I kissed thee ere I killed thee, no way but this,
Killing myself to die upon a kiss. ibid. V ii 357
O, yet I do repent me of my fury
That I did kill them. William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Macbeth II iii 106-107, Macbeth
This is the quintessence of wisdom: not to kill anything. Now this to be the legitimate conclusion from the principle of the reciprocity with regard to non-killing. Jaina Sutras
Are killers born or made? Are mass murderers driven by an urge to kill or a wish to die? Nova: Mind of a Rampage Killer, PBS 2013
Andy Williams had packed a revolver in his backpack and opened fire when he got to school, killing two and injuring thirteen. ibid.
About 60% of rampage killers end up killing themselves. ibid.
Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly with his song … Roberta Flack, Killing Me Softly
Is that all you’ve got? It’s gonna take more than a few firecrackers to kill Danny Greene! Kill the Irishman 2011 starring Ray Stevenson & Val Kilmer & Christopher Walken & Linda Cardellini & Marcus Thomas & Vinnie Jones & Tony Lo Bianco & Paul Sorvino & Laura Ramsey & Mike Starr & Bob Gunton et al, director Jonathan Hensleigh, opening scene
We did it. Me and Joe. We ... We killed Jason Buleigh. Blood 2012 starring Paul Bettany & Mark Strong & Stephen Graham & Brian Cox & Naomi Battrick & Ben Crompton & Natasha Little & Zoe Tapper & Adrian Edmondson & Nick Murphy & Patrick Hurd-Wood & Daniel Pemberton et al, director Nick Murphy, rozzer's confession
Peters’ killer is a professional of some kind who executed him quietly and in complete control. Montana 2014 starring Michelle Fairley & Ashley Walters & Sarah Mac & Lars Mikkelsen & Oliver Stark & Ryan Oliva & Dominique & Adam Deacon & Richie Campbell & Rocky Marshall et al, director Mo Ali, lazy rozzer
My father – he hates me … I get so sore at him sometimes I want to kill him. Stranger on a Train 1951 starring Farley Granger & Ruth Roman & Robert Walker & Leo G Carroll & Patricia Hitchcock & Laura Elliott & Marion Larone & Jonathan Hale & Howard St John & John Brown & Norma Vare & Robert Gist et al, director Alfred Hitchcock, weirdo to hero
I do not enjoy killing. But it’s my job. Someone has to do it … I’m a liberator. Nighthawks 1981 starring Sylvester Stallone & Billy Dee Williams & Lindsay Wagner & Persis Khambatta & Nigel Davenport & Hilarie Thompson & Rutger Hauer & et al, director, terrorist to Stalone
The enemy is anybody who’s going to get you killed, no matter which side he is on. Joseph Heller, Catch-22
There are somewhere between 25 and 50 active serial killers in America alone. The Poughkeepsie Tapes 2007 starring Stacy Chbosky & Ben Messmer & Bobbi Sue Luther & Samantha Robson & Ivar Brogger & Ron Harper & Iris Bahr et al, director John Eric Dowdle, geezer
Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons. Bertrand Russell
On May 25th 1988 Richard Kuklinski was convicted of multiple murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. This ended 30 years of cold-blooded killing by a master criminal police called The Iceman. The Iceman: Confessions of a Mafia Hitman, HBO 1992
‘He murdered by guns, he murdered by strangulation, he murdered by putting poison on victims’ food, he did all of this at the same time while exhibiting a normal placid family existence.’ ibid. rozzer
‘An approximate guess … more than a hundred.’ ibid. Richard
‘It doesn’t bother me at all.’ ibid.
‘Nothing haunts me.’ ibid.
He and Barbara had three children. But just with an eighth-grade education to only get low-paying jobs. ibid.
Kuklinski was the perfect enforcer. He was brutal and he knew how to intimidate. ibid.
Kuklinski kept his criminal life secret from his family and neighbours. ibid.
Richard Kuklinski became the head of his own crime ring. He developed new ways to profit from murder. ibid.
By the 1980s Kuklinski was involved in narcotics, pornography, arms dealing, money laundering, hijacking and contract killing on a world-wide basis. He was also pressing 50 and getting tired. He started to make mistakes. ibid.
Hurting my family – the only thing I feel sorry for. I’m not looking for forgiveness and I’m not repenting. I know I’m wrong. ibid.
A contract killer for the Gambino crime family. ibid.
They called him The Iceman because to confuse the time of death he would take his victims and put them in a freezer for a long period of time. ibid.
‘I wouldn’t kill a child. I most likely wouldn’t kill a woman. ibid.
The files on The Iceman will never be closed. ibid.
One third of the world’s female prison population is in America. 30,000 of them are serving long sentences for murder. Unlike men, female killers tend to know their victims … How does a moment of madness become murder? Women Who Kill I, Channel 4 2017
Amber Hilberling is serving a twenty-five-year sentence for murdering her husband … ‘He was a good man.’ ibid.
At the scene [seventeen floors below] police found Josh’s wife Amber; she’d already made a phone call to her grandmother. ibid.
‘He was the instigator [of domestic violence] on several occasions.’ ibid. medic
It’s estimated between 40-80% of female murderers were acting in self-defence at the time. ibid.
‘He harmed my babies … so I shot him with the gun.’ ibid. Judy Gomez
Patricia Ignacio is serving 15 years for murdering her cousin. ibid.
7 out of 10 women in American prisons have children on the outside. ibid.
After a night out Ana and Stefan had an argument … ‘I hit him with my shoe [x25] and now he’s bleeding.’ ibid. Ana’s 911 call
Of the 15,000 murders that happen in America each year one in ten are committed by women … But there’s a certain breed of murderess … They make up less than 5% of female killers: some call them black widows. Women Who Kill II, Paramount+
53-year-old Celeste Beard-Johnson: In 2003 she was found guilty of killing her billionaire husband and sentenced to life in prison … Over several months Celeste conspired with Tracey [Tarlton] to try to murder her husband. ibid.
In the state of Florida a woman is serving a life sentence for killing a stranger she befriended for his money: Dorice Dee Dee Moore. ibid.
‘A split second changed my whole life.’ One Punch Killer, Channel 4 2017
The House Party: ‘The night was brilliant. Everyone was in high spirits … A few people that weren’t on the guest list turning up; there was a big commotion … George has come between us and he’s started pushing in my chest … I had to defend myself. It wasn’t a hard punch … ibid. Ben
cf.
‘There was some power in that punch. Like that was a strong punch.’ ibid. witness
Ben Haynes was charged with manslaughter … He was sentenced to five years in prison. His sentence was later reduced to 45 months. ibid.
Biggleswade, Bedfordshire: ‘He just got punched straight to the floor … Asda car Park.’ ibid. 999 call
‘The other man had got into a Range Rover vehicle and had driven away.’ ibid.
‘He’s grabbed my arm … He’s come at me again … I thought he was going to hit me … Purely in self-defence I hit him … I only hit him once.’ ibid. Mr Watts
Alan Watts was convicted of manslaughter. He was sentenced to five years in prison. ibid.
The Haircut: ‘It was a normal night. I was out with my friends … A guy that stood out: six foot eight … When I was a kid, he taught he how to box … The punch connected to his jaw.’ ibid. Ben
Self-defence … Charges against him were dropped. ibid.
Every town has its legends. Every legend has its boogieman: a killer with a hook for a hand, the drifter who snatches children, the witch who lives in the woods. When I was growing up in Staten Island it was Cropsey, about an escaped mental patient who lived in these buildings who snatched children off the street. This urban legend turned real when five neighbourhood children went missing. Killer Legends, 2014