MURDEROUS MINDS: The College Crush Murder Pt. 1

When Prosenjit Poddar moved from India to California, he hoped to build a better life. Instead, he became obsessed with a girl who didn’t love him back. In Part 1, we trace how cultural isolation, rejection, and delusion turned a one-sided romance into a deadly obsession—and how everyone missed the warning signs until it was too late. Killer Minds is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. For ad-free listening and early access to episodes, subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts. Don’t miss out on all things Killer Minds! Instagram: @killerminds https://www.instagram.com/killerminds/ | @Crimehouse https://www.instagram.com/crimehouse/ TikTok: @Crimehouse https://www.tiktok.com/@crimehouse Facebook: @crimehousestudios https://www.facebook.com/crimehousestudios X: @crimehousemedia https://x.com/crimehousemedia YouTube: @crimehousestudios https://www.youtube.com/@crimehousestudios

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Vanessa Richardson?

  Hi, everyone. Before today's episode, there's another show I want to tell you about. It's called What the Fact with Connor Tomlinson from Netflix's Love on the Spectrum and Carter Roy. Every week, they take three unbelievable true facts from history and tell you the full story behind them. Plus, Connor's infectious energy that'll make you realize history is the most fascinating thing on earth. Follow What the Fact wherever you listen, or subscribe on YouTube at What the Fact Pod.

• 0:36Speaker 01

  This is Crime House.

• 0:41Vanessa Richardson?

  Love is one of the best feelings you can have, and yet, it's often described like some kind of illness. Love is a drug, feeling lovesick, crazy in love. It goes to show that when you're in love, it's like something else takes over in you, that you're not in your right mind. Most of the time, it's harmless, a spur-of-the-moment DM, or replaying certain moments in your head. But love can also make us irrational, or desperate. And in the case of Proshenjit Potter, his love became dangerous. Proshenjit was a fish out of water, desperate to find someone to swim beside him. When he found her, he became

• 1:26Vanessa Richardson?

  obsessed, but she didn't feel the same way, and Proshenjit couldn't handle the rejection.

• 1:47Vanessa Richardson?

  The human mind is powerful. It shapes how we think, feel, love, and hate. But sometimes, it drives people to commit the unthinkable. This is Killer Minds, a Crime House original. I'm Vanessa Richardson.

• 2:02Tristin Engels?

  And I'm Dr. Tristin Engels. Every Monday and Thursday, we uncover the darkest minds in history, analyzing what makes a killer.

• 2:11Vanessa Richardson?

  Crime House is made possible by you. Please rate, review, and follow Killer Minds. To enhance your listening experience with ad-free, early access to each two-part series and bonus content, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts. Before we get started, be advised, this episode contains descriptions of violence, murder, and stalking. Today, we begin our deep dive on Prashenjit Potter. In 1967, he left his village in India for the University of California, Berkeley, hoping to rise above his humble circumstances and make a better life for himself.

• 2:51Vanessa Richardson?

  And when he met Tanya Tarasov, Prashenjit thought he'd found his soulmate. However, Tanya didn't feel the same way, and eventually, Prashenjit's obsession with her led to a violent and tragic murder.

• 3:06Tristin Engels?

  As Vanessa goes through the story, I'll be talking about things like how feeling out of place led to Prashenjit feeling alone and alienated, why he latched so strongly onto Tanya after meeting her, and why his obsession turned to thoughts of violence.

• 3:23Vanessa Richardson?

  And as always, we'll be asking the question, what makes a killer?

• 3:33Vanessa Richardson?

  From the beginning, Prashenjit Potter knew what it meant to be an outsider. He was born in 1945 in the Indian village of Bylargat, about 275 miles north of Calcutta. It was a small community of a few hundred thatched huts, and the Potter family's house had no running water or electricity. Making life even harder, he was born an untouchable. That meant he was at the very bottom of his society's deeply entrenched caste system. Because of their low position, Prashenjit and his family were barred from formal education and higher-paying jobs, and they were discriminated against in many other aspects of life.

• 4:18Tristin Engels?

  Growing up in a system like this one means you're growing up with constant daily reminders that you are less than in the eyes of your entire society. So from a young age, you can internalize messages of exclusion and rejection. Because where you can go, who you can associate with, what jobs you're allowed to have, even who will touch you is all dictated by that. And this can lead to chronic feelings of shame, low self-worth, and hopelessness, all of which can have lifelong impacts on mental health. And for someone like Prashenjit, these early experiences of systematic oppression could easily shape his worldview. And this includes his sense of belonging, his identity, even how he relates to others emotionally. In psychological terms, we're talking about long-term exposure to what we might call

• 5:03Tristin Engels?

  structural trauma, where the very system you're born into becomes a chronic source of stress and invalidation. It's important to note that India officially did abolish the caste system decades ago, but classism itself does persist globally to this day, and the impact can be lasting.

• 5:22Vanessa Richardson?

  How could it affect how they interact with others later on in life if they're no longer held back by being such a low part of the caste system?

• 5:30Tristin Engels?

