You’re madly in love with your partner. There’s nothing else in your world except your life with this person.
You come home from work early, and you find them in bed with your neighbour – you temporarily lose your mind and do something dreadful... a crime of passion.
You come home from work early, and you find them in bed with your neighbour – you temporarily lose your mind and do something dreadful... a crime of passion.
A ‘Crime of Passion’ is defined as a crime which was committed while “in the throes of passion, with no opportunity to reflect on what is happening and what the person is about to do.”
So in other words, you come home after a long day at work, and you find your wife or husband "In flagrante delicto". You become so consumed by the heat of passion that you lose the ability to control your own actions. It is akin to temporary insanity.
There have been many crimes of passion recorded throughout history. Today we’re going to share a few I have found online.
So in other words, you come home after a long day at work, and you find your wife or husband "In flagrante delicto". You become so consumed by the heat of passion that you lose the ability to control your own actions. It is akin to temporary insanity.
There have been many crimes of passion recorded throughout history. Today we’re going to share a few I have found online.
Murder of Philip Barton Key
Daniels shooting Key In 1859 Daniel Sickles, a US Congressman and Union General, found out his beautiful wife Teresa was having an affair with district attorney Philip Barton Key (on a side note, Philip was the son of Francis Scott Key, the author of the Star Spangled Banner). The affair had become common knowledge around Washington, and yet Sickles remained oblivious. Oblivious that is until he received an anonymous letter which started “...I do assure you he has as much use of your wife as you do.” Owww, busted!
The next day Sickles watched an apparent interplay between his wife and Kay (which was just Key waving a handkerchief to get Teresa’s attention). This small gesture sent Sickles into a maddening rage. He grabbed several of his pistols and ran out to confront Key, yelling “Key, you scoundrel, you have dishonoured my home, you must die.” Sickles fired three shots at Key and had a bit of a grappling match in between. The third short struck him in the chest and he died not long after.
Sickles claimed that Teresa's infidelity had driven him temporarily insane. His counsel was so good that the jury of his peers sided with him and for the first time in American history a defense of ‘temporary insanity’ was successful.
Sickles and Teresa reconciled and lived together until her death from tuberculosis in 1867. Unfortunately her reputation was completely ruined and she lived as a social leper.
The next day Sickles watched an apparent interplay between his wife and Kay (which was just Key waving a handkerchief to get Teresa’s attention). This small gesture sent Sickles into a maddening rage. He grabbed several of his pistols and ran out to confront Key, yelling “Key, you scoundrel, you have dishonoured my home, you must die.” Sickles fired three shots at Key and had a bit of a grappling match in between. The third short struck him in the chest and he died not long after.
Sickles claimed that Teresa's infidelity had driven him temporarily insane. His counsel was so good that the jury of his peers sided with him and for the first time in American history a defense of ‘temporary insanity’ was successful.
Sickles and Teresa reconciled and lived together until her death from tuberculosis in 1867. Unfortunately her reputation was completely ruined and she lived as a social leper.
Murder of Dawn Clinton
Dawn Clinton On 15 November, 2010, in Bracknell, Berkshire, UK, Jon-Jaques Clinton savagely beat and strangled his wife Dawn to death, leaving her body on the lounge room floor.
A few weeks before Dawn had left him, telling family and friends that he was obsessively controlling, and had moved in with her mother. Jon-Jaques, suspicious of her behaviour, had hacked into her Facebook account and had found evidence that she moved on and had found another man. He confronted her, lost his temper, and bludgeoned her to death.
The police were called, and when they arrived they discovered that he had saturated the house in noxious gas and, clearly intoxicated, was threatening to take his own life, claiming the voices in his head were yelling at him.
The police evacuated the neighbourhood and finally apprehended Jon-Jaques.
A year after Jon-Jacques was found guilty of murdering Dawn, a judge overruled the sentence saying the court had been wrong to discount Dawn’s ‘affair’, and allowed for a retrial. In a weird turn of events, when it came around to having the retrial, Jon-Jaques appears to have been filled with remorse and changed his plea to guilty. He was sentenced for 20 years.
A few weeks before Dawn had left him, telling family and friends that he was obsessively controlling, and had moved in with her mother. Jon-Jaques, suspicious of her behaviour, had hacked into her Facebook account and had found evidence that she moved on and had found another man. He confronted her, lost his temper, and bludgeoned her to death.
The police were called, and when they arrived they discovered that he had saturated the house in noxious gas and, clearly intoxicated, was threatening to take his own life, claiming the voices in his head were yelling at him.
The police evacuated the neighbourhood and finally apprehended Jon-Jaques.
A year after Jon-Jacques was found guilty of murdering Dawn, a judge overruled the sentence saying the court had been wrong to discount Dawn’s ‘affair’, and allowed for a retrial. In a weird turn of events, when it came around to having the retrial, Jon-Jaques appears to have been filled with remorse and changed his plea to guilty. He was sentenced for 20 years.
Murder of Lilian Velez
Lilian Velez Lilian Velez was the darling of the Philippines. Born in 1928, she worked hard as a successful singer and eventually moved on to have a career in the movies. She starred in a series of successful movies, with her leading man in each of these movies being Bernardo “Narding” Anzures. He developed an obsessive crush on Lilian over this period of time, and when the next movie was being planned, the studio decided to put somebody else in the role of the leading man. Well... Bernardo went a little nuts over this news.
One night, when Lilian was home with her maid, Bernardo turned up on her doorstep. He banged frantically on both the front and back door, but Lilian instructed her maid to not let him inside. He eventually took a hunting knife to a screen on a window and broke into her house. He tried to force himself on her, and she fought him off, turning tables and furniture in the process. She tried to flee to her bedroom, when he stabbed her in the back. She managed to make it as far as her room before collapsing. He then heard the maid screaming for help, and so attacked her, stabbing her to death. He went in search of Lilian again, only to find another maid had taken Lilian’s four year old daughter into the bedroom and locked the door. It was at this point that Bernardo seemed to come to his senses, realising what he had done, and fled the premises.
All in the name of love!
Bernardo was found, charged, convicted of murder and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. He was given a superstar trial, and ended up dying in prison of tuberculosis.
One night, when Lilian was home with her maid, Bernardo turned up on her doorstep. He banged frantically on both the front and back door, but Lilian instructed her maid to not let him inside. He eventually took a hunting knife to a screen on a window and broke into her house. He tried to force himself on her, and she fought him off, turning tables and furniture in the process. She tried to flee to her bedroom, when he stabbed her in the back. She managed to make it as far as her room before collapsing. He then heard the maid screaming for help, and so attacked her, stabbing her to death. He went in search of Lilian again, only to find another maid had taken Lilian’s four year old daughter into the bedroom and locked the door. It was at this point that Bernardo seemed to come to his senses, realising what he had done, and fled the premises.
All in the name of love!
Bernardo was found, charged, convicted of murder and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. He was given a superstar trial, and ended up dying in prison of tuberculosis.
By Peet Banks 2014
Put together by Ashley Hall 2014
Put together by Ashley Hall 2014
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