Couple Found Slain
Mikita Brottman

This is my first true crime book in a long time. I admit this case is really intriguing from a psychological standpoint and from a criminology standpoint. But I think most importantly the back oks main focus is on the mental health and psychological health of Brian Bechtold.

In the beginning of the book, the author focuses on the crime. I think a partial mistake was made in taking such an in-depth look at the mental health hospital where Brian spent most of his life. It exploits the lack of care and outright neglect of the hospital he was in and others like it.

The title (COUPLE FOUND SLAIN) however, suggests that this book is in part about the death and murders of Brians parents. It is not really about that.

That's not to take away from the book itself. The writing was sympathetic towards the patients and painted a bleak picture for anyone serving a sentence this way.

Sadly, I think there is a mispercetion that anyone would rather “do their time” in these psych wards. And even worse is that while these patients are serving their time there is minimal effort put towards rehabilitation and recovery.

A lot of the efforts are put towards maintaining a level of order within the hospital . At some point, these patients are set to be released back within their communities, unchanged, or they spend their entire lives in confinement.

Good book, sad story...

Four Stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this advanced listeners copy!

Audiobook Review: Couple Found Slain: After a Family Murder by Mikita Brottman (Author & Narrator), Christina Delaine (Narrator)
A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company, July 6, 2021

★★★★☆ (3.75 Stars rounded up)

A well-written read, certainly not without interest.

However, for those who'd expected a non-fiction novel along the lines of Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" or Michelle McNamara's "I'll Be Gone in the Dark", this book will disappoint.

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British-American non-fiction author Mikita Brottman pens a scholarly work of advocacy and investigative journalism to bring to light the desperate situation of a certain Brian Bechtold locked up to this day under purportedly deplorable conditions at the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, a psychiatric hospital and facility for the criminally insane in Jessup, Maryland.

Bechtold has been at Perkins in a drug-induced stupor most of the time since 1992 after he pleaded guilty in court but was found not criminally responsible because he was suffering from a mental illness at the time.

The bodies of Bechtold's parents, George and Dorothy Bechtold, were found in their suburban home just north of Washington, D.C. on Feb. 21, 1992, hours after Bechtold calmly walked into a police station in northern Florida, and told authorities he had killed his parents with a shotgun.

He was found in court to be paranoid schizophrenic and was to be confined until doctors determined he was not a danger to himself or others.

A quarter of the book is a descriptive narration of Bechtold's family background, the neglect by his parents, and events leading to the killings.

The remainder of the book is a virtual indictment of the Perkins psychiatric facility as the author depicts instances of alleged incompetence by the administrators including a doctor who was found to be insane, dreadful hospital conditions, cruelty of the guards, and insouciance by underpaid staff.

Brian Bechtold, intelligent with a high IQ of 114, intimates to the author that he'd have rather been found guilty and incarcerated than be pumped full of psychiatric drugs every day of the rest of his life.

Review based on an audiobook galley from Macmillan Audio and NetGalley.

This was a very interesting take on a true crime. I thought I was very interesting how they focused on what happens to a killer who suffers from a mental illness after the crime. However, the book was a lot of policy and how hospitals work. It wasn’t my favorite but definitely an interesting read.

Brian Brechtold has cold-heartedly murdered both of his parents. Horrible, right? Once you learn the background story of this family, your view might changed. This book is about the unfortunate life of Brian and how he fought all his life to prove he was misdiagnosed and did not need all the meds he has been forced to ingest at Perkins.

This book gives you an insight on how difficult it is today still to diagnose, treat and heal patients suffering from mental diseases. And it is scary to see that those diagnoses are kind of subjective because it’s the professional’s word against the patient’s. Unlike any other medical condition, you cannot see a metal illness in an x-ray or in a blood test. This is why Brian had to fight all his life to prove he was no longer a threat to himself and society and he was completely able to get out of Perkins. To no avail.

A very sad but important story to be told.

Thank you Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Although this was probably a perfectly worthy piece of true crime for most, I didn’t find it to be my cup of tea. I guess it might have been the narrator rather than the event, but he read it like a police report. Certainly, there were police persons involved in the response and investigation, but the manner was too clinical for my taste. Perhaps not for others. Thank you Net Galley.

I won the book from Goodreads, but when I started reading it, I couldn't get into it. Then it became available on Netgalley as an audiobook and I listened to it. I think not having to read all the technical terms was the motivation I needed. I swear, I was close to tears at times listening to how the patients were treated at the psychiatric facility called Clifton T. Perkins. How much better off the patients who had a choice would have been had they chosen prison.

I can’t imagine many things more horrifying than being locked up in a mental institution and being misdiagnosed and drugged up for years, and having nobody to take you seriously. This was pretty much the life for Brian Bechtold, years after he confessed to killing his parents.

Don’t get me wrong—he was guilty and he was mentally unstable at the time of the killings. Being no expert at mental illness, I can see how putting a person in a healthier setting (with medication as needed) could help heal a person.

