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Teen arrested in Miami cat mutilations case
By Gina Spadafori
June 15, 2009
My cats are indoors most of the time, but they outsmart me about twice a month and spend a day or so outside until their growling stomachs get the better of them, they come in and the door is shut solidly behind them. The whole time they’re out, they’re usually where I can see them. Every time I can’t, I am convinced they’ve been hit by a car or eaten by a coyote.
If I were in Miami, I’d be thinking they’d been killed by a serial-killer in training.
Like a lot of animal lovers, I’ve been horrified over the news of a cat-killer in South Florida, a psycho who mutilates his victims and puts their bodies on display for maximum shock value.
The authorities think they have the killer. From the AP:
South Florida teenager accused of gruesomely killing and mutilating nearly two dozen cats must undergo a psychiatric evaluation before he is released, a judge ruled Monday.
Tyler Hayes Weinman, 18, remained quiet during the hearing, a day after he was charged with 19 counts each of animal cruelty and improperly disposing of an animal body.
[...]
Authorities said they had been watching Weinman for some time, but have not released any evidence against him. The arrest warrant remained sealed. The teen was questioned several weeks ago when he was whisked away from his prom. But authorities have been tightlipped about what led them to the charges.
Um … released?
Aside from the horror of what this kid has been charged with, the link between crimes against animals and humans has been a fact for decades. If this is the killer, he’s a danger to us all — not, as people often say in such cases — “just” to cats.
Geez, I’m glad Clara and Ilario are safely inside today.
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He’s 18, he’s an adult. Aren’t they going to set any bail? And the things he did with the cats after they were dead, Oy Vey!
I have to agree with you….when they start finding body parts in his freezer (a la Jeffrey Dahmer) I guess maybe then they’ll get excited.
Comment by 2CatMom — June 15, 2009 @ 1:29 pm
An update of the story (linked through Yahoo News) says that they’re investigating other people who may be involved.
I think I need to go hug my cats.
Comment by Eucritta — June 15, 2009 @ 2:36 pm
I’ve been watching this story for a while now. The bail has been set at something like $154,00. His mother is a “life coach” and his father is a dentist, so they may or may not come up with it. His parents divorced a few years ago and live a couple of miles apart. He lives some of the time with one parent, and some with another. The killed cats have been found in a radius consistent with both residences. I’ve been getting the impression that at least some of the local law enforcement officials are wanting to minimize this since it’s “only cats”.
Now - he hasn’t yet been tried, and is “innocent until proven guilty”. I hope they’ve got the right person, of course, so that the killings will stop. There are some intimations that there may be more arrests forthcoming however, so I hope the cats in the area will stay safe.
Once someone (be it him or someone else or him AND someone else) is tried and convicted for this, animal lovers need to be ready to write the judge doing the sentencing with cites of studies establishing the well-documented links between animal abuse perpetrated by a child/young person and later violent crimes - up to and including murder. We can’t afford to let the sentencing judge brush this off as “just a bunch of cats”.
But remember - we still have our system of due process to go through, and this young man deserves his day in court like any citizen. Hard to remember with such an emotional topic, I know, but that’s one of the basic things that keeps this country what it is. Let’s not lose sight of that fact.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — June 15, 2009 @ 3:18 pm
But remember - we still have our system of due process to go through, and this young man deserves his day in court like any citizen. Hard to remember with such an emotional topic, I know, but that’s one of the basic things that keeps this country what it is. Let’s not lose sight of that fact.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — June 15, 2009
Exactly. One of the comments that DIDN’T go through — first-time comments are moderated, and I deleted this one — suggested that cat-lovers “take matters into their own hands.” Plus some suggestions on how that might be done that were graphic, to say the least.
