I have 3 words that might shed a bit of light on Kitty Byron’s tale: Battered Spouse Syndrome. When you grow up without, and then get offered a chance to live a life with, but only if you exchange those needs for unending abuse from a partner... I don’t condone her violence, nor do I think that’s the answer to anyone’s problems. But I am saying that I understand where she is coming from.
Yeah a compounding factor from trauma visa vi abuse And a sense of desperation may have overcome her better judgement when her victim had taken from her it could have been her last bit of money to eat on and she was starving hungry and having suffered the injustices and having no one to turn to it it could easily caused her to go into a fit of desperation on animalistic fight or flight mode where that money is gone that was her last bit to eat on and she's thinking no one's going to come to my rescue and she's a woman who was physically diminutive in stature to the man as I would guess not to say she was a woman of some high moral standing but clearly the man was a insensitive and uncaring brute who gave not two shits worth about anybody else's concerned and just did as he pleased. I seek not to excuse the violence but rather it's hard not to show at least some understanding to the woman situation and to be under pressure from life and feeling despair and the danger of not having money to eat there were no social services I assume back in those days
Sort of like a young unstable mother with child left to fend 4 herself with no help from anyone has caused the smothering of more than one child in the not so distant past Having a support system when deciding to make babies is no small thing However repugnant and heinous the actions of such a desperate mother smothering her child it's horrible but I would hardly consider to call that mother evil or or wicked that's called a mental state of upside down clearly hysterical I feel when such a thing takes place that a woman is left to fend for herself and no community is shown by her village that says a lot more about the public at large and it does about the wickedness of the individual woman I think we have a responsibility not necessarily to be the caretakers of that child but you got to rally around young mothers and and parents I think it's are collective duty as a human race and doesn't mean you have to do a million things to help them but just showing your presence and being around it takes some of the pressure off and clearly not to be taken lightly
By and large to use battered spouse syndrome as a defence in court requires a sudden "snap" of rage by the person, rather than a premeditated purchase of a knife and luring your victim to a secondary location to be declared, though.
The "Disney effect" has always existed, in human kind. At least the victim proved one thing; Maybe not be an awful person, so that people don't argue that you deserved to be stabbed in the streets 😅 Those character witnesses are important. I'm also not surprised Kitty was mentally forked by the time she was released. She cracked under an abusive relationship, then spent 6 years in prison for it. Having expressed the want to die too and never denying her guilt, she was already not in the right frame of mind. People don't get saner in prison. She literally tried to force that young nurse into an abusive relationship, then have them both die. She repeated her life 6 years prior! She should not have been let out early.
I was just going to say this exact same thing. I always thought that I was the only one who attributed good looks to fame and fortune? A easier ride than the not so attractive? I don’t know! 🤔
What a fascinating, well told story! How "model" of a prisoner was she, really? The wild swing in her behavior immediately upon her conditonal release is terrifying. I'm extremely curious about her ultimate fate.
Oh, she could be. My ex could charm the pants off a snake but he was utterly vile. That type will be all sweetness, charm and grace - when it serves them to be.
@@carolinerowles5951 Horrible. I sat there and watched him charm the court psychiatrist that was supposed to be neutral and evaluate all three of us (the two of us and daughter). Homely woman and he batted his eyelashes at her, smiled sweetly and said some nice words praising her for nothing and all semblence of professinalism on her part went out the window and you can't do a thing because if you accuse her of that, you're made out to be the one off the rocker. I really don't buy all the claims that family court is biased in favor of women - at all.
my x-bestfriend was a total narcissist.....😢 Same way She snapped and yelled at me one 2 many times... I can't deal anymore. We had been friends 45 yrs.we are both 65 What I have put with from that awful person. And she said she had tolerated me. That was the last nail. I couldn't believe it She's a real piece of work and I've put up with one vile, evil behavior after another. She'd raise Sam about every little thing Her husband does Threats him bad. Abusive is more like it and I had to endure all her crap she couldn't talk about 2 others I put up with this mess cause I love her like my own kin. But I've learned to love from a distance 😊
Beauty counts for a LOT, as we all know. Also it is good to remember the popular literature of the time; Kitty was a perfect fit (seemingly, to those who didn't actually know her) to step into the role of maltreated HEROINE, and who could have looked MORE like the villainous, leering, mustachio'ed "landlord" of fiction and later film, than Reggie?
