Found on AskReddit.
1. He tortured any living thing he got his hands on, including me.
“There were a million red flags. Abusing me, abusing his mother, accusing me of cheating when I wasn’t allowed to leave the house, have a phone, or talk to anyone, killing every animal he’d bring home because he thought it was funny. I had woken up to animal entrails strewn across the kitchen multiple times.
He tortured any living thing he got his hands on, including me.
There were a few times where he had taken his .45, pointed it at me, and told me that I had to guess if it was loaded or not. It always was. He’d pull the trigger back slightly while it was aimed at me and then point it somewhere in the house and pull it fully, firing the bullet. Then he’d laugh and tell me how lucky I was to still be alive and that I wouldn’t be if it wasn’t for him.”
2. A flat-out creepy-as-fuck look in his eyes.
“Crime: Young man murdered then raped 5yo he was baby sitting.
Red Flags: As a child had fits of rage for no apparent reason, killed and dismembered small animals, punched a tree till he broke his arm, and a flat-out creepy-as-fuck look in his eyes. Major drug and alcohol problems as a young adult. Sad part is, he was physically and sexually abused as an infant before he was adopted at the age of 3. The damage had been done.”
3. He was a really nice guy but I remember seeing him maybe once or twice a year just snap and go to this other place in his head.
Went to high school with a guy who stabbed a guy in the head and killed him. He was a really nice guy but I remember seeing him maybe once or twice a year just snap and go to this other place in his head. Usually a good guy, but there was a psycho in there somewhere that was trying to get out.
4. My mother loved to beat the shit out of people, mostly me.
I am pretty certain my mother killed my grandmother. The question I have was it on purpose or an accident. Grandma had dementia and my narcissistic mother took her in for the glory and sympathy a caregiver gets and of course, access to her bank account. Within 12 hours of my Gramma’s death, my mother had her dogs put down, within 24, had paid off her house, booked a 10-day cruise, and within 36 hours had bought a gigantic new SUV. I was the first person there. I saw everything. Could I prove any of it? Nope, just know that my mother loved to beat the shit out of people, mostly me. If she would admit it was an accident, she might be functioning better than she is. Oh, in the hospital she kept saying that her dog couldn’t testify.
5. I would have never thought of my father as a murderer. He was the best dad a child could have (it seemed).
“My dad shot my mom and himself when I was outside in the car. Five times with a rifle to her face, once with a handgun to himself.
I had a whistling in my ears I remember so vividly. It was so silent it was deafening, if that makes sense. It was just so…silent with this high-pitched whistle. I remember covering my ears and screaming to block it out. It would come and go. I sat in that car for what seemed like decades. It was really about two to three hours.
Whenever I get that whistle in my ears, I immediately feel like something is bad happening to my kids or wife. There isn’t much else that makes me think of it.
I was six.
I would have never thought of my father as a murderer. He was the best dad a child could have (it seemed). I remember two instances of him trying to hurt my mother, and at the time it was…normal? But now I realize something was wrong.
I know he killed out of so-called love and jealousy, and sorry to get off-topic, but I wish I had parents. Writing this makes me sad.”
6. I knew my cousin would eventually kill somebody.
“I knew my cousin would eventually kill somebody, he started running with the Latin Kings when he was a kid and was always into some illegal shit. He ended up killing a cop when he was pulled over with a pound of meth, shot him 4 times killing him on the spot, they caught up to him 8 hours later and shot him 8 times and is now doing life in Oak Park prison.”
7. He was, idk, twitchy?
“A high school acquaintance’s dad came home one day and killed his wife, then shot himself on the front lawn. I heard the gunshots. I had met the dad maybe once or twice prior and you could tell he just wasn’t all there. He was, idk, twitchy? Like when he was contemplating something his eyes would bug out of his head and dart all over the room instead of just staring off into space like the majority of people do. When you asked him a question it would be like you were startling him. He acted a lot like a tweaker but we knew he didn’t do drugs.
Thinking back on it now, the warning signs were all there. The mom/wife was always quiet, never made eye contact with anyone. The kids lied constantly about stupid stuff at school just to get someone to pay attention to them for a little bit. From what I’ve heard they’re doing better now.”
