Even before witnessing the death of a young girl at the age of 5, licensed clinical and forensic psychologist Rachel Toles was captivated by the darker side of human behavior.
“I’ve always been drawn to the macabre because it scared me,” Toles said, “but I also realized that there was something beautiful in things that are dark and scary too.”
Toles brings her The Psychology of a Murderer true crime tour to Tower Theatre, 425 NW 23rd St., on April 26 to discuss the varying factors that might lead someone to kill another human through the lens of some of America’s highest profile murder cases.
With podcasts, television shows and entire media networks devoted to true crime, it seems like everyone is fascinated with the subject, but Toles finds a more niche audience for her tour.
“I think the majority of people repress it. A lot of people don’t want to talk about death, and they don’t want to see movies. A lot of people don’t like true crime,” she said. “So it’s really a specific group of us who are very drawn to it, unique individuals that find themselves wanting to move towards the flame out of curiosity versus away from it.”
Toles explains why she thinks her audiences are drawn to true crime stories.
“If you watch enough true crime or enough horror movies, you get a sense of, ‘I have every possible scenario that could ever go wrong in my life and now I feel like I’m ahead of it,’” she said. “And if I feel like I’m ahead of it, I have some sense of control here and it’s less scary.”
There were over 24,000 homicides in the United States in 2023, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. We are bombarded with daily stories about violence against humans, and many people know someone who has been the victim or maybe even the perpetrator of a violent crime. With so many gruesome crimes happening daily, Toles explained why she believes certain cases like the Menendez brothers, Aaron Hernandez and Jeffrey Dahmer stand out.
“I just think media reporters find a better story than the average Joe,” she said. “If you found somebody that really has it all like the Menendez brothers, they were living in a mansion previously owned by Prince and Elton John, so this is a big-time family, and the idea that this could go wrong in a big-time family when you have everything, that, I think, has more shock value.”
It’s easy to assume murder isn’t in your nature and find harming another person unfathomable. Toles says that tapping into our empathy may be one way to rehumanize someone who kills.
“It’s just kind of a dismissal versus a curiosity. I think that a lot of people say, ‘Well, I don’t do that, and therefore, I just have more empathy.’ And it’s like, yeah, you have more empathy for people who don’t do these things,” she said. “But you can also have compassion and curiosity for people who sadly cross the line, like suicide and murder, are actually not as different as they seem. We’re not asking the question, ‘How did the human being get there?’ We’re asking the question, ‘Is this person actually human?’ And that’s a big problem, in my opinion.”
She explains there are certain ingredients that she finds can lead to homicidal tendencies.
“If you have a specific family lineage that has had just major trauma after trauma, boundary violation after boundary violation, no accountability on no accountability, and then on top of that you’ve got certain genes that might then get activated in those kinds of environments,” she said, “and then on top of that you add a highly sensitive kid who then is put in those situations, it’s just a recipe for disaster.”
Knowing and being able to recognize these ingredients aren’t the only means of averting the abhorrent.
“As far as prevention, I do think people living on the internet makes them feel less isolated,” Toles said. “I think that had Jeffrey Dahmer had the internet at his disposal back when he was in Bath, Ohio, I think he would be finding more connection out there with people who might’ve had similar fantasies rather than thinking he’s just a monster.”
Technological advances offer a double-edged sword by allowing individuals to explore impulses through the ones and zeros of binary code.
“They’re able to indulge in fantasy, and I think with AI, we’re going to get a whole new world happening,” she said. “I have a sense that once we have robots, we’re going to see a lot of abuse happening to robots, because it’s going to be taking it out on something that seems human, but then they can just justify it. But still, we need to be looking at where the aggression comes from. If they take it out enough on robots, they’re going to want to know what it’s like on a human.”
Fundamental curiosity
Ultimately, Toles said that understanding and recognizing the human in others to reduce isolation is a key to violent crime prevention.
“I think that fundamental curiosity about people that we don’t understand is our best shot at early detection, intervention and, ideally, prevention,” she said. “When we start treating people that we don’t understand like humans, they’re going to be more likely to think twice about acting out against people because they’ll be less isolated.”
If you’re concerned about avoiding violence against yourself, a self-defense or weapons training class could be beneficial. While not every attack is preventable or even premeditated, many victims of violence have similar factors. Toles said some victims find themselves in the center of a spiral of manipulation, self-blame and dismissal of gut feelings.
“They tend to be looking for something sometimes because they’re not listening to their body,” she said. “When we go into our heads and we leave our bodies, then we’re not listening to our intuitions and our instincts. I honestly tell people all the time, ‘Listen to your body, because your body doesn’t lie.’”
Toles invites audiences to bring their curiosity and willingness to empathize with people many consider monsters.
“This show is about how any one of us could become a killer,” she said. “It’s almost scarier because it’s looking at the escalation points and what are the things that could drive any one of us humans to this point. It’s a more honest look at what we are, who we are and what could get us there.”
This article appears in OKC Ballet Shorts.