Children Who Kill

Why would two young boys abduct, torture and kill a toddler? What makes a teenage girl plot with her classmates to kill her own father? Traditionally, society is used to regarding children as harmless - but for some the age of innocence is short-lived, messy and ultimately murderous. Some of the most notorious killings of the 20th century were committed by children, and it is not a new phenomenon. Mary Bell, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables are infamous for their crimes against other children, but many of the studies here will be less familiar to the reader and equally as offensive. Murdered by fire, poison, strangulation or gunshots, victims range from infants to old age pensioners. Children Who Kill is a comprehensive new study of juvenile homicide. Carol Anne Davis sets out to explore this disturbing subject using in-depth case studies of thirteen killers aged between ten and seventeen. Exclusive interviews with experts offer an invaluable insight into the psychology behind these atrocities and a hard-hitting look at the role of society in an area too shocking to ignore.

Carol Anne Davis was born in Dundee, moved to Edinburgh in her twenties and now lives in the south of England. She left school at fifteen and was everything from an artist's model to an editorial assistant before going to university. Her MA degree included criminology and was followed by a postgraduate diploma in Adult and Community Education.