realize there is something wrong, because of their behavior and the things they talk about.
I also, unfortunately, have known someone who is a psychopath. Some call it sociopath and there is a lot of disagreement over the terms, but it is agreed that both fall into the cluster B spectrum of personality disorders, specifically anti-social personality disorder.
Except for his parents and some other family members who know his full history, no one, and I mean no one had the slightest clue there was anything at all wrong with him. He is good-looking, charming, articulate, soft-spoken and comes off as an easy-going, really nice guy. Everyone trusted him. He carried on his act for several years. After he did his "thing", and left everyone mortified, he then tried to act like he was the one who was a victim.
Skip forward and he's living a new life, in a different state, with a new job and new wife, who only knows what he wants her to know. My guess is, he's also got a new personality to go along with his new life. His family will never tell his new wife about his past, because they've had to deal with the damage he's caused numerous times, over many years, and they prefer to have him be someone else's problem and just hope for the best. His previous victims won't tell the new wife, either, because they are terrified of him. They have seen what he is capable of doing and they watched his mask come off.
He's never had so much as a speeding ticket.
Crazy - no. Disordered - yes. They do not just snap. They prey on nice, normal and trusting people and when they are tired of their current situation, they do their "thing", which is always beyond hideous. It's also confusing because it makes no sense.
JMO
JMO
