Crazy neighbor killed at least 2 of the neighborhood feral cats and dumped the bodies in my yard

My mother who is recently widowed and in her 70's is having a very bad problem with her next door neighbor and is very frightened. She has owned and lived in her house for 45 years and never had a problem like this. He and his wife moved in 2 years ago (renters). He has become increasingly bizarre. She thinks he has PTSD. A few months ago, he told her a story about how a coyote had jumped his fence and grabbed one of his little Yorkshire Terriers and took off with it. His wife was supposedly on the back porch smoking when this all happened. We have a creek close by but in all the years we've lived there, we've never seen a coyote or any wild animal and we spent lots of time in that creek as kids. He started complaining to her that she had to stop feeding the feral cats in the neighborhood and said that because she feeds them, they cause a problem at his house and he's been very vocal to her about this. She said he sits out in his back yard in a chair with a gun across his lap at night and has camera's all around the house (also has one pointed at her house and when we come to visit, he all of a sudden is outside watching us). Mom ended up with 2 babies from one of the females and we made a little shelter for them in her yard and it has been her joy to care for these 2 kittens. A few months ago, she went outside and one of the cats was dismembered in the middle of the back yard and the head was missing. The body had been cut up (not torn apart by an animal). She called animal control to come pick up the body and this guy was over to her house and tried to say a coyote did this and he had been down the alley earlier to see if he could find the head. I was sure at the time that he did this but we had no proof. Now 3 months later her "Princess" who just brought her 3 kittens to mom met the same fate. In the same exact spot in the yard. No way this was a coincidence and this guy not only murdered these babies but displayed them in my mother's yard to either hurt or scare her. Again no proof that he did it, but I am convinced he's the culprit.

Once we had the back door open and we came from the back of the house and we caught him stepping into her house from the back yard. She has a chain link fence surrounding her yard and both gates have locks so he would have had to jump the fence to get in the yard. He saw us and stammered that he saw her door open and was worried something was wrong. He knew full well I was visiting and mom said the day before her house alarm kept going off and he never once came to check on her. Needless to say, she is afraid of this guy.  She's afraid to call the police or antagonize him. I am concerned because she lives by herself and if he wanted to get into her house he could. She has an alarm (and a gun) but if this guy has military experience, he's dangerous. Any suggestions to what she should do? We have installed cameras to record the exterior of the house but other than hoping he moves out soon, we don't know what to do. She is keeping the kittens her Princess left her in the house so he doesn't get to them and she is trying to find safe homes for them. 

 I am soooo upset that your widowed mother is being TERRORIZED by that monster!!!! not to mention the horrific fate of the babycat & of Princess     I think that you could try calling the local domestic violence program; the local prosecutor's office (for ideas); and also ask the advice of the elder-abuse ombudsman.  Maybe even PETA!

I am really worried about the emotional health of your mother, not to mention her safety. I had a mean neighbor try similar things except that we didn't see the cats' remains - she only called on the phone to tell my mom. She would not speak to me. She did a walk- by of our house one day to confront my disabled daughter at the front fence - called my girl "a retard" and that she "cant even talk right"  [of course, she waited till I wasn't home] - fortunately, my daughter isn't easily intimidated and told her that she was just a "mean lady and no one wants you here so just go or I will call the police" and the mean lady left. We got lucky when the mean neighbor left a nasty note on our car's windshield and the responding deputy looked at our yard & at the cats, said I was in compliance & thank you for working on controlling the feral cat population, then he went to that neighbor's house & counseled her to leave us alone, which she has.

      I dont' know if your mother is on comfortable terms with the monster's landlord or not. Is there a possibility that you and she could discuss it with the landlord confidentially? Also, can you arrange for more visitors to come by? Some of the Methodist churches have a "Timothians" program that offer home visits. Monster/bullies like your mom's neighbor thrive on the percieved isolation of the victims. Sadly, the concerns that you have regarding the creep are very valid and I do soooo wish that I had more ideas to offer. 

      You can always PM for moral support. It is so sad when one loses the feelings of peace and safety at one's own home!!!

       And please let your mom know that I am praying for protection and blessings for you all!!!! 

     On a side note:  my father's ancestors said that killing a cat or coyote (they are from the deserts of NE San Diego County) is to choose one's own style of death, so I guess that the mean neighbor will be in pieces somehow. I have known of that belief to come true in at least 2 instances - a mean highschool class mate burned to death in a helicopter crash; a mean manager in a trailer court  suffered massive heart attacks and died of septicemia......Please keep us updated!!! I hope that we read uplifting news very soon!!! Susan

It's way too odd that the head was missing on these cats, coyotes will eat the soft tissue and very rarely bother with the heads, this is just too suspicious. With the second death that animal control person should have filed a report of suspicious activity. She has got to call the police and ask for frequent 'drive by's' and to report EVERY single thing that has happened. Especially the part where he tried to enter the home. This MUST be recorded so they can act quickly if something finally happens to cause his arrest. People like him don't like the police interested in them, it might cause him to move on. In the meantime your mother needs to keep those cameras going, have a phone by her side at all times (even in the bathroom) and a baseball bat next to her bed and door. She could ask for a restraining order if she can get him on camera again on her property, if she has you as a witness she can get trespassing  warrants out, or at least let the authorities aware of it for the future.I know those feelings of hopelessness, and no one should have to tolerate this, especially an older woman. My thoughts and prayers are with your mother, tell her I am so very sorry she has to go through this.  I'll pray for him to move on and for your dear mother to find peace. I will also pray for those two innocent souls who dies at the hands of that monster. Bless you all.      

