I highly recommend this book. Different than what I normally read and completely unputdownable.
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me the thrill of reading early.

Wow!! I have read many true crime book but I have never read one involving a person sentenced to a state mental hospital. This book left me with several questions about the mental health system as a whole. I really enjoyed the pacing of this book but I was a little thrown off by the ending. It seemed to end abruptly. I was expecting a little bit more. Maybe there really was not much else that could be said. Maybe I was just enjoying the book so much I wanted more. The subject matter really peaked my interest. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about the mental health system, one experiences, after being sentenced to a state mental hospital.

Fascinating and incredibly disturbing. My only real issue with this book is the title. I feel that it doesn’t reflect what the book is about and it kind of sounds like something you would find in a discount store.

Honestly if I hadn’t been selected to review this book on NetGalley I wouldn’t have picked it up due to the title/cover. 3/5

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co for the arc!

My true crime loving soul leaped in joy when I was approved for this book. I couldn't put this book down. Most true crime books I read end after the trial. Almost as if the story is over, but its not. Couple Found Slain tells the story of what happens when one is convincted.

Brian Bechtold killed his parents. Almost has expected, his childhood was NOT filled with love or even pleasant experiences. He was found "Not guility by reason of insansity, as it was proven he suffered from a mental illness (later diagnosed as schizophrenia) . He was admitted to a Psychiatric Hospital called Perkins Center.

Ok, as with many true crime stories I read, I always ALWAYS google, especially when I don't know the whole story. and this one was a doozy. It wasn't so much a focus on the crime itself but rather on what Brian experienced at the Perkins Center (Clifton T. Perkins) and how he tried desperately to do what he could do to get out. This book really gets to the heart of how mental illness was looked at and treated.

Thank you so much NetGalley!

While the book was interesting,it seemed very drawn out. Lots of good information contained in it,but it read like a textbook at times. #netgalley #couplefoundslain

Horrific true story about a broken family. Brian Bechtold was born into an extremely abusive and dysfunctional family. After murdering his mother and father he is sentenced to a maximum security psychiatric hospital after he is found mentally insane. This book provides an intimate and shocking look at the broken system of mental institutions. Dark, extremely sad and difficult to put down.

*Thank you to Henry Holt & Co,, NetGalley and Mikita Brottman for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Previously posted at https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/couple-found-slain/

1992: Brian Bechtold was born into a family already overwhelmed with four kids. After 22 years of abuse and neglect, he walked downstairs one morning and shot his father in the back while he was eating his cereal. Then his Mother while she was watching TV, hooked up to her oxygen tank.

He then drove to Florida with his dog Onyx, and for two weeks hid out, thinking “they” were coming after him. When he walked into a police dept and turned himself in, he told the officer Jesus had told him to confess. This is his story.

Couple Found Slain takes place twenty years after they admit Brian to the psychiatric hospital. Most patients are released after ten years are so, but they have left Brian there with no straightforward way out. The only treatment they offer the patients is an everyday session with their assigned psychiatrist to talk about what meds they are on. The rest of the day they are left to walk to the halls, most of them in a drug-induced stupor, prescribed antipsychotics, which makes them tired and listless.

Now in his mid-40s, the doctors at Perkins find no trace of schizophrenia in Brian. Though he is still prescribed medication, he feels better and more progressive if he chooses not to take the drugs. Though his doctors insist he must continue the medicated regimen in order to move to the next level at Perkins, eventually leading to his release into society. Brian even tries to get sent to prison so he could have some freedoms but is denied.

While this book focuses on Brian, it is really about the endless loop of some patients in psychiatric hospitals. Though Brian’s murder of his parents is not the worst crime committed by hospital residents, his refusal to take medication has left him in limbo, also causing his doctors to believe he is denying his Schizophrenia. Mikita Brottman does a wonderful job of depicting life inside a hospital for the criminally insane. Readers will learn so much from Couple Found Slain, including how frustrating it must be for those who feel they have served their time. In the end, Brian has been at Perkins for 29 years without a plausible release in sight.

This is an interesting read for me. In theory, this should have been a home run and I should have loved it. Unfortunately the writing style was not something I enjoyed. At a lot of points the author was far too descriptive about things that didn't matter in the narrative. For example there is a large paragraph full of a list of garbage found on the floor of the Bechtold house. It doesn't NEED to be there and with books like this I'd prefer more substantial information instead. I appreciate what the author was going for here and I believe mental health needs to be discussed more, but there was little objectivity or straight up facts referenced. When I went in I was expecting the mental illness and the mental institution all lined with pure facts. There are facts there but they aren't presented in a way that announces where the information came from and if they are purely the author's opinion or not. With further research, I've found that the author is in fact a psychoanalyst and I want to trust her knowledge but I'd love some built in references. This book also points out a glaring hole in our justice system: the criminally insane. We already ignore most mental illness and this is no exception. I love the way that the author brings Brian's concerns and voice to the front. We need to make sure people are treated with dignity and respect and given the chance to prove themselves changed. We need to stop the constant judgement for simple and innocent behavior. Even with the issues I've had with "Couple Found Slain", I still found it to be an important read and I'd recommend it.

