What's So Sexy About Murderers?

Suspects like Van der Sloot flooded with 'fan mail'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 25, 2010 5:14 AM CDT
What's So Sexy About Murderers?
Joran Van der Sloot looks down before boarding an airplane to be flown to Peru to face murder charges.   (AP Photo/Roberto Candia, File)

Murder suspect Joran Van der Sloot is getting plenty of attention from single women and he's far from the only killer or suspected killer to be inundated with love letters. For some women, the attraction of a celebrity felon is irresistable, Barbara Isenberg, author of Women Who Love Men Who Kill, tells the Daily Beast. Killers kicking their heels in jail are much likelier to respond to "fan mail" than showbiz celebrities, she notes.

Many of the women she interviewed who fell in love with felons had been in abusive relationships in the past and liked the idea of a man who was safely locked away. "If you are in a relationship with a man behind bars for life, or a man on death row, then you have a lot of control over the relationship," Isenberg says. It's not just women who fall for people behind bars: Casey Anthony has complained about all the letter she gets from male admirers and Amanda Knox says she's had plenty "fan letters," including some marriage proposals. (More Joran Van der Sloot stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X