Kitten beaten to death against bookcase
Boulder, CO (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Dec 11, 2007
County: Boulder
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Charles Kenneth Corwin, Sr.
A Boulder County man is accused of killing a kitten by beating its head against a bookcase after it chewed through his wife's oxygen tubes.
Charles Kenneth Corwin, 57, turned himself in at the Boulder County Jail on Jan 10 on a felony arrest warrant for aggravated cruelty to animals and posted a $1,000 bond. He is expected to be charged Jan 18.
Boulder County sheriff's deputies responded to his trailer Dec. 11 and arrested his son, Charles Corwin Jr., on suspicion of threatening his father with a knife, according to police reports. His father told deputies at the time that his son was angry with him because he had killed one of the family's pets. He said the cat had chewed through his wife's oxygen tank tubing after she had just been released from the hospital.
Ten cats were removed from the home at that time, deputies reported.
Corwin Jr. returned to the home at 5505 Valmont Road two days later, after bonding out of jail, and shot himself to death in the bathroom, prompting another response by authorities.
At that time they interviewed Charles Corwin more thoroughly about his son's past and were told in detail about the first night police were called. Corwin said that upon discovering the chewed tubing, he first thought about strangling one of the cats but figured that would take too long.
He picked one up instead, saying: "Once you get a hold of 'em, you can't let 'em go," the arrest warrant stated. He said he then smashed the feline's head into the bookcase about 12 times and threw the dead animal out the cat door onto the front porch. His son then came out of his room, demanding to know which kitten had been killed, and the melee with the knife ensued, Corwin reported.
Aggravated cruelty to animals became a felony in Colorado in 2002. Prosecutors can charge suspects with felony animal cruelty if it appears harm was "intentional." The charge could result in up to three years in prison, fines up to $100,000 and anger-management classes.
Corwin was arrested by Fort Lupton police in 1998 on suspicion of driving under the influence, child cruelty and a traffic offense, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. References« CO State Animal Cruelty Map
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