If you watch the news and read the newspapers, you will notice that after every horrendous crime the neighbors say the same things.

"He was such a nice guy, would do anything for you."
"He was very quiet, didn't give me any trouble"
"He was well respected around these parts"

These people are in shock, they are not stupid. No one likes to think that they are living next to a serial killer. So they gloss over signs that the person next to them could do such horrible things. Reinterview them later on, as many writers have done, and you get a different story. A story of little signs that are often dismissed individually, but together they add up to one strange person.

Starting from childhood, these are the three main signs that denote a killer. Criminologists call them the homicidal triad. Firestarting, bedwetting (after age 15), and cruelty to animals and other children.

Firestarting is when a child or adult sets fires simply to watch something burn. This is also called pyromania. Pyromania can also be labeled as pyrophillia, because pyromaniacs recieve sexual satisfaction from setting and watching fires. The bigger the fire, the more excited pyromaniacs become. Dumpsters are most commonly set ablaze because they are not well guarded and often full of combustable material. But just about anything can be set fire, including the person's own home. Home burning happens with children much more often than adults.

Bedwetting after age 15 is also a sign of homicidal tendencies. Before age 15, bedwetting is caused by outgrowing one's bladder. The body produces more urine than the bladder can handle during the night, and children who sleep deeply will wet themselves because the bladder is too full. After age 15, the bladder should be able to handle the urine during the night. Unless there is something physically wrong with the bladder which would cause daytime incontinence, or a chronic mental state (coma, retardation, et.) all people should be dry by 15.

Bedwetting also has a sexual side to it. Instead of the usual noctornal emissions, the person wets the bed in a perverted dream. This can be accompanied by urophillia (sexual arousal through urine) and urination or defecation in inappropriate places. Often burglars will urinate or defecate in houses which they are burglarizing. And killers have been known to urinate or defecate on bodies.

Cruelty to animals or other children is a sure sign of homicidal tendencies. These behaviors are a rehearsal for future crimes. Often, animal cruelty reflects future homocidal behavior, they will kill and torture animals in the same way as they will kill and torture people. For all the hunters out there, I don't mean you. Hunting is a separate behavior, possibly an instinctive one. But people who hunt with illegal means (poaching) or people who shoot pets are included.

My personal opinion is that cruelty to pets is a reflection of how the person feels about himself. He cannot be a part of society, cannot give and receive love and affection from people. Seeing a loved pet must infuriate him because he cannot have what even an animal is capable of having. Poaching is simply the criminal mind at work. Many killers who are mainly profit oriented are also poachers. They poach because it is easy and convenient, and they kill for insurance money or inheritance.

The last word, if you see these behaviors in children, please don't ignore them. There is some hope of rehabilitation if the problem is caught early enough. Once the person kills a human being, or starts violent criminal behavior, there is no cure. I know this sounds harsh, but it is true.

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