By Katherine Ramsland

Video Footage:
Sequence of Events
VA Tech buildings on campus
Police respond on campus
Volunteer Medical Responders
Press Conference 4-17-2007

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(Continued)

The Evolution of Romantic Obsession

If Cho was indeed a stalker, as those who know him a little indicated in news magazine shows on April 17, then he probably had obsessional delusions that could have inspired harassment and unwanted surveillance.  The typical person suffering from this delusion is single, immature, inept at normal social relationships, gets attached to unattainable objects, and attains them via fantasy.  In fact, the fantasy can become so intense it feels utterly necessary to the person, the fuel for life itself.  They begin to believe the target person feels exactly as their fantasies indicate.  Usually, they become predatory, although not necessarily violent.  They just want to keep track of the person.  They don't mind the target's annoyance, anger, or even restraining order, because it links them to the "beloved."  They collect information and settle in for a long "relationship," in which they feel in control.

Cho Seung-Hui

Dr. J. Reid Meloy, author of Violent Attachments and editor of The Psychology of Stalking, states that pathological attachments most often occur in males and follow a predictable progression:

1. After initial exposure, the stalker develops feelings like infatuation
2. The stalker's behavior then sets him up for rejection.
3. Rejection triggers a delusion that the object actually does feel the same as the stalker — usually because there's contact between them
4. The stalker also develops intense anger to mask his shame, which fuels an obsessive pursuit of the object.  He might now wants to control through harassment or injury; he needs to restore his narcissistic fantasy.
5. Violence is most likely to occur when the stalker ultimately devalues the love object, seeing her behavior as betrayal.  

While many stalkers threaten harm, only a percentage carry out their threats—including damage against property.  Many have a prior criminal record and/or show evidence of substance abuse, a mood disorder, a personality disorder, or even psychosis.  At least half threaten their victims, which increases the possibility of violence, as does a highly sophisticated fantasy with specific violence in mind.  Frequency of violence averages 25 to 35%, with most occurring between prior intimates.

There's no easy way to predict who might become a stalker: It could be a former boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse; a fellow employee; a hostile neighbor; a store clerk with an instant infatuation; or a stranger who happens to have seen the victim on the street. Even people who were not abusive prior to their obsession can become so in the throes of it.  They gradually replace reality with an imaginary world that's more empowering, and they don't want to lose that feeling.

Although we do not yet know the facts, from what we do know so far about Cho, it's more likely that he developed false ideas about Emily than that a popular, stable girl like her accepted a relationship with a young man who wrote vulgar, violent plays, who did not return greetings, who barely ever cracked a smile, and who fantasized about how to hurt others.  Even if she went out with him, she'd probably have soon realized he was trouble.  Whatever gesture she made, it's clear that something she did or didn't do made him angry, and many people suffered as a result.

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By Katherine Ramsland

VA Tech Massacre Full Coverage & Breaking News

Video Footage:
Sequence of Events
VA Tech buildings on campus
Police respond on campus
Volunteer Medical Responders
Press Conference 4-17-2007

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