The focus of the story is not the murders, but the care Brian received in the years following his incarceration at Perkins. This story reminded me of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, because at times it was every bit as disturbing.

Mental illness is such a misunderstood health problem in our society and listening to this story certainly illustrated that fact. The narrators were very clear and to the point in getting the story across.

Many thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for allowing me to listen to an audio version and give my honest review.

One of the best true crime books I've read in a long time!

Couple Found Slain is unlike any other book in this genre because it lets you see what happens after the crime. The research into the prison system and mental health care for convicted people was informative, thought-provoking, and interesting to read.

Brottman takes the true crime genre to a whole new level with this amazing book.

Couple Found Slain: After a Family Murder” details the events that led up to the events on February 21, 1992 when Brian Bechtold confessed to killing his parents. This audiobook details the true story of Brian’s time in psychiatric facilities. This book starts with the crime of the murder, but really, focuses on the mental health system. It is surprising because I never anticipated feeling sorry for the main character, the murderer. However, by the end of the story I did. Brian was at the mercy of the doctors and other professionals at the psychiatric facility. By the end of the story, I found myself wondering, did he really benefit from the treatment or would he have been better off being sentenced to prison? The narrator was easy to listen to and it was quite enjoyable. If you enjoy true crime and/or non-fiction stories related to psychiatric issues/diagnoses, you will find this recording enjoyable. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the audio-recording in exchange for my honest review.

I listen to and read a lot of true crime, but Couple Found Slain was a new spin on true crime. We are following the true story of Brian Bechtold. He brutally murdered his parents in their home in Maryland. Most true crime stories focus on what leads the killer to the crime, the crime itself, and the trial, but this book explores what happens to the subject after they are sentenced. In this particular case, Brian was ruled as not being criminally responsible for his parents death because he said he'd been possessed by the devil and was diagnosed by schizophrenia.

Mikita Brottman delves into Brian's live not only leading up to the murder, but also his life after being committed to a maximum security psychiatric hospital. Brian spent 27 years in there and his experiences were truly horrifying. The insider account from Brian was truly eye-opening to a flawed system and show that being deemed not criminally responsible for a crime actually holds a fate worse than getting convicted and sent to prison.

This book was an emotional roller coaster and I had a lot of conflicting feelings throughout it. What Brian did was horrifying. The system seems to be designed to hold people indefinitely instead of truly trying to rehabilitate them. I hope this book and further investigations into psychiatric hospitals can incite some real change in the system. This book opened my eyes to the serious flaws in the system and the desperate need for reform.

It is a truly difficult feat to convince your readers that someone who commits a double murder deserves any sort of sympathy, but Mikita Brottman does just that in this extremely gripping and oftentimes heartbreaking story. Written in such a way that humanizes Brian, this is an incredible feat of investigative journalism. Brottman’s writing is absolutely enthralling and the look her story takes at the broken system in which many mentally ill patients can fall through the cracks or become trapped is captivating.

I received a review copy of this audio book through netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I did not like this audio book. Don’t get me wrong I looked into the truth of this story and I believe that the potential for a great true crime novel was there but this did not hit the mark for me.

The narrator also did not quite hit the mark for me. She was really dry and monotone even when she was trying to give Bryan his own unique voice.

Just was not for me.

I struggled to get through this one. I thought it was true crime, but it actually was post crime. The suspect admitted he committed the crime.

Some of it was very interesting. Some was not so interesting. It was not a super long book, but the audio seemed long.

Was not really my cup of tea!

Reviewing
Couple Found Slain
By Mikita Brottman

Fascinating.

Couple Found Slain is listed as a true crime, and that is definitely part of the novel. However, the book’s true focus is on Brian Bechtold’s life after being diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic and being deemed incompetent to stand trial. Readers get a firsthand look at life inside a maximum security mental institution for the criminally insane. It is eye-opening, mind boggling, and will have readers google searching facts of the case, definitions, and old news articles/documentaries in search of the truth.

Couple Found Slain is not what I was expecting but a rather delightful surprise that I am already recommending to both true crime and mental health loving friends.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars for this well written look into a life free from bars for better or worse… 14+ rating for mature subject matter.

I found this book to be very interesting, and really a bit different than the normal true crime that I read. It starts out talking about the Bechtold family, the way it started with each of the parents, who became the murder victims, and how the family changed with each child and the family resources. I was sad to hear of the mental illness that ran through the entire family, including outside of this family unit. I must admit, the parents were not very sympathetic victims in my opinion. Their treatment of the children was horrible and abusive. My heart went out to each child, including Brian, who is the one who killed the parents. He suffered horrible abuse and mental illness through his entire life. The story and the events afterwards were quite interesting. I did like the book, even all of the issues in the story. I think the author did a great job in bringing out all of the relevant facts. I really liked the way she talked about the mental illness issues and all of the facts about that. This was an audiobook. I liked the narration. It was not monotone or the like. The narrator did a great job. It kept my interest the entire time. I do recommend this book.

