Aug 15, 2009 8:57 pm US/Eastern
3 Men Accused Of Torturing And Killing Cat
EDGEMERE, Md. (WJZ) ―
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Three men are accused of being involved in one of the worst animal cruelty cases in Baltimore County in years.
CBS
After a series of high profile cases involving animal abuse in the city, county police now say three men have been charged with torturing a kitten in Edgemere.
Suzanne Collins reports the animal belonged to a family with children who were on a vacation when it happened.
Police say the family's housesitter invited over two others. There was a lot of drinking and the kitten was subjected to various forms of torture before dying.
The Hooper family has new pets to help the children get over the death of their kitten, Diamond. The 5-week-old cat was killed in a bizarre torture case while the family of six was away on vacation.
"It's disgusting. I can't believe it. I don't understand what someone thinks to do something like that to an innocent, innocent thing," said TJ Hooper, the cat's owner.
The young man housesitting for the Hoopers and two others have been charged with animal abuse.
Andrea Hooper says it was so hard to tell her children that the cat wouldn't be there to cuddle when they returned.
"You could just lay with her and she would just sit with you for hours," she said.
One man, 25-year-old Richard Rioux, was primarily responsible for the abuse. Police say the other two didn't step in to stop it. The three were drunk, according to police.
"At one time or another, they put the cat in the freezer, the dryer, ran the dryer, microwave, twirled the cat around on the floor by the tail, hit the cat," said Bill Toohey, Baltimore County Police spokesperson.
After the cat was tortured in various ways, there was one final act of violence. The animal was put into a bag with rocks and tossed into Back River.
One of the men who's charged says he tried to get Rioux to stop. The other says he was fearful because Rioux had a box cutter. The Baltimore County Humane Society says if you witness animal abuse, try to call 911.
"Hey help, there's someone abusing an animal, provide them with information about what they saw and then be a witness so if the person is caught maybe they could go ahead and go to court to testify," says Heather Hart of the Baltimore Humane Society.
Police say the maximum penalty for this crime is 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Rioux is being held on $50,000 bond. The other two defendants have been released on their own recognizance. The men are scheduled for a hearing in October.
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