Beauty had nothing to do with it. His awful reputation and abuse was well documented . I’m sure the court whispered under their breath that she had done society a service.
I knew I had heard this story, another RU-vidr covered it. Reggie was repulsive you only have to read his divorce papers. Why would she need another trial if on licence, would they not just return her to jail? Or maybe bury her in an asylum. Not sure about the Coventry bit. Kitty became a housekeeper for her nephew in Farnborough, Hampshire in later years, she was there on the 1939 Register and she died in nearby Farnham Surrey aged 75 in 1954, she also went by Margaret Wallace according to her death certificate. The house is hidden away, access by a pathway between terraced houses.
Also, many Houses they called "refuge" were actually quite a harsh environment, with people living under almost military control and working to mantain themselves, without any pay.
No it wasn't. She was so vindictive and bitter about her ex - got one as vile myself and do understand; I sitll celebrate his deth 28 years ago that i had nothing to do with - that she let emotions rule her judgment and assume that an obvious cold-blooded crime was what? It's not self-defense. It was just out of anger for being dumped. He was a horrible human being but that doesn't make it right. How can you seriously say good on the ex-wife or anyone else for advocating clemency this POS woman did not deserve.
@@nicolad8822 Why are you? We watched an interesting video about a bit of history. Who the hell are you to tell me I can't form an opinion. Yes, contentless t roll, I can. The maker of this video even invited us to comment with said opinions. Why are you trying to stop his viewers from doing so? Who made you the opinion police who gets to decide who gets to state theirs and who doesn't. Wth!? smh
@@BlazeDuskdreamer The ex wife obviously knew the type of man he was and sympathised with Kitty. Maybe she was glad Kitty had killed him because he kept harassing her!
Kitty’s father died only a year before this happened, she was living safely with her parents on Brewer St Westminster in April 1901, he was a horse superintendent, maybe for a brewery. The brother they moved in with was an Architect/Surveyor, so I doubt they went hungry. My best guess is she was seduced by false promises and realised too late she had thrown away her respectability for a scoundrel. Reggie had first married in 1880, he didn’t divorce her until 1897, just before he married Mabel yet he described himself as Bachelor on the Marriage Cert, in a church which did not permit the marriage of divorced people.
It’s wild people will still look at it as her “throwing away her respectability”, and not just following her heart. Nobody seems to question a man or his intent when he chases after a woman or her purse strings, they’re just deemed “passionate” men.
Well I Never for sure. She certainly sounds complicated for sure. Very interesting actually. Would have been nice to know more about her later in life etc, a shame theres nothing really more. Thanks Paul, time to sleep now. Love hearing your stories and voice.💜💜💜
Thank you for the interesting story. You should check out the tale of Charles Starkweather, a young serial killer in Nebraska who, along with his 13yr old girlfriend, terrorized the farmland for days before being caught. He also has the distinction of being the last person executed by electric chair in the state.
I actually KNEW the brother of one of Starkweather's victims, Robert Jensen. This brother, Dewey Jensen, who had a Ph.D. in Philosophy and 2 beautiful sons Ethan and Thane, NEVER really got over the horrific death of his beloved older brother, and ended his own life by suicide when he was about 40 years old.. In other words, Starkweather's crimes had long shadows.
What a deliciously morbid story to digest while I take my dinner. As always you never fail to entertain my morbid side and I appreciate your delivery in a most clear and audible communication. You are a true professional and very captivating. Thank you.
@@isellehalforty1219 If I said he puts me to sleep because he's boring then yes, that would be an insult! But I had said he's relaxing and helps me get sleepy since my insomnia really gives me a hard time most days.
Kitty WAS a wronged woman. In modern day it would be manslaughter and possibly of diminished responsibility. It would not have been murder as she is a victim of domestic violence and cohesive behaviour. She would have been receiving physiological treatment.
I am not so sure it was her good looks that saved her, she had suffered at the hands of a cruel a brutal man. Let’s not forget that, he was a monster and she probably saw herself as helpless. It’s hard to make a judgment on the situation because it is the old saying unless you walk in someone’s shoes who knows what you would have done. In saying all of that murder is never a way of getting out of a terrible situation. She was a helpless woman in an age when men still had the upper hand.
