Who is "Child of Rage" Beth Thomas and What Happened To Her Brother?

Publish date: 2024-05-17

Beth Thomas is the former “child of rage” who battled with RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder). Beth suffered physical, sexual, and mental abuse from her own biological father which manifested in unpalatable behaviors like wanting to inflict harm on people and animals. Her younger brother, Jonathan Thomas, also suffered the same fate and was nearly killed by Beth when he was a baby.

According to Beth’s life story, she lost her biological mother at the age of one and she and her younger brother were left at the mercy of their abusive father who went on to damage their lives. After she was taken to her first foster home, the former “child of rage” threatened to kill her adoptive parents, Tim and Julie Tennent, and younger brother. This behavior terrified the couple who were forced to take her into therapy.

Beth later went to live with a second adoptive parent, Nancy Thomas, who was better equipped to deal with her case as a therapist. Today, the former abusive child is a registered nurse, therapist, and author. She is even married and living happily with her husband.

Summary of Beth Thomas’s Biography

How Old is Beth Thomas Today?

Beth Thomas is 38 years old as she was born sometime in 1980. Though her exact place of birth is not listed, Beth is an American citizen with White ethnicity. She presently lives in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States.

The names of Beth’s biological parents have never been mentioned but it was reported that her mum died when she was still a baby at age one and she has a younger brother. Jonathan was barely one month old at that time.

Both kids were left to live with their biological father who subjected them to a lot of mental, physical, and sexual abuse.

This went on till Beth turned a year and seven months old when the child welfare authorities took over and gave them adoption to a Christian couple, Tim and Julie Tennent who were childless. It was after she started displaying strange and aggressive behaviors that she was adopted for a second time by Nancy Thomas.

Beth Thomas’ biological father was apprehended by the authorities and thrown in jail and nothing was said about him to date.

Talking about her academic journey, Beth is an alum of the University of Colorado where she studied for a nursing degree. But before then, she passed through the public school system in the US.

What Ever Happened To Beth Thomas?

As mentioned earlier, Beth was an abused child and the abuser was none other than her biological dad who started when she was one and went on till she clocked 19 months old.

While seeking help for the abused child, Beth’s adoptive parents consulted a clinical psychologist called Dr. Magid who held sessions that helped in delving into the little girl’s past. Beth mentioned that she usually had nightmares where she would see her biological dad come upstairs to hurt her.

According to Beth, her dad would continue touching her vagina until it started bleeding and it hurt so much. She also said he never gave her enough food and wasn’t nice to her, always hitting her. Beth said she was barely one year old when she experienced all these abuses at the hands of her biological father.

Speaking about her child’s atypical behavior, Beth Thomas’ adoptive mother, Julie said the girl took to masturbating and was doing it in public places. She recalled an incident when they were in the car waiting for her husband who was visiting to come out of the hospital, only to get to the car and see Beth with her legs wide open and masturbating in the parking lot. Jill also said the masturbating was done on a daily basis.

Beth Thomas’ Behavior Turned Dangerous with Time

Before long, Beth Thomas started displaying some dangerous behaviors. According to her adoptive mother, Julie, she started missing some of her pairing knives and when quizzed, Beth revealed that she was the one keeping them and had plans to use them in killing both her younger brother and Julie and her husband.

In a bid to ensure their safety at night, Julie and her husband took to locking Beth inside her room at night. This was a preventive measure to stop her from getting access to harmful weapons and perhaps carry out her threat of killing somebody. She also abused her brother physically and sexually and killed some household pets by sticking pins into their bodies. There was also a time she drowned a bird’s nest.

Following the end of her session with, Dr. Magid, the psychologist recommended a temporary separation between Beth Thomas and her adoptive parents. It was at this point that she went under the care of Connell Watkins an expert in treating the cases of kids having early attachment disorders.

What Happened to Beth Thomas’s Brother?

Beth Thomas’s biological brother Jonathan Thomas, also called Jonathan Tennent, suffered the same fate at the hands of their biological father when he was still a baby. That notwithstanding, the boy still went on to experience something worse at the hands of his sister, Beth.

While Beth was narrating her experience to Dr. Magid, she described how she would fondle her brother’s private part aggressively. She vividly described how she would pinch and squeeze the little boy’s genitals. Beth also admitted to making several attempts to end Jonathan’s life.

She gave vivid accounts of situations where she stuck some pins into her little brother’s body. Beth Thomas said she smashed the boy’s head against the basement floor several times, and there was a certain time that she pushed him down the staircase, though she later went back to rescue him after he started crying.

Even before Jon started suffering abuse at the hands of his sister, the one he experienced with their father marked him for life. Jon developed a strangely shaped head – the front side was totally flat while the back was described as bulbous. This abnormality developed as a result of being abandoned in his baby cot all day.

Needless to say, Beth Thomas’ younger brother also developed behavioral problems, though not as serious as Beth’s case. Jon later overcame his issues and enrolled in a normal school. Jonathan is still alive and is all grown up. The young man is forging his own path in life though not much is known about him

She was Diagnosed with RAD

After thorough medical examinations by experts in child psychology, Beth Thomas was finally diagnosed with RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder). According to medical research, RAD is a serious mental condition, albeit rare where kids find it hard to develop healthy attachments with their parents or caregivers; this is usually a result of extreme abuse.