Of course, that could have been a person trying to stir up trouble.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — June 15, 2009 @ 3:23 pm
Here’s another more local article:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sf.....3275.story
Comment by The OTHER Pat — June 15, 2009 @ 3:24 pm
While it may be necessary to write the judge the try to make this a case about potential future crimes, I think people who advocate for animal welfare need to make it about that. Every time we make it about “what could happen to people” we support the idea that these are “only cats” or only cat lovers would care because torturing and killing pets is okay and human life and human suffering is the only thing that matters on this planet.
What we need to be doing is focusing on the fact that the 18 cats are just as dead as if they were 18 humans. They suffered just as much pain as they would if they had been 18 humans. It doesn’t matter if they’re dogs or cats, or horses, or chimps or humans, they were victims of cruelty and torture and they’re dead.
And future potential crimes to people that might or might not even exist are not the main issue.
At least the bail is respectable. If others are involved, I hope they’re found and whoever is responsible is punished for what they have done because it’s a heinous crime, instead of just what they might do to people.
Comment by Kathy — June 15, 2009 @ 3:55 pm
little Michael Vick in training
Comment by EmilyS — June 15, 2009 @ 4:03 pm
Unfortunately, Kathy, an awful lot of people (including an awful lot of judges) WON’T take it seriously enough to apply a meaningful sentence if the only “cost” they see is one to animals. That’s why so many animal abusers get off so lightly. Look at Michael Vick. Or the PETa dumpster divers (THEY didn’t even get convicted of anything more serious than inappropriate disposal of animal remains!).
So FIRST the repercussions for violence to animals must become uniformly significant - significant enough for people to take this crime seriously. And if you obtain those serious repercussions via enlightening the justice system about the direct line from animal to human violence, so be it. The important thing is to get the crime to be taken seriously, whether the police and the officers of the court are animal lovers or not.
That - in turn - will help to inform a more widespread public perception of the seriousness of violence against animals. Which can help propel more of a public shift of opinion. Again - without requiring individual members of the public to be animal lovers, they can still condemn violence against animals.
Sometimes the best way to come at something is more “sideways” than you’d like. Because simply insisting that everyone “should care” the way you do is just not a very powerful strategy.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — June 15, 2009 @ 4:11 pm
thanks Pet Connection for not shying away from writing about this and inviting comments - you touch on everything, from the good, the bad, the ugly and now the evil - I think PETA, HSUS, ASPCA, SPCA, Nathan Winograd and even animal control would find common ground in condemning this as monstrous -
Comment by francis — June 15, 2009 @ 4:20 pm
It has been proven that people who kill people have started out killing animals.
This boy definitely needs psychiatric help. While we are horrified at what he has done…he is a child who is in desperate need of help.
He obviously has no respect for life…and that’s a sad and dangerous thing.
Comment by Marcy — June 15, 2009 @ 5:44 pm
I disagree, Other Pat. To do only what you’re suggesting plays into the thinking of cruelty isn’t cruel unless it’s done to us. It has to be about torture is torture and cruelty is inhumane no matter if it’s done to another human being that’s not the same race, religion or nationality or it’s being done to another species. If you make it “animal lovers” issue you’ll not be doing anything but promoting the idea that cruelty to non-human animals is different than cruelty to human animals which is exactly the opposite of what to do and why historically people have gotten off so lightly.
Comment by Kathy — June 15, 2009 @ 6:20 pm
Good luck with that.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — June 15, 2009 @ 6:48 pm
I do indeed feel sorry for people who were abused as children who then turn around and abuse others. It’s a pattern repeated time and time again. I believe it is possible to understand and sympathize over how someone got to such a place, but I find cutting someone a break as part of that understanding not possible at all.
That was true of Michael Vick, and that’s true of the person responsible for the horrific torture and killing of the cats in Miami … whether it turns out to be this young man or not. (And remember: Innocent until proven guilty.)
It needs to be said, however, that ALL such cases don’t originate in abuse. Some people are born sociopaths; their circumstances didn’t make them that way. I believe this is believed to be the case with one of the Columbine killers.
