Occult Murder in a Small Missouri Bible-Belt Town

I would like to comment on the tragic yet disturbing articles regarding the Satan-worshipping teens who eventually murdered (“Dead Pets to a Human Sacrifice” and “Fun Killers Now Paying Devil’s Dues,” Part I, Oct. 19, 20).

Criminal behaviorists have long drawn a direct and consistent correlation between children, yes children, who mutilate animals and the violent and sadistic adults they grow up to become. A very, very high percentage of convicted felons serving time in our penal institutions for violent criminal acts involving humans also performed sadistic acts on animals at a young age.

Left unchecked, these acts will inevitably escalate. What bothers me most is that these teens had been sadistically mutilating animals for years. Didn’t anyone in this small town follow-up when the mutilated carcasses were discovered? How could such abhorrent findings be ignored? If these instances were followed up with criminal investigations then maybe, just maybe, these deeply disturbed youths would have been stopped early on--and maybe Steven Newberry would not have had his head bashed in with baseball bats, not to mention the countless suffering by family pets that was endured.

The only small ray of hope in this deeply disturbing report is the fact that the jury didn’t buy the insanity plea. They’re doing time like all murderers should.

LAURA N. STAGGS

Lakewood