I Am Cain by Gera-Lind Kolarik & Wayne Klatt

Author:Gera-Lind Kolarik & Wayne Klatt [Kolarik, Gera-Lind & Klatt, Wayne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Bought, Non-Fiction, True Crime, Read
ISBN: 9781891053719
Goodreads: 17066918
Publisher: Garrett County Press
Published: 2012-10-31T23:00:00+00:00

14

PUNK NIGHTS

August 21, 1987

ONLY A FEW hours later, at four in the morning of August 21, the Biros drove their youngest son down Sheridan Road to the North Side of Chicago. In the dark, Lake Michigan was only a moonlight glitter. They pulled into the driveway of Charter Barclay Hospital, a private psychiatric facility specializing in treating teenagers with problems such as suicidal depression, eating disorders, and drug addiction. The family walked under the security lights, and Nick rang the night bell. Joan waited with her arms folded as her son stood beside her.

A staff member led them inside, and a nurse asked the parents to fill out a questionnaire and sign a release form. The Biros were shown part of the five-story building, and they saw that David would be comfortable in the dormitory-style setting of salmon-pink walls and floral prints. The staff kept a disciplined schedule for the children: up at six o’clock, therapy sessions privately or in groups, and classes in math, history, English, science, art, and physical exercise.

While his parents continued answering questions about the family, David was taken to a unit where he was searched for weapons and tested for drugs, then led to a side room for an admitting psychiatric evaluation.

“Why are you here?” asked the psychiatrist.

“My parents think I was trying to kill them.”

“But you didn’t?”

“No, my brother did.”

“Do you ever feel that you might lose control and hurt someone?” No answer. “How would you do it, David?”

“No,” the boy said blankly.

“Have you ever been violent or shown intimidating behavior toward others?”

“Maybe with a BB gun, that’s about it.”

“Have you ever thought about killing someone?”

“No.” But the psychiatrist noticed anger under that calm expression.

“What do you see as your strengths and weaknesses, David?”

“I have no idea.”

“What do you see for yourself in the future?”

“I can’t see in the future,” David answered.

Some time past dawn, David was introduced to his roommate. Later that day, David attended an informal meeting of the patients, “the community,” and was asked why he was in the hospital. “I poisoned my parents,” he replied. A staff member wrote down that the boy had a smile on his face.

Although David was sure he would be out in a few days, the staff felt the minimum time would be thirty to forty-five days. In early interviews, psychiatrist Judith Stoewe saw David’s antics at home as a power play he would likely repeat with staff members. She believed that his misbehavior—getting out of hand only in the last six months—was a possible sign of major depression. More troubling, it seemed to Stoewe that Nick and Joan Biro had been turning their heads away from the problem for years, and they did not seem capable of providing the limits David needed. That meant any progress he made at Charter Barclay could be lost once he returned home.

Stoewe—a plump, middle-aged woman with her hair pulled back—visited David in his room and asked about his life in general. He answered flippantly that he didn’t care about others and did exactly what he pleased.

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