3 stars

This is a compassionate & nuanced account of a man who was abused, suffered from mental illness, committed parricide, & was committed to a state mental health institution for decades. The book is well written & detailed, but I’m uncomfortable with some of the writer’s un-nuanced, negative views on psychiatric healthcare & medications (though many of the criticisms of the state hospital & the overall system are well founded). The writer’s perspective seemed a bit biased on several points.

[What I liked:]

•The narrative doesn’t gloss over the abuse & neglect that went on in the Bechtold household, but doesn’t sensationalize it either. Among the parents & Brian, no one is portrayed solely as a victim nor as a villain. I appreciate the nuanced approach to telling this story, which includes the perspectives of Brian’s four siblings & their complex feelings about the abuse Brian survived & the crime he committed.

•The writer taught a writing class at the Perkins hospital for years & got to personally know Brian & the other patients she mentions in the book. She has clear empathy for them, & firsthand knowledge of their situations & perspectives.

•This book sheds light on the reality of life in Perkins hospital, the mistreatment of some patients, the imbalance of power between patients & their healthcare providers, & insight into the gaps & failings in the system. This is information most of the public likely isn’t familiar with, & I think is important for society to understand so things might improve.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•The writer emphasizes that psychiatric diagnoses can be subjective, & goes to lengths to claim that mental illnesses aren’t like other physical diseases. As a person with mental illness, this is a complicated issue for me. So many people view mental illness as a personal or moral failing & not a physical disease that can be successfully treated, so I’m wary whenever someone like this writer tries to discredit mental health issues as “real” illness.

•The writer also makes certain claims that aren’t factual, or at least not nuanced, such as: “Once a person has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, the label remains for life.” Actually, it’s common for people with mental health issues to get their diagnoses adjusted over time as new symptoms may present. For example, someone initially diagnosed with depression may later be diagnosed with bipolar disorder instead after experiencing a manic episode. Or, a person diagnosed with schizophrenia may have their diagnosis later adjusted to bipolar with schizoaffective disorder. She criticizes the older DSM versions for having subjective criteria for diagnoses, but also criticizes the current DSM for having more “streamlined” & empirical criteria, and never explains what she thinks an appropriate solution would be.

•The writer has a background as a psychoanalyst, but has no psychology or medical degree as far as I can find. She seems very skeptical of psychiatry, the DSM, & prescription medications. Her critiques of the mental health system seem heavily based on Brian’s opinions (although she does include differing opinions from other patients she knew there), rather than on research by professionals. I know there is plenty of room for critique of the US mental health care system, the debilitating side effects of some psychotropic medications, the possibility of misdiagnosis, etc. I also don’t doubt Brian’s experiences, some of which definitely seem unjust & cruel. Yet the evidence provided in this book is anecdotal & it’s possible that while Brian believed he was stable enough to be released his healthcare providers had good reasons for not releasing him (he was suicidal, refused medications, assaulted staff with weapons, & denied he had a mental illness).

CW: suicide, child abuse, domestic violence, mental illness, murder, abuse of institutionalized patients, physical assault, repeated use of a trans person’s dead name, rape

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

I'd like to start with the opinion that this book should be titled differently, very little is about the couple.

This is quite a different take on a true crime story than I've ever heard before. It’s focused primarily on what happens to the murderer after he’s killed his parents and is sent to a psychiatric facility.

There is quite a bit of information included about his parents & upbringing. The narrator did a good job, listened at 1.5 speed and helped to move the story along.

Given a free copy from netgalley for my honest review, Not sure how i feel about this book but there is always two sides to a story and stories like this are too often true.

This true crime, non-fiction account of the forensic mental health system over several decades was incredibly accurate and disturbing. This is the story of Brian Bechtold, a 22-year-old man who wandered into a police department in Port St. Joe, Florida and confessed to killing both of his parents. This crime was occurred in Maryland where the family was living and therefore Brian was arrested and tried in Maryland. He was found guilty by reason of insanity or what was called "not criminally responsible". He was sentenced to "treatment and incarceration" in a state mental facility for the "criminally insane". The system at the time was one of maximum security with step down units based on good behavior. A problem with this approach is that it is incredibly subjective. In addition to this, there is very little true review of a case. In other words, the history and documentation that is in place from the beginning remains an active part of the chart throughout the sentence. When new doctors and nurses assume care for the individual, they often adopt the previous diagnoses rather than "start over" and formulate their own diagnosis. Therefore, Brian, who was highly intelligent and educated, was stuck in a monotonous loop of mediocre or poor treatment and lack of new ideas.
From my personal experience having worked in the forensic unit of a psychiatric state hospital, I can absolutely see both sides of this situation. From the caregiver side, it would be difficult to have the resources and time to fully review and rediagnose every person you care for when taking over from a previous provider. In addition, resources for treatment options are limited as is staffing. This can lead to less than stellar care. However, I can absolutely see that the person who is admitted to a facility may feel as though they have done everything right after they are admitted and yet are no closer to discharge and feel like there is no hope.
I believe that the other issue is that mental healthcare has gone to a rehabilitation model, where the expectation, on both sides, is for functional improvement and ultimately the ability to resume as normal a life as possible. The ability to control impulses and take care of activities of daily living is a goal that may be obtainable or not. The decision that someone is at risk to themselves or others is a vital consideration as well. I have seen people who do rehabilitate and can be safely discharged to a forensic group home and then some do return to their homes. I have also seen the opposite situation, where the mental health issue is intractable and the likelihood of fully returning to society outside of a psychiatric institution is low.
This book brings up some excellent points and was a great read. I was allowed an early release of the audiobook. I flew through it, knowing many of the places and the situations. It gives a fantastic look at how this system works, or doesn't work, and is highly worth the time. The narrator, Christina Delaine, did a great job with this as well.
#CoupleFoundSlain #Netgalley #MacmillanAudio

