'Psycho' pet serial killer stalks Australian suburbs

Animals are being killed and maimed by a "demented psychopath'' on the Central Coast, sparking fears the crimes will escalate. In the past two weeks three mutilated kangaroos, two beheaded parrots, several savaged rabbits and what is thought to be a decapitated dog or sheep have been found.

The animals were dumped in water or at the water's edge at separate sites at Point Clare and Avoca Lagoon. A dead turtle with a noose around its neck was also found off a pier at Saratoga last week.

Concerned local police have assigned an officer to collate the incidents and investigate links. Brisbane Water crime co-ordinator Senior Sergeant Vivienne Crawford said many of the animal carcasses had been disposed of before they could be examined for clues.



Criminologist Dr John Clarke said the history of serial killers was littered with examples of men who began by torturing animals. "We don't know why, but the homicidal triad is animal cruelty, setting fires and bed-wetting after the age of about nine,'' he said. "Animal dismemberment teaches the killer how to cut up and dispose of bodies.

"This person may well be a psychopath. If it's an adult, he's probably torturing humans at the same time. The police should look at other crime in the area, because animal cruelty also has huge links to sexual homicide and domestic violence. It's about power and control.''

Gosford Mayor Chris Holstein said he was concerned someone in the community was carrying out horrific acts of cruelty. "Whoever is doing it is an evil, demented psychopath and must be caught and made to bear the full weight of the law,'' he said.