Investigative psychology Prof on BBC Panorama
Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:22:00 BST
Professor David Canter’s psychological analysis of killer Michael Philpott
THE BBC’s flagship Panorama programme called on the University of Huddersfield’s Professor David Canter (pictured right on the programme) to provide psychological analysis of convicted killer Michael Philpott, the man behind the blaze in Derby that resulted in the deaths of six children.
Philpott created a personal mythology that made him believe he could get away with almost anything, in the view of Professor Canter. People around him were just objects to be used.
Professor Canter is a pioneer of the discipline of investigative psychology and is world-renowned for his research in the field. During the hour-long Panorama special – broadcast in the wake of guilty verdicts on Philpott, his wife Mairead and their friend Paul Mosley – he made a series of contributions, beginning with an analysis of Philpott’s behaviour at a televised press conference following the blaze deaths.
Pictured left - Michael and Mairead Philpott at the televised press conference
Professor Canter picked up on tiny exchanges of eye contact between Philpott and his wife.
“It is as if he was saying, ‘we’re doing it right, this is what we agreed to do’, as well as trying to maintain the position he is trying to present of himself as a terrible victim.”
Part of Philpott’s self-created mythology was that he was a great father figure, said Professor Canter. He regarded his children as his possessions – “part of how he defined himself as this great individual who had this team of people around him. The children were just pawns in the game, just objects that he could show off to the world.”
The programme reported on Philpott’s bizarre behaviour in the mortuary of the hospital where his children’s bodies were taken.
This revealed Philpott’s lack of empathy and feeling for the people around him, said Professor Canter.
“They were just objects to be used as part of the mythology that he created for himself.”