8. Whenever you woke her up or surprised her, she would have her fists balled and be in a fight stance.
“My aunt killed three people. Two were strangers that tried to rape her, with one being successful, and the other was her brother. She was always super-aggressive and had strong views when it came to violence against people. For example, she used to always say she didn’t understand why people fight or are surprised when one dies, because it’s an automatic life or death scenario and one has to win. She also had tics, like whenever you woke her up or surprised her, she would have her fists balled and be in a fight stance. One time, she sucker punched me with the force of the gods and that was the last time I woke her up within six feet. I used to think her views on death were a bit funny, because she was so nonchalant and even got kinda pissy when people asked her why she wasn’t emotional after some funerals of close friends and relatives.”
9. I was actually happy he was going to be my stepdad.
“My mother was engaged to serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells aka The Coast to Coast Killer. He was in jail for rape but was the nicest guy. I was actually happy he was going to be my stepdad. His relationship with my mother didn’t work out as he was cheating on her. We didn’t find out until years later that he was a murderer; it was a complete shock to see him on America’s Most Wanted. Even more of a shock when he was caught and started confessing to various murders across the country. He was executed in 2014.”
10. He just seemed evil. He was a typical asshole jock-type with a scoop of sadism on top.
“A guy I knew in high school ripped out someone’s eyes using his bare hands after knocking them unconscious. That is worse than shooting someone in a moment of rage in my opinion. He was exactly the kind of person you would expect to do something like that though. He just seemed evil. He was a typical asshole jock-type with a scoop of sadism on top. I would describe his personality like the bully in A Christmas Story.”
11. The truth is, nobody could tell. There was no telling sign. As a kid, nothing seemed off about him.
“My grandfather died and my grandmother remarried a pretty great guy, Ron. Ron had a brother, Robert.
Ron and my grandmother lived in Louisiana and we’d frequently drive down there to visit them for Thanksgiving. My father, Ron, and Robert would go duck hunting and we’d dig up some crayfish.
We played hide and seek with Robert for a while while dinner was being cooked. I sat and talked with him about my life view as an 11-year-old. We ate dinner, drove back home, no issues.
During the same time period, he picked up a drifter, killed her, and threw her body off a bridge. He eventually was caught and the family was devastated. They tried him for two murders, but he confessed to as many as 48. Reading through his confessions and the case is terrifying. There were times he came to visit while we all lived in Colorado Springs and he killed people. He even sent letters to the police.
The truth is, nobody could tell. There was no telling sign. As a kid, nothing seemed off about him. Even his own brother was shocked.
His name is Robert Charles Browne if you want to look him up.”
12. He was always a crazy son of a bitch from the stories I’ve heard, from making homemade bombs to wrecking multiple vehicles throughout high school.
“My uncle has PTSD from the Gulf War. My entire family is pretty sure he killed one of his ex-girlfriends and buried her in the desert. He was always a crazy son of a bitch from the stories I’ve heard, from making homemade bombs to wrecking multiple vehicles throughout high school. I have another uncle that I hung out with a couple times in high school. Very cool guy, and he’s gay. The crazy uncle gave me so much shit for visiting the gay one, telling me that I’m gonna end up getting raped and become like him. I told him that he’s just an uncultured asshole, which I’m pretty sure he wanted to kill me right there. He has hurt my grandpa in the past, almost ripping an ear off. My grandma thinks it’s her fault that he is the way he is, and she’d lose her mind if he ever got sent to prison for life. After getting caught by the Philippines’ Most Wanted and spending 3 years in prison, he found Jesus and is now a good little Christian man. He still bashes me for hanging out with gay people, but I mostly pity him.”
13. He got into drugs very early and showed signs of psychosis as early as his late teens after he began using PCP.
“My cousin always had problems. His mother abandoned him for several years when he was young and his father was old school ‘spare the rod, spoil the child’ in a borderline abusive way. He got into drugs very early and showed signs of psychosis as early as his late teens after he began using PCP. He began to talk about scenarios like he was the reincarnation of our dead grandfather’s soul and he was going to come ‘collect’ our still-living grandmother. When he began doing meth he stole from his mother and stepfather. When I was 14 he gave me acid and told me it was just like weed (I was a sheltered kid). He was never violent, but super inappropriate with boundaries like breaking into family members’ houses without asking while they weren’t home and just chilling there and other strange things like that. He rarely held down a job for more than a few months.
He cleaned up, had a baby, and got some healthcare a year or two back. We thought he was doing better, but he relapsed on meth and shot into a car with 6 people in it. He killed one woman and injured 3.”
14. She would frequently talk about the apocalypse and various ways to kill herself, which definitely freaked me out.
“Not a relative, but I was an acquaintance of the victim and met their murderer several times. This girl I went to high school with always seemed nice and was super talented with the violin (this was an a performing arts school). We were never really friends, but I was close to a good friend of hers.
