{"id":367019,"date":"2026-08-09T20:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T20:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/367019\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T20:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T20:18:09","slug":"david-charette-jr-of-fort-myers-florida-charged-with-animal-cruelty-for-killing-kittens-in-front-of-teen-daughter-as-punishment-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/367019\/","title":{"rendered":"David Charette Jr. of Fort Myers, Florida charged with animal cruelty for killing kittens in front of teen daughter as punishment"},"content":{"rendered":"

FORT MYERS, Fla. — A Florida man has been charged with animal cruelty after he allegedly killed two kittens and injured another, WINK News reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Warning: The details of the story may be disturbing to some viewers.<\/p>\n

Police say he allegedly committed the crimes in front of his teenage daughter as a form of punishment.<\/p>\n

Body camera video shows deputies detaining 48-year-old David Charette Jr. outside of his Pine Manor home.<\/p>\n

Before he was placed in handcuffs, he told deputies he had done nothing wrong.<\/p>\n

“The cat’s in perfectly healthy condition. I have to give the cat a bath because it soils itself in the cage,” Charette said.<\/p>\n

Detectives say what they learned from a 14-year-old girl inside the home told a very different story.<\/p>\n

“A daughter says that when she acts up or when she’s in trouble, her father kills her kittens. This is sickening to me,” said Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno.<\/p>\n

The girl called 911 on Wednesday after allegedly watching her father hold a 2-month-old kitten, named Luna, under running water.<\/p>\n

She told deputies that Charette also hit the kitten with a nail polish bottle and put her into a clothes dryer on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Luna survived and is recovering.<\/p>\n

“It’s ridiculous. It’s horrible. It’s sad,” said Brandon, a neighbor.<\/p>\n

Marceno says this was not the first time.<\/p>\n

“Two of the kittens that he killed were buried in the back,” Marceno said.<\/p>\n

Marceno said one cat died in June after being hit repeatedly and left on a bleach-soaked rag while another kitten was found dead in November after suffering burns from a blow dryer.<\/p>\n

Detectives say family members never reported the abuse because they feared retaliation.<\/p>\n

Three adult cats were taken from the home for evaluation.<\/p>\n

Charette is now in jail charged with aggravated animal cruelty.<\/p>\n

“Killed in front of the child. It’s horrible. It’s sad. It’s heartbreaking and, it just, it’s It makes me very upset,” Brandon said.<\/p>\n

(The CNN Wire & 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.)
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