Happy pub day to Couple Found Slain, and thank you to Macmillan Audio and Henry Holt Books for my NetGalley ALC. This was my first true crime audiobook, and I really liked this format.

Brian Bechtold killed his parents after years of abuse, confessed to the crime, and was held not criminally responsible due to mental illness. But where most true crime stories end with the capture and punishment of the perpetrator, Brian's was just beginning when he was sent to a psychiatric hospital. Couple Found Slain is an unflinching look at the horrors of such hospitals and the damage they inflict on their residents.

I picked this book up during Mental Health Awareness Month to get a better understanding of the "criminally insane." The story of Bechtold's institutionalization at Perkins Hospital is not for the faint of heart. During the book, a fellow patient says that he'd rather go back to jail than to Perkins - this is just one example showing how horrible this facility is for its residents. Patients are medicated into stupors and punished if they refuse to take the prescribed medication. Brottman does a thorough job explaining how being criminally insane often leads to longer punishment than a simple guilty verdict due to the immense power of psychiatrists to declare that a patient is dangerous to society.

If you've previously explored the themes of incarceration and the prison-industrial complex, I'd recommend trying this book. The audio by Christina Delaine was great - it felt like I was listening to a well-done podcast. I also appreciated the introduction to the text narrated by author Mikita Brottman, and I'm planning to check out some of her backlist work.

Review posted to Instagram on 7/6/21 and Goodreads on 7/7/21.

"Couple Found Slain" is not what I was expecting and I still enjoyed it all the same. What starts out as a true crime story quickly unfolds into a glimpse at our mental health system through the eyes of the killer. I consistently found myself mesmerized and outraged at what Brian went through. Anyone who reads this will walk away having learned something and likely wanting to take action to help change this system.

This was a different type of true crime. I appreciated learning about what happens after the crime and not just the crime itself. To learn more about the murderer and to see them as more of a person than a monster.

It was quite fascinating to learn about mental health facilities and how horrible they actually are and thankfully see some improvement. I don’t condone acts of violence whatsoever but i think still that people should treated humanly and the way these people were treated in this facility is just disgusting. To see mental health professionals care so little for their patients is just awful. And to learn that people with mental illnesses are treated worse than prisoners, just wow.

Very enlightening read.

𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙣 is a refreshing new take on true crime. While traditional true crime explores the defendants life leading up to and during the crime, it traditionally ends at conviction. Although Bechtold’s upbringing is covered, Mikita Brottman departure from the normal format explores what happened after Brian Bechtold was diagnosed with schizophrenia & ruled “not criminally responsible” for the murders of his parents on grounds of insanity.

Brottman pulls back the curtains on the reality of life in a maximum security psychiatric hospital, where patients are neither imprisoned nor free. Many think the horrors of a psychiatric hospital brought to light in stories like 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘍𝘭𝘦𝘸 𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘰𝘰’𝘴 𝘕𝘦𝘴𝘵 are in the past, but how much as really changed behind these walls? Do those committed really receive the help they need, or is any hope for humanity completely lost?

Brottman explores the answers to these questions by analyzing Brian’s 27 year stint in a psychiatric center, where he attempted to escape, was shot, witnessed patient-on-patient murders, & experienced several forms of maltreatment. In doing so, she also ties in the evolving knowledge on schizophrenia & it’s treatment.

I really enjoyed listening to Brian Bechtold’s story from this perspective. Both my husband & I have spent time working within the criminal justice system, so I’m fully aware of its flaws & as such I’ve been a prisoner advocate for years. I’ve mainly focused on advocating in the traditional prison system setting, so seeing this perspective reminded me everyone within the system needs more advocacy. No matter how brutal someone’s crimes may be, everyone needs a little humanity.

This in-depth exploration was really interesting; however, I would have really loved added interviews or input from staff and patients who stayed alongside and interacted with Brian.

I highly recommend this book to true crime and psychology lovers.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this book in return for a honest review.*

Couple Found Slain follows the life of Brian, who was the person that ended up murdering his parents as a teenager. Brian was admitted into Perkins Hospital after the murders and stayed there.

In a way, I started to feel sorry for the patients of Perkins, and Brian himself, because of the treatment they endured at Perkins. But then I also had to remind myself of the different crimes the patients committed.

This takes a deep dive into the mind of Brian and talks deeply about mental health and how factors of our world makes people do things they normally wouldn't think of. I was not expecting how indepth this book was going to be about mental health and the mental health system. It was super interesting and was really insightful.

This book teaches you many things about the criminally insane sentence, what goes on behind closed doors in a mental health facility, how people's diagnoses change as they grow up, and how some people's mental illnesses can go into remission for years and years and never show up again.

I thought this book was really well done and presented. It was super insightful. The only negative thing I have to say about this book is that it did get quite repetitive at the end, but I do understand why it was written the way it was. Highly recommend!