150. Smells Like A Warning Sign - Animal Cruelty, John Thompson And The Krystal Scott Case

57 years ago psychiatrist J.M. Macdonald  wrote a paper published in The American Journal of Psychiatry entitled "The Threat to Kill," in which he proposed that there is a link between three childhood behaviors - persistent bed-wetting past the age of 5, an obsession with fire and fire-starting, and cruelty to animals - and violent behavior, most notably homicidal and sexually predatory behavior.  This formula for criminal behavior has come to be known as The Macdonald Triad, and while the theory is still debated by criminologists and criminal psychologists to this day, statistics over time have tended to bear out its worth.   This is particularly true of the characteristic of animal cruelty.  Time and again studies have shown a distinct tie between those who torture and/or kill animals and behaviors of sexual deviancy, serial murder and - as discussed in this episode - terrorism.  One of the leaders in the charge to convince law enforcement to take seriously the extensive data on animal cruelty as it pertains to criminal acts against humans has been John Thompson, currently the e Executive Director of the National Animal Care & Control Association. Melissa shares this incredible man's story - how a police professional who never thought of animal abuse as anything other than an "animal control" issue came to realize how the treatment of animals could help predict future behavior through his own relationship with a beloved dog he fell in love with completely by accident.   Melissa then shifts to a recent story out of Kokomo Indiana, where 19 year-old Krystal Scott, who is alleged to have tortured and killed numerous dogs, cats and reptiles and posted her deeds on social media, was caught because of the diligent work of some crafty Internet crime fighters some 1,800 miles away in Boise Idaho.  Listen in for a compelling discussion on the importance of stopping and apprehending animal abusers early - and how "citizen sleuths" can work as a community to aid law enforcement in making that possible.