  Yeah, so when a person spends their formative years like this, being marginalized and devalued, it can deeply affect their attachment style and their trust in others, also how they navigate their relationships. And so, for example, he became more sensitive to rejection, and then therefore more sensitive to cues that indicate he's being excluded, or judged, or even dismissed. He also misinterpreted cues, which could also be related to struggles navigating two very distinct cultures. But overall, it can affect his ability to trust the intention of others because of what a social hierarchy has taught him, causing him to be more guarded or to rely on his own perceptions, which may be distorted because of this.

• 6:12Tristin Engels?

  And it can cause identity conflicts over compensation and built-up anger or rage.

• 6:19Vanessa Richardson?

  Well, despite the challenging circumstances the Potter family was in, they refused to let their caste define them. A teacher in their village let Proshenjit's father, Pulinchandra, sit in on lessons, and he became one of the first Untouchables in their district to learn how to read. Thanks to that education, Pulinchandra got a job assisting a local judge with record-keeping. It gave the Potter family a small leg up, and Pulinchandra wanted his children to make the most of it. In 1950, things got a bit easier for them when discrimination against Untouchables was outlawed. Instead, they became known as the Scheduled Cast. They still faced a lot of discrimination,

• 7:02Vanessa Richardson?

  but the new laws meant Proshenjit could go to school, and he was a brilliant student. Proshenjit had a passion for science and math, and in 1957, when he was 16, he was the only member of his class to be accepted at the Indian Institute of Technology. It was the best engineering college in India. He continued to excel, and when he graduated, the caption under his yearbook photo read, "A topper with dreams of going abroad", which is exactly what he did. Even though it was basically unheard of for someone in the Scheduled Cast to study internationally, Proshenjit applied to a graduate engineering program at the University of California, Berkeley.

• 7:47Vanessa Richardson?

  He wanted to study naval architecture and learn how to design ships. Not only was he accepted, he received a scholarship. In 1967, 22-year-old Proshenjit arrived in Berkeley, California. His life was just beginning. At least, that's what he hoped.

• 8:09Vanessa Richardson?

  But adjusting to his new environment wasn't easy. To put it mildly, Prashenjit was completely out of place in California. Although he was used to living in a city by this point, he had no sense of American customs or social practices. It was like he was starting completely over. Even eating with a knife and fork was new to him. And if that wasn't hard enough, Prashenjit had rarely interacted with women outside his family. Until he came to Berkeley, he'd only gone to all-male schools. It was an overwhelming environment to be in, especially considering he arrived in Berkeley at the height of the hippie movement. Thankfully, Prashenjit had a friend to guide him through it.

• 8:51Vanessa Richardson?

  Farook Mistry had gone to the Indian Institute of Technology with Prashenjit. He'd grown up in a city and was able to handle the culture shock a little better. He took Prashenjit under his wing and was happy to bring his old classmate up to speed on American life. But even with Farook by his side, Prashenjit struggled to fit in.

• 9:13Tristin Engels?

  What Prashenjit was going through here is actually a textbook example of what we call cultural dislocation or acculturative stress. For Prashenjit, the adjustment was even more extreme. He was coming from a highly structured, conservative background where certain social roles and expectations were rigidly defined, particularly around gender, authority, and interpersonal boundaries. And suddenly, he's surrounded by a counterculture that's rejecting all of that. Psychologically, this kind of extreme shift can lead to isolation and loneliness, anxiety and certainly confusion, an identity strain, and dependence on his one familiar relationship, and that's his friendship with Farook,

• 9:56Tristin Engels?

  as well as continued difficulty with romantic relationships. He's navigating not just school, but a completely different way of being human. And in some people, under enough stress, that kind of disorientation can evolve into more serious social deficits and psychological struggles, especially if other vulnerabilities are already present.

• 10:16Vanessa Richardson?

  So he is completely feeling out of place. How can feeling like you don't belong contribute to self-esteem?

• 10:22Tristin Engels?

  All of this has a profound impact on self-esteem. When you constantly feel like you don't belong, it chips away at your sense of competence, worth, and identity. You're not just learning new customs. You're being reminded every single day that you're different, and yet you don't quite know how to, quote, "do it right," socially or culturally. And that's exhausting. And it can create chronic self-doubt, which will obviously impact self-worth and self-esteem.

• 10:49Vanessa Richardson?

  It was definitely a lot to get used to. So Proshenji took things slow. He lived with other foreign students at Berkeley's International House, also called the I-House. But Proshenji didn't do much socializing with his classmates or with his coworkers at his naval architecture job at a nearby field station. When Proshenji did go out, it wasn't far. His social life was limited to the occasional drop-in at the weekly dances I-House held. Even then, he kept his distance from the other students. That is, until one night in the fall of 1968, a year after Proshenji came to Berkeley. On the evening of November 15th, 30 or so students were learning a traditional Greek dance.

• 11:34Vanessa Richardson?

  It involved holding hands and moving in a giant circle, and Proshenji worked up the courage to join them. By random chance, he ended up next to a pretty young woman. Palm sweating, Proshenji grabbed her hand. Her name was Tatiana Tarasov. The moment they locked eyes, Proshenji was smitten, and both of their lives changed forever. Tatiana Tarasov, who went by Tanya, was the daughter of Russian immigrants. Her parents, Vitali and Lydia, had moved around a lot. When Tanya was born on January 22nd, 1949, the Tarasovs were living in China, but they soon moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil.