I read this book as if I was watching a slow moving train wreck. I was intrigued by the synopsis and dived in. Brian killed his parents during a mental health crisis. He readily admits it and the court found him NOT criminal responsible.....however, he was not competent to stand trial and was sent to a mental hospital.
The author got to know Brian through a group she led about Fiction writing.
The book describes Brian's struggles with trying to be released, his aspirations while inside the hospital, and his court battles.
I also liked that the author shines a light on how words and actions are transformed in a clinical setting.
The author does a great job of being an advocate for Brian and other mentally ill people.
Perhaps too much of an advocate.
She explains away ALL of the bad behavior, thoughts, that Brian has and blames the hospital. It is NEVER Brian's fault that he is in the hospital.
I could see shiny examples of Brians mental illness....him taking revenge on the social worker, his trying to escape, him stalking a beautiful staff member.
The author explains it all away, he wasn't stalking, he was waiting for her attention. He was mad at the social worker for providing unflattering testimony at court, he wasn't escaping...he wanted suicide by cop.

Overall I think that the author shines a light on how hard it is to be considered NOT mentally ill, when there has been a formal diagnosis.
However, I feel that the author should have been a bit more biased in her reporting.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC for this honest review.

Holy shit! This was a frustrating read. Brian, the killer, has to prove he’s sane by not showing symptoms of insanity. When not showing symptoms, it’s because he is hiding them.

Being on meds proves he’s in need of them and that he is insane. Asking to stop meds to prove he doesn’t need them is ‘denial of meds’, proving he is insane.

All of this in an abusive system that would drive many to insanity.

An indictment of the mental health care system as it is.

Mikita Brottman's "Couple Found Slain: After a Family Murder," explores the very real world and very real life of Brian Bechtold, whose 1992 killing of his elderly parents led to his being found "not criminally responsible" and to his subsequent hospitalization inside the maximum security facility known as Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center where he continues to be held to this day and until it is determined that he is stable enough and safe enough for some type of community release.

Brottman's effort, an obviously sympathetic work, is remarkable in its detail of Bechtold's childhood growing up as the youngest of four children of Dorothy and George Bechtold, whose parenting was apathetic at best and downright abusive at worst. An unexpected child born several years after his siblings, Brian ended up spending several of his teen years in the home alone with his parents. These were years when their apathy grew and his own mental status became increasingly disturbed.

There's never any doubt that Brian did, in fact, kill his parents. This fact is acknowledged early in "Couple Found Slain" and has been openly acknowledged by Brian throughout the years. Having taken ownership of the killings during some sort of psychotic break, Brian's subsequent years have largely been spent at the mercy of a mental health system that continues to consider him a menace to society despite his own perception that his risk has long ago passed and that he is at least as capable of release to the community as many others released before him who've committed just as bad or even worse crimes.

Brottman, an Oxford-educated author and psychoanalyst, approaches "Couple Found Slain" with as much focus on the facility of Perkins as she does on Bechtold himself. "Couple Found Slain" is far more convincing as a argument on the state of mental health in America than it is as an argument on Bechtold's actual preparedness for life outside the walls of Perkins.

"Couple Found Slain" begins with the early years of the Bechtold family, early chapters setting the stage for the tragic event to come that would end up in many ways becoming the defining moment of Brian Bechtold's life. Brottman first encountered Brian at Perkins, her leading of a voluntary group on reading of fiction being the place where they would first meet which would be followed by conversations and, obviously, an eventual detour into the development of this group.

It is, of course, remarkable in this day and age that anyone has spent nearly 30 years in a psychiatric institution. While it is not unheard of, it's much more rare than it was in days past as nearly all healthcare regulations these days lean toward community placement over institutionalization.

"Couple Found Slain' is quick to point out the many abuses and dysfunctions at Perkins, not necessarily excusing Brian's own behaviors or mental health but certainly most often telling the story through Brian's inherently skewed lens. To Brottman's credit, she's just as detailed with Brian's own dysfunctions and poor choices - for example, a desperate attempt to escape that involved violent threats toward others and others that Brottman seems too eager to accept as desperation rather than continued examples of Brian's pathology.

