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Daniel Keyes

The Mysterious Story of Billy Milligan

Dedicated to everyone who suffered abuse as a child, especially those who are forced to hide afterwards...

THE MINDS OF BILLY MILLIGAN

Acknowledgments

In addition to hundreds of meetings and conversations with William Stanley Milligan himself, this book draws on conversations with sixty-two people with whom he crossed paths in life. And although many appear in the story under their own names, I would like to specifically thank them for their assistance.

I also say “thank you” to everyone listed below - these people helped me a lot in conducting the investigation, thanks to them the idea was born, this book was written and published.

They are Dr. David Kohl, director of the Athens Mental Health Center, Dr. George Harding Jr., director of Harding Hospital, Dr. Cornelia Wilbur, public defenders Gary Schweikart and Judy Stevenson, attorneys L. Alan Goldsberry and Steve Thompson, Dorothy Moore and Del Moore, mother and Milligan's current stepfather, Kathy Morrison, Milligan's sister, as well as Milligan's close friend Mary.

In addition, I thank the following agencies: Athens Mental Health Center, Harding Hospital (especially Ellie Jones from Public Affairs), Ohio State University Police Department, Ohio State Attorney's Office, Columbus Police Department, Lancaster Police Department.

I also want to express my gratitude and respect to two Ohio State University rape victims (who appear in the book under the pseudonyms Carrie Draher and Donna West) for agreeing to provide detailed accounts of their experiences of the events.

I would like to thank my agent and lawyer, Donald Engel, for his confidence and support in getting this project off the ground, as well as my editor, Peter Geathers, whose undying enthusiasm and critical eye helped me organize the material I collected.

Many people agreed to help me, but there were also those who chose not to talk to me, so I would like to explain where I got some information from.

Comments, quotes, reflections and ideas from Dr. Harold T. Brown of Fairfield Mental Hospital, who treated Milligan when he was fifteen years old, are gleaned from his medical notes. Milligan himself clearly remembered meetings with Dorothy Turner and Dr. Stella Carolin of the Southwest Mental Health Center, who first discovered and diagnosed him with multiple personality disorder. The descriptions are supplemented by sworn testimony from them, as well as testimony from other psychiatrists and lawyers with whom they communicated at the time.

Chalmer Milligan, William's adoptive father (referred to as "stepfather" during the trial and in the media), refused to discuss the allegations against him, or my offer to tell his own version of events. He wrote to newspapers and magazines and gave interviews where he denied William’s statements that he allegedly “threatened, tortured, raped” his stepson. Therefore, the alleged behavior of Chalmer Milligan is reconstructed from court records, supported by affidavits from relatives and neighbors, as well as from on-the-record interviews I conducted with his daughter Chella, his adopted daughter Kathy, his adopted son Jim, his ex-wife Dorothy and, of course, with William Milligan himself.

My daughters Hilary and Leslie deserve special recognition and gratitude for their help and understanding during those difficult days when I was collecting this material, as well as my wife Aurea, who, in addition to the usual editing, listened to and systematized several hundred hours of taped interviews , which allowed me to quickly navigate through them and double-check the information if necessary. Without her help and enthusiasm, the book would have taken many more years to complete.

Preface

The book is a fact-based account of William Stanley Milligan's life to date. For the first time in US history, this man was found not guilty of committing serious crimes due to the presence of a mental illness, namely multiple personality disorder.

Unlike other cases in the psychiatric and fictional literature of patients with dissociative identity disorder, whose anonymity was ensured from the outset by fictitious names, Milligan, from the moment of his arrest and indictment, acquired the status of a publicly known controversial figure. His portraits were printed on the covers of newspapers and magazines. The results of his psychiatric examination were reported on the evening news on television and in newspapers around the world. In addition, Milligan became the first person with such a diagnosis who was closely monitored around the clock in a hospital setting, and the results indicating multiple personality were confirmed under oath by four psychiatrists and a psychologist.

