It's a phrase heard often in murder cases, in reference to people who suddenly went crazy and committed awful crimes: "They just snapped." And while from a psychological standpoint this phrase is misleading, since these incidents are generally the culmination of a long descent into madness, for loved ones of the killers and victims alike, the term seems all too accurate. Accounts of apparently normal people who went crazy seemingly out of the blue have cropped up in the news for decades, and in every case, the shocked reaction of those who knew these individuals is the same.
There are clear patterns evident in many of these cases; however, in some circumstances, no history of mental illness or violence had been established in the killers prior to their murders. These fifteen stories of people who snapped and killed people cover both ends of the spectrum, where a clear path can be seen leading up to the "snapping," and where there is no path at all.
15 Killers Who Just "Snapped",
Brothers Murder Their Entire Family with a Hatchet
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, residents Robert Bever and his 16-year-old brother (who, because he is a minor, remains unnamed) killed three of their four siblings and both their parents with a hatchet in July 2015. They spared their infant sister, while their older, 13-year-old sister survived the ordeal, implicating her brothers in the massacre.
Bever made a full confession and indicated the murder of his family was only the beginning of a planned killing spree. Even still, those who knew him and his brother were convinced the teen had "just snapped."
Trucker Kills His Son After Hearing Voices
Australian man John Patrick O'Kane murdered his four-month-old son Zach on January 25, 2009. He was at a loss to explain his actions, stating only that he had been hearing voices prior to the killing.
O'Kane killed Zach by using a blunt object to crack the infant's skull. Autopsy reports also reveal weeks of severe abuse prior to the murder. Moreover, O'Kane had a prior conviction of abusing and blinding his infant son in 1994, a fact he kept secret from his current wife, Zach's mother.
Even so, O'Kane insists the crime was not premeditated and that he "just snapped."
Connecticut Man Assaults and Kills Woman, Daughters
Claiming to have no memory of his horrendous crimes for years afterwards, in July 2007, Steven Hayes and an accomplice, Joshua Komisarjevsky, invaded the Cheshire, Connecticut, home of William Petit, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and their daughters Michaela, 11, and Hayley, 17. Petit was battered and tied up in the basement. Hayes then forced Hawke-Petit to extract a large sum of money from an ATM before leading her back into her home. When Hayes returned,, Komisarjevsky admitted to Hayes that he had sexually molested Michaela, and insisted the entire family had to die.
At this point, Hayes claims to have lost it. He sexually assaulted Hawke-Petit before strangling her. The men then set fire to the house and fled. Michaela and Hayley were burned alive. Petit, however, managed to escape the fire, and helped to put Hayes and Komisarjevsky away.
Neurobiologist Kills Three Colleagues
Amy Bishop worked as a neurobiologist at the University of Alabama, Hunstville. She had been denied tenure and had spent a year appealing the decision, all to no avail. On the afternoon of February 12, 2010, Bishop calmly sat through a staff meeting she technically did not need to attend.
As the meeting came to a close, Bishop drew a .9mm pistol and shot her department chair, Gopi Podila, in the head at point-blank range. She then opened fire on the rest of the staff, ultimately killing three and wounding several others, before being apprehended by a sheriff's deputy while attempting to escape the building.
By all accounts, Bishop did not fit the profile of a mass shooter. Still, it is believed her fruitless attempts at gaining tenure drove her over the edge.
Man Kills His Ex-Fiancee for Cheating
Robert Cromwell of Springfield, Oregon, had planned a romantic evening with his then ex-fiancée Casey Lynn Wright, hoping to rekindle their relationship. However, Wright admitted that she had already met someone else. Things took a disturbing turn. According to Josephine Woolington of The Register-Guard:
"Cromwell... searched her cellphone after she fell asleep and found text messages from the man referenced by Wright as well as from another man. Cromwell then told Detective Don Myers in the video that he struck Wright four times in the head using an aluminum baseball bat while she was sleeping in the Springfield home that the two previously had shared.
"Cromwell told Myers in the video that he didn’t want to wake Wright up. 'I didn’t want her to see me doing it,' Cromwell said."
Cromwell reportedly blames his outburst on the antidepressants he was taking at the time, as well as the fact he'd been having nightmares just prior to the incident.
Man Stabs Homeless Veteran 70 Times
In July 2013, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, resident Dale Wakefield had been out celebrating his 21st birthday when a 71-year-old homeless veteran, George Mohr, asked him for some spare change outside a train station. After being denied, Mohr allegedly muttered an insult at Wakefield, who, according to his sister, "just snapped" and stabbed Mohr more than 70 times with a pocket knife. He had no prior criminal record.
Woman Kills Co-Worker After Being Fired
On March 30, 2010, Tarpon, Florida, resident Arunya Rouch had breakfast with her husband, and seemed to be in a good mood. But that was before she arrived at the Tarpon Springs Publix, a grocery store where Rouch worked, to discover she was being terminated for making threats against a co-worker who had apparently been antagonizing Rouch for several months.
After pleading with her manager for a second chance to no avail, Rouch left the store, but returned several hours later with a gun, killing her co-worker in the parking lot as he ate his lunch in his car. She then attempted to murder her manager, but she could not find him within the store. Police arrived at the scene, a gunfight ensued, and Rouch was wounded. She was then arrested, and later found guilty of murder in 2012.
Exterminator Kills His Client, a Pediatrician
Jason T. Smith, an exterminator in Levittown, Pennsylvania, confessed to strangling and burning his client Melissa Ketunuti, a pediatrician, in July 2013. Smith told police he arrived at Ketunuti's home to handle a rodent problem. They reportedly argued in her basement, at which point Smith lost control and murdered Ketunuti.
Smith had only minor traffic violations on his record prior to this incident.
Rape Suspect Snaps, Kills Four Inside Courthouse
Atlanta man Brian Nichols went on a rampage in 2005, during a court appearance in a rape case. He managed to steal a gun from a deputy sheriff and kill four people before escaping: Judge Rowland Barnes, court reporter Julie Brandau, federal agent David Wilhelm and Sergeant Hoyt Teasley. His mother stated that Nichols felt demons were possessing him before his killing spree began.
Nichols was eventually talked into turning himself in by his hostage, Ashley Smith.
Troubled Man Kills His Grandparents
In 1996, Glendale, Missouri, resident David Barnett murdered his grandparents, Clifford Barnett, 82, and Leona Barnett, 75, stealing their car and $120. He collectively stabbed them twenty-one times, using five different kitchen knives for the grisly task.
Barnett confessed to the crime the next day, telling police he had not planned the murders, but that he felt a "rage" well up within him, which caused him to snap. After an initial death sentence, a judge commuted Barnett's sentence to life in prison, after revealing facts about Barnett's horrendous childhood came to light.