The Seven-Year-old Serial Killer
They say in today’s world that a divorce, job change, or moving are some of most stressful events. Imagine this impact to a young girl, already not a stranger to tragedy. This sentiment also mirrored the thoughts of investigators as a young girl admitted to murder after trying to poison an entire dinner party.
The Impact of Change on a Young Mind
Alsa Thompson was born April 23rd, 1917 in Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada. She was the oldest of what eventually became three younger siblings. There were the twins, Muriel and Mildred, who were born in 1920, and later her sister Maxine was born. Her father, Russell G. Thompson, was born in Canada but had ties to the states, and her mother was born in Nebraska but spent a great deal of her life traveling and moving to different places, as did her own family. She spent time in Canada, Washington (state), and Fairbanks, Alaska. So when the family decided to move to Los Angeles, California, Claire Thompson, then known as “Effie,” would try, like so many, to start an acting career, while working in a confectionary store. She and her husband would separate, and the children would stay with the father, or at least formally. Informally, the two children, as the twins died a couple of years earlier, would board with other families. This was said to cause an extreme problem for young Alsa. She started stealing, giving away what she had stolen in school and killing animals [67].
“Yes, being away from her mother may have had an effect on Alsa. It is not the same, never, when a baby is seperated from her mother,” said Alsa’s grandmother. [29]
Signs of Trouble
Young Asla Thompson was a tiny girl who had just suffered through a “divorce” or “seperation” with her parents, and it was very uncommon at the time. As we know, divorce is immensely hard on some children, and in addition to that, this young girl had so many other tragedies, or major changes, occur within a short period of time. Asla’s two baby sisters, whom she doted on, died suddenly in 1922. Soon after, Asla (age 7) and her sister Maxine (age 5) relocated from Canada to Los Angeles. Imagine how heavy some of these changes would weigh on the psyche of a young impressionable girl. Instead of caring for her children, Asla’s mother was pursuing an acting career, albeit, unsuccessfully. Her father, Russell G. Thompson, ‘could not’ care for the children alone, so he “boarded them out” to other families for care. Asla and her little sister Maxine were then boarded out with strangers and it seemed to impact Asla’s mental health. The first family they boarded with was an elderly mother and her 48 year-old unmarried daughter, Nellie Steele. Nellie Steele died after a very short battle with stomach cancer, suspiciously as the twins who died a few years earlier died of gastroenteritis.
The First Boarding Situation
The first person they boarded little Asla and her sister Maxine to was a woman named Nellie Steele. Asla said she put rat poison in her food. Nellie died of “stomach cancer” after suffering for two months, leaving her aged mother alone in the world. Nellie lived with her mother alone, and like the Thompsons, hailed from Canada. She had earned money by taking in boarders previously.
“I liked to see them suffer and die but I felt sorry afterward,” said little Asla [29].
The Second Boarding Situation
After Ms. Steele died, the Thompson girls were sent to live with the Platt family. Things were not great there. Asla was blamed for a lot of the trouble in the home. It is noted that she was mistreated and actually tied up with a rope. That being said, little Asla Thompson, according to reports, fit the modern stereotype of psychopathy. She lacked emotions, was known the kill animals such as the Platt’s pet birds and stole things to give to other classmates. She was considered hyper intelligent and in the 8th grade at only 7 years old. Her teachers remarked that she was polite and studious, in fact, in some reports, ‘the best performing’ child in her grade. “She is just one of the average children of the class.” Miss Anna Henry, the child’s teacher. “She has never been conspicuous; by her studies, and yet she is not one of the worst scholars. She’s just a normal child,” stated Miss Henry, her teacher [67].
She was recorded as trying to slash her sister Maxine with a razor and also slash some of the other children in the Platt home [31]. A young and innocent face did not match her calculating words… with wide blue eyes and bobbed brown hair topping her serene face as she coldly admitted to her crimes.
