Terrible Twos
FOLIE A DEUX
Quite literally, it translates to the madness of two. A terrifying phenomenon, the phrase has been used by criminologists and psychologists to discuss the idea of an insanity shared by two people – an insanity which may even culminate in murder.
While working for Strathclyde Police, I saw my fair share of criminal couples.
Many of the cases I worked on involved prostitutes and their pimps – often their boyfriends – who would join forces to beat, rob and blackmail clients.
On a more national scale, the country has been horrified time and time again to hear of yet another innocent person falling victim to a deadly duo. Take Angela Wrightson. Described as a ‘lost soul’, the 39-year-old met a brutal end at the hands of two teenagers – referred to in court only as Girl A and Girl B – who were 13 and 14 at the time of the killing.
Or Liam Fee, the tragic toddler subjected to a two-year campaign of cruel neglect before being murdered by his twisted mother Rachel, 31, and her civil partner Nyomi, 29.
What drives people to such inhumane acts?
How do these twosomes teeter over to become sinister?
Of course, the everyday person will never be able to get inside the mind of a killer.
But these toxic partnerships have an unmistakable underlying theme – power.
More often that not, there will be a dominant party.
The manipulator, the ringleader, the driving force.
Usually, they will select a subservient type to act as their accessory, grooming and moulding them over time. However, in some cases, it is the more vulnerable character that ends up being the most dangerous.
Eager to please their overbearing counterpart – or, in some cases, acting through fear that they will be next if they don’t comply – they are often the ones to commit the most violent and depraved acts of all.
From an investigative viewpoint,
It’s very seldom that they will turn on each other
it can sometimes be difficult to pinpoint who, when it comes to power, is holding all of the cards.
Over time, they can begin to feed off the actions of each other, egging one another on in a perverse pack mentality.
It’s as if they are trying to impress one another, demonstrating just how far they will go – be that extorting money, helping cover up illegal activity or, in the most savage cases, taking a life. When interviewed by police and even charged, it’s very seldom that they will turn on each other. Even in court, the misplaced sense of loyalty between them remains unshaken. They don’t care about their victims. Just each other. Take Rachel and Nyomi Fee. On trial for the murder of Rachel’s toddler son, Liam, in June this year, they showed up to court hand-in-hand every day in a sick display of solidarity. Analysis of their Internet searches during the inquiry revealed how they’d Googled, Can wives be in prison together?
As evidence was presented, a picture began to emerge of Nyomi as the more dominant of the two.
But even with hefty custodial sentences hanging over their heads, Rachel stood by her.
These sorts of cases all boil down to control and a misguided desire to impress.
There is a safety in numbers mentality, a pack-like way of thinking that isn’t always present in crimes with a single defendant.
And sadly, it can cost innocent people their lives.