In fact, one of the most depressing and frustrating movies I've watched recently is this crime investigation documentary #American Murder: The Family Next Door# . The reason is that until the end, I couldn't imagine a plausible reason why this tragedy happened. A seemingly perfect husband, who usually has no red flag and no previous record of domestic violence, killed his wife and two lovely daughters just because he cheated on him two months ago. In particular, when one thinks of a person with a potential murder motive, who is usually completely invisible in appearance and behavior, this 180-degree change can't help but make one's back go cold.
Most of the time I watch crime documentaries, the criminals are repeat offenders, proving that genes are the main reason; or they have a very miserable childhood, such as being abused and lacking love, but the murderer in this story is not at all. He comes from a very good family. Although his education is not very high, he has a stable job. In the eyes of his wife and everyone else, he was a gentle and friendly person. Whether in family videos or text messages with his wife, he is polite and caring. Don't talk about domestic violence, not even cursing.
I've been looking forward to a turning point where I can see his true colors. But apart from cheating and falling in love with others, I have never seen this man have any other motive for killing. He's not trying to get his wife's money like the man who pushed his wife off a cliff, he has no bad habit of gambling, and he doesn't have a careful plan. He also loves his two daughters very much, even the daughters say that their father is a hero; the family situation is considered to be well-off, the parents are both normal and the house is very good, even if divorced, he will not lose everything; his wife is pregnant with the third child Also the boy he's been looking forward to; even the boss of the company speaks well of him. But is it really worth killing a wife and children who have lived for eight years in one night just for the sake of a woman who has only known each other for two months?
And the most surprising thing is that this little three did not actually do anything, neither did he want to rise to the top, nor sow discord, he was kept in the dark, and he took the initiative to find the police after the incident. It can be said to be a well-behaved junior After all, she didn't know that the other party was not divorced. Even I can't put the blame on the killer's parents, because they seem to be normal people too. I tried to search up and down, but couldn't find the "murderer's motive". In the end, I could only admit that he was cold-blooded and selfish, and could only be further disappointed in human nature.
Just like when the verdict was pronounced, the prosecutor who made the statement still said: "You cheated, you just got divorced, why do you dump your relatives in the oil drum like garbage?" His parents couldn't believe it at all. the whole fact. No one can believe the facts at hand.
However, domestic violence is a serious phenomenon both in the United States and around the world. Many women go missing every year, and most of the ultimate culprits are their husbands, boyfriends, ex-husbands, and ex-boyfriends. Some criminals have violent tendencies, while others, like this husband, are not at all, which makes women really don't know how to trust the people around them.
On the other hand, since most of the time the offenders are husbands or boyfriends, why do these people have the guts to kill and think they can get away?
Just like the one we saw on Weibo who dumped his wife's body in the cesspool, and the husband in this film, they all lied that they didn't know why his wife was missing, but obviously, as long as an in-depth investigation is carried out, it will eventually lead to They can't escape at all. But did they not consider these consequences at all before killing people? Maybe it's a fluke, maybe it's not a strong sense of the legal system, maybe it's because I've watched too little crime news and documentaries? But in the final analysis, in fact, they still don't respect their wives at all, and they don't respect other people's lives.
What makes this documentary filmable and worth watching is the sheer amount of video content. On the one hand, the police have been recording videos during the detection process; on the other hand, the deceased, that is, his wife, is a community celebrity, and there are really many videos available on Facebook. And she told her friends what she thought, the text messages were very rich, and basically recorded all her inner thoughts before her death, which made things clearer. Overall, the wife did nothing wrong and did not have any conflict with her husband. She chose to take the child away from her husband for two months, giving her husband a chance to cheat, perhaps her only misstep.
In fact, cheating is common in marriage, but there are very few people who actually kill people to get rid of their wives. Most people will know the consequences and choose to divorce. However, it is these cases in this film that lead to women's fear of marriage. Some netizens said that if you don't get married, you will be lonely at most, and if you get married, your life will be lost. . . Although not every marriage ends like this, one missing wife or girlfriend after another does make women lose trust in men bit by bit.
As in the biopic "The Glorias" ( O Maggie_in_LA ) released earlier today, Gloria Steinem wrote in her book:
"When we talk about men, we always think of taking risks and leaving home; when we talk about women, we always think that they should stick to their homeland, even if a fairy tale heroine like Dorothy or Alice accidentally leaves home after an adventure. They still have to go home, which is a happy ending. However, countless cases of domestic violence and female murders tell us instead: For women, home may be the most dangerous place."
After you read it, do you think there is any chance this wife and her daughter could have avoided this tragedy?
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