Despite the title, only about the first third of the book has to do with the aforementioned couple. The reminder focuses on their son, Brian, who killed both of his parents while in the midst of a psychotic break, and his subsequent life as a mental patient.
The twenty-some years that Brian has spent as a patient in a mental “hospital” sounds very One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, minus Jack Nicholson’s charm. What this book highlights is the awful irony of Brian’s, and I’m sure many other’s, situations, being that they’re supposed to be remanded for treatment, while at the same time being told that they can’t get better.
It’s a sad and discouraging narrative that sheds a little light on the people often overlooked as the dregs of society.
Thanks to #netgalley and #henryholtandconpany for this ARC of #couplefoundslain in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fairly different take on a true crime story. It’s focused primarily on what happens to the murderer after he’s killed and is sent to a psychiatric facility. There’s still a good bit of foundation laid regarding his upbringing, his parents, the murder (he killed his parents – and I didn’t feel too bad about that since they were mostly awful), and his psychosis. He had some very serious problems.

Here’s the blurb:

Author of ‘An Unexplained Death’, Mikita Brottman’s ‘COUPLE FOUND SLAIN’, is an account of then 22-year-old Brian Bechtold’s 1992 murder of his parents and his subsequent life locked in a psychiatric hospital, offering rare insight into America’s approach to criminals with mental illness.

The book is interesting but not particularly engaging. I think I was mostly frustrated by what seemed like Brian’s inability to get a fair shake with the doctors and the courts. But I was also constantly aware that I’m getting Brian’s point of view through the author – who has no actual training in psychiatry (at least I got the impression that is the case) and only got to know him through a course she offered at the facility. So is Brian the most reliable source of information when it comes to his diagnosis? I don’t know. And that’s how I ended up feeling at the completion of the book: I don’t know. There was a lot of information given but I don’t know what the facts truly are so, in some ways, I’m feeling like maybe this wasn’t a good use of my reading time…

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me give this audiobook a shot.

I received a free audio copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I want to say that I think this book needs a new title. I don't feel like it represents the story and the meaning that is gained from it. Couple Found Slain refers to the crime that was committed by Brian Bechtold, the subject of the book. It refers to the incident in which Brian shot and killed his parents in 1992. Yes, the subtitle is After a Family Murder, which indicates that we are following what happens to Brian AFTER the crime is committed and he is found not criminally responsible. However, I don't see how the title connects with the treatment of mentally ill criminals.

"Not criminally responsible" is the more commonly used term in place of the former "Not guilty by reason of insanity". This is what the court deems Brian after his psychotic break. He's diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, and that diagnosis follows him around for the rest of his life. We learn about the events that led up to the murder, but the focus is more on Brian's life after the crime.

I felt like I was in the Perkins center with Brian because the descriptions dragged on and on and on, and I got an idea of how tedious and boring the center must have been for him. But that being said, I couldn't really make myself care. I felt like the author was trying so hard to get me to sympathize with Brian and make me believe he needed to be free. At the end of the day, the people in this center have committed awful crimes. I do want to see them rehabilitated, but I also can't muster up sympathy for people who have raped and killed children. (This is not the case for Brian, but we get a lot of background about the other patients).

Background about the other patients is another issue I have with the book. I found some of this information unrelated to Brian's story and it almost seemed like it was there to just shock the reader.

I've always been curious about what happens to those people who are found not criminally responsible for heinous crimes. I understand that mental illness can drive people to do things they normally would not do. I appreciated the information I learned about some of these institutions they are sent to. I hope to see some reform. But am I convinced Brian needs to be set free? I don't know.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3957091901

Really interesting book it's more about mental illness than a murder mystery there is no mystery we know who the murderer is right away, it’s about his mental illness. This is a really interesting look at different mental illnesses, drug protocols and misdiagnosis. Also what happens when someone is found guilty of a crime but are mentally ill and are sent to a hospital instead of jail, is that better?? The changing of medications just doesn’t seem like the best course of treatment.

