Jennifer Thomson's Blog, page 6

How to make a killer - the Night Stalker

Are some people born evil?

The question is often asked whether the monsters who commit evil crimes are the product of nature, i.e they were born that way and nothing could have prevented their evil course, or nurture, i.e their life experiences shaped them into who they were. 

In the case of Richard Ramirez otherwise known as the Night Stalker, the subject of a gripping Netflix documentary outlining how he was caught, it would appear at first that he was born evil incarnate. 
Those who were raped, bludgeoned and stabbed and throttled by one of the most notorious serial killers to have ever scorched this earth, would probably say he was the devil. That the devil came to their homes. 
But on watching the Netflix documentary there were a few throwaway facts about Ramirez that were never fully explored, possibly because no one wanted to make any excuses for such a unapologetically sick killer. 
These facts that would point to Ramirez being the result of nurture, or in his case the lack of any decency in those who should have taken care of him.


Fact 1 - When Ramirez was just 12 years-old, his cousin Miguel (known as Mike) would show him pictures of war crimes he says he committed whilst in the US army. Those pictures are said to have included ones of a dead Vietnamese woman he raped. She'd been decapitated.
Could that be the source of Richard Ramirez's sick compulsion to rape and brutalise not just women but children? 
Could being shown such vile images at a young and impressionable age have led Ramirez to think that sex and violence were intrinsically linked snd resulted in him recreating the kind of brutality and inhumanity his uncle had shown his alleged victims? 
Fact 2 - The very same vile cousin Mike shot his wife in the face and killed her in front of the young Ramirez. 
Again, we have someone young and impressionable seeing someone he looked up to commit cold-blooded murder. A man who would smoke cannabis with the boy. 
Is there a possibility that had he not been shown any photographs or seen his cousin murder his wife, he wouldn't have gone on on to become one of them worst human beings to have ever lived? 
The answers is we will never really know. 
Lessons on breaking into homes 
Fact 3 - After his cousin killed his wife, Ramirez was sent to live with his sister and her husband. Her husband was a peeping tom and used to take Ramirez with him as he peeped on women. 
Is that how the man also known as the Walk-in Killer was able to sneak into his victims homes? Had he not been shown how to creep about undetected by his brother-in-law would he have been able to sneak up on his victims?
The making of a serial killer
If there was ever a set of circumstances that created a serial killer Ramirez's would be almost textbook. And that's before we even looked at his childhood brought up in a home with a violent father.
Whether Ramirez was made and not born a despicable human being, his being dead makes the city he held in the grips of fear, Los Angeles a much safer place. 

Going to the dentist during the pandemic Covid-19

The other night I was sitting having a cup of tea and reading through my latest work in progress when I felt the front of one my teeth break off. 

In a total panic I managed to scoop up the bit of tooth before my dog ate it and put it in a tooth saving jar that had come with a temporary filling kit. 

I had some crazy idea that the dentist would be able to glue the front of my tooth back in. Oh, how he laughed when I said that.

I spent a whole night in terror of the thought of having to 1, visit a dentist, or, 2, being unable to visit a dentist because of the pandemic. 

As terrified as I am of the dentist I don't want to be left in agonizing pain. 

I have a phobia about going to the dentist. The very thought of going fills me with utter terror. When I get there - and that's after I've tried to avoid going by using every trick in the book such as "this isn't really toothache I've got, it's just pain caused by TMJ" and "everytime I go to the dentist my teeth just get worse"- I always look for escape points. 

Yes, I may be that crazy woman you saw running screaming out of the dentist that time with my long hair trailing behind me because I'm running that fast.

Tip - phone the dentist as early as you can. They have very limited appointments because they have to leave a set amount of time between patients.

I got up the next morning and started calling my dentist as soon as it opened not knowing what to expect. 

It took a long time to get through to them and I thought that they might actually be closed and just have an answer machine on. Eventually I did get to speak to someone.

For those of you who need to go to the dentist urgently and don't know what to expect as I did, here is what happened to me. 

Note - I live in Scotland and it might vary because of where you live but the principles will probably the same - 

1. WHEN YOU GET THROUGH YOU WILL BE TRIAGED - most dentists are only seeing emergency patients. They need to make sure it genuinely is an emergency. 

What constitutes an emergency?

When I did my research, I was told that a broken tooth, chipped tooth, abscess in a tooth, pain and uncontrollable bleeding in the mouth are all considered emergencies especially when they are accompanied by extreme pain.

Because I had a chipped tooth I qualified.

Note - you will only be offered an appointment after you have been taking through a series of questions to ensure you do not have covid-19. If you do you will be referred to hospital for treatment.

2. YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO TAKE ANYONE WITH YOU TO THE APPOINTMENT

Whenever I go to the dentist, my mum goes with me as if I'm child which I pretty much am when I hit the dentist chair. Because of the chance of infection I wasn't allowed to take anyone with me. 

3. YOU MUST ARRIVE WEARING A MASK

How not to die like in the horror movies

Like a  lot of writers I love horror movies and tv shows and it's time well spent because I now have tips on how to avoid being killed by a knife-wielding maniac.

CLOSE THOSE SHOWER CURTAINS, FOLKS.


1.In bathrooms, shower curtains should always be left open never closed. I've seen far too many scenes where the killer/Jason/Psycho character is hiding behind it.
MAKE YOUR KEYS FUMBLE PROOF 

2.Don't drop your keys at your front door. No, put them in a key ring and keep it attached to your bag/purse. Less chance of some hooded killer coming up behind you with a knife and grabbing you after you've bent down and slitting your throat.

