Given their history what would be the propensity of either Sheila or Jeremy murdering their adoptive family?
Both raised in the same home environment and materially well provided for, though in a very strict regime. Sheila and Jeremy's adoptive mother, June Bamber is reported to have been a harsh disciplinarian which would have impacted on both their childhoods.
Jeremy has had many psychiatric assessments, twenty seven in all and there is no evidence of mental ill health or psychopathy.
Sheila developed schizophrenia.
Sheila’s psychiatric assessment found her to be suffering with a paranoid schizoid-affective disorder. She believed she was in league with the devil; giving her power to project evil onto others, including her sons, aged six when they died; believing she could make them have violent sex with her. Sheila also stated that she was capable of murdering her sons as well as influencing them to commit murder. In August 1985 Sheila had not long been discharged from a psychiatric unit; this had not been her first admission to a mental health facility.
My professional experience of working with clients with schizophrenia leads me to deduce that the following classic symptoms are manifested as the disease progresses:
The client is paranoid believing everyone and anyone is out to harm him/her.
The client is incapable of analysing a given situation.
The client appears not to have the cognitive ability of processing healthy choices, making it impossible to reason with him/her.
Clients speak of ‘making plans’ for their own protection or retaliation.
The inherent nature of schizophrenia is in the emergence of what appears to be another personality; hence the outdated use of the term Split-Personality. My observations lead me to deliberate as to whether this confusion in the client’s perception of him/herself is more akin to that of a computer overload or virus. The onset of Schizophrenia is often around ages sixteen and seventeen, and in many clients coincides with or is triggered by stressful life events for example intense study in preparation for career or university 1).
Another classic symptom of schizophrenia is ‘hearing voices’. I am not aware of whether Sheila experienced this symptom but referring to her psychiatric assessment she did believe she had the power to invoke the devil in her sons and control others. There is increasing research to show that giving sufferers permission to acknowledge their ‘voices’ and respond – rather than ignore them, can have therapeutic effects 2).
In a paranoid state sufferers may genuinely believe that others are plotting against them, even to kill them. This delusion can manifest in extreme violence directed toward themselves or others, though not an innate part of their personality when mentally well.
Sheila’s ex-husband had expressed concerns that she was not caring adequately for her children. He was also concerned as to how June Bamber's almost zealot like religious beliefs may have been affecting them. The twins had previously been placed in foster care and Jeremy states that the family discussed that possibility again on the night of the murders as it appeared that Sheila was not able to care for them due to the increasing deterioration in her mental health state.
It would be worth considering as to how this discussion about Sheila’s inability to care for her children may have affected her, in the light of her mental ill health and her own life experience.
Rejected at birth and rejected again now.
A bad mother? Repeating the pattern of her birth mother?
Given our understanding of June Bamber’s personality we can only fantasise as to how many times Sheila’s circumstances of birth may have been used as ammunition against her.
The Daily Mail, presumably in its inability to apply some investigative journalism, refers to Sheila’s illness as ‘mild schizophrenia’. A prime example of ludicrous and dangerous disinformation; though they do confirm that she had ‘not been taking her medication,’ (3)
To clarify – there is no such thing as ‘mild’ schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is either managed or not. Managed; i.e. on initial diagnosis appropriate medication is prescribed and is often required to be administered by a health practitioner as clients, believing themselves to be well, often refuse to take it.
In the 1980’s treatment would have involved prescribed medication such as Haloperidol, Stelazine or Prolixin; then in addition, when the client was more stable; psychotherapy and group therapy.
I am not familiar with Sheila’s biological mother’s history though statistics indicate that a child whose parent suffers with schizophrenia has about a fifteen percent chance of developing it. Schizophrenia may also be triggered by trauma or abuse and may develop after pregnancy, sometimes existing misdiagnosed for many months due to 'baby blues' syndrome and post-natal depression.
Co-morbidity:
Sheila used cannabis. Mental health clients do report that cannabis appears to reduce the impact of the side-effects of medication and restores some general feeling of well-being. However, cannabis use is known to exacerbate schizophrenic symptoms.
Sheila, in her attempt to follow a modelling career no doubt would have wanted to remain slim and it is well documented that psychotic drugs cause weight gain – as much as three stone. We know that Sheila had been refusing to take her medication; that combined with cannabis use would have made her a ticking time-bomb.
And from what we know of what happened at White House Farm in the early hours of 7th August 1985; this proved to be the case.
Reference
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