Man Charged With Mutilating Neighbor's Cat In Hialeah
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HIALEAH (CBSMiami) – A horrific case of animal abuse has led to the arrest of a Hialeah man.
Edward Rodriguez is charged with Animal Cruelty for hanging a cat to death from a fence. The black cat named "Boo", which belonged to Rodriguez's neighbor, also had its stomach slit open and one of its back paws had been cut off.
The cat belonged to Eddie Martinez who called police when he saw his cat hanging dead from his backyard fence Thursday morning in the 800 block of W 51st Place.
"I didn't think I was actually looking at the cat, first, until I got up close," Martinez said. "It's exactly what I didn't want to see."
The Hialeah police incident report also stated the cat appeared to have an unknown substance stuffed inside its mouth.
Martinez told police he let "Boo" out around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and that was the last time he saw him until Thursday morning, hanging from the fence.
He also told police he has had arguments with his neighbor in the past.
When police questioned Rodriguez, the arrest report states he told police "he was outside his home smoking a cigarette around 3:00 a.m. when his neighbor's cat walked into his yard." He said he "lured the cat into his bedroom and started playing with it. The defendant became upset at the cat and intentionally placed a graduation tassel (rope), around the cat's neck, preventing the cat from breaking free and ultimately causing his death. The cat was then mutilated and hung on the victim's side of the fence."
Martinez's 12-year-old daughter is devastated. Boo was her present for getting straight As in school.
"It's really hurt her. She's pretty traumatized over this. It's her cat. She was saying, 'You know, it's not a pet, it's my cat," Martinez said.
Rodriguez was arrested and taken to jail.
