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Cook, Sharon Anne and Margaret Carson. (2022). **The Castleton Massacre: Survivor's Stories of the Killins Femicide.** Toronto: Dundurn Press.

Reviewed by: Kevin Hoogers, MacEwan University

"A terrible thing has happened. Your Uncle Bob has murdered his family, Florence, Gladys, Pearl, and little Patsy" (p. 2). This line in the prologue of Sharon Anne Cook and Margaret Carson's "The Castleton Massacre" immediately engages the reader. It was written in a letter to Sharon and her siblings when her mother and father went to be with Margaret and Brian, survivors of the 1965 Castleton, Ontario massacre. Robert Ivan Killins murdered his pregnant estranged wife Florence, elder sister Gladys, seven-year-old daughter Patricia, and his nineteen-year-old daughter Pearl, who was pregnant, in addition to injuring three men who tried to intervene. This act of familicide, with its targeting of female family members (femicide), raises serious issues regarding violence against women within a patriarchal society. For Sharon and Margaret, this is a deeply personal story. Robert Ivan Killins was Sharon's paternal uncle and Margaret's non-genetic father (p. 240). This sets the tone for the unique, personal account of the social and personal factors that contributed to the acts of violence within the Killins family.

Sharon and Margaret begin by outlining the historical context surrounding the Killins family. They begin by writing about the homesteading experience of Robert Ivan's parents in Alberta, which, unlike many families of that time, was relatively successful (p. 26). Homesteading demanded extremely hard
work and dedication, and success did not come without significant challenges. Robert John, the father of Robert Ivan, and his family faced harsh working conditions and struggled to establish a sense of belonging in their new home. While many families were able to forge close bonds with their neighbours due to shared hardships, the Killins remained isolated. The authors note, "The family seemed to make no close friends while living in the Mannville area" (p.27) and "It presents the family as relatively isolated regarding social contacts, a quality that also characterized the children once they had grown to adulthood" (p. 27). This lack of social involvement, particularly during Robert Ivan's formative years, is significant from a psychological and sociological perspective. Emile Durkheim, one of the founders of sociology, spoke about the importance of having social bonds as they help preserve social order and individual well-being.

The Killins family did not form these social bonds, which would have significantly impacted Robert's social development and psychological well-being in his developmental years. The limited social connections would have prevented him from forming lasting relationships or developing appropriate social norms and essential social skills which would contribute to his feelings of alienation. This isolation, when combined with his academic struggles and "explosive anger" (p. 32), would have led to a sense of anomie and detachment from society, which is linked to increased risks of deviance and social dysfunction. Robert's experiences in university further enhanced this sense of detachment. The authors note, "He struggled through 1924 and 1925, failing his English course and barely passing his Latin...

Robert had shown that he was both a social outsider and a marginal student, rather than the intellectual hero he had expected to become" (p. 35). This explains Robert's social isolation and academic struggles.

When combined with his "outsized ego" (p. 35), it likely fuelled an internal struggle that persisted for years. His inability to achieve his goals grew into resentment and a need to exert control in other areas of
his life.

The authors describe Robert Ivan Killins' family dynamics as patriarchal, where Robert Ivan controlled all aspects of the family, reflecting the societal expectations of a man in that era. He was a dominant force and his wife, Florence, was expected to be submissive. The manner in which Robert Ivan Killins' treated his estranged wife is an example of this. After their separation, he refused to grant her a divorce and relentlessly pursued her. By refusing the divorce he tried to maintain his control over them and resisted any change to his perceived power within the family. When Florence moved, he would build a shack next to her new home and then often enter her house unannounced, demonstrating a complete disregard for her autonomy. As the authors state, "Yet he would not release her through a divorce, so he would never be done with her. Clearly, Florence felt powerless to ask for a divorce since the legal grounds available to her would have been separation for two years, and he never left" (p. 123). Women in the 1960s had few options when seeking to escape abusive marriages. In society at this time the man was the head of the household and controlled the finances. The need Robert Ivan felt to maintain control over the women in his family is often observed in cases of domestic violence and femicide, as the authors point out in the epilogue. Of the twenty one risk factor markers that indicate the likelihood of domestic violence resulting in death, he had sixteen of them (p. 233). His feeling of losing power was intensified by his perceived loss of control as his daughter approached adulthood. She planned to move away with her partner, further removing herself from his influence. This growing sense of losing control, along with his other mental health issues mentioned previously, created a volatile mix that ended in the act of familicide.

"The Castleton Massacre" serves as a reminder of how societal institutions can fail to protect vulnerable individuals. The authors identify systemic shortcomings that put Robert Killins and his family
at risk. In the 1960s, society expected men to be strong as asking for help would be seen as a weakness. This often discouraged them from seeking help for mental health issues. Robert's deteriorating mental state and physical health went largely unaddressed due to a lack of accessible mental healthcare, prevailing stigma, as well as his habit of blaming others for his problems. The authors also note support systems were virtually nonexistent, especially in rural Ontario. "In the 1960s, as for time immemorial before that, there were no trauma counsellors, no child psychologists available to regular citizens, not even any social workers, unless the children became deeply maladjusted" (p. 230) The lack of resources and the stigma of mental illness made it possible for individuals like Robert to fall through the cracks. Families had little support to prevent a tragedy when a crisis arose. The tragic consequences of these failures are evident.

"Robert issued many such threats, particularly to his estranged wife. She in turn tried to find support, but no one felt able to protect her because of social norms and the legal structures of the day" (p. 203).

Despite progress in understanding mental health, barriers to seeking help persist, particularly for men. There is an ongoing need for accessible mental healthcare and an effort made to remove the stigma of accessing that help. Adequate funded support systems are essential to address the individual struggles and societal failures that can lead to such tragedies.

Cook and Carson chronicle the family history, devoting entire chapters to different decades. Although the level of detail may sometimes feel excessive, this approach ensures a deeper understanding and appreciation of all the contributing factors to the senseless act of violence. As the day of the massacre approaches, the pace dramatically shifts. It becomes a crescendo of violence, escalating to a minute-by-minute depiction of the massacre itself. This conveys the urgency and panic of that day, a feeling that is unforgettable.
In this book, Cook and Carson raise awareness about domestic violence and actively challenge the social systems that perpetuate it. They in turn urge readers to recognize the impact of gender inequality and to work towards preventing any further tragedies. The authors write that, "we must remain aware of the danger presented by domestic violence in our own age" (p. 231). The statistics presented in the latter part of the book are startling. "It is estimated that, today, a woman is killed by an intimate partner approximately every six days in Canada" (p. 232). By writing a true crime story with insightful social commentary and statistical evidence, the authors are successful in their goal of informing their audience about femicide and familicide and the events leading up to them within a patriarchal society. The insights gained from the complex interplay of social and psychological factors, as well as historical context makes this book a valuable resource. I believe this book would benefit students in sociology, criminology, and gender studies as well as the casual reader who wants to read a true crime story that will remain in one's mind for a long time. I am satisfied that the authors have successfully given the victims a voice in death that they had been denied in life.