Having worked in the public schools for a good part of my adult life, and having had friends and relatives, some of whom have really struggled to raise their kids for many different reasons, I always suspect something in a person's upbringing immediately when I hear stories like this.

But that is because I know all too well how badly neglected and abused children are in our society.

At best, Hoyt Axton's heart is broken by this. At worst, he may well have had a hand in creating "the monster" his son now believes himself to be. I say that only because the statistics on abuse are getting more and more clear and concise on this matter all the time.

Human beings have breaking points, beyond which they come to perceive themselves as damaged goods. At that point in the abuse/neglect cycle, a lot of painful things start happening. Some direct it inward, some direct it outward.

Too much physical pain produces psychic pain as it's worst side effect. And when it becomes too much to bear, people break. It sounds as if Hoyt Axton's son might be one of those broken people who directs their pain outward onto others. But there is a darkness there that none of us will ever know the truth of, as is always the case with celebrities. Especially criminals related to celebrities.