Another amazing storytelling, sir! I wonder if you could do the Elsie Paroubek case, an old and tragic case but still not a single channel did it justice 😢
What the Dickens!! Yes she did well with the help she found!!! How rife VD was at theses time's, it's like she had so much to be mad for, what a life🥺 Glad she found Solis with family in the end.. She never got away with murder?? But alot did😢 thanks for another tale of the passed... What a world it was then, and not so great now?? 🇬🇧💯✌️⚖️
I honestly think that the death sentence would have been the mercy that Kitty deserved. She clearly had a violent, sly and possessive streak herself, given her post prison behaviour. Yes, he was abusive with Mabel but I don't think Kitty was as innocent as she was portrayed by her lawyer. It's their JOB to make their client appear innocent and he did his job well. Might not have been the whole story but that's not his concern.
You mean it was one of those relationships where both people are toxic, but people only notice the male toxicity? And that by purchasing the knife she most likely knew a situation like that was going to happen?
That’s the problem with jury justice; from what I’ve seen in tv shows, witnesses can be cut off by a lawyer before they say anything that doesn’t fit the lawyer’s narrative, and jury members are not dyed in the wool professionals like lawyers and judges, who’ve seen it all before.
It's my opinion that every relationship Kitty had had and would have had would be violent and nasty. She found bad characters and went on being difficult. Her counsel's attempt to present her as a beautiful and victimized girl was swallowed by the public, although it was a lie.
Where did you get this from? She was living at home with both parents until a year before this happened, I don’t buy she was a slut, none of the newspapers of the time talk about her in those terms, and dirt would have been dug if there was some.
The public only knew and wanted to believe one side of the story. Of course many women get away with crimes because they are a woman , young, pretty and or wealthy and well connected. I'm sure there were women in prison that did far less and were good people and received harsher sentences than Kitty. That's the real tragedy. Who fought for their release for being harshly and unfairly punished?
For the murder I think she was a women pushed to far as for the rest of her behavior maybe she was thinking that she got away with it once maybe she should try again. Thank you Paul for another wonderful story
Why did Kitty have a knife on her person at the time that she committed the murder? She was in a pubic place in the daytime. Did she usually have cause to carry a weapon?
Prisoners released on licence can be taken back to prison just for breaching the terms of the licence - no trial required. One of the standard conditions these days is "be of good behaviour and not behave in a way which undermines the purpose of the licence period" although, of course, things may have been different back then.
At that time , a woman reputation and vertue were all she had, he took advantage of her and smeared her reputation knowing well she has no one else to turn to Doesn't excuse murder but in that time who would have taken her side and saved her?
There is little doubt that the woman had some disorder or stressed behavior. She (and so many others) grew up very poor, with limited education, limited breaks, and opportunities. This doesn't mean she has the right to kill. I think I'm glad her sentence was reduced under the circumstances, but at the same time, if she could not or would not control herself, it may be that she had a mental disorder that they simply didn't remedy or try to cure in those days. Hard times for sure.
While I do understand and sympathize with an abused woman, especially in that era, you shouldn’t kill someone. Unless it is self defense. At least she did go to jail for a little while.
While her crime cannot be forgiven, it seems that she did have a mental disorder. To be kind one minute and violent the next, sounds either like schizophrenia or borderline personality disorder. Of course in those days, mental illness was not as well understood as it is today.
Thank you, Paul, for sharing another one I’d never heard of. Hope you have a nice weekend. It’s going to be a sunny ☀️ 94* in Kentucky. If your weather is anything like the USA’s right now…stay hydrated & 😎 cool ! (I get along great with summer but, well, I never liked the winter 🥶 cold.)😀 Sending best wishes to y’all! 💛
Sad to say but I've seen so many cases like that. Extremely violent men and women that may be nice in prison but when they get out, look out. I just can't control their tempers and end up killing or hurting other people.
In Reggie's photo he appears to be sporting not only a false moustache but a false body as well. However the bowtie which Mr Brodie is sporting is very becoming.
