Читать книгу Parents Who Kill - Shocking True Stories of The World's Most Evil Parents - Carol Anne Davis - Страница 43

Yet she still loved the idea of motherhood, so offered herself as a surrogate mother, telling doctors that it was important to her that the adoptive parents were Christians. The clinic put Diane through a series of tests, where she scored highly on IQ and on robust physical health but did badly on the psychopathology scale. She told the psychologist about her parents being strict and distant, about the incest and how it had left her with no enjoyment of sex. He – and a second psychologist – found that she could shut down her feelings at will, and both thought that she was suffering from Histrionic Personality Disorder. But the clinic was so desperate for surrogates that they accepted her. Artificially inseminated, she became pregnant at the first attempt and was delighted, telling acquaintances that, for the first time, she had a purpose and that her aborted child might be reincarnated in the new baby. She began sending frequent letters to the anonymous parents care of the surrogacy office, giving them updates about the pregnancy.

Her marriage ended and by 1981 she was divorced and working as a post woman – she loved the job and was in a high-energy state throughout the pregnancy. Yet she ignored her existing children, wouldn’t let them into the lounge in case they made it untidy and preferred to party at night rather than spend time with them. Cheryl became clinically depressed and told neighbours, who often fed her when she was locked out of the house, that ‘nobody cared.’ Christie was also incredibly sad and acquaintances noted that she’d tried to take on the role of mother to her siblings, old before her time.

Acquaintances said that all three youngsters were emotionally starved and physically neglected, sometimes playing outside in light clothing and bare feet in the winter. Diane hit the children so hard that a co-worker suggested she go for counselling, but she continued to party instead.

In May 1982, she gave birth to her surrogate baby, a daughter, and immediately handed her over to her new parents. She received $10,000, money she used for the deposit on a new mobile home. Three weeks later, she went back to work and began a new series of short-lived affairs with co-workers. She would act submissive and giggly until she got them into bed where she would scratch them until they bled. They were left with the impression that she hated men. They were also confused by her bizarre behaviour, as she read the Bible every night and quoted it to them chapter and verse, yet had extra-marital sex, which her religion forbade. On her postal route, she refused to deliver soft porn titles such as Playboy and Penthouse as they offended her, yet she was heard to call her children ‘fucking bastards’ and would push them away when they wanted a hug.

Diane had sex with at least two of her co-workers then started an affair with a third – Dave (a pseudonym). He’d never wanted children and had had a vasectomy. Now that his second marriage was going through a bad patch, he thought that he and Diane could have a casual fling. But he was alarmed to note how often she dumped her offspring on others – and equally confused during a daytrip when she asked them repeatedly ‘How much do you love mummy?’ Trying to extricate himself, he suggested that she give her marriage a second chance.