The Obsession

The latter half of the 20th century saw the rise of true crime as a massively popular genre, a phenomenon that exploded in the 21st century with podcasts like Serial and documentary series such as Making a Murderer. This intense public fascination often extends beyond the crime itself to the perpetrator’s family, who become subjects of media scrutiny and public speculation. Families of infamous killers like Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer were thrust into an unwelcome spotlight, forced to reconcile their private memories with monstrous public realities. Kerri Rawson, daughter of the “BTK Killer,” Dennis Rader, has written and spoken extensively about the secondary trauma inflicted upon families, who are often treated with suspicion and must navigate a lifetime of stigma.

The Obsession powerfully dramatizes this psychosocial impact. After Thomas Bowes is exposed as a serial killer, his family becomes a public commodity. Naomi’s mother, Susan, is hounded by reporters and eventually sells her story to a writer, telling her brother, “His publisher’s going to pay me twenty-five thousand dollars” (39). This decision, born of desperation and manipulation by her imprisoned husband, deepens her psychological distress. For Naomi, the legacy of being a killer’s daughter is a relentless force that shapes her identity.