The bottom line for me: Break the cycle of violence whenever we can, and take sociopaths out of free society when they cannot be “fixed.” Killing is not in and of itself cruel (most of us eat meat, after all … and we make exceptions for killing humans in war), but taking pleasure or adding unnecessary pain and delighting in that is truly pathological behavior. If we cannot change such a person, we must protect others from him, human or animal.
For those people who do not care — and there ARE indeed many — that someone is cruel to animals, our only hope to protect animals (and people!) is to draw clearly the link between this sort of behavior towards animals and how it predicts such behavior towards people.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — June 15, 2009 @ 6:56 pm
In this best of all possible worlds, we would find a way to communicate both Kathy’s and OTHER Pat’s points, because they are both right and I, personally, refuse to choose between them. ;-p
OTHER Pat’s description of the kid’s circumstances is gut-wrenching. A classic set-up for anger, even rage, grief and guilt. I’ll bet if it turns out he did it, everyone around him will throw up their hands and insist they had no idea that he was so “unhappy”.
A friend of mine’s son turned inward and attempted suicide last year over the ongoing stress of being caught between two (almost, but that’s another story) divorced parents. He’s pulled through,just graduated from high school and is heading out to India for a spiritual wanderjahr. His mom defines “steadfast”.
My guess is that if the young man in question did it, he is either in pain that most of us can’t comprehend or is, as Gina points out, so lacking in empathy (the hallmark of the sociopath), that the rest of us need to be protected from him.
My heart aches for those who lost their cats. I do fundamentally agree with Kathy that animals need to be valued for themselves. Our species still has a lot of growing up to do.
Comment by Susan Fox — June 15, 2009 @ 7:21 pm
Well, he’s going in for a bond hearing (bond at this point sits at just shy of $250,000). The judge has ordered a psychiatric evaluation seeing as how they’ve had him on suicide watch. And if they let him out on bail, they’ll put one of those ankle locators on him.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/ne.....5337.story
Comment by The OTHER Pat — June 15, 2009 @ 7:37 pm
Thank you, Susan, for saying that. Because from what you posted on Facebook it had sounded like you only cared about the human involved here and not the cats. I can’t even imagine the pain and fear these 19 creatures endured. I can’t even make myself think about it—too painful. And no matter, sociopath or not, nothing the killer has suffered could be worse than the suffering of those innocent creatures given what was done to them, provided the news reports are accurate.
So, I am pleased to see when you don’t have to write in snipits that you care for the cats and their owners and body finders.
I know the man (or whomever is guilty) will get their compassion. This will happen because people have compassion for people, especially the young, pretty readily. I don’t expect people will avenge these acts of cruelty because compassion will happen and it’s woven into due process and sentencing. Emotions do run high, but the guilty will get his/their compassion.
I agree our species has a lot of growing up to do…. these creatures suffered no less, best as we know from science, than would have 19 human babies. It hurts the same if you beat to death a white man, a black man, a woman, a child, a dog or a cat. Cruelty is cruelty. At least in this country we’ve come a long way on the black, woman, child parts of that in 200 years. The rest can come too.
Comment by Kathy — June 15, 2009 @ 8:35 pm
I have to agree with Gina. If convicted he needs to kept away from all animals & people. He will escalate,who’s next a small child ? I am also disturbed by the wording in some of the police comments. Cats are living feeling creatures just like people,& torture is torture. FYI if you contact the state atty’s office,don’t email. It says on their website that all email addy’s are public. Call or use snail mail.
Comment by Leslie K — June 15, 2009 @ 9:27 pm
My comments on Facebook were directed at people who were expressing a level of irrational, vituperative hatred against someone who hasn’t even been charged yet.
To me, horror at what happened to the cats is a given.
The alleged perpetrator was the subject of the comments I was responding to. The gratuitously explicit description of what happened to the cats was intended purely for shock value and didn’t rate a response.
