I must say that I'm incredibly impressed by all these different minds coming together to profile not only Todd but also his mother Regina. You can feel free to ignore everything I'm about to type out, but since I'm a newbie here and I am really inspired to throw my hat into the ring with the profilers on this site, I'm going to type it out anyways! Enjoy if you decide to read.
Todd:
First reading the transcript from his juvenile Transfer Hearing, I originally would've classified Todd Kohlhepp as a psychopath. That seems like a severely lacking conclusion, seeing as most people generally call people who commit crimes of his nature 'psychos' and the like, but two key things stuck out to me:
1) The attack on the woman in 1986 reveals that Todd is both selfish, power-hungry and gives little regard to the consequences of his actions.
2) Todd tested to be quite intelligent. One of the traits that marks psychopathy out in regards to mental illness is the heightened intelligence of those suffering from it.
Todd also is said to be extremely manipulative, getting others angry at him intentionally in order to gain control over his environment. Psychopaths are notorious for their need to have control, whether it be in a small way or another. In fact, Todd's behavior is quite reminiscent to me of Richard Kuklinski, or "The Ice Man," as some of you may know.
It was the similarities to Richard Kuklinski that originally got me thinking about my initial diagnosis of psychopathy. That's when I remembered that Kuklinski suffered from paranoid personality disorder (PPD), which I think not only perfectly fits the juvenile case but the Superbike murders as well.
Paranoid personality disorder bears, along with others, the following symptoms (Taken from
http://psychcentral.com/disorders/paranoid-personality-disorder-symptoms/):
- Suspects, without sufficient basis, that others are exploiting, harming, or deceiving him or her
- Is preoccupied with unjustified doubts about the loyalty or trustworthiness of friends or associates
- Is reluctant to confide in others because of unwarranted fear that the information will be used maliciously against him or her
- Reads hidden demeaning or threatening meanings into benign remarks or events
- Persistently bears grudges (i.e., is unforgiving of insults, injuries, or slights)
- Perceives attacks on his or her character or reputation that are not apparent to others, and is quick to react angrily or to counterattack.
- Has recurrent suspicions, without justification, regarding fidelity of spouse or sexual partner
In the Superbike incident, it's cited that the main motivation for Kohlhepp's slaughter of the employees was them laughing about him falling off the motorcycle. Someone who already has distinct difficulties maintaining their self image, compounded by how much his mother fed that fire by basically assuring him that he was never
ever in the wrong (one can assume since early childhood), would absolutely lead him to do something like this.
But then I found myself thinking: "Ursa, why did he sexually assault that woman when he was 15? Surely he would've just killed her, right?" I was confused as to his motivations. Then, however, it hit me:
Young man, paranoid personality, struggling with self esteem and at the peak of puberty. In the psych eval it was stated how hard it was for him to socially interact, so I think it goes without saying that he probably never had much luck with women. If his main mode of operation in social situations was to get other people pissed off or manipulate them, that doesn't exactly lead to a successful sex life, let alone romantic. Being rejected by women around him would've been the exact spark his mind needed to fuel a fire. He attacked her because it made him feel powerful, reasserted his dominance, and assured his fragile ego that he was in control. He craves that control, because his paranoid state of mind won't allow him to rest until he is.
Therefore, my final diagnosis:
Paranoid Personality Disorder
Alrighty! Opinion profile now over. Have a great night everyone!
