QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) — A man is accused of brutally killing his ex-girlfriend’s cat after pulling it apart from neck to legs, leaving her Queens apartment covered in blood, prosecutors said.
Jalen Gonzalez, 23, was indicted Tuesday on animal cruelty charges after allegedly stretching the cat, Kitty, to death in the early morning hours of Jan. 12, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
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An allegedly intoxicated Gonzalez was alone with the animal after the woman escaped his clutches and left the apartment to get help from a family member, authorities said.
When she returned with her uncle, she saw the defendant allegedly grasping Kitty by the neck and hind leg and pulling it in opposite directions.
Prosecutors said Kitty’s back legs were mangled and broken, and the animal had blood on her mouth, head, and body. The floors, ceilings, and walls were also covered in blood and vomit.
The cat suffered a fractured skull, its neck detached from its spine, 24 broken ribs, and both eyes popped out of the sockets, according to court documents.
“This animal endured one of the most gratuitously violent deaths that we have ever seen in the borough of Queens… No animal or person should ever suffer this way. This is another horrifying example of why New York needs stronger animal cruelty laws to permit appropriate penalties in such cases,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
Gonzalez, a Woodhaven resident, was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, attempted assault, harassment and criminal mischief, authorities said.
The charges are not bail eligible. He is due back in court on July 21.
Information for his attorney was not immediately available.
Mira Wassef is an award-winning reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She joined the PIX11 News digital team in 2022. See more of her work here.
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