How Family Affects Criminal Behavior: Hatred Murders Report

Attackers often perpetrate murders and other violent crimes against their family members. Typically, this is due to unhealthy family relationships that can cause the traumatized psyche of the killers. Most offenders’ families are incomplete or have abnormal family relationships. If parents do not provide a proper upbringing for their children, it may cause a shadow and trauma to the child’s health, which leads to the development of criminal psychology. This paper aims to discuss whether family influences can cause a person’s criminal psychology and criminal behavior.

For this report, research was done to determine facts about criminal psychology and criminal behavior caused by family reasons. The report presents the news about hatred murders, which gives a reason to think about criminal behavior motivations. The first news article written by Harriet Sokmensuer for People magazine features a family killed by a criminal, who may have felt like an outsider to this family.

Tecate Jones, 26, killed his girlfriend, D’Zondria D. Wallace, 30, and two of her children: 11-year-old son Ja Corby and 14-year-old daughter La Porsha. According to Harriet Sokmensuer, the boy and his sister did not live in the mother’s original family, which inspired the conflict between the mother and her boyfriend, which led to the tragedy (Sokmensuer, para. 7). This case shows how the family environment led to criminal behavior.

Another news article written by Anna Sturla for CNN tells the story of 17-year-old Raymond Childs III, an Indianapolis teenager charged with six counts of murder for shooting his family members and a pregnant woman, his brother’s girlfriend. Childs allegedly shot his brother Elijah and then shot his father, Raymond Childs Jr., and stepmother Kezzy Childs. The police also found the criminal’s 13-year-old sister, who was killed; Elijah’s pregnant girlfriend, Kiara Hawkins, died in the hospital; Raymond’s second brother managed to escape.

Sturla emphasizes that the boy showed criminal behavior after a family conflict with his father (Sturla, para. 7). Raymond went for a walk, and upon his return, his father scolded him for leaving the house without permission. The conversation probably caused an outburst and an act of aggression against the teenager’s family. This case shows that the boy’s criminal behavior is closely related to his family conflicts. It can be assumed that Raymond did not feel like a part of the family or that teenager was a victim of psychological abuse.

Another tragedy occurred in Oklahoma, where a relative shot a man and his five children. According to Jessica Schladebeck, a writer for the New York Daily News, the shooting occurred due to a domestic violence incident (Schladebeck, para. 4). The perpetrator also shot at a woman who was later found in the house, and her condition remains unstable. The police have no more details to disclose the reasons for the incident. However, the killing was caused by the conflict between family members. This criminal case shows how terrible the crimes caused by family conflicts are. Although the shooter was not a close relative, his family ties with the victims provoked his violence. This incident emphasizes the importance of healthy communication with family members, as mental instability is often the cause of such killings.

The Toronto Star reports that 72-year-old Jing Zhang has been shot dead in North York, and police blamed 50-year-old Jingfu Luo for his murder. According to Akrit Michael and Cheyenne Bholla, writers for Toronto Star, the police found that this was not an ordinary murder crime but a “family-related” assassination (Michael and Bholla, para. 5). Sadly, it looks like “family-related” cases happen all the time. Society should pay more attention to family psychology and protect those who become victims of family abuse since an aggressive environment may lead to violence in the future.

Finally, Global News published a news article saying that the Canadian government included far-right extremist group Proud Boys to the list of terrorist organizations. As a rule, such groups involve young men who sympathize with the ideology of violence. Stewart Bell, a writer for Global News, mentions that the Proud Boys “allegedly played a key role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol” (Bell, para. 5). Today, there are more and more youth groups determined to commit crimes. In addition to social problems such as unemployment and low living standards, family reasons can indirectly cause aggressive behavior in young men. Noteworthy, young people who participate in such antagonistic formations do not have family support and feel like ‘lone wolves,’ who ‘owe nothing to anyone.’

Thus, it was discussed whether family influences cause criminal psychology and criminal behavior. According to the news articles included in the report, family conflicts lead to criminal behavior. Family ties can be a powerful motivator for difficult emotional experiences that lead to outbursts of aggression and violence. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds can join extremist groups to vent their aggression. In this regard, society should pay more attention to helping victims of family abuse. It is also necessary to take psychological abuse more seriously, defining it as a reason for parental rights deprivation.

Works Cited

Bell, S. “Proud Boys Added to Canada’s List of Terrorist Groups.” Global News. 2021. Web.

Michael, A., and Bholla, C. “Police Make Arrest in ‘Family-Related’ North York Triple Stabbing that Killed 72-Year-Old Man.” Toronto Star. 2020. Web.

Schladebeck, J. “One Man, Five Children Allegedly Killed by Relative in Oklahoma Shooting.” New York Daily News. 2021. Web.

Sokmensuer, H. “Boy, 11, Who Was Shot with Mom and Sister, Named Mom’s Boyfriend as Suspect Before He Died.” People Magazine. 2021. Web.

Sturla, A. “Indianapolis Teen Charged with Six Counts of Murder for Allegedly Shooting Pregnant Woman and His Family Members.” CNN. 2021. Web.