Amy Bishop, a biology professor, is charged with shooting three of her colleagues. The reasons for her actions are still unclear, one possible motive was that she was turned down for a permanent position, and that she expected to get a bad evaluation. However, she has also been suspected of murdering her brother, and sending a letter bomb to the University. 

Amy's natal chart shows the element of earth and mutable to be powerful, she has Mars, Uranus and Pluto in Virgo. Amy has a practical nature, and Virgo has an obsession with details, and shows a systematic worker, there is a self-willed and rebellious nature (Mars-Uranus), she is highly original, intensely focused personality. The configuration mirrors Diana Princess of Wales, and I remembered her chart being discussed in Inner Planets by Howard Sasportas and Liz Greene, Diana's configuration involved her 8th house. Amy has the same tense pattern, but without a birth time the house placement/s is unknown. We can see that this is a potentially explosive energy, and Johnny Depp (self-cutter, some violent outbursts) and Brooke Shields (clinical depression) also have this configuration.

According to Liz Greene "Mars in Virgo will not "sell out" in order to achieve a goal; there is a quality of integrity in the expression of one's competitive instincts, a willingness to work for what one gets. On the minus side, there is likely to be a certain lack of spontaneity, since so much self containment limits the expression of Mars fiery side. Amy must also contend with a "rogue" Mars in Virgo, a powerful fighting spirit which will not compromise itself, flanked by two outer planets, which suggest a frustration of martial energy by collective principles of "right" behaviour (Uranus) and the unconscious effects of a difficult family history (Pluto).

Uranus interferes with Mar's essential instinctual mode of operation, demanding she acts according to ideal principles rather than personal desires. This can be extremely positive since it gives Mars a brain, which he ordinarily lacks, and there is also a capacity for reflection and a broader viewpoint. Mars directs its energy towards humanitarian goals, but if she cannot get the right balance, there is likely a price to pay.

With Mars-Pluto, she cannot undo the past or eradicate whatever scars she might carry from it. Putting Mars together with Pluto in a creative way requires a certain amount of honest confrontation with that family background and the ways it has shaped her. Otherwise she might feel constantly thwarted by survival needs of the group around her, and may project the frustrations of her childhood on to whatever family she forms in adult life. The great intensity and urgency of the Mars-Uranus-Pluto reflect the possibility of tremendous character formation, if she stands up to the tempering process to which life will subject her, she will be a social force to be reckoned with."

Of course, these two women are very different, and Diana didn't gun down any members of the royal family, even if she may have wanted to at times! Diana faced a huge amount of destructive (Mars-Pluto) criticism (Virgo). It has been claimed that Amy never got the position of tenure, and she saw a list of names voting her out, and Virgo is the ruler of lists! One website covering the story wondered why she acted out her rage so self-destructively; he needs to look up her astrology chart!