The over-the-top emotional rhetoric I saw serves no one. Not the cats, their owners or the perpetrator(s). The commenters were reacting, not responding. So no dialogue was possible.
Comment by Susan Fox — June 15, 2009 @ 9:32 pm
Make that “unacceptable (to me) level of…” Gettin’ close to bedtime.
Comment by Susan Fox — June 15, 2009 @ 9:34 pm
Because from what you posted on Facebook it had sounded like you only cared about the human involved here and not the cats.
Comment by Kathy — June 15, 2009
Good heavens, Kathy, you’ve been a member of online communities long enough to know you can’t get a read on someone from one short post. :)
I’m glad to see you posting here, and I hope you stick around. I know you can add a great deal.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — June 16, 2009 @ 6:04 am
Oh for Pete’s sake. If I’m reading this article right, the implication is that there is some sort of link between the fact that he dissected cats in a biology class last year and his current status as a suspect:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sf.....3275.story
I’m sorry - while I hated dissecting animals in a high school class (nowadays I believe kids can “opt-out”, but when I was in high school, you were simply expected to do it or take a failing grade) that is a shaky connection to draw at best. Sure - if someone ALREADY has some shaky components to their psychological makeup, the classroom dissections can probably “fan the flames”, as it were. But to draw any kind of a CAUSAL relationship would be at odds with the facts. As the teacher quoted in the article said, she’s overseen literally THOUSANDS of classroom dissections during her years teaching, and she hasn’t exactly been churning out sociopathic cat-killers as a result.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — June 16, 2009 @ 6:20 am
For Pete’s sake, indeed. *I* dissected a dead cat in high school. No, I didn’t enjoy it. We weren’t allowed an “out” 35 years ago — it was do it or take an “F.” And what about all the veterinarians and physicians whose training involved such practices? I suppose it turned them all into sociopaths?
What an assinine article. A pox on the editor or writer who came up with it.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — June 16, 2009 @ 7:37 am
Stupid connection. Though being forced to dissect a LIVE frog in HS practically turned me into an AR activist, from which it’s taken years to recover. (BTW, I refused to do the dissection and got sent to the library as “punishment.” Which was way funny because I was a pinheaded intellectual bookworm… who later became a librarian)
Comment by EmilyS — June 16, 2009 @ 7:53 am
I also did the cat dissection thing in high school (same era as Gina) with no opt out. But I’ve never been physically cruel to any living creature, man or animal.
Today, I would opt out.
Comment by 2CatMom — June 16, 2009 @ 9:12 am
We dissected a cat along with two human cadavers in my community college anatomy class. What I mostly remember about the cats is that one team had a long-haired white one and that when we all came back from a long weekend it had turned kind of greenish. They had to start over on another cat and really jam to get caught up with the rest of us.
——-
That article supports the point that I was trying to make to the hysterics on the Facebook comment thread, however idiotic the supposed possible connection to dissection is- there is no proof, there has been no trial, there has been no conviction.
Suppose that it turns out that most if not all the cats were killed by dogs, or someone’s dog. Look at the hell this kid has been put through already. Innocent until proven guilty.
Comment by Susan Fox — June 16, 2009 @ 9:13 am
Oy! All I can say is, I was only forced to dissect a frog! A cat would have absolutely been beyond what I could handle. I took the science course that required dissecting in summer school as I was needing very few science credits (one of my favorite subjects). Wasn’t too keen on the fact they fed the snakes while class was going on! (remember, I was a teen!)
We’ve had a couple pretty nasty animal abuse reports on the news here. “Luckily” they were isolated, not serial cases. Right now they are reporting on what a couple (in another state?) did to a puppy. Also ended up hearing a more personal case while at my CSA the first weekend. (poisoning a pup) I know enough about the law here that I was able to encourage them to take action as something would be done.
I’m glad to see they will be giving this young adult a psych eval.
Comment by straybaby — June 17, 2009 @ 3:34 pm