Her mother was extremely psychotic and had just divorced her husband. She would frequently talk about the apocalypse and various ways to kill herself, which definitely freaked me out. The mother didn’t seem to be super controlling or strict, but she was buying and hoarding pain medication. The one memory that really stands out to me is how she told my friend’s mother that she was planning on killing herself and her children to spite her husband. When Christmas break was over I heard about how she took a rifle and shot the girl, her brother, and herself… I was not surprised, but upset that none of us ever spoke up about the warning signs.”
15. He would only talk to coaches with biblical names, would only wear white, and even came out to a teammate that he believed he was the Messiah.
“I went to high school and played football with a guy who randomly killed a guy with a machete. He was honestly one of the nicest people I’ve met and really funny and genuine. He did have an odd home life. He lived with adopted parents but still had a relationship with his mom, who lived nearby. All of a sudden one day, she takes him back into custody and he doesn’t go to school with us anymore. This dude was insanely good at football, like NFL good. He played at Texas A&M for two seasons before freaking out, and running away from campus and dropping out of school. That was when things started getting weird. He then was in and out of jail for various charges, relating to drugs, grand theft auto, domestic disturbance. I remember one day I read an article in which his mom was saying how he was trying to play football again. Then about a year later, the next article I read said he randomly murdered a guy with a machete on a jogging trail and called the police on himself. He was just recently found unable to stand trial and is undergoing psychiatric treatment….Yes, there is a lot more to this story. There is an article that talks about how when he was at Texas A&M he would only talk to coaches with biblical names, would only wear white, and even came out to a teammate that he believed he was the Messiah.”
16. He was drunk most of the time and had a vicious temper when it came to his family only.
“Not a relative, but someone I knew well. I never in a million years believed he would be capable of what he did. One night he fought a man in front of two children (both under 5) and stabbed the guy in the chest and neck before gouging out his eyes. He then ran out of the house and broke into a neighbor’s covered in blood screaming about how he had killed someone. For me, in hindsight, I would say he was troubled. He was drunk most of the time and had a vicious temper when it came to his family only…but other than that, nothing. He was just a teenage boy, barely 18 when it happened.”
17. They took turns being the aggressor in their arguments, but I never suspected that he would murder her. They also had really loud sex.
“My uncle murdered his wife while the kids were in the house. He shot her, cut her in half, then killed himself. There were a few signs. Every time I visited them, you could tell he was having trouble with my aunt. They were always so passive-aggressive with each other. They took turns being the aggressor in their arguments, but I never suspected that he would murder her. They also had really loud sex. I found out later they were into BDSM, but surprisingly, he was usually the submissive one according to their friends.”
18. He used to be suicidal and was kind of a ‘creepy’ guy, but that was kind of his sense of humor.
“Not a relative, but one of my best friends murdered a fellow employee a few months ago. He was a really fun guy to talk to and in my opinion he was a good person. That was, until he lost his job due to a harassment charge. He used to be suicidal and was kind of a ‘creepy’ guy, but that was kind of his sense of humor. After he lost his job, he became depressed and angry, but he put up a front and said that he was OK. The whole time he was planning what he would do next. He used fellow employees to figure out his victim’s schedule and waited by her car and ambushed her. He was caught and is in jail now. Seemed to be a planned act of rage.”
19. He wasn’t cocky or narcissistic and I honestly never got a single red flag from him all of our childhood.
“My cousin killed three guys. Got into a fight with two guys at a bar and somehow managed to kill both of them. They were all drunk and I know he served time in prison for it. About 2 years after he got out, he couldn’t get a job and resorted to thieving. He shot a cop who was trying to arrest/stop him from stealing from a train depot.
Growing up, we were real close. He was a normal kid, never hurt animals, never reveled in doing bad things. He wasn’t a bully at school, he didn’t throw his weight around. He wasn’t cocky or narcissistic and I honestly never got a single red flag from him all of our childhood.
Once we grew up, we drifted apart, but we kept in touch and I never had any bad memories of him. He liked Lost and thought it was a fun show. His wife was nice and was OBSESSED with Lost and my cousin. I went over there multiple times and they seemed very functional. I never once felt any signs that things were off. They had healthy and nice kids together.
The bar fight incident, as far as I know, was a disagreement between three drunk people that ended unfortunately. He told me, after getting out, that it was an accident and he never meant to hurt anyone like that. He was just defending himself. But I noticed after getting out that things had changed in him. He wasn’t mean or violent, but no one wanted to hire him.
