A Cat Killer in My Neighborhood

I need a lot of prayers in apprenhending a cat killer in my neighborhood.  We know who he is, but he hasn't been caught in the act.

My friend Nancy feeds the feral colony who live around the local hospital and adjacent medical buildings.  While some of the doctors have complained, they also admit that the cats keep the rodent population in check.  The hospital personnel do not mind the cats' presence.  Some of the nurses have been known to feed them also.

The man torturing the cats is named Tim.  He has told Nancy that he hates cats, and has left pictures of cats being hanged at various feeding places for her to find.  He has also left threatening notes -- always unsigned, of course.  Two cats have been found dead at the park adjacent to the hospital -- one skinned, and the other strangled, then put in a plastic bag and thrown in the trash.  That cat belonged to my friend Beth and her mom, Louise.  They are angry and heartbroken, and are determined to catch Tim in the act.

We are concerned because Tim has threatened Nancy with violence on various occasions, and has put cayenne pepper in the cats' food.  He has also followed her around, throwing the cat food in the trash right after she sets it out.  She spends hundreds of dollars each month feeding these cats, and has taken several to the vet for medical care.  This has been a big financial burden for her, especially since her work hours have been cut.  Yet she perseveres, knowing the cats depend on her.  She says cats have been disappearing (she says she wouldn't put it past Tim to have poisoned them), and is concerned for their safety more than her own.

Tim is known to the police and the Parks and Recreation Department in my community.  I'm friends with several police officers, as well as numerous Parks and Rec personnel, but we have to catch this jerk before anything can be done.  Tim also harasses the homeless who congregate in the park.  He is an unhappy and unstable man who tells people he owns the park, and is always complaining about something or other to the Parks and Rec personnel.  He has been a thorn in the side to both departments for years, but this is a new side of his personality that has emerged.  He is now going after animals who have done nothing to him.

The homeless hate him so much that there's been serious talk about a drive-by shooting to get rid of him, but obviously we don't want to get involved in something like that.

I'm asking for prayers that this man be caught and put behind bars for a long time, and that the cats and Nancy are safe until he is.

My boyfriend's father got a camera that attaches to a tree, it runs on AA batteries and only turns on when movement is detected. I don't think it was very expensive. If you could get a couple of them and put them in a semi hidden area where they will still be activated by someone walking by, you might be able to get some pictures of him doing something to the food if he goes near it. 

"Great idea!" This guy needs to be caught, so he can be thrown in jail!!!!!!   To bad it's not in NY & you guys could call the Rescue Ink guys. He wouldn't mess w/ them!     Will defiantly send up a prayer for this!!

 

nerdrock said:

My boyfriend's father got a camera that attaches to a tree, it runs on AA batteries and only turns on when movement is detected. I don't think it was very expensive. If you could get a couple of them and put them in a semi hidden area where they will still be activated by someone walking by, you might be able to get some pictures of him doing something to the food if he goes near it. 

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Obviously, this has serious problems! It's documented and understood that torturing and killing animals is the first step to torturing and killing humans. This guy needs to seriously be behind bars and on meds! I don't blame you for being worried about your friend.

I second the camera idea. Maybe talk to some of the nurses and see if they will help chip in? Because if he sees them feeding them as well they could be in danger too. I hesitate to suggest going to the hospital itself to see if they would put up extra surveillance because they may just forbid her on their property to feed them at all.

It's a scary situation. Maybe a drive by isn't such a bad idea.....

Are there no closed circuit security cameras around any of the medical buildings? Those types of buildings usually have perimeter cameras.

I know hunting cameras are pretty cheap, around $50. You could put one on a light post or something and it would take pictures every time something moves.

This man is sick. Not only is it animal abuse, but it's harassment (the pictures and the way he treats Nancy) and property damage (killing an owner's cat). I would get the whole community in on it. Posting flyers around asking to watch out for suspicious activity, and maybe writing into the newspaper. I also agree with the camera idea.

