Inside the Mind of Scott Peterson

Keith Russell Ablow, MD

Aug 2010 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

The Scott Peterson murder case is the most gripping and highly publicized crime story of the 21st Century. It has captivated a public hungry for the answer to one question: Why would a man with no known history of violent crime or mental illness, with a pretty wife about to give birth to his son, brutally murder her?

To get "inside Peterson's head," the national media turned to forensic psychiatrist Keith Ablow, M.D. His appearances resulted in a deluge of e-mails with most stating that his theories about the spawning of a killer inside Peterson were the first that made sense to them. Members of Scott's and Laci's families have also stated that his comments were the first that helped them understand what happened inside Scott's mind.

Inside the Mind of Scott Peterson takes readers into the mind of a killer, including:
· How Scott Peterson's empathy for others was shattered by a three generation "blood line" of childhood loss and abandonment

· How Peterson came to expertly "imitate" a person, while having no true, core self

· Early signs that Peterson was losing his capacity to empathize with others

· Why an addiction to sex took root in his psyche

· Why Peterson's meeting Amber Frey while his wife was pregnant triggered the "perfect" psychological storm

· Clues to Peterson's guilt in his interviews with Gloria Gomez and Diane Sawyer

· What Peterson was probably thinking as he listened to testimony in court and received his death sentence

Why Peterson could kill again, if released.

Using contacts at the FBI, and hiring private investigators and researchers, Keith Ablow delves deeply into Scott Peterson's life story to answer the question: How did an All American boy turn into a ruthless killer?

As the nation continues to follow the case this summer, and Peterson awaits appeal on his death sentence, Ablow's extensive psychological profile will be a window on Peterson's soul and the pathological gears turning in his mind.

Ratings and reviews

A. I had just finished Ablow's book about Casey Anthony, which was published earlier this year (2011). I thought I'd follow up with his earlier book, on Scott Peterson, because both books take similar approaches. Q. And what approach would that be? A. Ablow uses his psychiatric background to try to analyze the minds of these two people who seem to lack empathy for others. Peterson ended up in prison facing the death penalty, but Anthony was not convicted of murdering her two year old daughter. Q. So the book on Peterson differed in some ways from the later book on Anthony? A. Yes. Ablow connected the generations in both books, but he spent much more time excoriating the Anthony's than he does the Peterson's. But he has plenty to say about Scott's mother and father also. Also, he seems to be a little more tolerant of Peterson's chances of recovery compared to what he wrote about Anthony. The books were published six years apart, so this could have to do with changes during that time in Ablow's own feelings about sociopathic murderers. Q. What does he say about Scott's parents? A. Well, his mother, Jackie, was obviously traumatized when she was put into an allegedly abusive home for adoptions at the age of 2. Three older brothers were there also, but she rarely saw them. Her mother put her up for adoption after her father was murdered by a petty thief just before Christmas, 1945. He was hit over the head with a length of pipe. Ablow connects all this to Scott's behavior around later Christmas seasons, and also infers that he used an instrument similar to a pipe to hit his wife, Laci, over the head before drowning her in their backyard pool. Q. And Scott's father? A. Lee Peterson had been married before he married Jackie, but allegedly bailed because his first wife was having too many kids, and he was uncomfortable around kids. Then, when Scott was born, Scott was expected to do everything perfectly, stay quiet and just obey his parents. He did, but according to Ablow, this caused him to become a sociopath, since he never had a chance to be a "real person." Q. Do you recommend this book? A. Yes, for readers interested in true crime or in the Peterson case particularly. Others may find it rather slow moving and perhaps even dull. There's really not much in the book that was not already published or broadcast. In fact, the writer of the Introduction, Carolyn Crier, had written an earlier book, Deadly Games, covering the Peterson episode in more detail. Plus, Scott's ex-girlfriend, Amber Frey, also wrote a book about the episode. So there was plenty already out there and Ablow does not really expand that much on the existing material. He does reference Crier and Frey quite a bit. I had not read the earlier books by those two, so Ablow's book helped me to understand what Peterson's problem was.

Awful read.repetitive.ridiculous analyzing of petersons psychological issues.whole book repeats same abalysis over and over.theory not even logical

Awesome book very detailed gave me more insight on this case

About the author

Dr. Keith Ablow is America's most well-known forensic psychiatrist anda consulting forensic psychiatrist on COURT TV. A graduate of Brown University and the Johns Hopkins Medical School, he has been retained to testify in some of the nation's most highly publicized murder cases. He has been a guest not only on COURT TV, but on The Today Show, Larry Elder, CNN, Charlie Rose, Maury, Montel, Charles Grodin, MSNBC, Fox News and many others.