I'm so sorry to hear about this awful situation. It must be really upsetting for you and your mother. 

I strongly recommend that you contact the police. Let them know you are scared of this man and tell them what has happened. Contact the police every time anything happens that you feel uneasy about. It is in your best interests for the police to have a record of everything that happens right from the start.

Have you spoken to the owner of the house, the neighbors landlord? It might help if they know that their tenant is acting this way. Could you set up some motion activated lights as well as cameras around your mother's house to act as a deterrent?

I'm glad that you are able to keep the rest of the cat's inside. I hope this dreadful man leaves you all alone.

Thank you so much for the additional ideas and prayers. I have 3 sisters who all live close by and we go by there quite a bit. I thought about talking to one of my cousins ex husband who is a Dallas Police officer and a stand up guy to get his thoughts as well. I will definitely check with some of the senior assistance organizations and see if they can help. She did think about calling the owner of the house but since she doesn't have any solid proof that he is the culprit, she thought it might make matters worse. He is just a horrible person and crazy enough that she doesn't want to antagonize him. I appreciate the support and the empathy you have with what you've been through as well.

Thank you, I actually wanted her to get a restraining order but she is afraid he may retaliate. I've told her there has to be an official record because if it escalates further, everything needs to be documented. Thankfully she has a good alarm system as well and has a carry permit for a gun. She knows we will always let her know when we come over so if he gets in, she can at least defend herself that way. I just pray she doesn't have to go through that. I'm working on getting a contact in the local police that can at the very least just drive by and check on her. The neighborhoods here have officers that regularly work the same neighborhoods. Maybe with the extra show of police will calm the situation. The animal control officer that came out just didn't seen too interested in investigating the issue. We are hoping he will leave soon and she will be able to enjoy her home again.

call the police=this is classic bullying.

does he let his dogs bark? you can have your mom call and complain about the dogs. and keeping the cats in the house is smart. getting a restraining order asap. report that he was on your moms porch asap. this man needs to be stopped.

call that cop you know in Dallas-cops stick together-I am sure via networking they can do a background check on this guy. who knows? there maybe an outstanding warrant for his arrest-I am almost positive this isn't his first rodeo.

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people like him thrive on bullying. Contact the owner of the building and report everything. let them know what is going on. who knows the owner may decide to kick the renters out if they cause too many headaches.

Nothing wrong with keeping a baseball bat nearby and any other weapon.  That is a horrible feeling to be scared in your own house.

get more cameras and those lights that shine bright when someone steps on your property=this would help shine a light on this person when he crawls around ur moms property at night and getting cameras with night vision would be best-I think they have them at hunting stores which people have used in the woods. they are wireless I believe.

And get on the horn about the police. This needs to be documented. I am so sorry that this horrible man is scaring your mother.

ALL cats are protected BY LAW in all 50 U.S. states.  In most, it is a FELONY to harm ANY cat, so the authorities need to be alerted to this sociopath right away.  Also, you say they are feral and I know what that means; but is there any way of cat-fencing the yard (input that term into you computer's search engine to find out more about it f you don't know what it means or need suggestions) so that the cats can be outside but will be protected from this criminal murderer?  People must be proactive on this issue and insist that law enforcement ENFORCE THE LAW.  

Thanks for the advise. We have secured the house with recording video cameras and are working on how best to report this without causing this guy to retaliate.

Thank you.... we will check out the cat fencing idea!

THANK YOU.  My ex, who was a finish carpenter, built our former compound's cat fencing onto corral metal tubing.  There are many ways of utilizing cat fencing.  I do hope you're able to find and implement something like this to keep the outdoor cats safe -- and again, my heartfelt gratitude to you for caring, which is what we all should do.

Hi, again! I read through your posts and am glad to know that you are not alone in supporting your mom in this awful situation.

If your prosecutor's office has a victim/witness protection program, s/he probably has some great suggestions for your mom. It doesn't hurt to ask, and since they work out of the prosecution's office, they have sometimes better insight than even the local police in how to best handle the situation.  I hope that all the prayers for protection are working for your mom & the cats

I am very sorry for the awful things this neighbor is doing and that he is scaring your mom.  This is so disturbing.  I think you should definitely ask for advice from your cousin's ex as to the best course of action.  This man is dangerous to your mom and others even  if law enforcement isn't made aware of the situation.  When I had a problem several years ago, the police didn't actually come to me.  I went to the sheriff's department, spoke with a detective, and filed a complaint.  The sheriff's department took the complaint seriously and sent a squad car down my road at regular intervals for the longest time.  In my case, there was no weapon involved.  And the man I complained about wasn't a downright sociopath, as far as I know.  

I will include your mom and the cats in my prayers, as well.

Anyone who harms an innocent and blameless living being may not fit the "expert" definition of sociopath, but they are a monster and a devil just the same.