• 12:17Vanessa Richardson?

  Her little brother Alex was born a year later. But Vitali wasn't planning on keeping his family in Brazil. He was determined to bring them to America with the promise of a better life. But that was easier said than done. Vitali worked as a car mechanic, which wasn't the most in-demand profession. But he kept applying for a visa. And in 1963, when Tanya was 14, they finally got one. And the family moved to Berkeley, California. The Tarasovs' bungalow was just three miles from the university, but it might as well have been a world away. They lived in a working-class neighborhood, where people generally looked down on Berkeley's privileged college kids. And even though Vitali wanted a better life for his children,

• 13:02Vanessa Richardson?

  he didn't want Tanya going there. Tanya had the grades to get into Berkeley, but apparently Vitali convinced her she wasn't smart enough. Instead, the 19-year-old signed up at the nearby Merritt Junior College in Oakland. And Vitali's control extended beyond Tanya's schooling. He forced her to continue living at home after she graduated high school. And it wasn't a financial decision. Vitali was convinced that Tanya would spend all her free time chasing boys. But the truth was, Tanya was insecure, shy, and awkward. She had a tendency to fade into the background in groups and couldn't relax because she was worried what others were thinking about her.

• 13:45Tristin Engels?

  Vitali wasn't just overprotective of Tanya. He was undermining her confidence in her own abilities. When you hear, "You're not smart enough," or "You can't handle that" from a parent, especially during these critical years of identity development, you start to internalize that message as truth. This often leads to an impaired self-efficacy. And that's the belief that you're not capable of controlling your own life or succeeding independently. So over time, Tanya likely started to doubt her own judgment, even in situations where she was fully capable. And this is creating anxiety, learned helplessness, low self-esteem, and increased vulnerability in relationships, which make her more susceptible to clinging to people who gave her attention or validation,

• 14:28Tristin Engels?

  even if those relationships were not healthy ones or they were one-sided. And this factors into her interactions with pro-senjit. I say this to help explain this, but I want to be very clear that she is not to blame for what happens. A victim is never to blame for what happens to them.

• 14:45Vanessa Richardson?

  And how does Tanya's situation compare to Prashenjit's situation? With a father who did everything he could for Prashenjit to succeed?

• 14:52Tristin Engels?

  Yeah, such a good question. So Prashenjit grew up with a father who believed in him. But that belief came with enormous pressure. And while his father prepared him for academic success and encouraged that, he did not prepare him for social or emotional success. Tanya's situation was reversed. She wasn't pushed towards achievement, she was held back. So you have Prashenjit, who's lonely and desperate to succeed, and you have Tanya, who may be drawn to anyone who gives her attention and makes her feel seen, something she didn't really get from her father. That creates a very emotionally complex dynamic, where both individuals are navigating their own unspoken vulnerabilities and unmet emotional needs.

• 15:34Tristin Engels?

  And in fairness, one of the core drivers behind why people enter relationships, whether they're platonic or not, is often the desire to meet emotional needs that may be unmet somewhere else. And this is not isolated to Prashenjit and Tanya. We all seek this. But not all of us are necessarily aware of what we are seeking or aware of boundaries. And that's something that we should be taught in childhood, but often aren't. And therefore, we have to learn on our own.

• 16:03Vanessa Richardson?

  On the few occasions Tanya did get out, she spent as much time on the Berkeley campus as possible. Her parents didn't know it, but Tanya was secretly planning on applying there as a transfer student. But in the meantime, she taught Portuguese classes at I-House, and her parents let her go to the weekly folk dances there as long as her little brother Alex drove her there and back. Which is how, in the fall of 1968, Tanya ended up at the dance next to Prashenjit Potter. For two young people who each felt like outsiders, it was the moment of connection they'd been craving. Prashenjit and Tanya danced together that night at the I-House dance, and at the next dance, and at the next one.

• 16:48Vanessa Richardson?

  For Prashenjit, this was it. The moment he laid eyes on Tanya, he fell head over heels with her. He'd found the person he was meant to be with, who would help him find his place in the world. It could be the perfect romance. Except, it wasn't.

• 17:12Vanessa Richardson?

  Having timeless staples in your wardrobe that you can rely on for any occasion is an absolute game changer, and giving someone else that gift is even better. That's why Quince is my top choice for holiday shopping. I'm constantly wearing my Quince cashmere mock neck sweater in burgundy. I wore it to a cozy holiday dinner party with friends and it was so soft and stylish, I wish it had been gifted to me. Quince's signature cashmere sweaters start at an unbeatable $50 and their stunning 14-karat gold earrings and plush down outerwear are guaranteed crowd pleasers. Beyond clothing, Quince carries a massive range of options, including chef-grade cookware, buttery leather bags, and five-star luggage for all your upcoming trips.

• 17:56Vanessa Richardson?

  By partnering directly with ethical manufacturers and cutting out traditional middlemen, Quince offers luxury products at prices 50 to 80% less than high-end competitors. Give the gift of quality this holiday season. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers or go to quince.com. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns, now available in Canada and the UK too. And when Quince asks where you heard about them, let them know it was serial killers and murderous minds. It's the best way to support the show.