The way that the defense and the public opinion views a person isn't always an accurate portrayal of the actual person, I appreciate that you showed the less appealing side of her personality and that you did so with compassion. There's no excuse for the way that she was treated, and though his murder shouldn't have been the answer, she may have felt that was her only option...
you must do a lot of research because you cover stories on people lve never heard of and its fascinating to learn of their stories keep up the good work
Very interesting story. I do think she was successful save herself from death but bad idea to behave badly to the rich lady that took her at her home after.being released
On a weirdly superficial note, his crime was despicable but every time I see a picture of him, Reggies picture just reminds me of Kenneth Branaghs Poirot with the moustache. (Sry, I hope the spelling/grammar is right😅)
I love that we are starting to understand why this cases happen, this is a pairing of personality disorder people which often come together, him displaying coercive behavior and control over her, while her showing borderline personality disorder patterns, which explains why after being free of the abusive partner she still developed other kinds of bad behaviors towards others
My mother frequently said, "Never trust a man with a mustache." She never explained her rational for this prejudice. I prefer clean-shaven men, but I doubt I was influenced by her opinion.
Thinking about it, Tess of the D'Urbervilles would have been published not much more than a decade before this. Similar tale of a poor girl taken advantage of by a horrible man outside her class. Possibly the saddest ending in all literature. How much did this book reflect current sentiment or encourage sympathy to the 'murderer' I wonder.
I love the channel to bits but I’m finding the rolling “R’s” a little over the top 😂 So sorry but I just can’t ignore it now I hear it 🙄 Well…I Never! 😳
It's obvious that good looks pull a lot of clout back then, and the same goes for today. I believe kitty was just a mean and hateful woman. She could've left the man she murdered but chose to calculate a premeditated cold-blooded murder instead. As they say, the proof is in the pudding when her murderous ways surfaced with the nurse. She was a vile woman!
Prison makes people worse due to trauma inflicted there. It's not uncommon that people come out with an altered sexual preference, nor being harder and more violent. All of their influences inside simply encourage them to be worse, not better as does the mental trauma inflicted. I see her behavior before and after as two different things. At least, with the information provided in this story.
I only vaguely knew about this case before now and you presented it very well. I think Kitty was leniently treated because Edwardian society could not accept the idea that a woman was capable of murder in such a violent manner without exceptional provocation. If Kitty had poisoned him, I think the outcome would have been less in her favor.
I have no doubt that Kitty was every bit as unpleasant as Reggie. In such cases the public can be poor judges of character. As for Reggie, the lesson is: you should be nicer to people if you want any sympathy
She had the knife with her, she sent the letter? i mean she killed someone, she could have divorced him or ran away, instead she fcked up her life even more by killing him and i think prison must have done a number on her considering how she acted afterwards in that facility she was housed in, she isn't as innocent as everyone made her out to be, i am sure she didn't plan it or it wouldn't have been in public or maybe that was her plan. Either way few things can justify taking a life.
Okay her violent act against the man who is clearly a bully and a thief and a nasty guy who who is violent and she was a woman who not to be a stereotype but generally speaking men do tend to have an advantage in the physical aspect in in a general sense more so in the past as opposed to the present now but her violent and angry tendencies could have been attributed to more than one beating to the head and she suffered a traumatic brain injury which could be any kind of damage to the brain like a stroke or embolism or blunt force can cause one to become either docile or extremely combative
Sigh 😞. My Granddaughter is 13. I can not imagine sending her away to " work for a milliner" or " become a school teacher" or the many other "jobs" young girls did in the Middle 1800's. This young woman did kill the man. She was abandoned by the people who should have made sure she did not end up with this horrible horrible man.
We have Jan. 6 defendants in jail crying about how remorseful they are until they're released, then they're back at the batshit crazy. I really don't know how to feel about Kitty
I've heard this story before, but you do a much better job of it. I think the part that makes me mad is when she wanted to kiss him after she had killed him. I wanted to reach in and slap her. He didn't deserve to die, but you don't bend over the man you just killed and pretend you loved him. I hate how the different "ages" contend with the emotions of women. She should have just left him, but the man's lie was stronger than women's value at that time; that's the real shame, and crime. She should have been punished, yes, but he should have been kicked in the balls a few times.
