Couples Who Kill by Carol Anne Davis Read Free Book Online

ageof thirty she went through the menopause) so was unable to have children of her own. This deeply upset her as she came from a large religious family and had been constantly told that children were ‘a gift from God’. She became a hypochondriac and called her GP so often that he refused to visit her. When a doctor suggested that she adopt, she embraced the idea with fervour, seeing this as her mission in life. She now approached Ken Bianchi’s mother, asking to privately adopt the three-month-old. The mother agreed and the papers were legally drawn up by the courts.
    Frances, now in her early thirties, was very much in charge of their adopted son, as her husband Nicholas was a subdued man with a speech defect. He worked at a foundry and Frances stayed at home with little Ken.
    By the time he was three years old it was clear that Ken Bianchi was deeply unhappy and afraid. He often wet the bed, had sleepless nights and went down with a case of acute laryngitis. The hospital doctors who were treating him noted that his mother was highly strung and overprotective , and found that she constantly rejected their medical advice. They suggested that she bring Ken back for allergy testing but she failed to follow through.
    Ken went to kindergarten but when he fell in the playground, as small children often do, his mother kept him home for the rest of the year. She would continue to keep him at home with her whenever she could.
    By the time he went to Holy Family School, Ken was still wetting his pants. His mother’s response was to spank him before he went to the bathroom in the hope that this would encourage him to expel all of his urine. She also took him from doctor to doctor, but rejected any suggestion that the problem might be psychological. WhenKen was checked in for tests, she insisted on accompanying him to the bathroom even though he was old enough to go by himself. When doctors suggested that she give the child some privacy, she became semi-hysterical , declaring that she would take him to the bathroom until she no longer had the energy. Hospital staff noted that Ken was no problem in the ward until his mother came to visit, at which he made numerous health complaints. In turn, his mother would rush around the various doctors, demanding that they cure the disturbed little boy.
    Frances Bianchi often brought up the fact that her adopted son dribbled from his penis – and, as a result, it was frequently examined and probed by the medical staff whilst she looked on. Eventually a clinician noted that ‘the relationship between these two must be considered pathological.’
    The teachers noticed that Ken found it hard to concentrate at school. He developed various facial tics and his eyes would roll back in his head, signs of mild epilepsy or of tension. He fell from a climbing frame in the gym and cut his lip and as a result his mother sued the school. Sometimes he was bullied by other children – and after a bullying episode his mother would keep him at home for a month. She also kept him off school for fear that he’d get a sore throat.
    Frances fostered two other children and whilst they were in the home Ken’s physical and mental health improved. But social services removed the children from her care and Ken’s ailments resurfaced. He was in and out of the hospital for tests after complaining of stomach and leg pains, with Frances Bianchi telling one doctor ‘He’sbeen whipped when he lies so he wouldn’t lie to me.’ The staff noted that Kenneth developed facial tics when talking about his mother, but he refused to say anything against her other than admitting that she shouted a lot. He said that she also shouted at his dad, who was a nice, quiet man. Unfortunately Ken hardly ever saw his father as the man had to work so hard – and when he wasn’t working he liked to bet on horses, a hobby which Mrs Bianchi despised.
Financial problems
    Frances had never been happy with the part of Rochester where they