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A review by marilynw
Couple Found Slain: After a Family Murder by Mikita Brottman
4.0
Couple Found Slain: After a Family Murder by Mikita Brottman (Author, Narrator), Christina Delaine (Narrator)
This story deals with a real life crime and the aftermath for the man who killed his parents. True to the title, although we learn of Brian Bechtold's family life, starting from before his parents married all the way until he killed them in the family home, the story's main focus is on Brian's life in the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center where he has been since the death of his parent in 1992. This story is disturbing on so many levels and I feel in no way competent about choosing sides or making a decision on the right and wrong of Brian's fate. It does seem that if you compare him to others who have been released from the hospital within a few years of their crimes, that Brian should also have been able to fit the requirements for release, either to prison or to living in the outside world.
Brian came from a very dysfunctional family and had already exhibited mental problems for several years before he murdered his mother and father in 1992. After driving from his home, through various states, for almost two weeks, Brian picked up a Bible and started reading. It's then that he feels like he was cured of his mental disorder and he walked into a Florida police station and confessed that he had killed his parents. He was found not criminally responsible for his crime and was sent to Perkins. Unlike the majority of residents at this hospital, who usually are released from the hospital in a few years, Brian has remained there for decades. He does seem to be a changed man from the person he was in his teens and early 20s but according the many of the doctors who have examined him and his records over the years, many of them say that he is even more of a danger to himself and others and that his mental illness is as bad or worse than when he committed his crime.
The author presents us with Brian's history over his years at the hospital. He seems to be caught in a catch-22 black hole. Anything he says or does will be used against him. Anything he doesn't say or do will be used against him. Anything and everything can be used to diagnose him with various illnesses and disorders. Brian has no say over anything in his life and even wanting to make his own decisions is considered more evidence of his mental illness. Through various means Brian has tried to escape the hospital, both legal means and illegal means and he seems more entrenched there than ever.
I'm not in a position to decide what is best for Brian or for society, in regards to Brian. This book is interesting but more than that, it's very disturbing, and will appeal to those who are interested in true crime and/or the fate of those who experience life in a mental hospital and all the bureaucracy and indifference that might entail. I can understand how trapped and helpless patients might feel and I have no answer to their situations. At the same time, I feel for those who are there to care for and help the patients.
Publication: July 6th 2021
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.
This story deals with a real life crime and the aftermath for the man who killed his parents. True to the title, although we learn of Brian Bechtold's family life, starting from before his parents married all the way until he killed them in the family home, the story's main focus is on Brian's life in the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center where he has been since the death of his parent in 1992. This story is disturbing on so many levels and I feel in no way competent about choosing sides or making a decision on the right and wrong of Brian's fate. It does seem that if you compare him to others who have been released from the hospital within a few years of their crimes, that Brian should also have been able to fit the requirements for release, either to prison or to living in the outside world.
Brian came from a very dysfunctional family and had already exhibited mental problems for several years before he murdered his mother and father in 1992. After driving from his home, through various states, for almost two weeks, Brian picked up a Bible and started reading. It's then that he feels like he was cured of his mental disorder and he walked into a Florida police station and confessed that he had killed his parents. He was found not criminally responsible for his crime and was sent to Perkins. Unlike the majority of residents at this hospital, who usually are released from the hospital in a few years, Brian has remained there for decades. He does seem to be a changed man from the person he was in his teens and early 20s but according the many of the doctors who have examined him and his records over the years, many of them say that he is even more of a danger to himself and others and that his mental illness is as bad or worse than when he committed his crime.
The author presents us with Brian's history over his years at the hospital. He seems to be caught in a catch-22 black hole. Anything he says or does will be used against him. Anything he doesn't say or do will be used against him. Anything and everything can be used to diagnose him with various illnesses and disorders. Brian has no say over anything in his life and even wanting to make his own decisions is considered more evidence of his mental illness. Through various means Brian has tried to escape the hospital, both legal means and illegal means and he seems more entrenched there than ever.
I'm not in a position to decide what is best for Brian or for society, in regards to Brian. This book is interesting but more than that, it's very disturbing, and will appeal to those who are interested in true crime and/or the fate of those who experience life in a mental hospital and all the bureaucracy and indifference that might entail. I can understand how trapped and helpless patients might feel and I have no answer to their situations. At the same time, I feel for those who are there to care for and help the patients.
Publication: July 6th 2021
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.