Strangled puppy
Dallas, TX (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Feb 28, 1945
County: Dallas

Disposition: Not Charged

Person of Interest: Carroll Edward Cole

Carroll Edward Cole - reputed to be one of the most prolific serial killers in U.S. history - convicted for 5 of 35 murders accused. He confessed his first act of violence was to strangle a puppy under the porch of his house.

"The kids made quite a thing of taunting me," Cole later recalled. "I felt the animosity, withdrawing more and more into myself." One afternoon, hiding beneath the porch at home, Cole briefly "blacked out" and awoke to find he had strangled the family's puppy. Strangely relieved by the act of killing, he began to fantasize about killing his mother--or, for that matter, any female who crossed his path.

Cole was executed in 1985.  He was never charged with animal cruelty, and was never forced into couseling after the puppy incident.

References

• « TX State Animal Cruelty Map
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