Cathy Scott on Muck Rack

Cathy Scott

San Diego
As seen in: Psychology Today, Forbes, ABC News (Australia), Goodreads, POLITICO, The Indiegogo Review, The Dodo, Springer Nature, San Diego Reader, Las Vegas Weekly, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin and
Covers:  forensics, evidence, crime, media, social justice
✎ Blogger 4 @PsychToday LATimes bestselling author of #Tupac, MafiaDaughter, #Biggie, Journo vegan jogger hiker cyclist #animalrights #writerscommunity #authors

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Cathy Scott’s Biography

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Cathy Scott is a true crime author and journalist who blogs for Psychology Today. Her work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, New York Post, George magazine, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, and Las Vegas Sun. Best known for penning The Killing of Tupac Shakur and Murder of a Mafia Daughter, she taught journalism at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for five years until she left for New Orleans to cover the largest animal rescue in US history following Hurrican…

Cathy Scott’s Journalist Portfolio

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Rodney King: His Race, His Plea, His Death - Forbes

Rodney King: His Race, His Plea, His Death - Forbes

After the story broke with the news that Rodney King was found dead at the bottom of his swimming pool, a jou…

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The Unsolved Murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls

The Unsolved Murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls

While conspiracy theories abound, the murders of two of rap's biggest stars go unsolved.

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Now Acquitted And An Admitted 'Sinner,' What's Next For John Edwards? - Forbes

Now Acquitted And An Admitted 'Sinner,' What's Next For John Edwards? - Forbes

In a stunning fall from grace played out before the nation, former presidential hopeful John Edwards stood be…

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Jerry Sandusky Guilty On 45 Counts: A Wake Up Call For Abusive Behavior - Forbes

Jerry Sandusky Guilty On 45 Counts: A Wake Up Call For Abusive Behavior - Forbes

The jury in the sexual abuse trial of Jerry Sandusky has returned guilty verdicts on 45 of 48 charges. The ju…

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Tupac Shakur: Music World Celebrates Late Rapper's Birthday - Forbes

Tupac Shakur: Music World Celebrates Late Rapper's Birthday - Forbes

American hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur, known by 2Pac on stage, would have celebrated his forty-first birthday …

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Etan Patz Case Solved: 'A Tragedy That Broke The Hearts Of Millions' - Forbes

Etan Patz Case Solved: 'A Tragedy That Broke The Hearts Of Millions' - Forbes

Investigators, skeptical a day earlier, have now officially named a New Jersey man a suspect in the disappear…

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Articles

Child Killer Denied Parole for Fourth Time

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By Cathy Scott, Kaja Perina 
| Psychology Today
Diane Downs is considered atypical child killer by FBI profilers and criminal justice experts. Child homicide rates have tripled since 1950, with homicide one of the top five causes. In December 2025, a parole board denied Diane Downs's release from prison for the fourth time. Downs, a single parent convicted in 1984 in Eugene, Oregon, killed her 7-year-old daughter and attempted to kill her two other children in May 1983.
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The Downfall of Sean Combs, Former Media and Hip Hop Mogul

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By Cathy Scott, Kaja Perina 
| Psychology Today
Source: Department of Justice/Used with permission Hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Comb sits in jail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after a federal jury found him guilty of two counts of physical abuse against his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura. He was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges. The trial, which began in May 2025, stemmed from Combs' arrest the previous year on sexual assault allegations.
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"Not Sorry," International Jewel Thief Doris Payne Says

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By Cathy Scott
| QOSHE
Famous jewel thief Doris Payne, born in coal-miner country the youngest of six siblings in southern West Virginia in the heart of Appalachia, made it her lifetime pursuit to steal jewelry from high-end shops. Her criminal career dates back officially to 1952. But this October marked the anniversary of her first admitted theft a decade earlier at age 12, which was 1942. Then and now, Payne has never shown an ounce of remorse. When asked, her response is always the same.
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Interview

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What was your first job as a journalist?

General assignment reporter for the Beach & Bay Press

Have you ever used a typewriter?

Yes. My mother taught typing. I clocked in at 120 words per minute.

How is social media changing news?

News can be reported on the spot, from the field, and posted immediately, along with photos and video.

Awards

Society of Professional Journalists Award

1993 - Criticism

1st Place, Criticism, op-ed piece in the San Diego Union-Tribune

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Foreward Reviews' Best Books of the Year

2013 - True Crime

Silver

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