12-year-old mentally ill boy tortured cat so whose fault is it?
We need to discuss how a 12-year-old boy came to torture someone’s domestic cat because it isn’t the boy’s fault if he genuinely suffers from mental illness described by his father as: ADHD, bipolar, psychotic, and narcissistic.
Mentally ill boy who tortured a cat shown here in this photo together with parents
Some fault must be laid at the feet of the parents because the boy, Jonathan Trude, used a knife from his home to stab the cat. The knife should not have been available to the boy. The parents know their boy’s health problems but were lax in protecting their child from doing harm with a knife. The father admits that he had forgotten to hide the knife and has now beefed up security at home. Without wishing to be biased or prejudiced the father looks like he might have had a role to play in this tragedy beyond the knife issue.
The boy also soaked the cat with chemicals we are told. What chemicals and how did the boy get hold of them? Those questions need to be answered. If they were available at the boy’s home that too is an error of the parents.
I agree with the parents that people should be slow to condemn this 12-year-old. And we really don’t want to get too heavily involved in the blame game but…in order to learn lessons and to stop a repetition questions need to be asked and honest answers found.
A cat named Pitty Pat has been tortured and we are not told if he/she survived; although it seems unlikely. This was someone’s pet so the owner’s are also suffering.
Apparently mental health facilities are scarce in Clinton, Iowa, the scene of the crime and in the surrounding area. Jonathan has been sent to Nebraska for treatment. It was the only available bed in six states. It appears that there is a shortage of mental health treatments in America. This mirrors the situation in the UK. Mental health is undervalued generally. It needs to be emphasized far more.
Charged
Jonathan has been charged with first degree burglary and animal torture. I think the burglary charge stems from the fact that the boy broke into the cat owner’s van and tortured the cat inside the vehicle. Jonathan was apparently with 2 others who fled the scene. Jonathan does not remember hurting the cat we are told.
The parents said: “Throughout his lifetime, he’s never hurt them or played rough with them or anything like this. So this is really out of the blue for Jonathan,”
However, a comment below says he has done something similar multiple times.
Who taught him to steal and burglaries?
I agree the parents look very rough and common, which CAN be indicative of poor parenting, poor health choices and inherited mental health problems. The parents potentially could even have asked him to do it – we don’t know, though…
This was my cat she didn’t survive he got the chemicals out of my van he tortured her in. He will have assault charges too for going after my parents . I have had 20 plus people vome forward he has stolen their pets and done the same and the oarents were aware of it
Skylar. Many thanks for commenting. I had no idea that he has done this multiple times. Can you tell me more? Please tell me more.
In building a case with all the info on getting the first week my ibox was flooded with people in the area. One lady said she even had an apology letter from the dad for the boy harming her cat and hers died of brain damage at the vet as a kitten. Ive even had his fanily members contact me that the parents have a terrible history with child neglect assault and drugs. The boy lives 100 yards from us. He tortured ny cat then got in our boat blew off the airborne and extinguisher my dad went to check on it and the. Boy pulled a knife on my parents saying he wouod stab us if he got lose. Dispatch has it recorded I was on the phone with police. He got out of the cruiser and hid in our bushes taunting us until i found him and the cops restrained him again I didnt know aboht my cat until they were leaving. I called a vet that came in for emergency on Sunday ny parents took her in and i went around my house looking for what she was covered in and found half a bottle of transmission fluid in my van along with blood. She suffered too many stab wounds to survive 24 hours after. Neither parents offered to cover her 500$ vet bill or even say sorry they have been bashing me for speaking out against the child and lying about his condition. They are negligent heartless people.
If this is true, I am truly for your loss and clear PTSD
This is a total parenting fail. I would moot that at the age of 12, this boy knew some basics around what is right and what is wrong.
There’s almost a scramble to mitigate these grotesque acts, to excuse them, no matter how horrific these acts are, all on the say so of whom? Psychiatrists, money making, unprofessional philosophers who wear the protective mantel of science to save them from fall out from their evidence free verdicts on a person’s state of mind.
Isn’t there a mass of over diagnosing of children (along with attendant dangerous drugs) in the western world? Could this be just the 21st century method of hiding atrocious parenting in plain sight? Pay the shrink, tick the boxes next to the MH conditins which will distract the world from seeing what an abused mess with an impossible future, the child is.
I think the lad needs removing from the parents and have some long term psychological rehabbing by someone with proven compassion and integrity.
I hope that Pitty Pat was saved and is home now with his/her human, both recovering from a terrble trauma.
There is a mass over over-diagnosing of kids. And doctors make up new conditions which people suffer from. It is grist to the mill.
I believe the opposite to be true on both counts in most countries. Your comments sound very prejudiced, to be honest! Surely, North America isn’t that much worse?
OMC. Sending prayers for this poor kitty soul. I feel extreme compassion for the cat, much more than for the mentally compromised boy who committed such an act of cruelty. Sorry, but this could have been avoidable. There must have been other signs or occurrences leading up to this point which required this 12-year-old’s whereabouts to be monitored. ??
Yes, I think we have to blame the parents. The must be a question mark over charging the boy. The parents are arguably more to blame.
Prayers do nothing for dead cats