I first met twenty-three-year-old Milligan at the Mental Health Center in Athens, Ohio, shortly after he was sent there by court order. When he asked me to talk about his life, I replied that my decision would depend on whether he had anything to add to the numerous media reports. Billy assured me that the most important secrets of the personalities inhabiting him were still unknown to anyone, not even to the lawyers and psychiatrists who worked with him. Milligan wanted to explain to the world the essence of his disease. I was skeptical about it, but at the same time interested.

My curiosity was heightened even more a few days after we met thanks to the last paragraph of a Newsweek article called “The Ten Faces of Billy”:

“However, some questions remain unanswered: where did Tommy (one of his personalities) learn an escape skill that rivals Houdini himself? Why did he call himself a “guerrilla” and a “gangster” in conversations with rape victims? According to doctors, Milligan may have other personalities that we do not yet have any idea about, and perhaps some of them committed crimes that have not yet been solved.”

Talking to him alone during office hours at a psychiatric clinic, I saw that Billy, as everyone called him at that time, was very different from the level-headed young man with whom I spoke the first time we met. During the conversation, Billy stammered and nervously twitched his knees. His memories were scanty, interrupted by long gaps of amnesia. He was only able to utter a few general words about those episodes from the past about which he remembered at least something - vaguely, without details, and while talking about painful situations his voice trembled. After trying in vain to get something out of him, I was ready to give up.

“I learned about him and other things from my life at the Harding Clinic, when I was already partially synthesized. Arthur explained to the younger ones how they enter the real world.

-What does this spot look like? What are you really seeing?

– It’s a big white spot of light on the floor. Everyone is standing around or lying on their beds in the dark: some are watching, some are sleeping or minding their own business. But the one who stands on this spot takes control of consciousness.

– Do all of your personalities respond to the name Billy when addressed?

- When I was sleeping and one of the strangers called Billy, my People responded to this name. Dr. Wilbur explained to me that others try to hide the fact that there are many of them. The truth about me was revealed only by mistake, when David got scared and told Dorothy Turner everything.

– Do you know when your people first appeared?

Billy nodded and sat back to think.

“Christine appeared when I was very little. I don't remember when. Most of the others appeared when I was between eight and nine years old. When Chalmer... when Papa Chal...

His speech became somewhat jerky.

– If it’s difficult for you to talk about it, don’t talk about it.

“It's okay,” Billy said. “The doctors say it’s important for me to get rid of it.” – He closed his eyes. – I remember it happened a week after April 1st, April Fool's Day. I was in fourth grade. He took me to the farm to help him prepare his vegetable garden for planting. He led me into the barn and tied me to a hand plow. Then... then...

- Maybe it’s not necessary? – the writer asked carefully.

“He hit me,” Billy said, rubbing his wrists. “He started the engine, and I was afraid that I would be pulled in and torn to pieces by the blades. He said that if I complained to my mother, he would bury me in the barn and tell her that I ran away because I hated her.

Tears streamed down Billy's cheeks as he continued to speak:

“The next time it happened, I just closed my eyes and walked away.” I know now - Dr. George Harding helped me remember a lot - that it was Denny who was tied to the engine, and then David came along and took the pain himself.

The writer felt himself trembling from the anger that gripped him.

“It’s amazing that you survived at all.”

“Now I understand,” Billy whispered, “that when the police came for me at Channingway, they didn’t arrest me, but saved me.” I'm sorry that people were hurt before this happened, but I feel like God has finally smiled on me for the first time in twenty-two years.

Chapter Six

1

The day after Christmas the writer made the long trek to the Center for a second interview with Billy Milligan. He had a feeling Billy would be depressed after spending the holiday at the clinic.

