Cat killed with hammer, then burned Tucson, AZ (US) Incident Date: Sunday, Jun 29, 2003 County: Pima Local Map: available Disposition: Alleged Charges: Felony CTA Alleged: Richard Keith Sostarich

Case ID: 5850 Classification: Beating, Burning - Fire or Fireworks Animal: cat, reptile View more cases in AZ (US) Login to Watch this Case

A 44-year-old man is in jail on felony animal abuse charges after reportedly bashing his estranged wife's cat in the head with a hammer, then burning the body, authorities said.

Richard Keith Sostarich, 44, was arrested�after telling detectives he killed the cat and authorities retrieved the body from a fireplace, said Pima County Sheriff's Detective Mike Duffey.

Sostarich and his wife, Re Jean Sostarich, had been married nearly five years and were soon to be divorced. She had asked him to care for several animals at her home in the 16000 block of West Scrub Brush Road, west of the Tucson Mountains, while she was out of town.

On her return, the cat, Fuzz, was missing and after a "violent verbal confrontation," Sostarich told her he killed the cat and burned it, Duffey said.

"For some reason he saw fit to hit it in the head with a hammer a couple of times and burn the body," said Duffey, who is also co-chairman of the Animal Cruelty Taskforce of Southern Arizona.

Re Jean Sostarich said that the incident devastated her and she's had nightmares since. Fuzz, a 6-year-old black-and-white Persian, had belonged to her daughter. It was to be sent to Wisconsin, where her daughter now lives.

"This has been a nightmare," she said. "I haven't slept."

She said during that weekend, her husband also killed their granddaughter's snake by stabbing its skull with a fork.

She said she had no idea her husband would ever be capable of killing animals.

"I knew the man before I married him and there was never any evidence of cruelty," she said. "I would never have left anybody like that here in the house."

Detectives believe the cat was killed on June 29 or 30. The cat was retrieved from the backyard fire pit with "obvious traumatic defects to the skull," Duffey said.

The incident is one of the most "revolting" animal cruelty cases this summer, he said.

"In my experience doing these animal crimes, violence is violence," Duffey said.

"We are reconfirming over and over again the link between interpersonal violence and people who are violent to animals."

Sostarich, who works doing maintenance on firing kilns, remains in thePima County jail on $7,750 bond on charges of killing an animal and interfering with judicial proceedings.

He was also arrested in April on a charge that he assaulted and injured his wife.

Sostarich pleaded guilty and was fined $1,500. He was sentenced to probation, alcohol and drug counseling, and domestic violence and parenting classes, according to court records.

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ACT July 8, 2003

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