"Couple Found Slain" is an unusual book in that Brian remains hospitalized to this day, his lack of resolution being perhaps the book's most vivid point along with an opinion seemingly formed that he's trapped within the dysfunctional workings of a dysfunctional system. Interestingly, as I wound down my reading of the book I felt like Brottman had most successfully argued that both positions are true - Brian continues to be dangerously mentally ill AND Perkins is an inept institution incapable of even remotely addressing his comprehensive mental health needs.

Would Brian be best served outside the hospital? It's been known for at least several years that one of his sisters has offered her home for him to live. He's had a small circle of friends and supports who've maintained contact throughout the years and would likely continue to do so.

In my estimation? If you haven't helped him in 30 years, you're probably not going to help him. It's time to try something else whether he's ready or whether he's "earned it" or not.

"Couple Found Slain" is not always an easy read. Brottman's approach is research extensive and rather stunning with its precision. While advertising compares it to "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," I personally that comparison is as misguided as the overly histrionic title. The truth is that "Couple Found Slain" is most effective as an expose of the American justice and mental health systems that ultimately fail in terms of accountability and rehabilitation. If "Couple Found Slain" really makes an effective argument, it's that when his journey began Brian still had remarkable potential as a human being despite his abusive childhood and despite his horrendous act.

There was still a chance.

There's a pretty good chance that after 30 years at Perkins that chance is gone. We've ultimately failed Brian and men and women just like him who do horrendous things for reasons, at times, beyond their control either in the short-term or the long-term. We've got to find another way because, as we clearly see in Brottman's work, this way isn't working and human lives are the price we're paying.

This one felt more of a psychological explaination than a real true crime story. While the crime itself was explained thoroughly, it read as more of an academic novel.

As a Criminal Psychologist I did appreciate the facts surrounding the case and Brian's mental disorders, it didn't captivate me like most true crime novels I've read.

Gripping, well researched and covered with compassion. It digs into a broken criminal justice and mental health system in our country. A sad example of where the systems failed before he had a chance to be successful.

When one sees the cover of the book, it seems to be a lurid true crime story. Then, if the book is explored further, the story of Brian Bechtold comes into focus. Brian is a man who comes from a dysfunctional family where neglect and abuse are an everyday occurrence. This dysfunction, plus a drug and alcohol addiction trigger a schizophrenic/psychotic mental illness. Brian then murders his parents and goes on the run.
But the main focus of this book is on the years he is confined to a mental hospital and the sad life he then leads. This is a powerful book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
Mental health and true crime fascinate me. What was most fascinating about this book is the reality of life in a forensic psychiatric hospital. Mental health issues are always blurry and this book shows how much more needs to be done to improve not only the stigma of mental illness but how we treat those who have been deemed incompetent during a crime. I certainly have empathy Brian Bechtold's frustration on being kept in this hospital despite his apparent lack of symptoms of schizophrenia or other extreme mental health issues.

"Couple Found Slain" is Mikita Brottman's book delving into the murky territory of what happens to criminals deemed incompetent to stand trial. What happens after the final ruling?

Brottman uses the story of Brian Bechtold, a man who murdered his parents when he was just a teenager. At the time, Bechtold was, by all accounts, having a mental break. Since that time, Bechtold has been held in a hospital for the mentally ill. While the word "hospital" suggests care and rehabilitation, in fact what Brottman shows is a system so maddening, inconsistent, poorly funded, and unclear as to be potentially worse than a prison sentence. Through Bechtold's ongoing efforts to get his care team to acknowledge he is not in a continuing state of psychosis, Brottman shows how the rights of the individual can easily be swept away under the guise of public hospitalization. Worse, the mental impact of this system is clear, as Bechtold hopes for his own death as a kind of release from a capricious and cruel system.

What's good: Brottman's writing is clear and powerful. The book is beautifully researched and transparent in its point of view--Brottman worked with Bechtold as a volunteer in the hospital. I read Brottman's book on the death at the Belvedere and at the time I thought it was an incredibly powerful and new way to enter a true crime topic. In this book again Brottman uses personal connection to the subject as the gateway to the story and to make the ultimate point that the human life, even one that has done terrible things, counts.

What's iffier: While Brottman is typically even-handed in approach, and the book clearly attempts to articulate Bechtold's specific point of view, there's not a strong consideration of whether his psychiatrists over the years might be right. There's something in the sheer numbers that raises flags to me. Again, the book is focusing on Bechtold's view (and he obviously doesn't think they're right!), but given the overall question the book asks--what happens to these people?--it is worth considering whether there's more here than psychiatric incompetence, inconsistency, or lack of sufficient data.