• 18:28Speaker 03

  Can't switch off at night? Give your curious mind somewhere peaceful to wander. I'm Simon Mettacks, host of Sleepy History. Join me for lost cities and ancient mysteries, told slowly and calmly, to help you drift off. And if you miss the ending, oh, that's rather the idea. Find Sleepy History in your podcast app and try an episode tonight.

• 19:00Vanessa Richardson?

  In the fall of 1968, 23-year-old Prashenjit Potter met 19-year-old Tanya Tarasoff at UC Berkeley's International House. After that first dance together, Prashenjit fell in love. And although Tanya was nice to Prashenjit and hung out with him at other dances after that, the feelings weren't reciprocated.

• 19:23Vanessa Richardson?

  Tanya was trying really hard to come out of her shell. That involved talking and dancing with a lot of guys, not just Prashenjit. Most nights, she would chat with Prashenjit a bit, then make her way through the dance floor. The whole time, he would lurk at the edges, watching Tanya, waiting for her to come back to him. Prashenjit couldn't grasp the concept of casual flirting. His friend Farooq tried to explain the situation to him, but Prashenjit wouldn't listen. In his mind, he and Tanya had a real budding relationship.

• 19:57Tristin Engels?

  Let's talk about his mindset here. There are definitely cultural components that can explain this because Prashenjit came from a background where relationships were far more formal, far more structured. In his world, especially during this time, people didn't casually flirt or casually date in India, especially in his caste system, and especially not young women initiating conversations or dancing with multiple partners in one night. It just wasn't culturally consistent for him. So when Tanya showed him some attention and danced with him more than once, he may have interpreted that through the lens he was familiar with, that that meant something serious. But it's not just cultural, it goes deeper. He had intense loneliness and emotional vulnerability.

• 20:42Tristin Engels?

  He's isolated in a foreign country with social deficits, and this connection with Tanya likely felt huge to him. He is now showing emotional overinvestment and cognitive rigidity because even when his friend Farooq tried to explain to him that Tanya wasn't interested, he could not hear that.

• 21:02Vanessa Richardson?

  Well, even though it was clear that Tanya wasn't interested in Prashenjit, he wasn't giving up. As the holidays approached, he worked up the courage to ask Tanya on a date. It was supposed to be casual. Prashenjit invited her to go see some friends play a tennis match, but at the last minute, he asked her to go see a movie instead. Tanya apparently didn't want to hurt his feelings, so she said yes. The date itself was unremarkable. They met up at the theater and watched a movie called "The King of Hearts." Despite its title, the movie wasn't romantic, and nothing happened between Prashenjit and Tanya. But for Prashenjit, just sitting next to her was all that mattered.

• 21:45Vanessa Richardson?

  After the movie date, Prashenjit wrote a letter to his parents. He told them about the Tarasov family and claimed that they'd invited him over for tea. Not only that, Prashenjit said, "Quite naturally, the family looks to me to express my intentions." In reality, Tanya's family didn't even know Prashenjit existed. After the movie date, Tanya kept her distance from Prashenjit. She was interested in another guy, a Berkeley student she'd met at the market, but nothing materialized between them. And as New Year's Eve approached, Tanya found herself without any plans. So she decided to go to the only event her father would let her attend: a dance at I House.

• 22:30Vanessa Richardson?

  When Prashenjit found out she'd be there, he was over the moon. It felt like fate, and Prashenjit decided this would be the night to make his move. He bought Tanya a special sari, a traditional Indian dress that was given as an engagement gift. He was going to give it to her at the dance, and after that, they'd be together forever. But once again, his expectations didn't match reality. When Prashenjit approached Tanya at the dance, she gave him the cold shoulder. He didn't seem to get the chance to give her the sari. As the calendar flipped to 1969, Tanya paid even less attention to Prashenjit.

• 23:12Vanessa Richardson?

  She finally got together with her actual crush, a guy named Jeff Flanders. Prashenjit had no idea she was involved with someone else, but he could sense that Tanya was hiding something from him. So one day, he decided to drop by her house, unannounced. Prashenjit lurked outside until Tanya walked out the door. He followed her to the bus stop and climbed on with her. With nowhere to go, Tanya had no choice but to talk to him. Prashenjit took the opportunity to profess his love to Tanya, that he wanted to marry her. She brushed him off, pointing out that he barely even knew her, but Prashenjit wouldn't let it go. Finally, Tanya reached her stop.

• 23:57Vanessa Richardson?

  She told Prashenjit goodbye and climbed off the bus, and he didn't follow her. Proshenjit did not deal with the rejection well. His friend Faruk tried to get him to move on, but Proshenjit couldn't get Tanya out of his head. He neglected his job, his schoolwork, and barely left his room. Little by little, though, Proshenjit started to feel better. Within the next few months, he pulled himself out of his funk. And even though he kept going to eye house dances hoping to run into Tanya, he seemed to accept that she wasn't interested in him. But Tanya was going through a rejection of her own. It turned out that Jeff, the guy she did like,

• 24:40Vanessa Richardson?

  didn't feel the same way about her. All of a sudden, Tanya seemed to start missing the attention she got from Proshenjit. She still only saw him as a friend, but she wondered if she'd been too harsh on him. So against her better judgment, she gave him a call.

