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The kid was decent looking, obviously bright. What the hell happens to someone to cause them to go off the tracks like this?

Amy Bishop was homely but not frighteningly so..and also very bright. Smart and crazy is a dangerous combination (Hitler, Lenin, Stalin...etc)

Something about Holmes makes me think of Jude Law, it's the eyes I think. He really looks like Law when he played "Gigolo Joe" in the film "A.I"

The kid was decent looking, obviously bright. What the hell happens to someone to cause them to go off the tracks like this?

That's an excellent question.

Schizophrenia is a genetically-based biological illness. It is not a charter flaw or the result of bad parenting, or the result of being dropped on your head as a child. Late teens or early twenties is a very typical age for someone who has the genetic predisposition to develop the onset of this horrible illness.

The level of ignorance (by which I mean lack of understanding and education) in the general public is what makes dealing with these illnesses so difficult for families.

When someone says "my son has cancer" their support group draws closer and they find empathy at every turn. When someone says "my son has schizophrenia" they find their support circles move away and empathy is replaced by scorn and blame and ridicule (e.g., "what did THEY do to mess that kid up?") I know. I have two sons - one is an Air Force pilot but the other, our youngest, developed schizophrenia in his early twenties. I'm happy to report he is on the right medication and dealing with his illness as well as anyone could hope for.

99.999% of people with these illnesses do not go on killing sprees, nor are they violent. But it is these relatively rare cases where many people get their only exposure to mental illness in the media.

I am also my state's coordinator for a 12 week education course for family caregivers of people with mental illness. We aim to help families better understand the nature of these illnesses and give them some tools for dealing with crisis, solving problems, more effectively communicating with their ill relative and much more. If anyone knows of anyone with a family member suffering from any type of major brain disorder (major depression, biPolar, Schizophrenia, PTSD, etc), please tell them about the NAMI Family-to-Family Course.