He had issues with jobs and I know his home life WAS a bit stressful because of it. His wife and kids still loved him, they didn’t divorce and I still stand by that they were a good couple and truly loved each other.
I think the first two guys was just a mistake. I think the third guy was an unfortunate event that culminated when he couldn’t find a job or make money and wasn’t going to risk being caught again. I think he made a decision where it was his life going back to jail or the officer who had seen him and was trying to apprehend him.”
20. There weren’t any real red flags, but his family did have some mental illness in their history.
“Cousin of mine shot his father 12 times and his mother once in the head. He then told his younger brother to clean up the blood and to write messages on the wall like, ‘Sorry, my first kill was clumsy’ and other chilling stuff. The two of them then went to an anime convention in Oakland and acted like nothing happened. This happened last week. There weren’t any real red flags, but his family did have some mental illness in their history, on top of the fact that the father was not OK with his son being gay, I guess he just snapped.”
21. I am quite literally sick to my stomach just thinking about it.
“My half brother, we’ll call him M, killed his 6-week-old son. He’s currently sitting in prison awaiting trial for 1st degree murder. The autopsy revealed that the baby had multiple bone fractures in various stages of healing. He was also severely malnourished and underweight. M admitted to police that he was overtired from staying up late playing video games, and when the baby started crying he lost his temper. He explicitly told the police what he had done to his son. I won’t describe it here because, frankly, it’s utterly horrifying. I am quite literally sick to my stomach just thinking about it.
I hadn’t seen or talked to M in years, so I can’t say that I noticed any red flags recently. But I do know that our father was extremely mentally and physically abusive. I watched him beat my brother with a metal studded belt. I saw him throw a kitten against the wall, killing it, in a fit of rage. My parents split up when I was about 3 and my mother had custody, so I didn’t have to deal with the abuse as much as my brothers did (they’re my father’s children with another woman).
So I suppose the cycle of abuse continued, and M is looking at spending the rest of his life in prison. I never met his son, but I cried for days after hearing about it. I wondered if things might have turned out differently if I had maintained contact, if I could have helped him cope with being a new parent, and maybe the baby might still be alive. It kills me to know that, during his whole life, all this kid knew was fear and pain.”
22. My father has always shown sociopathic tendencies; he kind of reminds me of a kid around 8 years old stuck inside a 44-year-old’s body.
“I watched my father behead a man with a knife. It was over drugs. Father had a good lawyer and got 3 years, I think it was some kind of self-defense claim, but it was total bullshit. I watched that man lay sprawled on the ground face down while the serrated edge of the knife carved through his skin like paper and I heard his screams and gasps of pain. I still have vivid nightmares about it. As for red flags, my father has always shown sociopathic tendencies; he kind of reminds me of a kid around 8 years old stuck inside a 44-year-old’s body. I cut contact with him a few years ago when the memories resurfaced, I was only 4 when I saw it happen, and his mother confirmed it to me. Thankfully, my mother split with him when I was a year and a half, but I don’t think I was supposed to be there, my grandma probably let me go with him while I was being babysat.”
23. I wouldn’t say there were huge red flags…but he would have my cousins and aunt steal from us whenever they would visit.
“I talked about this yesterday, but my uncle shot a man and had his children help drag the body to the mud so the pigs could eat it.
I wouldn’t say there were huge red flags…but he would have my cousins and aunt steal from us whenever they would visit. That would probably be a sign that his wife and children were too afraid to say no to him?
With that said, he was super nice to us and it was pretty shocking to find out what he did….
Why did he do it? The man kept hitting on my aunt and telling her ‘I’m going to kill your husband. You’ll be mine.’
Is he in jail? No, he’s on the run. The man he killed was an illegal immigrant which, I think, made it difficult for police to pursue the case or if people even reported the man missing.
I’m not sure if the pigs ate him or not, I would assume so since I don’t THINK a body was ever found.
He didn’t work in a pig farm. It was a chicken farm in the remote parts of Georgia. He just happened to have pigs and a cow.”
24. I asked further questions regarding bedwetting, arson, and hurting small animals (triangle of sociopathy). He was able to confirm that he had exhibited all three behaviors.
“A kid I went to school with was hired by a woman and her boyfriend to kill her ex-husband who was taking her to court. What ended up happening was he showed up and there were two people there. He executed both. His friend, the woman’s boyfriend, was there as well. He panicked and gave his friend up to the police eventually. I work with his uncle and he said at every family event his nephew barely spoke and had his own desk to sit at. I asked further questions regarding bedwetting, arson, and hurting small animals (triangle of sociopathy). He was able to confirm that he had exhibited all three behaviors. He’s currently serving 70 years or so.”
