Man squeezes cat to death for scratching girlfriend's daughter

[friesianrider]

http://www.thereporteronline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16620611&BRD=2275&PAG=461&dept_id=466404&rfi=6

This is from the local newspaper from near where I went to high school. I had to read it twice to understand who was who in this story, but from my understanding, the father of the little girl dropped her off at her mother's apartment. On his way home, he received a call from the mother, saying their cat had just scratched the daughter. He returned to the mother's apartment and took the girl to the hospital. When he arrived at the hospital, the doctor wanted the cat so he could test him for rabies. When the father called the mother about this, she said she "took care of it" and had told her boyfriend "to kill him (the cat)." The little girl apparently said she saw the mother's boyfriend tossing the dead cat into or around a creek behind the apartment complex, and that he supposedly admitted to her that he had "squeezed it to death."

The mother's lawyer said that his client had "only asked" the boyfriend to kill the cat and requested the count of animal cruelty be dropped. The judge held all charges for trial, and both the mother and her boyfriend are facing animal cruelty, tampering with evidence, hindering apprehension or prosecution and conspiracy.

Unfortunately, the presiding judge for this case does not have an email address, but I thought maybe some of you would be able to give his office a call and ask that the judge take this case seriously, particularly the animal cruelty aspect. A message needs to be sent that this kind of behavior is unacceptable, and the general public (and judges) need to understand the very real link between animal cruelty and other forms of human violence (child abuse, domestic violence, elder abuse, etc).

If you have a moment to spare to give the judge a call and ask that he take this case seriously and encourage him to keep the charge of animal cruelty, you can do so at this number:

Honorable Harold D. Borek
421 West Main Street
Lansdale, PA 19446
[phone]

When I called, I did mention the link between animal cruelty and other violent crimes. I'm sending a letter to him today with a few info sheets from the HSUS on the links between animal cruelty and other forms of violence. It isn't like people who do things like this to animals are otherwise upstanding citizens. Thanks guys :)

[flvegan]

1. No, but the District Attorney has an e-mail address

Use it at will: [e-mail]

The evil in me suggests that his Honor, Judge Borek's e-mail is probably [e-mail]

But then, what do I know.

The DA will oftentimes introduce "public outrage" letters in the case, which is always nice for a judge/jury to see.

I'm dropping an e-mail (to see if it's returned), but I'm also calling tomorrow. Good alert, fries...

C'mon...show this asshat what "squeeze" is all about.

[Robeson]

3. Thanks for the links. Done!...

...:mad:

[peacebuzzard]

2. I just wrote the phone no. down and will call tomorrow during

business hours. This is clearly animal cruelty.

[mzteris]

4. I'm awondering. . .

are they SURE it was a CAT who "scratched" the girl?

Maybe a po'd Mom or sicko boyfriend instead........

[friesianrider]

7. Someone in the Pets group mentioned this...

It is true, I've never heard of a domesticated cat doing the kind of damage that would require 4 staples to close to wound.

No doubt, given the connection between animal cruelty and other forms of violence (like child abuse), it's absolutely possible the cat was scapegoated for this injury and conveniently disposed of.

[Robeson]

5. Update...

...After receiving my e-mail, I received a call today from the Assistant District Attorney, who wanted to know if I knew anything about this. That left me with impression that this was falling between the cracks. I directed him to the article you posted. A little bit later, I got an e-mail from the DA, himself, wanting to let me know they are taking this one seriously, and will pursue it. We'll see.

I also think mzteris brings up a good point in the post above, which is another reason the DA should take this seriously.

[friesianrider]

8. Wow, Robeson...

Thanks for that update! I am going to call both the ADA and DA now...

[Robeson]

9. I received another e-mail from the Assistant District Attorney today....

...thought you would be interested...

Mr. xxxx,
I'm writing to let you know the status of the case. There are two defendants, and both have been charged with various offenses, including Cruelty to Animals, Destruction of Evidence and Conspiracy. Both defendants are currently awaiting arraignment on their charges.
I assure you my office does take this case seriously, and this case will be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for your interest in this case.
Christopher Parisi
Assistant District Attorney
[phone]

I thought it interesting that he said "various charges". I'm thinking they may be on to the point that the wounds caused to the girl, may have been due to more than just a little kitty.

Good catch on all of this friesianrider... :thumbsup:

[CrispyQ]

6. It makes me mad that we always have to mention the link

between animal cruelty & violence to humans. Why can't this just be wrong because it's wrong? Why do so many people have to see how it will impact human life before they care about a cat?

Thanks for the info. I will email.