Hybristophilia
“n. sexual interest in and attraction to those who commit crimes. In some cases, this may be directed toward people in prison for various types of criminal activities.”
APA Dictionary of Psychology
Hybristophilia (also known as “Bonnie and Clyde syndrome”) may not be something we see often in everyday life, but if you’re a fan of true crime, you’ve more than likely heard tales of women who fall in love with serial killers.
These could be the young women who “fan-girl” over killers as if they are rockstars or the middle-aged women who send them love letters and even end up marrying them whilst they’re on death row.
Dr Abby Bentham, lecturer in English and Theatre at Salford University, has always had a keen interest in true crime and often writes for true crime magazines. She says that women who display hybristophilia are often damaged—they may have experienced abuse in their childhood or in past relationships.
This is backed up by journalist Sheila Isenberg, author of Women Who Love Men Who Kill. In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Isenberg stated that she interviewed over 35 women for her book and that every single one of them had suffered abuse at some point in their lives.
It could also be the case that some women have been unable to find love in conventional ways, or have been spurned by lovers in the past, so they turn to men behind bars.
Dr Bentham says: “Actually, an incarcerated man on death row becomes a very safe and acceptable choice as a love interest.” She notes that a man on death row can’t hurt you (physically or emotionally)—you always know where he is and what he’s doing because he’s stuck in a cell.
Take the case of Doreen Lioy, a successful journalist and magazine editor. Lioy became enamoured with Richard Ramirez (dubbed the “Night Stalker” by the media), a particularly violent serial killer who terrorised parts of California in the 1980s.
Lioy, who hadn’t known Ramirez prior to his arrest, was convinced that he was innocent. Over the course of 11 years, she sent 75 love letters to Ramirez in prison and eventually married him.
People who knew Lioy were shocked. Actor John Stamos knew Lioy through the magazine Tiger Beat. He even credits her with helping to make him famous. Lioy was also friends with Stamos’ mother.
In an exclusive with Entertainment Tonight, Stamos commented that Lioy was a lonely woman. “First of all, to be that lonely that this is the only man on the planet that she can find, I just thought, ‘How horrible.’ This man is the personification of evil — just a monster.”
In some cases, perhaps it’s the killer’s charm that enabled them to commit and get away with so many crimes in the first place. Take Ted Bundy—women still fawn over him today due to his good looks and undeniably charming personality, despite the fact he killed at least 30 women. Bundy was able to commit these atrocities because women found him attractive and charming; they trusted him. Even the law enforcement found themselves a little bit too trusting, and Bundy managed to escape police custody twice.
Whilst Bundy gained many admirers during his time on trial and in prison, the woman he eventually married, Carole Ann Boone, had met him through work prior to him being arrested. Carole, like Doreen Lioy, was convinced of her lover’s innocence.
Boone once told a reporter: “I don’t think Ted belongs in jail. The things in Florida don’t concern me any more than the things out west do.”
Portrayals of serial killers in the media don’t often help to paint an accurate picture. Consider the 2019 biopic Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, in which 33-year-old heart-throb Zac Efron stars as Ted Bundy. If filmmakers want us to believe these men are truly evil, then why are they casting young, good looking actors with huge fan bases?
The hybristophilia phenomenon seems to centre around men as love interests. It’s not often that you hear of female criminals receiving hundreds of love letters or getting married in prison—maybe this is down to the fact there are more men out there committing and being convicted of these violent crimes, or perhaps because women tend to suffer abuse more frequently than men and are therefore more likely to display hybristophilia.
There is definitely an interest in female killers, but this tends to be focused on the “how” of it all—how could a woman commit these acts? We seem to expect the perpetrators of heinous crimes to be men, and we’re surprised when it turns out to be a woman. These women are almost instantly deemed monsters (and rightly so), take Rose West and Myra Hindley.
When the accused women are young, beautiful and openly sexual, the intrigue increases, but so does the demonisation. Take Amanda Knox, twice convicted (and twice acquitted) of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher.
A 2018 study by Jessica Washak looked at how women are treated in the media during high-profile criminal cases. Washak noted that most of the media attention during the Meredith Kercher case was aimed at Knox, not the two men also accused of the murder, and Kercher herself was all but forgotten.
The media constantly pointed to Knox’s attractiveness (her press nickname was “Foxy Knoxy”), but people didn’t fawn over her the same way they do with males on trial. Washak theorised that Knox’s pale hair and wide blue eyes (which made her seem innocent), paralleled with her open sexuality—and the fact that the main motive presented by the prosecution was a sexual one—was the reason she garnered so much media attention. Washak concludes that this is all to do with gender identity: “Those who act in ways not coded to their biological sex are punished”.
Although we may be quick to judge women with hybristophilia, it is important to note that this is often a deep-rooted psychological issue and many of these women truly believe the men of their affections are innocent.
The Female Obsession with True Crime 