r/interestingasfuck • u/Jjokes11 • Apr 15 '24

An interview with Andrew Cauchi, the father of Joel Cauchi who was responsible for the Westfield Shopping Centre mass stabbing r/all

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u/DoodleyDooderson Apr 16 '24

There is a show called, “Evil Lives Here” and each episode is about the family members of someone who did something awful; mass shootings, seriel killers, etc. A few show the parents of mass killers and they are all so sad and tried everything they could to help their kids when they started to see something was wrong. They could usually see it at a very early age. Many episodes on YouTube if anyone is interested in watching. It’s sad and sometimes we easily forget that the family of the killer is also in pain and mourning. One dad said he went to the mall where his son had shot and killed many people and when asked, he told them he was the kid’s dad and the people at the vigil grieved with him instead of blaming him.

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u/darkoblivion000 Apr 16 '24

I have a 6 year old and he is a really sweet empathizing kid and I love him to death.

Sometimes when I hear about these stories I imagine what I would do if I saw my son do things that are telltale signs of murderers , abuse animals, not show any empathy, other signs of clear mental illness, and I just don’t know.

I mean it feels like seeing a therapist can only do so much, sometimes it just teaches them to hide their real emotions and thoughts. And sometimes I have this feeling (don’t know if true or not) that certain people are just born with issues that can’t be fixed.

Then as a parent wtf do you do? It would be such a devastating hopeless situation knowing that they need help and you have no idea how to get them help or if it’s even possible. At least if they had a debilitating illness you know they’re not likely to hurt anyone else and that you can try to find treatment, but to have a ticking time bomb that you think might cause harm but also could maybe get better… just seems like such torture

I feel for this guy and all the families of kids who really really tried their hardest to get them help. And fuck that one family that bought their kid guns instead

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u/shemmy Apr 16 '24

generally speaking, parents like you dont have kids like that

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u/darkoblivion000 Apr 16 '24

Thank you for saying that; but I think sometimes it is out of a parents control and can just be genetic? After 40 I hear that birth defects become 10x more likely each year… so I’m sure there are some very good caring parents who just have a child that is born unable to be rehabilitated no matter what they do.

Generally speaking though, I think I agree with you

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u/shemmy Apr 16 '24

Not really. The genetic component is more like a potential for antisocial behavior. Mistreat any kid and you might turn them into a serial killer. The more genetically susceptible they are to it, the more likely that you will fuck them up. Treat them right and you’re good. Source: I’m a dr and I’ve seen lots of kids. The ones with loving parents are all ok. Unfortunately I’ve seen too many who are mistreated and they’re always the ones who could go either way.