Born and Raised to Homicide by Irene Sullivan


Born and Raised to Homicide

by Irene Sullivan

Style: Nonfiction / Memoir / Authorized

ISBN: 9798891322912

Print Size: 264 pages

Writer: Environment Press

Reviewed by Lisa Parker Hayreh, PhD | Content material warnings: baby abuse, sexual abuse, homicide

A chilling memoir documenting tragic failures of foster care within the making of a serial killer

Leo Boatman was born to a lifetime of bodily, sexual, and emotional abuse. The Florida foster care system failed at a number of factors in his life to guard and look after him. This guide paperwork Leo’s descent from tortured baby into serial assassin who now resides on demise row within the Florida correctional system. 

Born to his mom whereas she was dedicated to an inpatient psychiatric care facility, his earliest years have been marked by neglect, bodily abuse, and sexual abuse. Leo is ultimately positioned with a succession of kin, associates, and foster care professionals. However every placement was doomed, compounding Leo’s struggling with every occasion of failure. 

This memoir particulars the a number of methods during which the foster care system did not determine and resolve the abuse he skilled. Younger Leo endured a complete childhood crammed with horrific neglect, recurrent aggression, and disturbing sexual abuse from household, associates, foster care, and juvenile correction officers.

The writer, the Honorable Irene Sullivan, gives a singular perspective to this memoir. She related with Leo following his first homicide conviction to study what prompted such violence. With Leo’s permission, she shares her letters and conversations with Leo to supply his life story. She intersperses his views along with her personal skilled commentary. She additionally cites evaluations from different professionals in addition to authorized data. 

Born and Raised to Homicidepaints a bleak image of the experiences which conspired to create a serial killer. Particular failures relating to Leo’s care within the Florida foster care system are highlighted, and potential options to resolve every essential failure are recognized. Consultants additionally focus on the probability that these system failures nonetheless happen in present-day foster care. 

Leo’s voice alternates between clever reflection and unfiltered rage. His phrases paint a heartbreaking image of innocence irrevocably shattered. He exists in a world of aggression and torment. On the identical time, he defends these family members who’ve supplied him constant kindness even within the face of ongoing abuse. 

Irene Sullivan serves because the voice of cause on this supply. She balances between sharing Leo’s experiences in addition to the factual particulars of his aggressive behaviors and the authorized outcomes of his actions. She connects the dots between the failures of the foster care system, the buildup of a lifetime of trauma, and Leo’s decisions to take his rage out on others by way of a number of murders. By the tip of this guide, our grief runs rampant for Leo, for all his victims, and for all kids failed by foster care.

This guide comprises graphic descriptions of bodily, sexual, and emotional baby abuse; baby neglect; and aggravated grownup bodily violence. These disturbing particulars nonetheless present the mandatory backdrop for Leo’s growth from an harmless baby to a convicted serial killer.

Totally documented, thoughtfully compiled, and thoughtfully written, this guide will shake you to the core. A should learn for true crime lovers; for many who love a robust true story; and for these curious about nonfiction concerning the foster care system.


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