• 24:58Tristin Engels?

  Okay, so what Tanya did here is something that many people can relate to, especially those who struggled with self-confidence or difficult family dynamics. After being rejected by Jeff, she was likely feeling hurt, lonely, and vulnerable. Not because she was doing anything wrong, but because rejection taps into deep insecurities. And throughout her life, Tanya had received a lot of discouraging messages from her father, messages that made her question her own worth and judgment. So when someone, like Proshenjit, had previously shown consistent attention and kindness, it's understandable that she might reach for that familiarity during a difficult moment. But not out of romantic interest, but as a way to feel a bit more grounded and reassured. And it's really important to remember,

• 25:42Tristin Engels?

  Tanya wasn't manipulating or leading Proshenjit on. She saw him as a friend. The real issue here lies not in Tanya's behavior, but in how Proshenjit interpreted that interaction. Because he was already emotionally over-invested and very rigid in his thinking. He interpreted this as a sign that his fantasy about a romantic relationship with Tanya was becoming reality. And for someone struggling with obsession, even small, innocent moments of contact can get dramatically distorted.

• 26:15Vanessa Richardson?

  Well, when Prashenjit heard Tanya's voice on the other line, he couldn't say no to her. He wrote off her rejection as nothing more than a lover's quarrel. And to his delight, she agreed to come by his room at I House for a visit. But Prashenjit knew he'd made mistakes. If he was going to convince Tanya they were meant to be together, he couldn't leave anything to chance. So before she arrived, he bought a recording device so he could tape their conversations. That way, he could play it back and see what he was doing wrong. But when Tanya came by, the visit went better than Prashenjit could have hoped. She said she was sorry for being harsh with him. And Prashenjit finally got the chance

• 26:58Vanessa Richardson?

  to give her the sorry he'd bought for her New Year's Eve. He didn't tell her it was a traditional way to propose in India, but the gift seemed to make her happy. Before she left, she wrapped Prashenjit in a hug and kissed him. But that didn't mean Tanya was interested in a relationship. Even though she'd kissed him, she made it abundantly clear to Prashenjit that she only saw him as a friend. Prashenjit didn't know how to process that. He listened to the recordings of his conversations with Tanya on loop, trying to understand her mind. Once again, he stopped leaving his room. He didn't go to work. He didn't go to class. He barely even ate. At some point in March,

• 27:43Vanessa Richardson?

  Farook started to get worried about his friend and went to Prashenjit's room to check on him. As he approached the door, he heard the sound of a girl laughing on the other side. Thinking Tanya was in there, Farook barged into the room, ready to tell her to leave Prashenjit alone. To his surprise, Prashenjit was by himself, sitting in the dark, smelly room, surrounded by piles of dirty laundry. He proudly showed Farook the tapes he'd made. There were several boxes of them, totaling over 40 hours.

• 28:17Tristin Engels?

  What we're seeing here is a significant escalation in Prashenjit's obsessive and seemingly delusional thinking, as well as a clear decompensation in functioning, which is quite alarming. In Prashenjit's case, these recordings likely became a way for him to preserve and relive an idealized version of their relationship. And this kind of behavior is also driven by anxiety and insecurity. For Prashenjit, who struggled with rejection and loneliness, the tapes may have been a coping mechanism as a way to soothe himself when he felt anxious about Tanya pulling away. In his mind, these recordings validated his belief that there was a real connection, even when Tanya's behavior in real life was telling a different story, even when she verbally told him a different story.

• 29:02Tristin Engels?

  And this is an indication of features of something called erotomania. And that's the persistent belief that the individual is in a relationship with someone or that that person has romantic feelings for them, when there's no evidence to suggest that they do. These kind of behaviors, including erotomania, are often early warning signs in stalking cases when the internal fantasy world starts to feel more real to the person than the actual events. And unfortunately, that gap between fantasy and reality can become incredibly dangerous when the person feels that their fantasy is threatened. Where is the line between infatuation and obsession? Infatuation, even intense infatuation,

• 29:44Tristin Engels?

  is fairly common, especially with younger populations. People daydream, they replay conversations in their heads, maybe they idealize a person for a bit. But with infatuation, it still operates within reality. You recognize that the other person has their own feelings, boundaries, and autonomy. There's room for disappointment. And you know on some level that they may not feel the same way. Obsession, on the other hand, starts to break away from reality. You start fixating on every interaction, trying to find hidden meanings, signs, or clues that support what you want to believe. You're no longer able to tolerate ambiguity or rejection, and any threat to the fantasy can feel like a personal crisis.

• 30:28Tristin Engels?

  And that's where Prashenjit is at, because we saw how he decompensated as a result of that.

• 30:35Vanessa Richardson?

