Dangerous Schizophrenia, Again
Last week I posted an article on paranoid schizophrenic Alexander Bonds who assassinated Officer Miosotis Familia in New York City. Earlier this week another paranoid schizophrenic was in the news, and it’s not for joining Habitat For Humanity. The lunatic this time is one Cosmo DiNardo, a resident of rural Buck’s County, Pennsylvania. Dinardo was a known schizophrenic who once had been involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility by his mother. Although he has a record of FORTY encounters with law enforcement his only arrest was in February of this year for possessing a firearm (which is prohibited for people that have been involuntarily committed). Even that charge was dismissed when a psychiatric worker declined to testify in the proceedings because of concerns for DiNardo’s PRIVACY.
DiNardo became a suspect in the disappearance of four Buck’s County teens when he was caught trying to sell one of the victim’s car! He has since confessed to involvement in all four murders and named his cousin as an accomplice. When one of his victims was slow to die after being shot in the back, DiNardo administered the coup de grace by RUNNING OVER HIM WITH A BACKHOE. Reportedly, he felt “cheated” by too low a payment in a drug deal.
Going back over this man’s history, we see a striking history of deviant behavior with frequent threats of violence. We see numerous police encounters. We see involuntary commitment, firearms possession, dropped charges, a therapist’s misguided concerns for privacy. In short, we see glaring “red flags” warning of the danger for violence. Yet this man was allowed to roam free. My point here is that society has yet to grasp how very dangerous such individuals are. Unless and until we come to this realization, and implement policies and procedures that reflect this fact (close monitoring, forced medication regimines, commitment when necessary, and even permanent commitment in some cases), innocent people will continue to be victimized, some horribly.