Why Did They Do it?

The cases that stunned Australia – and left us all with one question: why did they do it? Gerard Baden-Clay was described as charming and successful, with a picture-perfect life, until he murdered his wife, Allison. John Myles Sharpe killed his pregnant wife and their young daughter with a spear gun. Simon Gittany flung his fiancee off the balcony of his upmarket inner-city apartment, having proposed lovingly to her, in public, just two months before. These and other crimes, committed by people described as average, ordinary, normal…In Why Did They Do It?, respected journalist Cheryl Critchley teams with esteemed psychologist Dr Helen McGrath to dissect the cases and identify the personality disorders of each of the killers. Using psychological analysis, combined with scientific evidence, they identify the reasoning and motives of the men and women whose brutal crimes shocked the nation.

Author Biography

Professor Helen McGrath has worked for many years as a psychologist in both a hospital setting and in private practice. She is currently an adjunct professor at both Deakin University and RMIT University. She is the author/co-author of twenty-two books for psychologists, other professionals and the general community, including Bounce Back!, Difficult Personalities and Friends. Cheryl Critchley is a respected Melbourne investigative journalist with thirty years’ experience on a range of publications. She is the author of six books on topics as diverse as AFL football, parenting and Melbourne Zoo’s first baby elephant. She now writes and edits for the Weekly Review and several other publications.