  Well, Faruk tried to get Prashenjit to stop listening to the tapes, but his friend wouldn't listen. By mid-April, things were looking bad. Finals were coming up, and Prashenjit was on the verge of flunking out. Faruk was desperate to get him some help. He knew that Prashenjit needed to talk to a professional, but he refused to go see a psychiatrist. Meanwhile, Tanya had no idea how bad things had gotten. She kept visiting Prashenjit in his dorm room, and he managed to keep the recording equipment hidden from her. However, it was clear that he wasn't doing well. He hated the thought of Tanya seeing other guys and was constantly trying to get her to tell him about it. And when she refused to talk about it, he got angry.

• 31:20Vanessa Richardson?

  At one point, Prashenjit got so heated, he told a coworker he wanted to put a radio-controlled bomb in Tanya's purse and blow her up. When Tanya heard about it, she didn't take the threat seriously. She never thought Prashenjit would hurt her, but she realized that whatever their relationship was, it wasn't healthy. And as the semester came to a close, she found a way to finally get some distance from him. Sometime around May, Tanya's aunt invited her to come spend the summer at her home back in Sao Paulo. Tanya accepted the invitation. A couple of months in Brazil seemed like the perfect way to cut ties with Prashenjit, and it would just be nice to get away.

• 32:04Vanessa Richardson?

  And so, Tanya left for Brazil in June of 1969. But the distance from Prashenjit didn't help the situation at all. If anything, it only made it worse.

• 32:21Speaker 04

  Buy smart, drive for less, and trade for more. That's Toyota Fordability. And it starts with a great deal on an all-wheel-drive Camry, Corolla Cross, or Corolla Sedan with the latest features in tech. Or test drive a spacious Grand Highlander or adventure-ready RAV4. And with so many hybrid models available, you can enjoy longer trips without all the stops, while Toyota's legendary resale value means you could get more at Trade-In. Get a great deal today and a great value tomorrow. Shop toyota.com for deals and details. Toyota, let's go places.

• 32:52Vanessa Richardson?

  In 2002, Ryan Wedding was an Olympic snowboarder at the top of his game.

• 32:57Speaker 01

  Ryan's style is really gunning in gold.

• 33:00Vanessa Richardson?

  And in less than a minute, it slipped away. But he continued to chase the high.

• 33:05Speaker 05

  Ryan James Wedding. He controls one of the most violent drug trafficking organizations in this world.

• 33:15Vanessa Richardson?

  I'm Michelle Shepherd and from CBC Podcasts and The Toronto Star, The Most Wanted Olympian. Available now.

• 33:25Vanessa Richardson?

  In the summer of 1969, 20-year-old Tanya Tarasoff left Berkeley to spend a couple of months in Brazil and to get some space from Prashenjit Potter. 24-year-old Prashenjit didn't take the separation well. He became increasingly unstable, to the point where he told his friend Farukh Mistry that he wanted to kill Tanya for leaving him. Farukh was understandably alarmed. Prashenjit was so unhinged, it seemed like he might actually follow through with it. And thankfully, Prashenjit realized he needed help. This time, when Farukh told him he needed to see a professional, Prashenjit agreed to go.

• 34:07Tristin Engels?

  Given the state of decompensation he was in and what appears to be symptoms of psychosis, agreeing to finally seeing a mental health professional is not very common. We typically would expect to see a lack of insight into their mental health and subsequently refuse services, which could inevitably result in psychiatric hospitalizations or even an involuntary medication order. And he refused in the past, so what changed? What likely happened here is that the intensity of his emotions finally overwhelmed his ability to cope. He wasn't just heartbroken or sad. He was experiencing such powerful rage, desperation, and emotional pain that even he recognized it was no longer sustainable.

• 34:49Tristin Engels?

  It's important, though, to remember that although he appears to have insight that his mental state was beyond his control, this wasn't insight in the way we might hope for, like realizing that his thinking was truly distorted or flawed, or recognizing Tanya's boundaries. It was more about emotional survival. He was so overwhelmed that he allowed Farooq to guide him toward help, and that, at least for a moment, may have prevented things from spiraling even faster.

• 35:15Vanessa Richardson?

  In general, what sort of mindset do you need to have to go into treatment like this? And what would help Prashenjit succeed in this situation?

• 35:24Tristin Engels?

  All right, so let's step back for a moment and look at this clinically. There were things that could have helped Prashenjit manage his emotions and avoid the dangerous path that he was on. The core issue here wasn't that he had feelings for Tanya, because that's very human. The issue was that he didn't have the emotional or psychological tools to tolerate rejection, regulate his emotions, or challenge his obsessive thinking. So what would have helped? For starters, early mental health support, with an emphasis on cultural competence. Even if Prashenjit was unwilling, there needed to be a coordinated effort of mental health intervention, combined with legal or university-based monitoring. This could have recognized the seriousness of his obsession and put more protective structures in place before he got to this point.

• 36:09Tristin Engels?

  But now that we're here, what Prashenjit needs is structured therapeutic intervention with monitoring, medication, and accountability. Campus counselors should be involved as well, and he needs a multi-pronged response. But more importantly, there are things that should be done that weren't, and that eventually would lead to a legal precedence and case law that we as mental health professionals follow now, to this day, in most states, and especially in California. I remember this case from grad school, but I'll talk more on that in episode two.

• 36:43Vanessa Richardson?