Medical research shows that a child’s first two years are very crucial as that is when they are expected to develop a conscience and a sense of attachment but obviously, Beth and her brother didn’t have that opportunity because they were left under the care of an abusive father.

RAD is said to be rampant among adopted children as many of them may have experienced traumatic early starts unknown to their adoptive parents. These adoptive parents find themselves battling violent outbursts, self-harm, destructive behavior, and many more. Such children may target their parents, household pets, or even animals in the outdoors like birds who would suffer the consequences of their damaged lives.

A child who suffers from RAD is not likely to perceive touch as something good – the good sensation that comes from hugs or any other form of body contact may be highly resisted. This category of children may be observed displaying more affection toward strangers than their own parents or caregivers.

RAD can be identified with symptoms such as troubling disobedience, severe temper tantrums, manipulative behavior, and many more. It is important to note that RAD does not always make children want to harm other people or animals like Beth Thomas did, hers was just the consequence of severe trauma.

In Beth’s case, after she was taken from the home of her adoptive parents, she then went for the pseudo-scientific practice called “attachment therapy” which is targeted at promoting restraint in kids but has been dismissed by critics as highly abusive.

Connell Watkins Employed an Extreme Measure in Beth Thomas’ Treatment

When Beth Thomas finally landed at Connell Watkins’s home for intensive therapy, she was placed under a clear set of rules and a very strict schedule.

Describing the care and control that aided Beth in developing a conscience, Watkins said she made the young lady ask for everything. She must politely request anything she needs like food, using the restroom, and many more.

With the passage of time, Beth began to earn the trust of both Watkins and her facilitators and consequently, they had to give her more privileges. It took a long while but she gradually began feeling loved, accepted, and trusted.

The extensive therapy was considered a massive success as Beth Thomas continued excelling and at some point, she started developing genuine remorse for all her wrongdoings including causing her brother and adoptive parents so much anguish.

In barely a year, she reconnected with her biological brother and the two could share a room without any fear of physical or mental abuse. Considered ok, Beth enrolled in public school and was able to relate normally with her schoolmates and teachers. After matriculating, she went to study nursing at the university level and excelled in her studies. She even participated in church activities and joined her church’s choir.

What Does Beth Do For a Living?

After she completed her BSc. Nursing at the University of Colorado, the former “Child of Rage” decided to make a career out of helping the sick and those in need. The registered nurse scored a job at the Arizona-based Flagstaff Medical Center in 2005 and to date, she is still with the health facility.

Bath’s Unit is the neo-natal ICU where she employs her training and experience in taking care of newborn babies and their mums.

From what is obvious, Beth is not your “runoff the mill” type of nurse, she is really good at what she does and her hard work and perseverance have not gone unrewarded. The registered nurse emerged as the winner of a Modern-Day Florence Nightingale Nursing Excellence Award thanks to her contribution as a nursing staff of Flagstaff Medical Center.

Beth Thomas is Now a Therapist

Collaborating with her second adoptive mother, Nancy Thomas, Beth Thomas started working as a therapist. The registered American nurse and Nancy are the people behind the consulting firm Families by Design: Nancy Thomas Parenting. The firm promotes child-oriented therapies and details of their website revealed that they “offer information on adoption, early trauma, attachment, and RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder) to families and professionals.”

Beth does her bit in the firm as a guest speaker, presenting her life experience to clients whose children are going through similar trauma. Her work as a registered nurse notwithstanding, Beth Thomas is also dedicated to her second work as a therapist albeit on a part-time basis. She is forever researching ways to prevent families and households from being exposed to the kind of treatment she meted out to her brother and first adoptive family

As a mentor, Thomas’s most striking attribute is her natural ability to focus on as well as add to existing strengths. The registered nurse and therapist have become adept at handling confrontations. She is great at handling errors and corrections positively and consistently while fostering learning and professional growth. An extremely gifted and intelligent clinician, Beth never attempts to flaunt the fact. She has become a phenomenal woman and not “a child of rage” anymore

Thomas has Co-Authored Two Books

Beth Thomas

As an author, Thomas has two publications under her belt. Along with her second adoptive mum, Nancy, the registered American nurse takes the credit for co-writing the books, Dandelion on My Pillow, Butcher Knife Beneath, and More Than a Thread of Hope. The two books focus on her struggles with RAD and how she finally overcame them.

The accomplished public speaker may not be a doctor or a psychologist, but she has made a tremendous contribution to handling mental health issues in children. Apart from the two books they co-authored, Beth also contributes to educational materials and webinars that Nancy uses for her firm.

Where Is Beth Thomas Now and What Is She Up To?

As earlier mentioned, Nancy Thomas is now a registered nurse who works part-time as a therapist and a guest speaker in her second adoptive mum’s firm. However, apart from her professional life, the former “child of rage” has also made progress in her personal life. Though she is not the type to gush about her love life on social media, reports have it that Beth is currently married.

According to the tidbits we gathered from media sources, she wedded on the 18th of November 2016 but prefers to keep the details as far away from the media as possible. Because of her secretive lifestyle, it is hard to know whether she has become a mother or not but she is still married and enjoying marital bliss with her spouse.

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