Profile of a teenage penpal to famous killers

[The Straight Story]

Profile of a teenage penpal to famous killers

Samantha Spiegel, 19, is a San Francisco art student and penpal to famous serial killers and murderers. According to Spiegel, she was formerly engaged to John Mark Karr, who falsely confessed to killing JonBenét Ramsey. But they've split. Now she's into Richard Allen Davis who murdered Polly Klaas. Of course, Spiegel wouldn't be a real killer groupie if she didn't have a letter from Manson. She wrote him but is still waiting on a reply. SF Weekly has Spiegel's sad story. From SF Weekly (photo by Spiegel's roommate Pamela):

Samantha appears to be the quintessential modern killer groupie -- a hybrid of a media-obsessed attention junkie and a vulnerable young woman sincerely attracted to twisted, violent men.

She craves attention from famous killers, from her friends and relatives, from the world. She wants to be our cherry bomb, and in attaching herself to Karr, then landing on The Today Show, she has figured out a way to do that.

But according to her, all that is secondary. "Getting attention is not my intention," she says. "It's just what comes with what I'm interested in." She has other psychological needs that are seemingly a product of her upbringing and background...

Expressing her admiration isn't the only way she has tried to compel murderers to write her. She routinely visits web forums like Write-a-Murderer, where she has learned how to find out the location and identification numbers of prisoners she intends to contact, as well as what subjects to bring up and what ones to avoid.
.....

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/12/10/profile-of-a-teenage.html

[Ilsa]

1. I'm sure someone on DU is going blame this behavior on

Her mother for breastfeeding her too long.

[alphafemale]

2. Or lack of breastfeeding...lol

[Violet_Crumble]

7. Huh? That's just a really bizarre comment to make, imo n/t

[Raine]

9. I think it relates to this ...

Democratic Underground - Breastfeeding a six year old: horrifying or loving bond? - Democratic Underground
Address:http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9736436&mesg_id=9736436

[Violet_Crumble]

10. Ah, that puts it in context. I think I'll steer clear of this whole thing n/t

[NBachers]

8. Yeah, uh . . . that was my first thought, too . . .

People wrongfully blame too-long-breastfeeding all the time here on DU

[lunatica]

3. Maybe she can't help who she's attracted to, just like the rest of humanity

I imagine somehow during the crucial time of entering pubescence something happened to make her feel attracted to the ultimate violent men. Those who murder for personal satisfaction of some sort. Who knows. Poor girl.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Maybe a Truman Capote Wannabe

("In Cold Blood")

[howaboutme]

5. An obsession with celebrity

The entertainment media industry has purposely created this obsession with celebrity, fame and fortune and it has been most detrimental to the impressionable youth of our nation.

The entertainment industry has had a huge impact on youth and most of it was negative. If any business sector should be held responsible to fund improvements in our US education it should be the sector most responsible for creating the underclass of zombie underachievers and rapsters that know little about anything other than how to reward the media companies that manipulate them.

[freshwest]

6. Any Relationship To Ayn Rand?

Here is the most famous example of a serial killer groupie and why she was the way she was. Her philosophy has been the basis for powerful leaders in government, business and now in the Tea Party movement.

If anyone has the stomach for it, go to the link. This is the title of the story from Alternet and I'm adding the link afterward. Almost everything that we've been attacked with as Democrats comes straight from the mouth of Ayn Rand, with little editing.

Ayn Rand, Hugely Popular Author and Inspiration to Right-Wing Leaders, Was a Big Admirer of Serial Killer

http://www.alternet.org/books/145819/ayn_rand%2C_hugely_popular_author

I don't know if it's permissible to post the Alternet article here. I would like to make it as a thread of its own to make it easier for progressives to understand what we are up against.

[salin]

11. that was a disturbing read...

of course most things related to Ayn Rand, are disturbing reads.

[freshwest]

12. We've been hearing

Her viewpoint for years in sound bites. When you put it all together as the writer did, it makes the picture clear. And extremely dangerous.