Many of you will recall Kerry Daynes' contribution to the tv programme 'Killing Mum and Dad'. Kerry is a forensic psychologist.
http://www.expertsearch.co.uk/cgi-bin/find_expert?5788
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcTvqLk0MWU
Dear Kerry
I am sure you will recall your contribution to 'Killing Mum and Dad' regarding the above. As an aide-memoire I have detailed your input as follows:
"It's likely that he felt incredibly rejected on many different fronts and that this caused him to feel that he desperatly wanted attention. He wanted to be loved but that if he actually attempted to get this he would be rejected again. This causes a terrible conflict for a child and one way of coping with it might be simply to detach. You detach from your emotions so you can't be hurt. What could of happened is that the emotional switches in Jeremy's brain could have been permanently jammed in the off position.
It's possible that these are the early signs that in actual fact that he has got psychopathic traits. So breaking rules, constantly breaking rules in many different ways. Also being sexually promiscious and really needing a high level of stimulation. They are very prone to boredom.
I think that is classic behaviour of a psychopath. I think that in essence Jeremy painted on his emotions. The emotions that he felt he should portray for that day. And then when he felt that nobody was watching him, or nobody that mattered was watching him, he simply took the mask off and put it to one side.
He certainly ticks an awful lot of the boxes for a psychopath. Here is somebody who is grandiose. He's arrogant. He seems to have very little emotion and what he does is very shallow and rather fake. He manipulates other people and he's quite happy to use people to meet his own needs.
I believe that in the past he has coped with overwhelming emotions by simply cutting off from them. And really he has done the same thing in response to his offences. Denial of his offences is the biggest form of cutting off you can have. In his mind he probably believes that he really didn't do it".
I would like to raise a few points and ask a few questions:
- Were you aware that Sheila Caffell (nee Bamber) and Jeremy Bamber were adopted by Nevill and June Bamber shortly after birth?
- It is reported that Sheila spent two weeks with her birth mother before spending the next 2/3 months in a children's home pending adoption.
- Were you aware that June Bamber suffered two breakdowns requiring in-patient psychiatric care before and after adopting Sheila? The first breakdown occurred in 1955 and according to June's friends was bound up with her inability to conceive children. The second breakdown occurred in 1959, at which time Sheila was circa 2 years of age, and according to June's psychiatrist was caused by her decision to adopt. The second breakdown required electroconvulsive treatment.
- Following June's second breakdown a full-time 17 year old nanny was employed to care for Sheila. During June's abscence I believe Nevill cared for Sheila with family support.
- Despite the above Mr and Mrs Bamber were approved to adopt Jeremy Bamber in 1961. Sheila's nanny continued to work full-time looking after Sheila and Jeremy until Jeremy was around 2 years of age at which time she worked as and when required until Jeremy was of school age. Other girls, including a French au pair, were employed on the same causual basis.
- Apparently Mr and Mrs Bamber told Sheila and Jeremy they were adopted when they were each around 7 years of age. Jeremy attended boarding school around the age of 8 and Sheila from the age of 10 . Their respective boarding schools were miles away from each other and White House Farm (the Bamber family home).
- Sheila was reunited with her birth mother and other birth family members some 3 months before the murders.
- Are you aware that a pscyhology exists peculiar to adoption? David Brodzinsky is argubably the world's expert on adoption and has authored and co-authored several books on the subject including 'The Psychology Of Adoption' co-authored with Dr Marshall Schechter, a child psychiatrist. The book includes the largest study of adopted children where the authors have brought together a group of leading researchers from various disciplines to explore the complex, interdisciplinary subject of adoption. Also 'The Lifelong Search For Self' based on Erik Erikson's model of psychosocial stages of development.
http://www.aclu-il.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/CV-David-Brodzinsky.pdf
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Psychology-Adoption-David-Brodzinsky/dp/0195082737
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Being-Adopted-Lifelong-Search-Self/dp/0385414021
- I will take it as a given that you are fully conversant with attachment theory. Are you aware of the work of Dr Allan Schore? His research shows a correlation between attachment and suicide. I have linked below relevant presentations:
http://www.allanschore.com/pdf/AllanSchoreCV2012.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ236szRMD4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB51V3fAAvs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTZQhCMy3vU
- Are you aware of the National Scientific Council for the developing child? Their research shows how maternal depression and neglect can adversely affect the developing child. The definition of neglect is inadequate responsiveness to the needs of young children by caregivers. I have linked below relevant material:
http://developingchild.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/The-Science-of-Neglect-The-Persistent-Absence-of-Responsive-Care-Disrupts-the-Developing-Brain.pdf
http://developingchild.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Maternal-Depression-Can-Undermine-Development.pdf
- I understand Jeremy has been assessed by numerous psychologists during his long incarceration and as far as I am aware no professional has identified any mental illness and/or personality disorder.
Surely my comments above are highly relevant to the Bamber family and yet you have not included any aspect in your contribution to 'Killing Mum and Dad'? I would also add that as far as I am aware the psychiatrist that treated June and Sheila privately, Dr Hugh Ferguson, did not at any stage of treating either woman make reference to any aspect of the above. Nor did he discuss any aspect of this with Jeremy's defence therefore jurors were denied full knowledge of the psychological backgrounds of the victims and defendent.