The writer learned that a week before the Identity, Billy begged Dr. Caul to allow him to spend the holiday with his family at his sister's house in Logan, Ohio. Kol replied that it was too early - only two weeks had passed since his arrival at the clinic. But Billy insisted. Other patients were allowed to go home for short holidays. If the doctor told the truth that he would be treated the same as other patients, then he should try to get permission to do the same.

Knowing that the patient was testing him, and understanding how important it was to gain Billy's trust, Kol agreed to make the request. He was sure that the request would be turned back.

The request caused a furor in the Parole Board, the Office of Mental Health Services and the Columbus District Attorney's Office. When Javich called Gary Schweickart and asked what the hell was going on in Athens, Gary said he would try to find out.

“If I were you, I’d call his doctor in Athens,” Javich said, “and tell them to cool down a little.” If anything could cause a loud protest against the new law to control the criminally insane, it would be the sight of Milligan walking the streets.

As Dr. Caul expected, the request was denied.

As the writer opened the heavy metal door and headed towards Billy's room, he noticed that the department was almost empty. He knocked on Billy's door.

The door opened and the writer saw Billy, looking as if he had just gotten out of bed. Billy looked at the digital watch on his wrist in confusion.

“I don’t remember them,” he said.

Then he went to the table, looked at the paper lying there and showed it to the writer. It was a receipt from the clinic's warehouse for twenty-six dollars.

“I don’t remember buying them,” Milligan said. “Someone is spending my money—the money I got from selling my drawings.” I think this is wrong.

“Maybe the warehouse will take them back,” the writer suggested.

Billy examined the watch carefully.

- I think I'll leave them. Now I need a watch. They're not very good, but... okay.

– If you didn’t buy them, who did?

Milligan looked around, his gray-blue eyes carefully scanning the room, as if checking to see if anyone else was there.

– I heard unfamiliar names.

– Which ones, for example?

- Kevin. And Philip.

The writer tried not to show his surprise, only making sure that the recorder was turned on. He had read about ten personalities, but no one had ever mentioned the names Billy had just mentioned.

“Have you told Dr. Caul about this?”

“Not yet,” Billy replied. - I'll tell you. But I don't understand what this means. Who are they? Why do I think about them?

As Billy spoke, the writer remembered the last paragraph of the December 18 Newsweek article: “Nevertheless, the following questions remain unanswered... Why did he declare himself a “guerrilla” and “hired killer” in conversations with his victims? Doctors think that there are other, not yet identified individuals living in Milligan and that some of them could have committed crimes that have not yet been revealed.”

“Billy, before you say anything else, we need to lay down some rules.” I want to make sure that nothing you say to me will ever be used against you. If you ever tell me anything that could be used against you, just say, “This is off the record,” and I will turn off the recorder. There will be nothing in my notes that would have any consequences for you. If you forget about this, I will stop you and turn off the recorder myself. Do you understand?

Dedicated to everyone who suffered abuse as a child, especially those who are forced to hide afterwards...

THE MINDS OF BILLY MILLIGAN

Acknowledgments

I also say “thank you” to everyone listed below - these people helped me a lot in conducting the investigation, thanks to them the idea was born, this book was written and published.

Many people agreed to help me, but there were also those who chose not to talk to me, so I would like to explain where I got some information from.

Preface

My curiosity was heightened even more a few days after we met thanks to the last paragraph of a Newsweek article called “The Ten Faces of Billy”:

But one day something strange began. Billy Milligan became fully integrated for the first time, and before me stood a different man, a fusion of all his personalities. The combined Milligan clearly and almost completely remembered all of his personalities from the moment they appeared - all their thoughts, actions, relationships, difficult experiences and funny adventures.

I say this up front so that the reader understands how I have recorded Milligan's past events, feelings and intimate conversations. All material for the book is provided by Billy's moments of integration, his personalities and the sixty-two people with whom he interacted at various stages of life. Events and dialogues are recreated from Milligan's memory. Therapeutic sessions were recorded from videotapes. I didn't come up with anything myself.

