Friday, September 18, 2009

Raymond Clarke III, Murder of Annie Le, Rages in Children

Check out this article "Intermittent Explosive Disorder: Possibilities in Annie Le's Murder"

The persona of Raymond Clarke III does not evoke a chilling fear in us. Here is a young man, just a few years older than my first born. He doesn't look like a bum at all to me. You can see that he was somber and exhibiting a certain level of anxiety in photos taken during his arrest.

However, all evidences are leading to him. It will be very difficult to find another suspect when DNA results, the scratch marks on his chest, interviews all point about a great possibility that he murdered Annie Le.

The story made me ponder about the motive for awhile. First, I am concerned about the fragility of mental health disorders and how it can manifest in subtle, unpredictable ways. Second, the motive that the police said about "workplace violence" case, does not resonate with me. How can a young man, well-built hurt a fragile, looking Asian girl?

It is for this reason, that I concluded that something "snapped" with Raymond Clarke during those moments when he hurt Annie Le. For sure, we will know in time.

Since the age of Annie Le is not so far from Raphael, my first born, I can relate very well to the parents of Annie Le and Richard Clarke.

Are we able to predict the "choices" that our children will make once faced with extreme amount of stress? I feel sadness for the parents of Annie Le and her fiance. Annie Le is a smart young girl taking a doctorate in pharmacology in an Ivy League school. It is an accomplishment in itself. The future of Annie Le could have been equivalent to success. There is no doubt that in her youth, she was a stellar student. One day, Annie Le's mother woke up and her daughter is gone.

On the other side, Raymond Clarke's mother is grieving. She is experiencing so much regret and fear for her child. She is probably blaming herself for what she was unable to do when Raymond was young to prevent all these.

The story is very sad. It makes me stop my world for a second to write this article on "Intermittent Explosive Disorder" and try to relate it as a possible cause of this violence. Read the article here.


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