Oh my GOD. That is so disturbing. If I were Nancy, I'd call the police every single time this sicko spoke to her. EVERY TIME. OK, I'd call even if he looked me the wrong way. I'd call the police if he was near any of my property-that includes my car, my shoe, maybe a handkerchief left on the ground. A paper trail is MOST important when dealing with this sick creature. Have EVERYONE call if they see him near their property, have everyone call if he speaks to them (threat or not-it's always a threat if he's talking about HATING your property, or you) I would absolutely refuse to take this bulldinky from anyone. I mean anyone, and especially some crazy nutbar that has me and my cats in his sights.

I'd also take the advice of getting a camera, several cameras. I'd also do a drive by to check on the cats, once or twice a night. I believe, as most of you do-once you feed a cat, feral or not, and that cat comes back and trusts you-it is your responsibility to take care of the safety of those cats. I'm appalled that the police have done nothing so far. He needs to be spoken to, at the very least, and advised that he is being watched, and it would behoove him to move along and mind his own before someone takes care of him.

He also harasses the homeless in the area. He's moving onto humans from animals, and that makes him a sociopath. Make the police listen and help.

Has anyone contacted a local ASPCA or Humane Society? I know it works differently in different areas, but they may have more of a vested interest in figuring out how to document needed evidence than the police do in this case. In this case, where someone was poisoning food left out for ferals, the Washington D.C. Humane Society led the investigation: http://dcist.com/2011/12/nico_dauphine_sentenced_for_attempt.php

This is so terribly sad and disturbing. I'm very, very, VERY sorry for all the kitties - and for Beth & Louise's baby. :heart3:

he can be stopped.

I can relate to this, I have a route in my town with the cats I have TNR;d and feed for the rest of their lives, so I have been doing this for some time now.

Some feeding spots are fairly safe, well about as safe as living outdoors in a city can be anyway-such as behind restaurants, etc. but have struggled with several spots in getting the business owner/the person harrassing me on board, that they are being fed so they will not be digging in the garbage, I never leave any mess or dishes, that ferals are not dangerous to customers, in fact they won't normally ever be seen, let alone bitten or chased! That they are great for keeping the rodent population in check, and they are not reproducing, nor attracting more since they keep to their own territories when fixed, that they are not carrying diseases, when they are fixed they also get their FVRCP and Rabies, dewormed and FIV/FELV tested.

I have had many cats from the problem spots dissapear, knowing something fishy is going on, the latest trouble spot now has 0 cats left. I have had BIG trouble with one particular homeowner who happens to live across the street from the parking lot spot where I feed, or should I say fed...he wins. I know good and well they were being poisoned, between his threats, and screaming at me, and his comments about "I thought I told you NOT to feed them anymore unless it's poison!" remarks, then my once so happy to hear my car pull in group greeting me and doing a head count, suddenly stopped eating, some would still come, not running, but strolling my way like they just ate, sniffing a bit, some not even that, sort of showing up out of habit. To none.....none. Nada.

Of course during the harrassment days I contacted the police, knowing I would hear exactly what I heard-nothing they can do unless I have PROOF.

Very frustrating.

Your sicko person sounds like he might be a bit easier to catch, but it will take a camera or 2, too bad hiring a private detective wasn't an option...or staking out this guy and the feeding areas.

It's tough, I know.

I would also think about relocating their feeding spots as far away from this creeps sight as possible. At least that is do-able to start with.

Gosh, this guy is more than just a cat-hater, he's a psycho. Like skinning the cat, he had to have killed the cat first, so he got pleasure out of skinning it for himself? Ugh! Unimaginable.

Send him a picture of himself hanging. Get your cop friend to send him a letter stating they are aware and watching him closely, renminding him that it is a felony what he is doing, etc.

Hell shoot a flaming arrow into his front door!!!!!M

Makes me crazy!

Can Nancy get a (temporary) restraining order on Tim?  If he violates it (comes too close to Nancy), you can take the steps to get Tim arrested and in jail for at least a short period of time.  If he is as mentally unstable as it appears, while in jail the officers/officials (with perhaps a prompt for you) can do a psych consult.