  Prashenjit had his first appointment in early June, right around the time Tanya left for Brazil. He went to see a psychiatrist named Dr. Stuart Gold. Faruk even went with him. At first, Prashenjit was hesitant to open up, especially with Faruk in the room. And once he left, Dr. Gold realized why. Prashenjit told Dr. Gold that Faruk was trying to steal Tanya from him. With an all-knowing smile on his face, Prashenjit claimed there was a massive conspiracy to keep him from being with Tanya. It didn't take long for Dr. Gold to make a diagnosis. He was certain that Prashenjit was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. Dr. Gold thought it was bad enough that Prashenjit could be hospitalized,

• 37:27Vanessa Richardson?

  but in the end, he decided to recommend outpatient treatment. Especially with Tanya out of the country for the next three months, it didn't seem like anyone was in any immediate danger. Dr. Gold prescribed Prashenjit some antipsychotic drugs and referred him to a psychologist named Dr. Lawrence Moore for weekly sessions. It's not clear if Prashenjit actually took his meds, but even though he met with Dr. Moore for weekly appointments, he didn't seem interested in abandoning his fixation with Tanya. Instead, in her absence, he redirected it to her 19-year-old brother, Alex.

• 38:07Vanessa Richardson?

  Prashenjit had gotten to know Alex during the course of his friendship with Tanya. And after she left for Brazil, the two of them started hanging out. Prashenjit knew his way around machines, and Alex invited him to help work on his car. They made for an interesting pair. Prashenjit was quiet and reserved, while Alex was outgoing and crude. But Alex was a terrorist off, and being friends with him made Prashenjit feel closer to Tanya. It made him feel like part of the family, like an unofficial endorsement of his plan to marry Tanya. And on the night of June 24, 1969, Prashenjit's bond with Alex became even stronger.

• 38:51Vanessa Richardson?

  That evening, Prashenjit got a call from Alex. He'd just had a fight with his father, Vitali. It had gotten violent, and Alex needed somewhere to stay. So he called Prashenjit and asked if he could sleep in his dorm. Prashenjit couldn't say yes fast enough. The arrangement went so well, Prashenjit and Alex planned to rent an apartment together in the fall.

• 39:15Tristin Engels?

  So here's what I see. He does appear to be on the spectrum of schizophrenia with paranoia, especially now that he is endorsing beliefs that his best friend is attempting to steal Tanya from him. Those are pretty classic signs of paranoia. Someone is out to get him. He also shows signs of negative symptoms of schizophrenia when he decompensates, such as social withdrawal, a lack of motivation, and diminished activities of daily living, which are eating, bathing, or cleaning. What also stands out to me that Dr. Gold did not appear to recognize, and in fairness, this may not have been identified back then, is not only his obsessive thinking, but those features of erotomania that I mentioned that are bordering on delusional. And again, erotomania is where a person develops an intense fixed belief

• 39:59Tristin Engels?

  that they are in a romantic relationship with another person, or that that person loves them, or will eventually be in love with them, even in the face of clear evidence to the contrary. It's also something that's very commonly found in stalkers. And every small piece of positive interaction, Tanya being kind to him, her calling him after breaking up with Jeff, even his growing closeness with her brother, gets folded into this obsessive fantasy narrative he's building. And he's essentially constructing a private reality where everything is progressing toward his desired outcome. And he's fixated on that and filtering out everything that challenges that. And we're seeing that happening also in his time here with Dr. Gold. And we'll see more of that as you take us through the story.

• 40:44Vanessa Richardson?

  Can we just talk about Prashenjit's friendship with Alex? So it seems like it wasn't romantic, but do you think it was some kind of transference of his obsession with Tanya?

• 40:53Tristin Engels?

  It does seem like it was emotionally tied to Tanya, almost like a displaced attachment or a surrogate transference. Tanya's in Brazil. She's put distance between them. And for someone who struggles with emotional regulation, has intense dependency needs and rigid thinking, this could cause him to seek out someone adjacent to Tanya, who's the object of his obsession, as a way to maintain the fantasy indirectly. He's symbolically pulling himself closer to Tanya's world. Being accepted by her brother may have felt to him like confirmation that he still belonged in her life. And in his mind, it adds to the progression of his fantasy. This kind of behavior is not unusual in obsessive cases like this, and it's not necessarily

• 41:36Tristin Engels?

  out of malice, but rather it helps him to maintain the illusion that the relationship with Tanya is still possible.

• 41:44Vanessa Richardson?

  Well, Prashenjit's therapist, Dr. Moore, tried to tell him that living with Alex was a bad idea. If Prashenjit was going to get better, he had to cut himself off from the Tarasov family completely. And he wasn't the only one giving him that advice. Prashenjit had written a letter to his father, Pulinchandra. In a desperate attempt to get rid of his obsession with Tanya, Prashenjit wanted Pulinchandra to arrange a marriage for him back in India. But his father wouldn't do it, not until Prashenjit came home and proved that he was no longer under Tanya's spell. Prashenjit just couldn't do it, though. He continued to spend time with Alex, eagerly awaiting Tanya's return from Brazil.

• 42:27Vanessa Richardson?

