Background and Biographical Data
The case of Jesse Norman Imeson reveals the possible connections between childhood upbringing, childhood trauma, and psychological characteristics on criminal behavior. While childhood experiences can never be used to condone violence or criminality, understanding the correlation between these factors may help identify early warning signs or risk factors that can then be used in crime prevention strategies. The story of Jesse Imeson gripped Canada because it involved the heinous killing of three individuals in the summer of 2007. Imeson was apprehended at age 22, pled guilty to all three counts of second-degree murder in 2008, and was sentenced to life in prison.

Jesse was the oldest of three children in the Imeson family. Until the first known traumatic event that occurred in Imeson’s early life, he was described by babysitters and friends as being “likeable,” “adventurous,” “happy,” and “wide-eyed...always smiling” boy who just wanted “to have fun,” (“LFP Archives: The hunt for, and truth about, spree killer Jesse Imeson,” 2018, p. 1). That all started to change when Jesse was nine years old when he found his father dead from suicide. His father was his “hero,” making the situation tremendously traumatic for the young boy (“LFP Archives: The hunt for, and truth about, spree killer Jesse Imeson,” 2018, p. 1). Instead of holding the family together, Jesse’s mother broke down under the pressure of caring for her three children. Jesse’s rambunctiousness was never diagnosed as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) but certainly could have been; ADHD being a major risk factor in delinquency and criminal behavior (Bartol & Bartol, 2016).

Within a year after her husband’s suicide, Jesse’s mother placed him—but not his siblings--in foster care with an organization called Children’s Aid. Jesse was ten years old and his abandonment first by his father and then his mother undoubtedly contributed to his deviant behaviors as a juvenile and young adult. Upbringing and the nuclear family “have long been identified in criminology literature as a crucial factor in a child’s or adolescent’s antisocial behavior,” (Bartol & Bartolp. 2016, p. 60). In fact, the string of events that occurred since his father’s suicide made for a precariously perfect precursor to criminality. Children’s Aid actually called his mother’s use of foster care to extricate herself from parenting responsibilities, separating her three children in the process, an act of reckless “abandonment” (“LFP Archives: The hunt for, and truth about, spree killer Jesse Imeson,” 2018, p. 1). The mother abandoning her eldest son constitutes neglect, which is “one of the strongest risk factors identified with delinquency and a life of crime,” (Bartol & Bartol, 2016, p. 62). Upbringing and the nuclear family “have long been identified in criminology literature as a crucial factor in a child’s or adolescent’s antisocial behavior,’ (Bartol & Bartolp. 2016, p. 60). Moreover, the mother’s behavior is even more important than that of the father when it comes to the internalization of trauma in childhood (Bartol & Bartol, 2016).

Therefore, since his abandonment by both parents, Jesse led what was then called a “rough life,” (“LFP Archives: The hunt for, and truth about, spree killer Jesse Imeson,” 2018, p. 1). He bounced from foster home to foster home, from relative’s home to another relative’s home. He started to do drugs, and was in and out of jail for crimes related to robbery and theft throughout his late teens. Yet even throughout high school, Jesse was well-liked by his peers and even adults. He was described as “a little rough” but still a “decent kid” who was never accused of bullying or violence (“LFP Archives: The hunt for, and truth about, spree killer Jesse Imeson,” 2018, p. 1). He was merely a “hard-partying hot head,” a designation that continued up until his arrest in 2007 (LFP Archives: The hunt for, and truth about, spree killer Jesse Imeson,” 2018). He used drugs heavily, and spent some time in rehab facilities, where he was called a “model client in spite of relapsing (LFP Archives: The hunt...…spree killer Jesse Imeson,” 2018). He lied about being in military (“LFP Archives: The hunt for, and truth about, spree killer Jesse Imeson,” 2018) and also about making money stripping at the club Rivera worked (Mellor, 2013). However, Imeson does not totally fill the profile of a serial killer. He had “a beautiful girlfriend, the mother of his two-year-old daughter, and a circle of supportive friends and relatives,” (“LFP Archives: The hunt for, and truth about, spree killer Jesse Imeson,” 2018). He was close with siblings and cousins even when he was arrested, too, showing that he does not fit the stereotype of an antisocial loner (“LFP Archives: The hunt for, and truth about, spree killer Jesse Imeson,” 2018). However, his demeanor both before and after the arrest could be described as dichotomous. He was described as being ““hyper and high strung” and also “polite and quiet,” (“LFP Archives: The hunt for, and truth about, spree killer Jesse Imeson,” 2018, p. 1).

However, Imeson does not fully fit into the utilitarian profile. For one, he cannot be considered a “natural born criminal” or even someone who is “arrogant and self-entitled,” (Mellor, 2013, p. 177). He had a good social life, “a beautiful girlfriend, the mother of his two-year-old daughter, and a circle of supportive friends and relatives,” (“LFP Archives: The hunt for, and truth about, spree killer Jesse Imeson,” 2018). He was close with siblings and cousins even when he was arrested, too, showing that he does not fit the stereotype of an antisocial loner (“LFP Archives: The hunt for, and truth about, spree killer Jesse Imeson,” 2018). Furthermore, based on his attempt to raise his child with his former girlfriend, Jesse did not necessarily “eschew the stability of marriage” and was also not an “angry young man,” based on what others said of him even during his most troubled teenage years (Mellor, 2013, p. 177). Imeson’s case shows that it is critical to consider sociological as well as psychological variables when profiling violent criminals.…