ABSTRACT
Derrick Bird’s victims were not all random. The first victims—his twin brother and the family solicitor who is thought to have been involved in drawing up his mother’s will—were both shot in their homes. Bird’s separation from his wife has been attributed to his wish for her to have an abortion with her second pregnancy which she refused to do. Just as Bird charted the locations of his final drive, it is also very likely that his victims were, at least in terms of his unconscious, not random at all but represented internal characters with whom he was in conflict. Bird’s terrorist was undoubtedly inside his mind and became so powerful that he could no longer resist his commands. His murderous acts may have held out the promise that he would in the end fulfil his omnipotent desire of being the only one. The psychological parallel with suicide bombers is striking.
