Animal Abuse a Precursor to Murder? (3 min) - Texas

"If you see something, you see anything that you suspect is animal abuse, immediately report that to authorities," he encourages.

"Reporting it could mean keeping humans safe.  "Often times we hear from investigators that people who commit murder may begin with something like animal abuse," Hanes says.

"The link between animal abuse and violence against people is something University of Texas instructor Miki Tesh knows about.  "Someone who may have a lack of empathy and abuses animals may have a tendency towards abusing a person," she says...."

http://www.keyetv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/animal-abuse-precursor-murder-8716.shtml