25. The red flags were he was a mean-ass dude
“My Granduncle, it was a revenge type murder, never was caught but we all know he did it. Guy got in a bar fight with his friend and stabbed him to death and one week later the guy’s body is found. The red flags were he was a mean-ass dude. Did not like him, my dad told me about how afraid he was to have sleepovers with his cousins because of him, and his cousins treat my grandfather like he’s their dad. One particular sorry is when the family dog broke his leg or something he pulled out a rifle and shot it in front of my whole family.”
26. What I remember vividly is how needy she was during camp. Always needed you to smile or wave back at her.
“Became pen pals with a bunk mate from camp. She stopped writing after a while. Turns out she butchered grandma in her sleep and had to go to juvie hall. What I remember vividly is how needy she was during camp. Always needed you to smile or wave back at her. Guess her grandma didn’t feel like it one day.”
27. My bipolar/schizophrenic aunt started going to a new church…
“When my bipolar/schizophrenic aunt started going to a new church and they convinced her that God will fix everything and she doesn’t need medication so she stopped taking her meds. Shortly after that she killed her retarded sister in her sleep with an icepick because she thought she was the Antichrist.”
28. The guy that murdered my best friend had tons of red flags. But he made himself appear like the proper gentlemen to everyone on the outside.
“The guy that murdered my best friend had tons of red flags. But he made himself appear like the proper gentlemen to everyone on the outside. But behind closed doors, he would choke his wife and beat her while yelling, “quit trying to choke me! Stop hurting me!” He would beat his wife but then say she was lying about it and play the victim to everyone else.
The day after he killed my best friend and put his wife in ICU in critical condition, I kept hearing how everyone was shocked he did it because he was so nice and polite. Y’know, a good old boy. I wanted to scream.”
29. No red flags or signs, they were just going through a divorce and had an argument.
“Not a relative of mine, but my boyfriend’s dad murdered his mom 10 years ago while my boyfriend and his brother were in the home.
No red flags or signs, they were just going through a divorce and had an argument. She stabbed him with a kitchen knife, and he snapped and killed her with a Samurai sword that they had on display in the home.
My boyfriend and his brother don’t blame or hate their dad. They believe both parents were in the wrong. Ultimately, his dad didn’t get charged for murder. He got a manslaughter charge, I believe. He is getting out this year after serving 10 years. LINK and LINK.”
30. There were no red flags beforehand.
“My brother was involved in a murder and just finished his sentence last year. He acquired an addiction to meth around the time he turned 30; by that time he had owned a home, multiple vehicles, had a very successful life, but you know the story and he lost everything. There were no red flags beforehand, but it was a spur of the moment thing so I guess there might not be, but from the time of the murder until he was arrested he was a different man. You could tell something inside him snapped; the tenuous grip he had on reality withered away to nothing and he was as ‘far out there’ as I’ve ever seen anyone (it should be worth noting that none of us knew anything about the murder until after he was arrested, which was a little over a year after the murder took place). I’m glad he was arrested and sentenced to do serious time because it saved his life; at the pace he was on I doubt he would’ve lasted another six months.”
31. Warning signs were her having bruises and the occasional broken bone.
“My dad’s maternal grandmother shot her husband in the forehead with a .22 long before I was born. Warning signs were her having bruises and the occasional broken bone. Apparently one day she was just waiting with the gun for him to get home all shit-faced and beady. Fun fact, the round didn’t fully penetrate for whatever reason, so he ended up being in the hospital for a couple of days before he finally died. She ended up spending some time in the funny farm and ended up babysitting me when I was 3 or 4 years old. Upon asking my dad if that didn’t seem a little weird to him, he replied ‘Nah, she loved you to death, she wasn’t gonna hurt you…and nobody else was going to either,’ with a weird little cackle afterwards.”
32. He was extremely abusive on a daily basis.
“My ex-boyfriend is now in prison for manslaughter.
Long story short, I was 18 years old and 32 weeks pregnant. My ex came home drunk, punched and kicked me in the stomach for over half an hour, then passed out upstairs. (He was extremely abusive on a daily basis.) I went to the hospital because I was bleeding. I had an emergency C-section and had a little girl. She had brain hemorrhaging, couldn’t breathe on her own, and had multiple broken bones. They said my daughter wouldn’t survive 20 minutes, but she lived for 8 days.
