If you killed a pet cat, you’ve essentially destroyed its owners’ property, so you can be brought up on criminal charges for that. Animal cruelty charges apply. Owners of a pet cat can sue you for the distress you caused them. If you kill a feral cat that is a pest in your area, it is still a crime to kill them in an inhumane manner.
Olly, the sixth cat in the string of killings, was left on a front lawn. Thurston County Animal Services Officer Erika Johnson told Q13 that forensics show that the cat was strangled, cut open and her spine extracted. It was a gruesome scene, and it wasn’t the first time authorities had come across such a killing in recent weeks. Olly’s death has been linked to the killings of five other cats in Thurston County and a sixth in Port Angeles. A serial cat killer may be roaming around in Washington. He should be caught and punished before he would commit more heinous crimes.
According to Q13 FOX, Thurston County Animal Services Officer Erika Johnson performed a forensic necropsy on Olly, turning up some disturbing insight.
“Olly fought for her life, using her claws to try to get away,” Johnson said.
Law enforcement is on the hunt for a person or persons responsible for the killing and mutilation of five cats in Thurston County and one in Port Angeles after another pet was found dead in Olympia. An animal Services investigator said both Olly and Harley may have put up a fight and DNA from under their claws are being sent to the State crime lab.If any of the attacker’s DNA can be found on Olly’s claws, the county may have a strong case against the killer, or killers, responsible. Like with Olly’s body, the mutilated carcasses of the other cats killed were also left out in public places.
According to the Washington Post, less that 48 hours before Olly’s body was found, police found the body of cat named Harley a short distance away, tossed onto a neighbor’s lawn. Before that, another cat was found in a public park in Port Angeles, this time cut in half. The cats’ owners are heartbroken and worried the killer might escalate to attacking people.
In each of the killings, the cats spines were removed, though very little to no blood has been found near where police have found the bodies. This could mean that the cats were killed somewhere else, and intentionally placed in these visible areas. The removal of the cats’ spines connects the cases. Johnson said a surgical glove was found near one of the cats’ bodies.
“This is not normal, and it’s very sick behavior,” she said.
Thurston County Animal Services is urging anyone with information on the case to call (360) 352-2510. Animal rescue organization Pasado’s Safe Haven is offering a $1,500 reward for the capture of the killer, while Q13 News anchor and Washington’s Most Wanted host David Rose will match the reward with another $1,500.