Children Who Kill: Profiles of Pre-Teen and Teenage Killers Read Online Free PDF Page B

lounge watching TV with him and JoAnn. After a while, Rob found this so awkward that he finished with Cheryl, but he missed her and started seeing her again.
    One day as they prepared to eat ice cream, James told Cheryl to give each of them a napkin. Cheryl gaveRob a napkin then gave her father one – and her father was so enraged at being served second that he punched her in the face. Shocked and frightened, Rob walked out. It’s likely that Cheryl begged him not to say anything . She’d definitely begged other adults not to intervene after she’d been hit by her dad.

Wishing he was dead
    Like numerous abused children, Cheryl had begun to fantasise about killing her dad. Mostly, such revenge fantasies remain just that. They give the abused person a sense of control over what’s happening which temporarily makes them feel better. The killing remains at a fantasy level, for the abuser is such a terrifying figure that the child doesn’t have the nerve to physically fight back.
    Unfortunately, the talk at school turned to a local murder that had been carried out for cash. Cheryl wondered aloud why anyone would murder a stranger for a fee – and one of her classmates, Sean Pica, said that he would kill if the price was right.

Sean Pica
    Sean was born on 18th February 1969 to Benjamin and JoAnn Pica in New York. His father was a policeman and his mother a nurse. The couple already had a two-year -old son called Joe. Three years after Sean wasborn they had a third son called Vincent and the family was complete. JoAnn took the boys to church every week and also taught catechism to a group of youngsters in her home.
    The marriage was an increasingly unhappy one and when Sean was seven his father left. He came back within months when nine-year-old Joe was diagnosed with leukaemia. Joe recovered and counselling failed to resurrect the marriage so Benjamin left again. He and JoAnn were divorced in Sean’s tenth year.
    Benjamin kept in touch with the children – and they got on well with his new wife – but JoAnn continued to constantly criticise him to her three sons. Sean found this very difficult as he still loved his dad.
    In fairness, JoAnn had to work incredibly hard to support her brood. She sometimes spent all night giving private nursing care then went straight on to her daytime nursing job at the hospital. It too was demanding as she worked in Intensive Care.

Sean’s second father
    The following year, Sean’s mother met a new man called Jim. Three months later she married him, saying that she felt guilty about having sex outside wedlock as her religion didn’t allow for this. She told Sean that Jim, a hospital laboratory technician, was really his father now.
    At first Sean was happy to have this new father figure in his life. Jim took the boys to games and took aninterest in their hobbies. They also enjoyed family barbecues.
    But Jim changed when he was drunk. He beat JoAnn and threw the family’s beloved labrador against the wall. Sean definitely witnessed this violence – and may also have suffered it. People in his Boy Scouts group noticed that he was troubled, that he had something on his mind.
    Three years into the marriage, Jim said he was going out to watch a softball game – but he never returned. JoAnn, who tended to make light of family problems, was very embarrassed by his desertion. She now criticised both Benjamin and Jim to young Sean.
    Sean clearly wanted a father figure, and became close to one of the Scout leaders. He also became a surrogate father to a much younger mentally handicapped boy, helping him to earn his badges in the Scouts.
    Sean entered his teens, a sensitive and gentle boy who was always willing to help others. He worried about his mother but still enjoyed spending time with his biological father. He excelled in carpentry.
    Sean’s older brother, Joe, went into the Navy and Sean really missed him. On the upside, he made a good friend called Michael and started to spend more