My ex was found hiding out with a friend and was arrested and charged with manslaughter.
April 22nd would have been my daughter’s 6th birthday.
Yesterday (April 30th) was the 6-year anniversary of her death.
She may not have been here long, but I miss her every day.”
33. He would go days at a time not speaking to anyone and doing nothing but drinking alone
“My paternal grandparents died in a murder-suicide. My grandfather shot my grandmother in their kitchen and then went outside and hung himself on a tree, and my father discovered them when he got home from school.
This all happened before I was born and my father’s side of the family wasn’t involved in my life until I was an adult (my mom divorced him when I was little and I never met him/talked to him, didn’t hear from my half-siblings and other people on that side until I was 18). I first heard about this from my mother when I was probably about 13, she told me that my father told her this but that she didn’t know whether or not it was true (my dad, apparently, was a compulsive liar) but when I got in touch with my half-sibling and my father’s siblings later on they confirmed it. This happened in the late 1950s. According to them my grandfather was always a very moody person. He would go days at a time not speaking to anyone and doing nothing but drinking alone, he hated it when anyone would try to bother him or talk to him. My grandmother was very meek, a bit of a shut-in, and while she was more affectionate to the family than my grandfather she also pretty much kept to herself and didn’t do anything more than she had to for the kids. My father’s siblings told me that there was domestic violence in their relationship, that the most emotion they ever saw my grandfather show was when he was screaming at/hitting my grandmother, that she would try to get him to eat dinner or ask him for money to go grocery shopping or something small and he’d just snap, grab her and shake her, and start screaming at her about why she wouldn’t just leave him alone.
The day this happened my father’s siblings told me was very strange. My grandfather joined them for breakfast before it was time for them to go to school which was totally odd because he never ate meals with them and they remember very specifically that he thanked my grandmother when she put his plate down and then walked with them to the bus stop and watched them get on the bus, waving at them as it left. They’ve told me that that’s what they remember the most about that day, how nice and attentive he was, because it was so out of the ordinary.
They’ve all said that they think he already knew what he was going to do that morning when they left for school. One of my father’s sisters has told me that it wasn’t even shocking that he would kill himself or their mother and that the only thing surprising about it was that she never thought he’d shoot her (there was apparently some confusion about it because none of them even knew that he owned a gun), and that she always thought he’d end up strangling her to death or going too far while he was shaking her and ‘bash her head into a wall or something’.”
34. He was universally liked in school.
“The valedictorian of my graduating high school class ended up murdering his wife. I sat next to him in a few classes too. Talked to him often. He was universally liked in school. Not an athlete but incredibly smart. Rarely study and got straight A’s, he would do his homework in the library at lunch so he wouldn’t have to do much of anything at home. He could have gone to post-secondary for literally anything. Found God and became a pastor. That’s what put it on a whole new level. Long story short, he was having an emotional affair with a member of his congregation/former member of his congregation. He did not want to ‘sin’ so decided best course of action was to kill his pregnant wife. He experimented at least once with a smoothie laced with lorazepam I believe it was. It didn’t kill her so he did it again and put her/had her take a bath while she was loopy. Then went for a run and when he came back she had drowned. We are from a small town so it was big news. Extremely shocking when it happened. Literally no warning signs that I saw growing up. They could not prove beyond a doubt he did it so he got manslaughter. I believe 8 years that he is appealing currently. Really fucked up considering there were searches on his computer for ‘how much lorezepam’ is needed to kill someone’ (I am paraphrasing that search. I’ll try and find a link to the article.
35. One, who I love dearly, underwent a serious mental health episode and begged to be locked up the day before they killed someone.
“I know a few. Wildly differing circumstances. One, who I love dearly, underwent a serious mental health episode and begged to be locked up the day before they killed someone. Before and since they’re one of the sweetest, noblest people I’ve ever known and I trust them with my life, quite literally, despite fitting the profile of their victim almost exactly.
Another, also mental illness but I feel no pity for and should never be released, showed all the classic psycho warning signs for years and had a long history of violent offences.
Another was a spoilt rich girl who got on the drugs and decided to play gangster. Lots have no warning signs apart from their lives becoming chaotic enough for that sort of thing to happen. If not for specific sets of circumstances, most would never have killed anyone.
Very few people who kill once go on to become serial killers. Very few people who kill once get any enjoyment out of it. A group of murderers sitting around having coffee looks no different to any other group doing the same thing. It never ceases to amuse me the way people seem to think it takes a special kind of person to kill. It only takes the right conditions for us all to be capable.” 
