“Women Who Murder: An International Collection of Deadly True Crime Tales” is the latest book by Mitzi Szereto.
Women who kill.
We all know a few either from true crime or fiction. Myra Hindley, Mary Ann Cotton, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Annie Wilkes.
In this book, we have globe-covering stories and authors. We go from the US to Canada to Iran to Mexico, Australia and many more countries in between.
As always, what moves me is not that people kill or how but why. What is the story behind the crime?
I picked three stories that spoke to me the most for the review. All three women show signs of depression, a desire to escape into another world to avoid reality, and all three women had movies made after their life and trials. I have not seen any of those movies so I am not sure how these three women were portrait however, with all three I wonder: would their fates have been different if they had been men?
On The Courthouse Steps: The Trial of Susan Smith by Cathy Pickens
When this case broke in the news I lived in Switzerland. My first reaction was: why did the carjacker not drop the children when he noticed them? I can imagine that in the evening, you may not immediately see two car seats in the back but once inside the car, you would. So, was that car your best option?
Upon hearing that the car was stolen by a Black man and that Susan and the children were White, the story took an ugly turn. I did not follow the case so reading Cathy’s contribution was fascinating. Many details did not make it across the Pond.
Cathy Pickens tells us about the atmosphere outside the courtroom and Sheriff Howard Wells’ parallel investigation. We learn about the items found in the car and Susan’s family circumstances. Pay attention to the part about the sketch artist.
Note: While incarcerated at Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution, two correctional officers were charged for having sex with Susan. She was moved to Leath Correctional Institution. How different could her life have been if someone had spoken up about the abuse and had given her the help she needed? A TV movie was released in 2000. Susan is eligible for parole in November 2024.
Mahin: Monster or Victim? By Mitzi Szereto
The story that Mitzi chose as her contribution is one that combines various theories. Did Mahin kill for money, fun, or revenge? Did she justify her crimes to herself by thinking about the lack of motherly love and support, or because she did not see another way out to earn money, or was she just evil?
Why did Mahin need so much money? She needed money to feed her family, keep a roof over their heads, and to get one of her children with cerebral palsy her necessary medical treatments. Her husband, an unemployed drug addict, left all these tasks to her. Mahin’s mother, aware of her circumstances, could have helped if she had allowed her daughter to claim part of her father’s inheritance.
Qazvin’s police chief, Ali Akbar Hedayati, said that Mahin suffered from a mental illness. Possible cause: lack of motherly love and support.
I wonder if Mahin briefly showed her victims the affection she would have given her mother if things were different. But realizing she would never get that love she then transferred her anger onto the victims. It would be an interesting theory to explore combined with the dynamics of patriarchy and poverty. Mahin was finally caught, just like Ted Bundy, over a minor traffic offence.
A documentary about Mahin won three awards for Best Film, Best Director and Best Artistic Achievement at the 7th Shahr International Film Festival. It finished second place for the Best Film at the Haghighat Film Festival.
Mona Fandey: The Malaysian Murderer by Chang Shih Yen
Mona Fanday was born Nur Maznah binti Ismail. She was a Malaysian pop singer, killer, and was executed Nov 2, 2001. She was 45 years old. Not getting the adoration she craved as a singer, Mona (and her husband Mohamad Nor Affandi Abdul Rahman) found other ways to get attention and to lead a wealthy lifestyle. Together with their personal assistant Juraimi Husin, the trio was convicted and executed for the 1993 murder of Datuk Mazlan Idris, state assembly member for Batu Talam. Mona’s need to be recognized, to be someone, continued during her trial where she hinted at Malay royalty though no evidence was ever found to support this.
How the trio made their money and how they killed Datuk Mazlan Idris, you must read for yourself. Pay attention to Mona’s behavior during her trial, detention, and execution. From blaming the assistant to never showing remorse to courting the media, she clearly finally got what she had wanted: recognition. The trial lasted five months in which Mona was the star. Which capital punishment defendant remembers all court reporters’ names or refers to people in court as her fans?
It is not clear to me who was the mastermind behind Idris’ murder. Author Chang Shih Yen does gives us another perspective of husband Affandi. Please do an online search to read their whole criminal history.
Mona’s behavior was eccentric. She was out of touch with reality and delusional which made me question her sanity. So, I wonder about her psychiatric evaluations. It is easy to blame the victim, an educated man, to believe in superstition. It is also easy to claim that pure greed was the sole reason for these crimes. A movie Mona was made in 2002 and Dukun in in 2006.
Mitzi Szereto has again pulled together a colorful bouquet of stories written by diverse authors. All stories make you think about the women’s motives whether you understand them or not. How far were they driven by societal constraints, patriarchy, poverty, and depression?
Highly recommended reading!
Note: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. My other book reviews are here.