Saturday, August 2, 2008

David Caruso - Heidemarie Schnitzer Profile of A Stalker



Found this very interesting article on stalking from an award-winning Canadian blog published by a law student. It gives some background and insight into what motivates Heidi Schnitzer, David Caruso's fugitive Austrian stalker, who remains on the lam hiding out in Tijuana, Mexico:

Profile of a Stalker

Stalking the Stalker

We all have them, even if the innocuous kinds like on Facebook.

But we thought it would be fun to stalk the stalker, by creating a profile of the different types out there.

Stalking is defined as an obsessive behaviour towards another, motivated by intense affection or extreme dislike [i.e. Heidemarie Schnitzer]

The behaviour of stalkers can range from the irrational and the violent, to the flattering and overly affectionate. Most, however, do not represent physical threats, but are still usually unpredictable.

Their behaviour is outside the norms of social acceptance [i.e.Heidemarie Schnitzer], which projects them as unpredictable to their targets. It is the lack of predictability of stalkers that usually sets off alarm bells of their victims, who often fear that they may instantly turn aggressively violent.

Four types of stalkers types are described below, though many stalkers have elements of more than one profile.

Erotomania

An erotomaniac [i.e. Heidemarie Schnitzer] has a persistent belief that they are loved by another, even if the other person does not know they exist.

Usually this bond is formed with someone of a higher social status or position of authority.

Their goal is to establish a relationship with their fantasy (we’re not sure how this is entirely distinct from groupies).

An example of an extreme erotomaniac can be seen in Tarasoff v. Regents.

Borderline Erotomania

Yes, there are moderate forms of stalkers too.

This type of erotomania is characterized by the knowledge that the victim does not love them back. They actually may have even had some sort of contact, conversation, or otherwise meaningless contact with their victim.

Their behaviour, however, can be exactly the same, and just as creepy as the regular erotomaniac.

Former Intimate Stalkers

Yes, rejection hurts.

These stalkers usually have a real romantic history with the person. So basically this is the guy/girl who got dumped and never got over it and kept going.

They don’t fantasize about a relationship with their victim, but have an unhealthy emotional attachment. They can so far as to target the spouse or partner of their victim, who may be perceived as the obstacle to their reunification.

Extreme cases can even result in double murders, such as Andre Ducarme with Sherry and Maurice Paul.

The LAPD claims that 48% of their case load are these types of stalkers. Something about those California Girls probably.

Sociopathic Stalkers [i.e. Heidemarie Schnitzer]

This type of stalker is so messed up that they don’t even want a relationship with their victim. Instead, they’ve created an ideal partner in their head, and find someone they can place into this ideal.

The extreme sociopathic stalker can become a serial murder or rapist, such as Charles Ng.

So now that you know what to look for, identify these stalkers and keep them out of your life.

If, that is, you even know they are watching you.
Directly based on an excerpt from an article by Bruce MacFarlane,
People Who Stalk People. (1997) 31 U.B.C. L. Rev. 37-94.

http://lawiscool.com/2008/06/23/profile-of-a-stalker/

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yes! A good article Sara! Creepy isn't she...and UNPREDICTABLE!!!!

Schnitzer's Death Threat

Schnitzer's Death Threat
Actual Letter Sent to Caruso