Last but not least: If I were the editor, I'd rethink the title. I don't see either the death of the couple, or even the family nature of the murder, to be particularly central to the question of what happens to murderers who killed in a violent mental break and were judged incompetent to stand trial.

And one more last but not least: I do want to commend the author for the dignity with which she treats all of the patients in the hospital, even while not denying the reality of their crimes.

Finally: I reviewed this book based on an ARC from Netgalley.

A very disturbing and telling portrayal of the black hole that is our mental health system and it’s institutions. And I mean black hole literally. Brian Bechtold is a man who murdered his parents in their home when he was about 21 or 22 during a psychotic break. He takes off with his dog but walks into a police statIon 10-14 days later in Florida to tell them he killed his parents but he is clearly out of it. He returns to Maryland where he is found incompetent to stand trial and ends up in a mental hospital in Maryland called Perkins.

The rest of the story tells us how Brian despite getting better and working toward finally being released is met with a brick wall at every turn. There are times I wanted to scream while reading this book. As a psych major and a doctor I know how difficult it is to get rid of a label particularly one as harsh as paranoid schizophrenia. I understand why these people require extra vigilance. Yet if you are alone and particularly if you are indigent your hands are tied and there is very little you can do to fight back against the system. In this case though it becomes clear, at least if you trust the author, that Brian is no longer schizoaffective as they call it now and no matter how he tries to prove it his behavior is either turned against him or ignored. It seemed as though nobody was willing to give him a chance. I found the doctors arguments to be specious and self serving and I was shocked at the hypocrisy they displayed. It remains clear that the system still needs a complete overhaul and more people need to enter the mental health field. I don’t know how to get that to happen but things are probably worse than better now given the amount of drugs we take for every mental condition, needed or not.

The author is a very good writer and did a great job with telling the story in a few number of pages. It is a very quick read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. I couldn't stop reading this book. This is story telling at its finest. Not only a terrific story for true crime buffs but the story continues with the life of Brian Bechtold after his conviction. If you don't feel something after reading this book then you aren't alive. I love this author's writing style and she even explains things that are for those more medically inclined. Photographs go along with each chapter. A highly recommended read!

Couple Found Slain: After a Family Murder
By: Mikita Brottman

In 1992, Brian Bechtold a 22-year-old man brutally murdered his father and mother in their home. This is his story. He never denied his guilt. He was judged "not criminally responsible" by reason of insanity. He was eventually found to be suffering from schizophrenia. His life changed greatly after he was admitted to a maximum-security psychiatric hospital called Perkins Center.

This is Brian Bechtold's biography, starting in his young childhood with parents who were unable to be loving, caring parents to their four children. Brian's childhood was filled with abuse and neglect. There were several instances of mental health issues in their family history.

Brian Bechtold was left to rot in Perkins. There was no care or treatment being offered, the informational brochures put out by the hospital said they offered one on one instruction and classes, and rehabilitation. The inmates were usually forcibly drugged with antipsychotics and left to sit or stand in a dayroom all day and had slobber running down their faces. Classes or group therapy were rare.

Brian found himself feeling better if he was not taking the heavy drugs, The hospital personnel insisted that he needed to be on the medications so that he would heal and be able to return to society one day. Except that one day never came. Brian did everything he could to get out, not take the harsh medications, or at least be sent to a prison, where he would at least have basic human freedoms. With no success. The doctors and staff had preconceived ideas about Brian Bechtold and did not examine him or even read his charts, when they had to update his files or testify in court about his abilities or lack thereof, they would simply copy over whatever the last ten doctors had written and go on.

If Brian complained it looked like he was not cooperating in his treatment. If he refused to take medications, they saw it as a denial of his condition. All he wanted was to be treated as a human being and given a chance. He was not allowed. He instead is treated as less than a human being and has been kept in Maryland at Perkins Center for 29 years, with no end in sight.

There was no real conclusion to the book, just that Brian Bechtold exists in this state mental hospital, with no hope for the future. He has no say whatsoever in his care, is not allowed to refuse treatment. Is not allowed to move in with his sister who has said she would let him live with her and she'd look after him.

Thank you to NetGalley for the complimentary copy for which I was not required to leave a review.

Magnificently-researched non-fiction story about Brian Bechtold who, declared incapable of standing trial after murdering his parents, spends decades in Clifton Perkins Hospital.

Brian’s family history is compelling and tragic. The writer does a masterful job of telling the family story.

What makes this book different than other crime books, is the author focuses on Bechtold’s life in the criminal mental hospital after the crime. The population is described as is the personnel and treatment strategies that makes steady, consistent work impossible.

This book is done so well. Highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Company for the advanced copy of this incredible book. I’m grateful.