The two female killers who left me stunned

MOST killers are men, but these two women showed that it’s possible for women to commit acts of true evil, writes Tim Watson-Munro in an extract from his new book.

ALTHOUGH the majority of people in custody are males, it would be naive to assume that dark, psychopathic crime is the sole province of men.

Numerous studies attest to the reality that men far and away exceed women when it comes to homicide. Although females comprise approximately 50 per cent of the population in any community, they account for less than 20 per cent when it comes to killing others. For some these may be a one-off event. In comparison so-called black widow killers, if given the opportunity, kill men in a ruthless and repeated manner. The fact that women could behave in this manner to many seems counterintuitive and, consequently, they hold a special fascination for crime aficionados. I have assessed many deeply troubled women who have been charged and convicted of crimes involving the murder of their children and/or killing their partners.

An analysis of the literature suggests that most black widows are driven by greed. They are bad and as the planning and lack of remorse in their cases reflects, they are best described as psychopaths.

I suspect that with some there is a degree of sexual arousal associated with their offending behaviour. There again appears to be a strong fusion between high libido, the need for power and the release of hatred and tension through killing in a brutal manner. Many offenders go to great lengths to hide their crimes, which suggests premeditation, planning and the fact that they are well oriented in time, place and person. In short they are not mad.

In recent years there was the case of Robyn Lindholm, invariably described in the press as a femme fatale and a black widow, who manipulated men to do her bidding, including at least one murder.

I have assessed Robyn and she maintains her innocence. Sadly for her, the jury disagreed and in late 2015 convicted her of murder. The victim was her former partner. In 2006, she was charged with the murder of another former partner and further investigations are occurring concerning the disappearance of another, a colleague and stripper, in 1995. At one point she had dated another former client of mine, the late ‘Black Prince’, Alphonse Gangitano.

The facts in the case were horrendous. The deceased was ambushed at his apartment and then bashed by Lindholm’s lover and an accomplice. The execution was brutal. Bashed with a baseball bat, stabbed and choked, the end result was never in doubt. The corpse was then placed in the boot of a car and taken to a remote rural setting. Lindholm observed the process, including the disposal of the cadaver by wedging it between boulders and then covering the makeshift grave with foliage and rocks.

Robyn Lindholm is facing new murder charges after her 2015 conviction. (Pic: Jon Hargest)

The notorious Alphonse Gangitano once dated Robyn Lindholm. (Pic: Ben Swinnerton)

The sexual excitement for her was too much to contain. Before driving to meet up with the accomplice for celebratory drinks at a local hotel, she and her lover enjoyed heightened carnal passion in the adjacent bushes. During the trial, it was claimed that prior to seducing the offender, Lindholm had approached a number of former lovers to do the job. She used sex as a weapon and for her gormless lover it was too much to resist. By that stage he’d abandoned his family and had become a willing participant — it was a fatal blend of butane-charged f..king and extraordinary, unquestioning stupidity. Even after being charged while languishing in a cell, the offender attempted to maintain the relationship through writing to Lindholm — sugary, pathetic prose in the hand of an illiterate.

Lindholm was sentenced to 25 years. Subject to the outcome of new proceedings, she may well face the prospect of never being released.

So, what is the psychology behind this type of offence? An analysis of other femme fatale offenders suggests common themes of rage, greed and revenge. In Lindholm’s case, it was alleged there had been a property dispute and that the deceased had dumped her. Ironically, his relationship with her started while she was involved with an underworld figure, who eventually disappeared. It’s extraordinary that the deceased didn’t see it coming. It is, however, the clear mark of the psychopath to use charm, sexual beguilement and any other tools in their repertoire to achieve their end. They have an uncanny capacity to tune in to the vulnerabilities of their victim. In this case, sex appears to have been the weapon of choice.

Lindholm was also highly intelligent and well educated. Her family put her through a leading private school and she commenced a degree in science. In earlier life she was a highly regarded child ice skater, and later on an equestrian. She had plenty of cash, the proceeds of an illustrious stripping career and associations with underworld notables. How much is enough? In her case, as the evidence suggests, plenty is never enough. Beyond the material manifestations of wealth, the ever-present craving for power, control and more never subsides.

There have been others.

Katherine Knight, the former abattoir worker, was not content with murdering her boyfriend, she used her formidable trade skills to dispose of the body. Skinned and decapitated, he added a certain homely flavour to the vegetable stew she was cooking. Talk about anger. Once cooked, the meal was neatly distributed on plates, ornately labelled with the names of his children.

John Price was murdered by his defacto wife Katherine Knight. (Pic: Supplied)

Psychiatric evaluations failed to detect insanity, although arguably in street parlance she was clearly a leg short of a table. She was ultimately diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder, a psychiatric condition to be sure, but not one that affords a defence.

With a viable defence off the table, Knight pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. The sentence was upheld on appeal.

Her developmental history was characterised by psychological and physical abuse within a highly dysfunctional family. She regularly observed the unhinged behaviour of her father, a known drunk and womaniser. This included beating the living daylights out of his wife and raping her. His libido must have been off the charts, with this ritual occurring up to ten times a day. Her mother would share the gruesome details with her. It was also claimed that Katherine’s mother was sexually abused by other males within the family.

Adding to the psychological complexity of Katherine’s case, she was a twin. By the time she entered high school she had a well-established reputation as a bully and an illiterate loner. She was frequently in trouble for schoolyard skirmishes and eventually left school to join the workforce. It seems that knives had always been part of her interest and skill set. Her first job as a cutter in a clothing factory no doubt honed her dexterity and aptitude with weapons and her next job in the local abattoir, first as an offal dissector and then boner, completed her training and expertise. Such was her success with her calling, she was gifted a set of butcher’s knives which she would delicately hang at the end of her bed at the end of a long day of slaughter.

Tim Watson-Munro’s new book A Shrink in the Clink. (Pic: Supplied)

Tim Watson-Munro is one of Australia's pre-eminent prison psychologists. (Pic: Tim Pascoe)

A number of key elements are relevant to this case and indeed serve as generic templates when it comes to assessing and predicting violence. Knight was exposed to all manner of violence from an early age. This involved physical and emotional abuse. Her parents, while being appalling role models, schooled her well. She progressed to high school, illiterate emotionally, alone and angry. Her bullying of her peers speaks to this issue. No doubt her fascination and then capacity with knives provided her with both a sense of power and protection. It is significant that she kept these weapons at the end of her bed. I suspect that Knight, as a consequence of early childhood trauma and an inability to trust men, with associated features of hypervigilance, kept the weapons as a means of self-protection. Although her behaviour was crazy, she was ultimately found to be bad, not mad.

This is an edited extract from A Shrink in the Clink by Tim Watson-Munro (Pan Macmillan, $32.99)

Originally published as The two female killers who left me stunned