The scary things going on in this hospital are not better than what a person goes through in prison. You would think that even in a high security mental hospital it would be safer but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

This is really a blistering look at the mental health system especially when it is chosen over prison because someone was mentally ill when they committed their crime.
It’s pretty sad that this man had to fight to go to prison; people who think going to a hospital is a lighter sentence should really read this book!

Brian had so many different diagnosis’s that really the only for sure thing is he did commit a murder, then spent 20+ years trying to fight them and go to prison or be released.

This was a fascinating look into what happens when a prisoner is sentenced to a hospital instead of prison.

Christina Delaine did a great job at the narration.

Really fascinating book I highly recommend it! I think this book would make a great book club book!

4 stars

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher Macmillan Audio for a fair and honest review.

This book was fairly interesting. I thought there was going to be more information on the family. However majority of the book was about his stay in the mental facility. And the injustices that he faced.

I am a true crime fan, and I loved the introduction to this book-- It said that most true crime stories unravel what happened to get people to where they committed the crime, but that this one would be different because it primarily follows the person after the crime. For that reason, I was a little surprised when the first 15% of the book was an extremely long, very detailed family history from the time the parents got married. I did keep listening, and I do think it did a good job of following life after the arrest, but it was overwhelmingly dry and I don't think the narration helped with that.

I always find stories from different perspectives fascinating. This story was what happens AFTER Brian was convicted of killing his parents and being declared not mentally competent. You hear stories of what happens in the mental health hospitals but you don't know what happens first hand. The story that was told here was heart breaking and had me really feeling for Brian. With his childhood, I could understand why he would have mental health issues, but it was more than that here. You feel sympathy with the way that he was treated in this facility, but you are also getting it from only his side. I don't know what is real, but I am sure a blend of both truths are what actually happened. I loved getting a glimpse inside these doors though because it sheds some light on poor situations that do need changed. The narration was spot on and was engaging. Thank you to Macmillian audio, Netgalley and the author for an early copy of this audiobook.

This is without a doubt, one of the most twisted and bizarre true crime books I’ve ever read. The story has sex, murder and millions of dollars in play. Police are called to the home of multi millionaire Jonah Shaknai, where they find the body of his girlfriend Rebecca, naked and bound at the wrists and ankles. Written on the wall near her hanging body are the words, She saved him can you save her. Rebecca’s death came just two days after the death of Jonah’s toddler son, who died as the result of a fall he suffered while under Rebecca’s care. Unbelievably, police rule the woman’s death as a suicide. Rother’s investigation into this bizarre and horrific case reveals a plot crazier than anything Hollywood could cook up. Married with Perry’s solid narration, this is a must listen for fans f true crime

Audiobook narrated by Christina Delaine. I thought it was very well done. This is my third true crime book this year and it’s been the best so far. The first half of this book is a bio of the family and the crime. Really liked how the author told this part.
The second half was the aftermath of the crime. What actually happened to the guilty party. Where they went. How they lived and all the difficult issues this entailed.
As a side note I want to mention that I spent a couple of days on a psych floor in my 20’s and it was surreal. I’ve never felt so helpless. Now having said that I was really torn about this situation. And I’m glad I don’t have to decide what’s safe for “us” in society.
Again, I really liked this book and it’s made me appreciate my family. I highly recommend if you love true crime.

My thanks to Net Galley and MacMillan Audio for this copy to listen to.

Brian Bechtold shoots his parents, goes to the police, and freely admits his guilt and is sent to Perkins Psychiatric Hospital. I was mislead a bit by the title. It's not just Couple Slain, it's Brian s journey from early family abuse and thru the hospital from his perspective. Great research and information on mental illness and medications for such diagnosis. It is an angle I have not read since One Flew Over the Cuckoo s Nest. Interesting listen.

My only complaint....did not connect to narrator. Very monotone and robotic . Could have used more expression.

The book’s sensationalistic title “Couple Found Slain”—and even the cover art—is a bit misleading. It gives you a sense that you’re about to embark on solving a true crime mystery. One that involves a 22-year-old son who kills his parents. But that’s not what this book is about. Rather, it’s about Brian Bechtold’s mental issues and his loooooong stay in a maximum security psychiatric hospital. The author, Mikita Brottman, does a thorough job researching life "in the aftermath." And how our legal and medical systems fail people with mental health issues. She takes us inside these hospitals and gives case study examples of how people like Brian are put into institutions and “left to rot.” No one knows what to do with them.

I listened to the audiobook and it was OK. Not excellent. This program includes an introduction read by the author, which is a reiteration of what I wrote above. This book is largely about how we do and don’t care for people with mental issues and how we do and don’t diagnose them. And it's about our weakening criminal justice system. Christina Delaine did a fine job narrating. The reason for my 3-star review is that I just didn’t connect to the content. It felt like I was reading a journal or white paper. That said, people in the medical profession or criminal justice roles will definitely enjoy this book!

Special thanks to Macmillan Audio and Henry Holt and Company for a copy of the audiobook, via the NetGalley app. This is my honest review.