Picture of the Day

Beth Thomas’ appearance on 1992 documentary Child of Rage featured shocking footage of her telling her psychiatrist she wanted to kill her parents and brother in the dead of night. She suffered from a rare psychological condition, RDA, that stemmed from extreme childhood neglect and sexual abuse – but she beat the odds to overcome her horrific early life to help others like her.

In the footage, Beth – then aged 6 – explains that parents Tim and Julie lock her in her room at night to stop her from stabbing them to death.

She also admits to sexually abusing her younger brother, Jonathan, torturing the family dog and killing a nest of baby birds.

Jonathan was hospitalized after Beth repeatedly smashed his head in to a concrete floor in a bid to kill him. The siblings were adopted from a situation of severe neglect, and she was later diagnosed with ‘reactive attachment disorder’ (RAD), a rare but serious condition where young children fail to make healthy attachments with parents or caregivers due to extreme abuse.

It emerged that Beth had grown up neglected, and been sexually abused by her biological father until she was 19-months-old.

After working with Beth, Dr. Ken Magid suggested that she be temporarily removed from her family and work with an expert full time. She was placed in the care of an expert in raising children with early attachment disorders. The home immediately placed Thomas with a strict schedule and a clear set of rules. She flourished under their care and eventually enrolled in public school. She even sang in the church choir.

Beth Thomas continued to excel with extensive therapy. She developed genuine remorse for the pain and anguish that she put her brother and parents through.

She graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in Nursing. Beth currently works with Nancy Thomas as a guest speaker on children like her who are affected by RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder). Thomas now describes herself as no longer “a child of rage but a phenomenal woman.”