  And as the summer came to a close, Alex brought Prashenjit along on a fateful errand. Alex had started working the graveyard shift at a gas station, and he wanted to buy some pellets for his air gun in case he needed to protect himself. When they went to the gun store, Alex showed Prashenjit the handgun he wanted to purchase when he turned 21. The owner let Prashenjit hold it, and he seemed to feel a rush of power come over him. He wasn't allowed to buy it because he wasn't a US citizen, but he could purchase an air gun like Alex's.

• 43:02Vanessa Richardson?

  Suddenly, a plan formed in Prashenjit's mind. He was going to find a way to get a real gun, but not to hurt Tanya. He was going to save her. Prashenjit just needed someone to pretend like they were going to harm Tanya. Then he could rush in and use his gun to scare them off. After that, Tanya would surely fall in love with him.

• 43:25Tristin Engels?

  So let's talk about what's happening psychologically. Prashenjit isn't just fantasizing anymore. He's starting to actively script a scenario that would force his fantasy into reality. And the logic, while wildly irrational, follows a distorted emotional reasoning that's very common in obsessive fixations. Firstly, there is evidence of magical thinking. He believes that if he can create a dramatic rescue situation, he can influence events in a way that defies logic. And by that, I mean, it's not based on any real evidence about Tanya's emotions. It's based on his internal narrative that she just needs to see how much he loves her, and then she'll finally reciprocate. Magical thinking is commonly found in schizophrenia and obsessive compulsive disorder.

• 44:11Tristin Engels?

  Second, there's evidence of entitlement, and that's been there for some time now. With the sorry, for example. He believes he is entitled to her love. There is also emotional desperation, because the more helpless he feels, the more extreme his plans become. And now he is in the active planning stages. He's looking at acquiring a weapon. He's thinking about recruiting people and staging this. So now the risk for violence has exponentially increased.

• 44:36Vanessa Richardson?

  He's thinking a damsel in distress situation will make her love him and fall in love with him. Is there some truth that people will feel some kind of connection to someone who saves them from a situation like that?

• 44:47Tristin Engels?

  Yes, that appears to be his thinking here. And in some situations, people who experience a traumatic event together can develop emotional bonds afterward.

• 44:57Tristin Engels?

  It's related to something called misattribution of arousal, where the heightened physiological state caused by that event, whether it's fear, trauma, or stress, can get mistakenly associated with the person you're with at the time. We even see this in research studies. Couples who meet during exciting or dangerous experiences sometimes report stronger initial attraction. And Hollywood definitely plays with this trope constantly. But, and this is the key, those dynamics emerge naturally, not because someone stages the threat. They happen in authentic moments, not orchestrated ones. What Prashenjit's doing is manufacturing danger to manipulate Tanya's emotions. He's trying to engineer a situation where she'll have no choice but to feel indebted,

• 45:42Tristin Engels?

  grateful, and emotionally bonded to him. But because it's entirely fabricated, it removes her agency and is not grounded in reality. Because being manipulated into a fake, life-threatening situation would not create love, it would likely create fear, betrayal, and trauma. But in Prashenjit's rigid, obsessional thinking, he's convinced that this heroic rescue is the missing piece to finally win her over.

• 46:08Vanessa Richardson?

  Well, Prashenjit was sure his plan would work, but he couldn't tell Alex about it since he was Tanya's brother. So Prashenjit turned to his friend Farooq and told him about his plan to buy a gun. He didn't say why, but just the thought of Prashenjit owning a gun was enough for Farooq to be worried. He knew he couldn't stay quiet, so he called Prashenjit's therapist, Dr. Moore. When Prashenjit went in for his next session on August 18, 1969, Dr. Moore confronted him about the gun. It's not clear if Prashenjit had bought one by then, but he denied owning one. Dr. Moore didn't believe him. He said that if he didn't hand it over, he'd call the police. Proshenjit didn't take it well.

• 46:53Vanessa Richardson?

  He jumped out of his seat and stomped out of the room. It would be his final appointment with Dr. Moore. With no one left to confide in, all Proshenjit had left was his twisted plan. He was desperate for Tanya to see how much he cared about her and to feel the same way in return, and he was going to do whatever it took to make her realize it.

• 47:35Vanessa Richardson?

  Thanks so much for listening. Come back next time for the conclusion of our deep dive on Proshenjit Potter.

• 47:41Tristin Engels?

  Killer Minds is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on Instagram at Killer Minds. And don't forget to rate, review, and follow Killer Minds wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly makes a difference.

• 48:02Vanessa Richardson?

  And to enhance your listening experience, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode of Killer Minds ad-free, along with early access to each thrilling two-part series and exciting Crime House bonus content. Killer Minds is hosted by me, Vanessa Richardson, and Dr. Tristin Engels, and is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by the Killer Minds team: Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benadon, Lori Marinelli, Natalie Purtzowski, Sarah Camp, Sarah Corey, Sarah Tardif, and Carrie Murphy. Thank you for listening.

• 48:49Vanessa Richardson?

  If you're looking for your next podcast, check out What the Fact with Connor Tomlinson from Netflix's Love on the Spectrum and Carter Roy. Every week, they take three unbelievable true facts from history and tell you the full story behind them. Follow What the Fact wherever you listen, or subscribe on YouTube at What the Fact Pod.