Police Arrest Suspect In Cat Killings

PALMETTO BAY, Fla. -- Police have arrested the man they say is responsible for a string of cat killings in South Florida.

Tyler Weinman, 18, lives in the area and is now in police custody, police said. He is charged with 19 counts of animal cruelty, four counts of burglary and 19 counts of improper disposing of an animal body.

"Our communities of Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay have been on edge for many weeks now because of the horrific and unspeakable slaughterings of many of their beloved feline pets. I sincerely hope that with his arrest, the residents will feel relieved and their cats will be safe once again. It is expected that the vicious crimes that have plagued these communities will not be repeated," said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.

"I commend the police officers of the Miami-Dade Police Department and senior trial counsel Michael Von Zamft who worked tirelessly and exhaustively with our law enforcement partners in order to put an end to these acts of cruelty. My heart goes out to the pet owners who have suffered such a great loss," Fernandez Rundle said.

On Sunday night one homeowner told Local 10, "I didn't think it would be somebody in this neighborhood. I never suspected anybody in this area."

On Saturday, Miami-Dade police issued arrest warrants for suspects and said they were working to make arrests in the case.

Circuit Judge Darryl Trawick signed the arrest warrant for Weiman.

Miami-Dade police said that since April, 33 cases involving dead cats have been reported. Eighteen of the cases, which involved a total of 19 dead cats, have been confirmed as animal cruelty, police said. Those cases happened in Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay and Kendall.

Palmetto Bay officials said police plan to serve warrants to multiple suspects, but they did not say how many.

Palmetto Bay resident Wayne Edwards transformed his backyard into a playground for his cats. He had 17 of the animals, but he is down to 16 after one was found slain and mutilated in a neighbor's front lawn.

"Why come here in this area and kill innocent cats? They are not doing anybody any harm," Edwards said.

More than 150 residents gathered at a town hall meeting Saturday morning to discuss the cat killings.

"This terrible time has drawn us together as a community, further emphasizing the importance of knowing our neighbors, communicating with each other and always staying vigilant to suspicious activities whenever or wherever they may occur in our village," Palmetto Bay Mayor Eugene P. Flinn Jr. said in the news release.

The reward for information leading to an arrest in the case was up to $12,000. The investigation continues.

Pet's Death Linked to Miami's Serial Cat Killer

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- He was black and white, the perfect gift for the 6-year-old daughter of Donna and Ronald Gleason. His name was Tommy.

The black and white tuxedo cat was one of a dozen pets that have been killed and mutilated recently by someone in the Miami area, police said.

The Gleasons do not want their daughter's name to be revealed. Donna Gleason asked the child to leave the room before telling CNN the gruesome details of what happened to their cat.

"Part of his skin was missing underneath ... and part of his legs," Gleason said. "He was partially skinned."

Miami-Dade County police say Tommy's demise is part of a string of sadistic feline fatalities that have occurred recently in the Cutler Bay and Palmetto Bay areas of southern Miami-Dade County, south of Miami.

Miami-Dade Police spokesman Bobby Williams said two of the cat carcasses were "posed." He said that anyone capable of such cruelty toward and torture of an animal "is disturbed at some sort of level."

The crimes began May 13. A reward of up to $10,000 has been offered for any information leading to an arrest.

Police have been inundated with dozens of phone calls from people who have discovered dead cats throughout the community. Investigators have determined that most of the cases are not related to the string of cat killings. The number, officially at 15, was initially believed to be much higher.

Ronald Gleason found Tommy lying in their yard May 25. At first, he thought his family's pet had been killed by a dog, but a closer look revealed the cruelty behind his death.

Tommy was a gift for the Gleasons' little girl. She desperately wanted a cat, Donna Gleason said. She searched for a cat that could get along with their dog, but none of the shelter cats they brought home was compatible.

"We prayed that we would find a nice cat that liked our dog, and a few days later, he just showed up at our front door," Donna Gleason said. Tommy was adopting them.

The Gleasons put signs up in the neighborhood, and when no one claimed him, they kept Tommy.

"It's disturbing to know that this happened right in front of your house, while you're sleeping inside," Donna Gleason said. "I'm not terrified, but I'm not sleeping as well as I used to."

Others in south Miami-Dade County are telling similar stories. A woman whose Siamese mix cat, Caesar, was killed and mutilated didn't want her name published.

"This person killed my cat. He doesn't need to know anything else about me," she said. "I don't know if it's a gang initiation thing or a satanic ritual thing, but to do what he's doing, he has to be extremely sick."

The month-long cat-killing spree has police concerned.

"We're telling people to be aware where their cats are at. Keep your pets inside," said Williams, the police spokesman.

"If anyone looks or acts suspicious, call police," he added. "Have us come out there and check them out. This could be the missing link we're looking for."

For the Gleasons and 11 other cat owners, it's too late. All they can do is break the news gently to a little girl who always wanted a kitty.

"She loved him and played with him every morning. ... She just misses him," Donna Gleason said.

"We told her that Tommy was killed by an animal," she said.

Then she added, "Well, an animal did kill him."

Serial Cat Killer Hunted In Miami

A reward has been offered for the arrest of serial cat murderer thought to have killed at least 25 pets near Miami.

Three cats were found skinned and gutted on their owners' lawns this week, in the latest in a string of attacks over the last month in Miami-Dade county.

Authorities warned residents to keep their cats indoors at night, but police said they were no closer to catching the culprit. Experts fear that the perpetrator may move on to murdering humans.

"This man is getting bolder and bolder. The cat that was found this morning was skinned from the waist down, and that takes longer and longer. It is very frustrating and it is heart-wrenching," Dee Chess, founder of Friends Forever animal rescue told the Miami Herald.

The latest victim belonged to a Palmetto Bay resident, John Wellons. According to police, his pet's stomach had been sliced from front to rear. Its skinned corpse was found in Wellons' garden.

He last saw his cat alive on Monday at 7pm, police said. On Tuesday morning it was lying dead in his yard. According to residents, the cats' bodies have been left like trophies on their owners' gardens since early May.

"Anyone capable of mutilating a cat, let alone 18 cats, is certainly capable of hurting people," Jennifer Hobgood, the Florida director of the Humane Society, told CBS4 News last week as she announced a $2,500 (£1,560) reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

The reward was increased to $3,500 (£2,185) by Crime Stoppers. Tax-deductible donations are being invited to increase the reward amount.

The killings have caused panic among local pet owners, and the Cat Network rescue organisation has offered cat traps to help residents look after strays. People were urged to keep outside lights on or connected to a motion detector.

Cindy Hewitt, of the Humane Society, told the Herald bereaved pet owners were hampering the investigation by removing the bodies from their lawns before calling the police.

"I can appreciate the emotion behind that, but police need to examine the crime scene," she said. "It's just as important with an animal murder as with a human. If you find an animal that may be a victim, don't touch it."

Detective Bobby Williams, of Miami-Dade police, appealed for help, saying: "However small the information might be, it might be something we can use in the investigation."

Cat Parasite Affects Everything We Feel and Do

ABCNews:
"The parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, has been transmitted indirectly from cats to roughly half the people on the planet, and it has been shown to affect human personalities in different ways...

Research has shown that women who are infected with the parasite tend to be warm, outgoing and attentive to others, while infected men tend to be less intelligent and probably a bit boring. But both men and women who are infected are more prone to feeling guilty and insecure." (ARTICLE)