SAVE A DOG'S LIFE AND THEY'LL SAVE YOURS



3.Adopt a dog. A dog barking will make any potential creepy attacker think twice. Preferably adopt a decent-sized pup like my gorgeous goofball Harley and not one the size of a cat as a knife-wielding maniac is unlikely to be put off by a yapping dog they can tell is too small to bite them on the backside. He or she will save your life.


HAVE A FULLY CHARGED PHONE


4.Dont go anywhere you can't get a mobile phone signal and always make sure you have it charged and or have an emergency charger with you. I've lost count of the number of times a target - usually, a blonde woman in skimpy white t-shirt and shorts has been unable to call for help because of a duff phone. Don't let it be you.


Last of all and probably most importantly,  
5. try and keep fit so you have at least some chance of running away from a madman or woman. Run out of puff and you're dead.

5. try and keep fit so you have at least some chance of runng away from a madman or woman. Run out of puff and you're dead.

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It's been fun... farewell to the Cannibal City book tour

This is the final day of the Cannibal City blog tour and it's been amazing. I'm so sad it has to end.

Thanks to everyone who has taken part. You've been amazing and I appreciate the time you spent reading and writing about Cannibal City.

In truth, I haven't been feeling too well recently mentally and at times I've struggled to get any writing done because of a complete loss of confidence. 

Having this blog tour has given me a boost, so thanks to everyone for getting involved. 

A special thanks to damppebbles.com for doing all the organising.

I'd like to thank today's two stops on the tour for having #CannibalCity and me on on their fantastic blogs.



Here's what @cheekypee27 had to say about Cannibal City -

This is book two in the series and I highly recommend you read book one Vile City first.

There is a serial killer on the loose and DI Waddell is on the case. This series is different in that Waddell gets help from his colleague Stevie- who’s in a coma.

I really liked this storyline. The twists and turns had me glued to my kindle. Can’t wait to read more from this author.


Meanwhile, @colingarrow was kind enough to feature me in his Author spotlight. 

The double tragedy of Mary Duncan, 17, missing since 1976

Police Scotland photo
Of all the cases I have ever read about that are unsolved this is one of the ones that has haunted me. A teenage girl with her whole life ahead of love and a baby daughter she adored at home, Mary Duncan would have lived a full life by now. 
But instead, it seems likely that she was murdered at the young age of 17 in 1976 although her body is still to be found and nobody has been arrested for her murder. 
The young mum who became pregnant at 15 would not have gone quietly. She would have fought to stay with her child. 
I recently read on the news that police were searching the grounds of Vale of Leven hospital in Dunbartonshire in Scotland for the remains of the missing young mum.
The double tragedy of the disappearance of young Mary 44 years ago, is that soon after she went missing, Laura, the young daughter she loved to bits died of natural causes. The bairn hadn't yet reached her second birthday. 
When Mary was last seen she told her family she was going to meet a friend. Of course, being a teenager it has been suggested that Mary upped sticks and left, but this doesn't appear to be in character. 
According to Chief Superindent Calum Young: "Extensive inquiries continue in an attempt to find any indication of where Mary could be. However, due to the fact that she has not been seen or heard from in 44 years, we must consider the option that she may have come to harm."
Looking at pictures of Mary, you see a bright and happy young woman and a loving mum who would never have left her baby. It would have taken something awful to pull her away from her child. 
Hopefully, the police search will finally get some answers so that Mary and her beautiful baby will finally be able to rest in peace together. 
Footnote - Mary and her three sisters'stepfather, Norman Duncan, was jailed for 5 years for historical sexual offences against girls and was spoken to as one of a number of lines of inquiry.

Cannibal City stop 6 on a great adventure

Day 6 of the Cannibal City blog tour and I'm having a fun time

I'd like to thank the today's two stops on the tour for having #CannibalCity and me on on their fantastic blogs.

Here's what they had to say about Cannibal City -
~ @Readandrated ~



~ @ShazzieRimmel ~




Thanks also to damppebbles.com for organising the blog tour.

Day 5 of the Cannibal City blog tour

Day 5 of the Cannibal City blog tour and I'm having a fun time.

I'd like to thank the today's two stops on the tour for having #CannibalCity and me on on their fantastic blogs.

Here's what they had to say about Cannibal City -
~ @MachinSharronm1


~ R_M__Andrews



Thanks also to damppebbles.com for organising the blog tour.

Stop 4 on the Cannibal City tour

Day 4 of the Cannibal City blog tour and I'm having a blast.

I'd like to thank the today's two stops on the tour for having #CannibalCity and me on on their fantastic blogs.

Here's what they had to say about Cannibal City -
~ @runawayirishg ~


~ @booksbybindu ~


Thanks also to damppebbles.com for organising the blog tour.

Day 3 of the Cannibal City blog tour

Day 3 of the Cannibal City blog tour and I'm having a blast.

I'd like to thank the today's two stops on the tour for having #CannibalCity and me on on their fantastic blogs.

~ @puzzlepaws1 ~
Here's what they said about Cannibal City -




~ @_forbookssake ~

Thanks to For Books Sake for publishing an extract and my author bio. 





Thanks also as ever to damppebbles.com for organising the blog tour.

Day 2 of the Cannibal City blog tour

Day 2 of the Cannibal City blog tour and I'm having a blast.

I'd like to thank the today's two stops on the tour for having #CannibalCity and me on on their fantastic blogs.

Here's what they had to say about Cannibal City -
~ @SuzeCM ~






~ @jessicaxbelmont ~


Thanks also to damppebbles.com for organising the blog tour.