Are You Dating a Killer?

On September 19, 2007, a 34 year-old man named Julian Walker shot and killed himself in a St. Louis suburb. Just a couple of days prior to his violent death, Walker fled metro Atlanta after allegedly gunning down the 48 year-old stepfather of his girlfriend, and then his estranged wife-both of whom live in the Atlanta area. The trail of violence began once Walker's 18 year-old ex-girlfriend ended their romantic relationship. According to local news stories, he became enraged and took his frustration out on her stepfather, and then a short time later, his wife. It is quite possible that the ex-girlfriend had no inkling about her paramour's mental instability-though it is obvious that she discovered this information too late. But in recent months, there have been several murder-suicide cases of similar background, which would indicate that others are equally oblivious.

When I was around the age of 18 or 19, I met a man 14 years my senior, though he'd seemed much younger upon my meeting him. At that point in time, I'd had fairly limited dating experience, but saw no problem with exploring the opportunity-that is until my little voice told me that something was not quite right with the budding relationship. It was at that moment that I decided to end things, though I was not quite sure why I was doing so. In retrospect, I realize that ending things relatively early was probably one of the best things that I could have done. In light of my romantic inexperience, I felt that something was amiss. As a more mature adult, I realize now the warning signs that could have pointed to a very similar fate. So how can one be certain that his/her newest love interest holds no psychological skeletons in the closet? The clues are more simple than you might realize.

Psychological Skeletons