Goodyear man kills, burns family dog in smoker; says "The devil made me do it" [View all]

[muriel_volestrangler]

Goodyear police say that 42-year-old Patrick Zane Thompson was upset over a T-shirt his daughter had on Saturday, believing it "had to do with the devil."

He made her bring the shirt to the barbeque smoker where he burned the shirt. He also said that, "he needed to sacrifice a male, either himself, his son (6 years old) or the family dog."

Police say the family grabbed the dog, a poodle, and tried to flee, but Thompson reportedly grabbed the daughter. The family pleaded with him until he released the girl and promised not to harm the dog, but instead he strangled and killed the dog.

When police arrived, they found Thompson lying on the sidewalk with a self-inflicted cut to his arm. He reportedly made "erratic comments that he had to 'do it for the God' and, the 'devil made him do it' and he put the dog in the smoker." They found the partially burnt small, white dog in the smoker.

http://www.abc15.com/news/crime/goodyear-man-kills-burns-family-dog-in-smoker-says-the-devil-made-me-do-it-

Detectives investigated further and learned that shortly after returning home, Thompson became upset with a shirt that his 17-year-old daughter had. Investigators said he believed the shirt had to do with the devil. That paperwork says Thompson made his daughter take the shirt and go with him to a large BBQ traveler that's parked in a side yard. The smoker was lit and police report that Thompson put the shirt in the trailer, burning it.

Investigators spoke with Thompson's family, including his daughter and wife. When Thompson went back into the house, they say he got more erratic and told his family, in front of his four minor children, that he needed to make a sacrifice of a male.

According to the victims, Thompson stated it had to be either himself, his firstborn 6-year-old son or the family dog -- a small, white poodle weighing about 15 pounds. That's when the family tried to escape the home but Thompson was able to grab hold of the dog. Investigators say the family pleaded with Thompson not to hurt the dog.
...
He allegedly later told officers that he had smoked marijuana earlier in the day and began to have an "episode." Police say Thompson said that he had a vision that something bad was going to happen to his family and that the "Lord was going to kill him for what he had done." The court paperwork adds that Thompson stated his readings in the Bible required a male sacrifice in this situation and that it wasn't going to be him or his firstborn son. So, the paperwork says, he chose the family dog.

http://www.azfamily.com/story/31984967/father-upset-with-daughters-t-shirt-sacrifices-family-dog-in-smoker

If only people weren't still talking about 'sacrifice' a couple of thousand years after their culture had stopped making them. If only there weren't influential books that rabbit on about 'sacrifice' ...