Can You Call a 9-Year-Old a Psychopath?

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86. Here are 2 other cases mentioned in the article:

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In some children, C.U. traits manifest in obvious ways. Paul Frick, a psychologist at the University of New Orleans who has studied risk factors for psychopathy in children for two decades, described one boy who used a knife to cut off the tail of the family cat bit by bit, over a period of weeks. The boy was proud of the serial amputations, which his parents initially failed to notice. “When we talked about it, he was very straightforward,” Frick recalls. “He said: ‘I want to be a scientist, and I was experimenting. I wanted to see how the cat would react.’ ”

In another famous case, a 9-year-old boy named Jeffrey Bailey pushed a toddler into the deep end of a motel swimming pool in Florida. As the boy struggled and sank to the bottom, Bailey pulled up a chair to watch. Questioned by the police afterward, Bailey explained that he was curious to see someone drown. When he was taken into custody, he seemed untroubled by the prospect of jail but was pleased to be the center of attention.
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These 2 cases also give me pause. In addition, mutilating animals is considered a sign that many killers have exhibited as kids.

That doesn't mean that all horrid kids will become Dahmers or whatever. However, hurting animals is no longer brushed off by many in law enforcement. It is seen as a behavior that deserves some kind of attention. Juvie won't do it probably. I taught kids who went to Juvie and came back worse because they learned new tricks.

The family in the story did probaby need help from the get go. However, with limited resurces and not knowing methods to use at the very beginnng didn't help. Even if they were well off, they may have gone into denial and not gotten help in time.