1. I read Bitter Harvest, by Ann Rule, which accounts the double murders committed by Dr. Debora Green.
2. The victims of murder committed by Dr. Green were her two children, Tim Farrar (aged 13 at the time of death) and Kelly Farrar (aged 6 at the time of death). Tim and Kelly were the first and third of three children in the family of Dr. Debora Green and Dr. Michael Farrar. The children of the upper-middle class, Caucasian family resided in their large, single-family home in Canterbury Court (an upscale community in Prairie View, Kansas).
3. The killer was 44-year old Dr. Debora Green, mother of her two murdered victims. Dr. Green, also Caucasian, lived with her children at their residence in Canterbury Court. Dr. Farrar, Dr. Green’s husband, had recently moved to an apartment of his own at the time of the murders preceding an impending divorce process. Dr. Green had no prior criminal history, though she simultaneously pleaded “no contest” to aggravated arson, attempted first-degree murder of Michael Farrar (through prior `ricin poisoning incidents), and attempted capital murder of Lissa Farrar (Michael and Debora’s second child, who survived the fire) while pleading “no contest” to the capital murders of Tim and Kelly Farrar.
4. Dr. Green was the mother of Tim Farrar and Kelly Farrar, her two victims. This type of murder (chosen from Chapter 4 of our textbook) can be loosely classified as a mass murder: multiple victims were killed in a single incident. Unfortunately, the number of victims (2) may not fit the typical definition of “mass murder” – this is due to ambiguity in the definition. Dr. Green may also be considered a family annihilator; she attempted to kill all three of her children at once. This case can also be classified as a sensational homicide, due to its high probability of receiving great amounts of coverage and the extent to which the case itself is emotionally arousing.
5. The killer’s M.O. was to burn down the family’s residence effectively enough so that the children would not escape and perish inside. She accomplished this by waiting until the children were asleep, dowsing parts of the house with a fire accelerant, and lighting a wick from her bedroom.

6. The ecology of the murder scene:

6. 1. The victims were last seen by their father, Dr. Michael Farrar, after returning Tim Farrar and Kelly Farrar to their house after Tim’s hockey game.
   2. The initial contact site the family’s home, located at 7517 Canterbury Court.
   3. Though there was no initial assault, per se; the fire began in the home as well.
   4. The murder site was also the family’s home, as the fire consumed the children while they were inside.
   5. The bodies were not moved by Dr. Green after they perished in the fire.
7. The theory of murder that shines the most light on this case is that of the “Social Psychological” perspective. The “social occasion,” or general state of social affairs, was ripe for the possibility of murder – the Green-Farrar marriage was in shambles and the family was in serious trouble. Many social transactions that occurred within the Green-Farrar social network are prevalent among general social occasions whose transactions end in murder: the murder occurred during non-work or leisure time, was committed during a routine “evening at home,” and the offender-victim relationship was one of kinship. While the murderer in this case did not perceive her victims’ behavior towards her as offensive (i.e., there was no distinct situation transaction among them that led to murder), the crime instead was an act of revenge towards her fleeing husband.