This one is for you Roger, you haven't been making any trips
to California have you. Yet another sign of the sick and
twisted world we live in.
San Jose, Calif. -A killer is stalking the cats of southern
San Jose, mutilating 21 felines since May 31 - primarily pets
taken from owners' yards at night and returned dead, often
dismembered and skinned.
Las week, the killings took a disturbing new trend that is
alarming police and investigators, where the mutilator killed
two cats in one day, including a kitten that was left in a park
for kids to find. the killer is attracting national attention
because the acts appear to be directed toward pet owners, who
find the murdered animals.
San Jose police have assigned a full-time investigator, Det.
Mike Roush, plus backup investigators and are treating this as a
felony crime wave.
"I'm not going to give away what tactic or tools we are
using, but we are actively and seriously investigating these
crimes," said Sgt. Ken Tanaka. He urged residents to telephone
911 if they witness these crimes in progress.
Because of the stalking nature of the killer, many of the
owners as well as other residents who own animals have refused
to be identified by name. Many say they are fearful for their
own safety.
Public focus should be directed at the nature of the criminal
behavior, not the fact that the victim is an animal, said Kim
Roberts of the Humane Society of the United States in
Washington, D.C.
We need to look at the behavior of the perpetrator. This is
someone who is torturing, dismembering and killing a living
being. That's serious," Roberts said Tuesday.
The power of cruelty in this instance is directed not only at
the cat but also at it human owner.
Human Society of the U.S. research show that in almost 40
percent of such cases, the killers progress from animals to
people.
"If I were in the community I would be worried, worried not
only for other animals there but for children," said Dr. Frank
Ascione, professor of psychology at Utah State University and
author of two books on how cruelty to animals frequently
escalates to violence against people.
Arthur Gary Bishop, executed in Utah in 1988 for the torture
and s exual mutilation killings of five boys, often practiced by
killing puppies he adopted, Ascione said.
Most serial killers, including the Boston Strangler, were
also animal abusers, he said. "Evan people who don't care about
animals should care about cruelty-to-animal cases because of the
progression from animal to humans," said Christine Franco, the
case investigator for the Humane Society of Santa Clara
Valley.
A $15,000 cash reward for information is being offered by the
society.
So far no pattern other than the general neighborhood has
emerged. Among the things already examined are past cases, the
gender and ethnic heritage of the animals' owners, Tanaka
said.