And yeah, third/fourth the suggestion of hidden cameras.  I too think the hospital would have security cameras, though only if you want the hospital to be involved.

You can also tell Beth and Louise to press charges against him, since it was their cat he killed.

My brother has been dealing with a similar situation. Some neighbor kids have caught, tortured, and killed all but one of his outdoor cats. The sheriff knows about it, but so far has been unable to do nothing about it except warn them that any more will be dealt with.

I would check on getting a small camcorder that could be worn and record any interactions with this creep.

How terrible!! Id say try to catch him on camera! 

Many thanks to all of you for your suggestions and concern.  I will pass them on to Beth and Louise.  Fortunately, while we were talking in the park two days ago, the supervisor of the park maintenance department drove by.  I am friends with him, as well as his staff.  He absolutely loathes Tim, so I asked Beth and her mom to go talk to him, saying I sent them to him. 

The supervisor can give the ladies Tim's last name, which is what they need to go to the police.  If he does not know Tim's last name -- highly unlikely, since he has worked for Parks and Rec for a long time -- he can go to his boss, the director of Parks and Rec, who is also my friend.  They would like nothing better than to not have to deal with Tim anymore, and the police would love to have an excuse to put him behind bars -- either in their jail, or the Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail, which is hell on earth, on a par with the California State Prisons.  The federal prisons look like resorts compared to the state prisons.  In fact, the closest federal prison, which is about 300 miles north of me, is referred to as "Club Fed."

I was a legal secretary for many years, and worked for a criminal defense attorney early in my career.  You'd see the color drain out of his clients' faces when they were told to serve their sentences in the Men's Central Jail.  It was bad in 1990, and it hasn't gotten any better in 2012.

If Tim failed psychiatric tests, he would most likely be put in a state mental hospital which is on the grounds of our local community hospital, and ironically, across the street from the park where the bodies of the cats were found.  If that were the case, I have a friend who works in the community hospital side, but works in the "nut house side," as he calls it, when it is short-staffed.  He could keeps tabs on Tim for me, since he has friends who work in the "nut house."

Tim wouldn't last very long in the County Jail.  He is a slight, thin man in his late 50s/early 60s with a ponytail -- he looks like a rat.  Without his precious cell phone to call the cops, he'd be defenseless in jail.  He'd wind up being passed around for sexual favors -- none of which I want to describe in this post -- or he'd wind up getting his throat cut, because he has a big mouth and doesn't know when to shut up.

I will keep all of you posted with the latest developments.  In the meantime, please continue praying for Nancy and the cats' safety.

I do hope a solution is found! :heart3:

Sound like everyone is gunning to get this guy, hopefully, with every ones efforts it's just a matter of time!!!

I deal with the same thing.  Except everyone knows who it is and he even brags about it!!  The police do nothing.  I live in backward Missouri though.  So not a lot I can do except get to the cats first and send them to a rescue or a new home. 

My neighbor traps them and then shoots them at point blank range with a shotgun... Overkill.   Then he brags to everyone about it.  It disgust me so much.  Many people complain and animal control and the police just come out and tell him "don't do that, sir."  Yea like that'll make him stop!  I feel for you.  

Just a deeply disturbing situation. OMG this Tim has to be stopped, arrested and put away where he cannot hurt cat's and/or people. He is seriously psychotic. May God be with those poor cat's/kittens. Calling all angels

nerdrock said:

My boyfriend's father got a camera that attaches to a tree, it runs on AA batteries and only turns on when movement is detected. I don't think it was very expensive. If you could get a couple of them and put them in a semi hidden area where they will still be activated by someone walking by, you might be able to get some pictures of him doing something to the food if he goes near it. 

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Rofl I was just thinking the same thing. Definitely be careful, serial killers start out on animals. Also carry aroud a voice activated recorder. That way if he threatens a person again and you get it on tape you have proof. And it is against the law to threaten violence against another person.

Ugh what a disturbing, horrible situation I also agree on the small cameras to hopefully catch him in the act of tampering. I hope they are able to catch him soon and that he gets thrown in that Mens Central Jail where he can feel like the poor defenseless kitties he's harmed.