When I started writing, one of the big challenges was chronology. Since childhood, Milligan often had “time out”; he rarely looked at clocks or calendars, and he often had to awkwardly admit that he did not know what day of the week or even what month it was. I was eventually able to reconstruct the sequence of events based on bills, receipts, insurance reports, school records, employment records, and numerous other documents provided to me by his mother, sister, employers, lawyers, and doctors. Milligan rarely dated his correspondence, but his ex-girlfriend still had hundreds of his letters from the two years he was in prison, with numbers on the envelopes.

Daniel Keyes

The Mysterious Story of Billy Milligan

Preface

This book is a true account of the life of William Stanley Milligan, the first person in the history of the United States of America to be found not guilty of serious crimes due to his multiple personality disorder.

Unlike other people with multiple personalities described in psychiatric and popular literature, whose names are usually changed, Milligan became known to the general public from the moment he was arrested and put on trial. His face appeared on the front pages of newspapers and on the covers of magazines, and the results of forensic psychiatric examinations were broadcast on the evening television news. Milligan is the first patient with multiple personality to be thoroughly studied while under 24-hour observation in the clinic. His multiple personality was confirmed under oath at trial by four psychiatrists and a psychologist.

I first met the twenty-three-year-old man at the Athens Mental Health Center in Ohio after he had been sent there by court order. When Milligan asked me to write about him, I agreed to do so on the condition that he provide me with more extensive and reliable material than the information that had appeared in print by that time. Billy assured me that until now his deepest secrets had not been known to anyone, including the lawyers and psychiatrists who tested him. And now he wanted people to understand his mental illness. I was quite skeptical, but became interested.

A few days after our conversation, my curiosity grew. I saw an article in Newsweek entitled "The Ten Faces of Billy" and noticed the last paragraph:

“However, the following questions remain unanswered: Where did Milligan get the Houdini-like ability to escape demonstrated by Tommy (one of his personalities)? Why did he declare himself a “partisan” and a “hired killer” in conversations with his victims? Doctors think that there are other, not yet identified individuals living in Milligan and that some of them could have committed crimes that have not yet been revealed.”

Talking to him on subsequent visits to the mental health clinic, I discovered that Billy, as he was commonly called, was very different from the level-headed young man I had first seen. Now he spoke hesitantly, his knees trembled nervously. He suffered from memory loss. About those periods of his past that Billy barely remembered, he could only speak in general terms. When the memories were painful, his voice often trembled, but at the same time he could not remember many details. After futile attempts to find out more about his past life, I was ready to give up everything.

And suddenly one day something amazing happened.

For the first time, Billy Milligan appeared as a whole person, revealing a new individuality - a fusion of all his personalities. Such a Milligan clearly remembered almost everything about all his personalities from the moment of their appearance: their thoughts, actions, relationships with people, tragic incidents and comic adventures.

I say this at the very beginning so that the reader understands why I was able to record all the events of Milligan's past life, his feelings and reasoning. All the material in this book I received from this whole Milligan, from his other personalities and from sixty-two people whose paths crossed with him at different stages of his life. Scenes and dialogue are recreated from Milligan's memories. Therapy sessions are taken directly from video recordings. I didn't make anything up.

When I started writing the book, we were faced with one serious problem - how to reconstruct the chronology of events. From early childhood, Milligan often "lost time", he rarely paid attention to clocks or dates and was sometimes puzzled by not knowing what day or month it was. Eventually, I was able to construct a chronology using bills, insurance, school records, employment records, and other documents provided to me by his mother, sister, employers, lawyers, and doctors. Although Milligan rarely dated his correspondence, his ex-girlfriend saved hundreds of letters he wrote to her during his two years in prison, and I was able to date them based on stamps on the envelopes.

As we worked, Milligan and I agreed that we would follow two basic rules.

