77 cats tortured and killed
Atlanta, GA (US)

Incident Date: Saturday, Sep 30, 1989
County: Fulton

Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Mitchell M. Munoz

Mitchell M. Munoz, 34, of 2201 Briarcliff Road an unemployed law school graduate has been sentenced to five years in prison and 10 years probation for torturing and killing 15 cats. He will probably serve no more than two years of prison time.

Munoz was arrested last October on charges he tortured and killed 77 cats. Most of the cats were acquired through free kitten newspaper advertisements. He pleaded guilty in DeKalb County State Court to 15 charges of cruelty to animals.

On April 27 Munoz withdrew his guilty plea out of fear he would be sentenced to a maximum 15 years on the misdemeanor charges.

Munoz is an Emery Law School graduate who never passed the bar and admitted in open court that he tortured the cats many of which he photographed after their deaths. He kept a log documenting when they were obtained, what they looked like, how they behaved and what was done with them. The name of the log was "TCJHTD," which stood for "This Cat Just Had To Die."

The break in the case came when a photo lab technician sent photos of the dead and mangled animals to animal control officials. Munzo was a former free-lance writer for an Atlanta magazine.

Astra Graham, shelter manager of the DeKalb County Humane Society said "I'm pleased with the sentence. I really thought he was going to get away with it and just go clean free. I'm glad he gor a harsher sentence than what the state recommended."

The pictures taken by Munoz showed cats hanging from shower curtians, drowned in the bathtub and with severed body parts.

References

• « GA State Animal Cruelty Map
  « More cases in Fulton County, GA

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