How Does This Happen?

Residents of Mont Vernon, New Hampshire gathered last night in town to mourn the brutal murder of Kimberly Cates.

On Sunday, four young men allegedly broke in to the Cates home to rob it.

Two of the suspects are being charged with stabbing Cates and her daughter several times, killing the mother and seriously wounding her 11 year old daughter.

The motive of the alleged attackers is not clear, but State prosecutors argue the young men intended to kill any occupants found in the home.

Across New Hampshire, people are asking how such a seemingly random act of violence like this can happen.

Elizabeth Ossoff has some ideas.

She's a Professor of Psychology at St Anselm College in Manchester.

She tells NHPR's Mark Bevis that we have to look to what she calls situational factors.