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Kitten beaten with rocks, set on fire
Chester, PA (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Oct 3, 2009
County: Delaware
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 1 files available
Alleged: Rishawn Levintino Morrison
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
Even after a 6-week-old kitten was pelted with stones and set on fire in a Chester alley Saturday afternoon, it didn't lash out. The brown tabby greeted Dave Schlott, a Delaware County animal control officer, by climbing up his shirt and snuggling against his neck.
"It was cuddling, so I thought I'd name it Cuddles," Schlott said. "It was a really, really good-natured kitten."
Cuddles was being treated at Old Marple Veterinary Hospital, where he was initially expected to make a quick recovery.
But the kitten took a turn for the worse and died yesterday morning.
"Anytime you see an animal that was intentionally harmed, it's always a very upsetting situation," said Tabatha Gordon, assistant operations manager at the Delaware County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Gordon said that several people had called the SPCA over the weekend to ask about adopting Cuddles.
Chester police Capt. Joseph Massi said that 10 to 15 teenagers were huddled in a circle around the cat in an alley Saturday on West Fifth Street, but they scattered when a police car approached.
The cat sustained second- or third-degree burns on its right ear, in addition to burns on its back. The sickos likely used lighter fluid or some other accelerant, Schlott said.
"You know when you squeeze a can and a stream comes out? It looks like they went from the top of its forehead down the spinal column to its tail," he said. "And then they lit it."
Massi called it an "atrocious act of cruelty." Police have identified several persons of interest, but no arrests had been made as of yesterday afternoon.
Cuddles was the latest in a string of cruelty victims in the area. In July, a stray orange tabby was set ablaze in Darby and died of its injuries.
Last month, a cat was wrapped in duct tape in North Philadelphia after wandering into a 19-year-old's yard, according to the Pennsylvania SPCA. The cat, since named "Sticky," has been adopted.
The following week, a school bus driver was charged with misdemeanor animal-cruelty counts for tossing kittens out of a bus in Port Richmond.
Schlott said that it's unclear which injuries led to Cuddles' death, but speculated that he could have suffered internal injuries from the stones that were thrown at him.
"I don't know what makes people want to do that," he said. "If they do that to animals they're going to do that to a kid."
Case UpdatesPolice have arrested a teenager who is accused of trying to set a kitten on fire in Chester on Saturday. The 6-week-old kitten, nicknamed Cuddles by the animal-control officer who rescued it, died Monday.
Rishawn Levintino Morrison, 19, of the 1100 block of Galbreath Avenue in Upper Chichester, was arrested yesterday morning at Upper Chichester High School, said Capt. Joseph Massi of the Chester Police.
Morrison is charged with animal cruelty and disorderly conduct. He was being held at George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Delaware County, according to a prison official. His bail was set at 10 percent of $50,000, Massi said.
Morrison was one of 10 to 15 teenagers in an alley in the 700 block of East 5th Street at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday, police said. The kitten began to walk among the teenagers, and Morrison allegedly began pelting him with pebbles, Massi said. Morrison then picked up the cat by its fur and tried to set it on fire with a lighter, police said.
Massi said the other teenagers who witnessed the abuse were taken by surprise.
Several citizens provided information that led police to Morrison, and two witnesses identified him in photographs, Massi said. | Source: Philadelphia Inquirer - Oct 9, 2009
Update posted on Oct 12, 2009 - 3:57AM |
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