First, all people, places and institutions will be identified by their real names, with the exception of three groups of individuals whose privacy must be protected by pseudonyms. These are: other patients in a psychiatric hospital; unconvicted criminals with whom Milligan dealt as a teenager and as an adult and with whom I could not speak directly; and finally, three victims of abuse from Ohio State University, including two who agreed to answer my questions.

Daniel Keyes

The Mysterious Story of Billy Milligan

Preface

A few days after our conversation, my curiosity grew. I saw an article in Newsweek entitled "The Ten Faces of Billy" and noticed the last paragraph:

And suddenly one day something amazing happened.

As we worked, Milligan and I agreed that we would follow two basic rules.

Second, to ensure that Milligan would not put himself in harm's way by reporting crimes by others of his own for which he might still be convicted, we agreed that I would "get creative" by describing certain scenes. At the same time, descriptions of crimes for which Milligan has already been tried will contain details that are still unknown to anyone.

Of those who met, worked with, or were victims of Billy Milligan, most agreed with his diagnosis of multiple personality. Many of these people, recalling something they had said or done, were eventually forced to admit, “He just couldn’t pretend like that.” Others still consider him a clever swindler, faking mental illness to avoid prison. Both among those and among others there were those who wanted to talk to me, express their opinions and explain exactly why they think so.

I also took a position of skepticism. My opinion changed dramatically almost every day. But over the past two years, working with Milligan on this book, the doubts I felt when the actions and experiences he recalled seemed incredible to me have dissipated, as my research has shown that it is all true.

However, the controversy still continues in the Ohio press, as evidenced by an article in the Dayton Daily News dated January 2, 1981, three years and two months after the last crimes were committed:

“CRAW OR VICTIM?

TWO POINTS OF VIEW IN MILLIGAN'S CASE

William Stanley Milligan is a complex man leading a complex life. He is either a swindler who deceives society and escapes punishment for serious crimes, or a real victim of his many personalities. In any case, it's bad...

Only time will tell who Milligan was: a swindler who fooled the whole world, or one of the saddest victims of this world ... "

I guess that time has come.

Athens, Ohio January 3, 1981

Milligan personalities

These are those who became known to psychiatrists, lawyers, police and the press during the trial.

1. William Stanley Milligan (Billy), 26 years old. "Original source" or "core"; personality, hereafter referred to as "unbroken Billy" or "Billy-N". Dropped out of school. Height 183 cm, weight 86 kg. Blue eyes, brown hair.

2. Arthur, 22 years old. Englishman. Reasonable, level-headed, speak with a British accent. He taught himself physics and chemistry and is studying medical literature. Reads and writes Arabic fluently. A staunch conservative, he considers himself a capitalist, but nevertheless openly expresses atheistic views. The first to discover the existence of all other personalities. In safe situations, he dominates, deciding which of the “family” should appear in each case and own Milligan's consciousness. Wears glasses.

3. Ragen Vadaskovinich, 23 years old. Keeper of Hate. The name is made up of two words (Bagen = rage + again - rage again). Yugoslav, speaks English with a noticeable Slavic accent. Reads, writes and speaks Serbo-Croatian. A weapon-wielding karate specialist, he possesses exceptional strength, tempered by his ability to control the flow of adrenaline within him. Communist, atheist. He considers it his calling to be a defender of the “family” and all women and children in general. Captures consciousness in dangerous situations. He interacted with criminals and drug addicts, and was characterized by criminal and sometimes sadistic cruel behavior. Weight 95 kg. Very large, strong arms, long black hair, drooping mustache. He draws black and white drawings because he is color blind.

4. Allen, 18 years old. Rogue. Being a manipulator, he is the one who most often deals with strangers. An agnostic, his motto is: “Take the best from life.” He plays the drum, draws portraits, and is the only person who smokes cigarettes. He is on good terms with Billy's mother. He is the same height as Billy, although he weighs less (75 kg). She wears her hair parted (on the right). The only one of them all is right-handed.