“I guess I did it because I’m mean,” she said frankly [35, 56, 61]. Mrs. Inez Platt would often have dinner parties. Asla would help make the meals and there were a number of parties where people got sick afterwards. This last time, 8 people were at the party, and she had spread battery acid all over the pork chops. She put ant poison in the coffee. The taste of the food is what alerted the Platt family to the poisoning. “I never want to see that brat again. She tried to poison the whole household and has already killed three persons,” Mrs. Platt proclaimed richeously [26]. “It’s all true. What Mrs. Platt says is true, too. I guess I’m a bad girl,” responded Alsa [29]. When taken in for questioning she admitted to slashing her little sister’s wrists, poisoning five of her classmates, killing Mrs. Steele with rat poisoning, feeding her twin sisters ground glass, in addition to poisoning several of the plants, dinner party with intentions to kill.
After Asla was taken into custody, suspiciously, Mrs. Platt made such a scene in her home after the “poisoning” that neighbors feared a murder and called the police to check on her [67].
“Creative, too, she loved to concoct, now and then, a desert dish: This once she prepared with ant paste and sulpheric acid. It was poison enough to kill the whole family. Luckily it’s taste was forewarning” [61]
The Response of the Authorities
Little Asla horrified everyone involved, but this was a time of social change with psychology in its infancy. Authorities believed that her high intellect and inapproriate living situation caused temporary insanity. Several experts testified there was no way she could have killed Mrs. Steele or the twins, but several testified that she could have. Dr. S. Floersheim who was an expert in poison with a focus as a stomach specialist said it was possible. He said that diluted battery acid would not cause much damage, charring food in a higher concentration, but the battery acid also contained arseneic adding that two tablespoons of battery fluid would be enough to kill. Rat Poison and ground glass, however, are extremely dangerous and could kill a person quickly [68].
The probation officer that was assigned to the case believed that if she was put in a normal home situation her behavior would improve, but the judge was eager to review all facts and determine if she should be institutionalized. “I am inclined to doubt the poison stories, the child is of an imaginative temperment and she has simply fallen prey to evil influence and suggestions,” said her probation officer, Mrs. McCracken. [23]
“The girl is not insane but she is mentally ill,” said Judge Walter S. Gates.
On the stand she was calm and focused. “I wanted to see my little sisters suffer because it made me feel good. I broke up a glass jar and sprinkled the pieces in their breakfast food.”
“They suffered for two days. I liked it. When they died I felt sorry for them”, Asla remarked calmly [62]. “I put ground glass in my sister’s cornflakes because I wanted to see them suffer. Somebody told me ground glass would do that and I tried it. One of them died right away” [35].
She is Just a Child
The people in Asla’s life rallied around her, stating she had a big imagination and none of this were true. Her mother pleaded to the court for mercy, asking that her child not “face the stigma of insanity.” Psychologists were eager to study this girl’s behavior [62].
“What could she know of death? I feel that Alsa simply doesnt know what death means. She is a baby, She has heard older people talk of dying and simply imagined these things.” — Mrs. P H Davis (Maternal Grandmother) [29].
Her teachers, psychologists, the insanity court, probation officer, and family all stood up to state that she was innocent. That she had a high intellect, and a creative mind, and aside from these false confessions, was a perfectly sane child.
A Child Can Blossom After Stigma
During the trial, there had been rumors that Mrs. Platt was feeding the child information. When she was questioned about this, she went hysterical and almost “fainted” on the stand. Asla later admitted that Mrs. Platt made her say these things about the murders, and often abused her, even tying her up with a rope [56].
“Alsa, freed of her fear complex that had been forced on her, is a perfectly normal child. She is not emotionally deficient, is not sadistic and doesn’t want to hurt cats and dogs. She doesn’t hate people who have been unkind to her, she only dislikes them” [65].
Love Saved this Child
The courts deemed Asla normal and released her to the custody of her father [56]. Asla grew with her sisters travelling and spending time in nature (in Ford Cars) and led a normal life. She was married twice and bore six children. Through photos and notes on genealogy sites, it appears that she had a loving relationship with her sisters (Maxine, (later) Vivian and Ariel) as time went on.
Love saved this child, regardless of circumstance.We do not know the true events of this scenario but we do know now that the child’s mind is plastic and can be molded to grow from tragedy. We know that the family unit is very important to a child’s development, and Asla is one example of how a child can blossom after stigma. Such a story is rare and needs to be heard.
Citations
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