A man who allegedly beat his mother-in-law's cat to death with an umbrella went on trial yesterday. Lordtyshon Garret, 31, is accused of poking, stabbing, and puncturing the lung of the six-year-old cat named Madea in October 2009. "The cat was severely beaten and was slowly suffering for more than a day. This case is about the sadistic and brutal acts of this defendant," said prosecutor Ayanna Blake.
The broken umbrella was linked via DNA to both the cat and Garret; although the cat was badly injured in the attack, Madea didn't die immediately—the family chose to euthanize her later after taking her to a vet. At the time of the crime, his brother-in-law told police that Garret allegedly said of the umbrella, "Damn, I left a smoking gun." Garret, who was adorned in a big fur hat during his court appearance, is charged with aggravated animal cruelty, and faces up to four years in jail.
Garret has some stiff competition for worst person on trial of the week though: Angelo Monderoy was also in court this week on charges that he fatally set a cat on fire last year. Prosecutors played a recording of a conversation between Monderoy and a friend which gives some damning indication as to the motivation for the crime: "I don't know. We were bored."
