Cat skinned alive and dumped at intersection
Indianapolis, IN (US)Date: Jan 10, 2002
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
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A $1,500 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever skinned a cat and dumped her at a busy intersection last month on Indianapolis' Southside.
The cat, which was spotted crawling through traffic on U.S. 31, was rescued by motorists but was later euthanized by a veterinarian to relieve pain and suffering.
An "animal justice fund" has been established at Fifth/Third banks on behalf of the black cat - nicknamed "Innocence" - by the Indianapolis couple who rescued her.
No one has been arrested in the attack, which is being investigated by city animal control.
The skinned-cat case has generated interest from the Norfolk, Va.-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
"It's very important we catch this person," said Martin Mersereau, a caseworker for PETA. "This case is one of the most egregious cases I've dealt with."
Anyone with information is asked to call animal control at 1-317-327-1424. PETA suggests organizations or Indiana residents wanting to contribute to the reward fund can contact Fifth-Third at 1-317-788-0167.
"It is such a disgusting, heinous type of thing. It was just pure torture. I don't even have the words to describe it" said Lisa Deppe owner of Posh Pet Grooming on Madison Avenue, who helped start the reward fund. "It's the type of thing, that even if you don't like animals, you need to be concerned because people like this don't stop with animals."
Details about how "Innocence" was harmed are unclear.
Indianapolis salesman Ray Bridges was driving his wife Diane to work the morning of Dec. 4 when they spotted the animal - in shock and without fur and skin from the tip of its tale up to her shoulder blade. They stopped their vehicle, and a nearby Jiffy Lube employee gave them a stack of clean work rags to hold the cat before later taking it to Southside for medical treatment.
Southside Animal Hospital veterinarian Chris Galbreath, who treated "Innocence", said there was no way the cat could have lost its coat by accident.
"Sometimes animals in crimes like this are hung with their front or back feet. A cut is made around the legs and the skin is simply stripped downward," he said.
Diane Bridges said the cat deserves justice. The cat, she says, "Never tried to scratch or bite or hiss. It was just so loving."
PETA believes that other animals in the area and even residents are in danger as long as the person or person responsible for this "horrible crime" are at large. Research in psychology and criminology supported by the American Psychiatric Association and the Federal Bureau of Investigation reveals a consistent pattern of cruelty to animals among perpetrators of violence towards humans, Mersereau said.
If you have information on this case, please contact:
Indianapolis Animal Control
1-317-327-1424
References | The Indianapolis Star - January 10, 2002 |
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