Thank you for taking the time to read my email.
I would welcome any comments you might wish to make.
Yours sincerely
16
Holly,
Why did you write to Kerry Daynes, saying you’d welcome her comments if you didn’t expect her to reply? I can’t imagine why you’d even expect her to read your biased and uneducated thoughts on her professional diagnosis of Jeremy Bamber. You’re not a psychologist, so why would she be interested in what you think?
Kerry Daynes is a leading Consultant Forensic Psychologist — you aren’t. Yet you hoped she’d reply to you...
Here’s her bio:
“Kerry Daynes is a Consultant Forensic Psychologist. She is often consulted in major police investigations and is a trusted government advisor concerning the safe management of high-risk individuals. Kerry's work has been widely reported on in the press. She also provides commentary for international television networks, including The History Channel, Discovery, CBS Reality, The Crime & Investigation Network and BBC International. Kerry is a mental health advocate and is a patron of the National Centre for Domestic Violence and Talking2Minds.”
All the points you were hoping she’d respond to are irrelevant and she’d have known the background — so you were telling her things she already knew. Didn’t you realise that?
Kerry would have known both Sheila and Jeremy were adopted shortly after birth. They weren’t adopted at a much later stage of their lives, when it could have been far more traumatic and more difficult for them to settle in.
All babies who are put up for adoption first go to a children’s home or foster parents’ for a few months, while parents’ wishing to adopt are selected and vetted to decide who’d be most suitable to adopt the child. That’s standard. And the process takes months. I’m not sure why you’ve mentioned it? It has no bearing on anything, and Kerry would have been well aware of that.
Your claim that June suffered a breakdown before adopting Sheila is the first Ive heard of it. Can you supply evidence of that? I’ve heard/seen absolutely nothing to support this claim of yours.
It’s well-known that June had a breakdown when Sheila was around two-years-old. But breakdowns can happen to anyone, and unless you’ve been privy to June’s psychiatric reports you’re in no position (especially as you aren’t qualified) to make judgement on how June’s breakdown came about, nor why.
The fact a nanny was employed to help care for Sheila was both a normal, caring decision, not to mention necessary. They were a wealthy family, and most wealthy families do have nannies. Biological parents’ often employ nannies/au pairs, so why do you consider that worthy of note? Au pairs are always young and usually from the continent, but they’re still vetted by the agencies, and often become an unofficial member of the family. The only reason au pairs often had a time limit of maybe six months or a year, was due to visa restrictions. So your inference that the Bambers’ had “several” points to something being untoward is wrong.
When the Bambers’ adopted Jeremy they would have gone through the same vetting process as before. Despite June’s one incidence of a breakdown, in which she was treated and discharged once fit again, the authorities clearly viewed them as suitable parents, particularly as Sheila was thriving, stable and well-cared for. I’m sure the fact they wanted a sibling for Sheila also proved they were happy with having one daughter, and wanted to add to their family which is natural.
When the Bambers’ sent the children to boarding school, distance was hardly an issue. Some children attend boarding school in different countries, not just different counties. I can’t see why you’re highlighting that? It’s perfectly normal, especially in wealthy families who believe boarding school will give their children the best education and set them up for life. Boarders usually come home each weekend, and of course, throughout all school holidays, and people such as, say, Kate Middleton’s parent’ never deemed it wrong sending their three children to board. Thousands of families do, if they can afford it and it suits everyone. They’ll often spend far better quality time when they come, too.
I don’t see what relevance it is that Sheila met her biological mother three months prior to Jeremy murdering her? That was simply down to the time it took for Sheila to track her down. It’s worth noting Sheila had found her biological uncle before she did her mother and became very close to him. He actually lived not that far from the Bambers’, and he welcomed her with open arms: they met up frequently and spoke on the phone regularly too. But what has this to do with Jeremy killing Sheila?
As for you asking Kerry if she’s conversant with Allan Schore, I suspect she may have laughed at that question. You’re writing to a Consultant Forensic Psychologist, Holly! Both his links and all the other links you sent to Kerry, which she’d know more about than you, were a complete waste of time. For example, you trying to suggest Sheila may have been suicidal because Schore believed he found some correlation between attachment and suicide, is again irrelevant. Because Sheila never committed suicide (Jeremy shot her dead) and if this attachment theory is correct, it also proves it doesn’t affect all children, because if anyone would have felt suicidal it would have been Jeremy — had he truly been innocent of killing his family. So the FACT neither Sheila or Jeremy ever attempted suicide proves Schore’s ideas can’t be relied upon because not all adopted children — or children who’ve had attachment problems — have committed suicide.
You’ve also given wrong information, and Kerry would have known that. Jeremy Bamber was diagnosed a psychopath when on remand. He has a severe Personality Disorder and the psychiatrist said Jeremy was “evil to the core”, a “pathological liar”, and he believed 100% that Jeremy murdered his family.
And I’d say the reason Dr Hugh Ferguson didn’t mention these details you’ve brought up, is that they’re completely irrelevant, of no consequence, and much of what you’re trying to infer stems from the desperate imagination of someone trying to help set a guilty murderer free by bringing up insignificant, groundless waffle.
No wonder Kerry didn’t reply to you...
