I have to say Bundy was somewhat more subtle with his manipulation than Dell. But Bundy's jailhouse letters have that same tone; whiny and martyred, yet ultimately egotistical. It's been a while since I read The Stranger Beside Me, but I think Bundy came off as slightly more intelligent, and didn't use the same level of "purple" prose as Dell. But I'm sure someone else in this thread can refresh my memory on that. (Oops, I'm channeling Noudga.)
Agreed,
The Stranger Beside Me was a gripping book. IIIRC, Bundy was quite intelligent, scoring an IQ about the same as Karla Homolka, around 135, which is in the Superior range. Nothing about DM suggests that his is particularly high. Probably in the average range, though as things have gone on another idea has crossed my mind. I still think psychopathy is a real possibility, but wonder about another condition that strongly influences behaviour, especially criminal behaviour: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/ Fetal Acohol Effects (different medical terms for basically the same thing).
If MB drank while carrying DM, it is more than a possibility, it is a likelihood. However, there's no test for FAS/FAE (also called ARND - alochol-related neurodevelopmental disorders) except in those cases where the baby is born with specific facial changes, particularly small eyes, epicanthic folds, a narrow upper lip and an almost non-existent nasal philtrum (the two vertical grooves between the nose and mouth); these are only present if the mother drank during a particular period in the pregnancy of several days or so while the facial features were developing, but drinking at other times while it doesn't cause those specific visible changes can cause equal or even greater damage to the brain. Alcohol crosses the blood-brain barrier and it eats away at the brain like battery acid, so the FAS brain can look like Swiss cheese.
Children with FAS/FAE/ARND (pick your alphabet soup) are usually fairly normal as very young children and problems descend with a vengeance when they hit puberty.
A laundry list of problems:
-- compulsive lying, stealing
-- very poor social cognition (the understanding of what others think and feel)
-- no impulse control
-- sexual promiscuity
-- difficulty making friends (real friends)
-- inability to learn from consequences (this is lifelong. Consequences simply don't work to affect behaviour with affected individuals)
-- absence of fear when fear is appropriate, as of fires or weapons
-- very poor numeracy abilities
-- very poor planning and organizational skills
There's lots more. It's estimated that something like 40% of the prison population may be FAS/FAE (far higher than the number of psychopaths). Few can ever lead independent lives, though some, with strong family support, can manage jobs and semi-assisted living. They never learn to manage money.
The Ottawa Sun had a good series several years ago entitled "When Mommy Drinks" which disappeared from their website, but is now available here:
http://come-over.to/FAS/NewsCanada.htm
DM is a poster boy for some of these traits.
We tend to think that this is mostly a problem on reserves or in poor areas, but according to a Globe (IIRC) article which I can't find right now, the majority of cases in Ontario are born to middle-class or affluent women. I was surprised by this.
If DM wasn't diagnosed with this at birth, he won't be. Typically children with FAS (etc.) are diagnosed instead with LD, conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, cognitive disabilty, or other problems. Scientists are working to develop a screening measure that can be used at birth, because FAS is the most common cause of intellectual disability in North America; while other causes, such as PKU (phenylketonuria) have been nearly eliminated via screening and treatments.
But I wonder. Either psychopathy or FAS/ARND, neither can be "fixed." We have heard practically nothing about DM's late childhood behaviour and the like. Criminal behaviour rarely springs up
ex nihilo.