Abstract
Survived by One is a case study of the murder of the Odle family by the surviving child, Thomas Odle. In 2001, at the request of death penalty appeal attorneys, Dr. Robert Hanlon conducted a neuropsychological evaluation of Tom Odle. In the preface, Dr. Hanlon describes Odle as having a high IQ, generally intact cognitive and mental functions despite having spent 15 years on death row, and traits consistent with antisocial personality disorder. The introduction provides the reader with definitions of family murders and the characteristics of those who kill. Hanlon notes that parricidal familicide, the killing of at least one parent in addition to at least one sibling, is extremely rare, is typically committed by the eldest male child, and may be related to child abuse, mental illness, or antisocial tendencies.
In 2003, Odle’s death sentence was commuted to natural life, at which time he contacted Hanlon to request help in understanding why he had murdered his entire family. The book is the result of extensive therapeutic correspondence between the two. In addition to written and interview information provided by Odle, Hanlon comprehensively reviewed criminal justice system records, court transcripts, and relevant newspaper articles and conducted interviews with people who knew the Odle family.
The book does not have identified sections but can be divided into three parts: the Odle family life prior to November 8, 1985; the horrific murders on that date and the subsequent arrest, trial, and conviction of Odle; and the period from the conviction and death sentence to 2012. Chapters 1 through 6, the first section, provide a detailed account of a disturbed young man raised by an emotionally cold and abusive mother and a weak and passive father. Odle’s abuse narratives, including accounts of physical and emotional abuse, are supported by court testimony and the author’s interviews with others who knew the family.
The father, Robert Odle, was the family breadwinner who worked evenings for the telephone company. Carolyn Odle, the mother, was socially active in her children’s schools, her church, and her bowling league. The children included Tom, Robyn, the favored daughter 4 years younger than Tom, Sean, 1 year younger than Robyn, and Scott, the youngest son. From outward appearances, the family appeared to be a normal American family. However, Carolyn, the product of a family that included a passive mother and an alcoholic and strict father, imposed rules on her children similar to what she knew as a child.
Although Tom was abused by his mother, Sean was the target of his mother’s most severe abuse. He was physically and emotionally abused, starved as a form of punishment, and chained to his bed to prevent him from finding food on his own. Rather than sympathizing with this child who was the target of the most severe abuse, Tom described hating his siblings and physically abusing Sean because he was often forced to be the caregiver for the younger children. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services removed Sean from the home when the abuse came to the attention of the authorities. He was later returned home several months before the murders, even though the parents were resistant to the treatment plan.
By the time he was a teenager, Tom was a polysubstance abuser, was failing in school, was committing burglaries and car break-ins, was selling drugs, was sexually active with multiple partners, and met the diagnostic criteria for Conduct Disorder. Although Tom tried to leave home several times or was kicked out by his mother, he always returned. His life continued to spiral out of control as his drug use and criminality increased. On the day of the murders, Tom had again been ordered out of the family home, but this time by his father.
The second part of the book, Chapters 7 through 9, chronicles the murders, presented in graphic detail from Odle’s accounts and court forensic testimony, and the subsequent criminal justice processing. The exceedingly brutal nature of these murders clearly provides the reader with an understanding of why the jury quickly found Odle guilty of first-degree murder, making him eligible for the death penalty. The mother and father were the first victims and, while the rage directed at the mother and father by an abused and disturbed 18-year-old is somewhat understandable, the murders of the children appear to make no sense. Fueled by a drug binge that included large amounts of marijuana, LSD, and angel dust, Odle left his parents dead in their home, only to return later in the day to murder his siblings after they arrived home from school. The children’s deaths appear to be the reason for the imposition of the death sentence on an 18-year-old who clearly had been abused as a child.
Chapters 10 through 12 plus the Epilogue, the final section, include a review of the death sentence in Illinois and the alarming number of exonerations of death row inmates, which ultimately resulted in the commutation of all Illinois death sentences. The remainder of the book is a chronicle of the mature Tom Odle trying to understand the actions of his younger self. Like so many others who will live the rest of their lives in prison, Odle has learned to cope and has made the most of the available educational and treatment opportunities. Hanlon states that Odle hopes that by publicly describing his experiences, he may help others.
Robert Hanlon has written a compelling and easily-to-follow account of a highly unusual crime rooted in all-too-common circumstances. This book is intended not only for an academic audience but has an appeal to a much wider audience. From an academic perspective, one jarring note was Hanlon’s occasional use of Wikipedia as a source, but these instances are primarily related to specific case laws and information about correctional facilities and do not significantly detract from a masterful telling of a cautionary tale of abuse and the tragic results that likely could have been avoided with appropriate assessment and intervention.