Someone Tortured, Murdered Up To 30 Cats in Martinsville, Indiana – Reward Offered For Info

Alley Cat Allies offered a five thousand dollar reward to help find whoever tortured and killed up to 30 cats in Martinsville, Indiana. “This is a disturbing and horrific case of animal cruelty, and we need to find whomever is responsible,” Becky Robinson, president and founder of Alley Cat Allies, explained. Intentionally killing a cat, even a stray or feral cat, is illegal in all fifty states and D.C., according to Alley Cat Allies. The Martinsville area is served by the Morgan County Humane Society which boasts a very active Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program and most of the cats that were killed are tended by feral colony caregivers.

Alley Cat Allies is a feline advocacy group that promotes this very positive type of feral and stray cat animal control. The group advocates the TNR program nationwide where cats are trapped, sterilized, ear tipped, vaccinated and then returned to their colony. The practice promotes a healthier feral cat colony of manageable numbers and is responsible for the drastic decline in the need to euthanize cats in shelters in areas where the program is established. Many of the Martinsville cats who have been murdered or tortured live in caregiver-managed, outdoor cat communities.

“A lot of residents feed and care for the cats—we help by getting the cats spayed or neutered and vaccinated—then the cats are returned to the location where they were trapped,” Alicia Fouty, the TNR coordinator at Morgan County Humane Society, explained. “Over 500 cats have gone through our TNR program so far.”

“No matter where a cat lives—indoors or outdoors—they are cared about and valued,” says Robinson. “There is something inherently American about loving cats and wanting to protect them. The fact that people are actively spaying or neutering and vaccinating their cats is evidence that we are an animal-loving society.” The disturbing case in Martinsville, Indiana presents a scary number of cats that have been found dead or tortured in a neighborhood near Home Avenue and South Street. Channel 59 News explained:

“Authorities in Martinsville believe up to 30 cats have disappeared, likely tortured or killed over the past few months.

The injuries are gruesome, ranging from bashed in skulls to a broken leg.”

Other cats survived their apparent animal torture.

Meet Boomer. Tortured in Martinsville & rescued. Other cats have disappeared, $5k reward for cat killer. @fox59 at 10 pic.twitter.com/p7Zq8nMHeA

— Kendall Downing (@kdowningFOX59) July 17, 2014

11-month-old Boomer has painful scars and a missing leg. Lauren Waynick, a vet tech in Martinville explained that a few months ago, the kitten was brought to the clinic and was tortured so badly that his leg had to be amputated. Waynick and her husband adopted Boomer. Her husband told Channel 59, “I say all the time, it’s like I wish he could just tell me what happened.” Boomer was the first sign of the animal torture in the Martinsville, Indiana neighborhood. Many other beaten or dead cats followed.

The Humane Society’s Alicia Fouty explained one of the disturbing encounters:

“There were four other cats that have had their heads crushed. And of the four, two of them were thought to be poisoned, and they were found by a trash dumpster.”

Tammy Stock warned on social media, “There’s a serial killer living amongst you!” Others have the same grave concerns.

Alley Cat Allies calls animal cruelty cases like this “cause for alarm for the community’s safety.” The site said, “Psychiatric and criminological research has established a relationship between cruelty to animals and a host of other violent behaviors towards people—animal cruelty must be taken seriously.”

Detectives have investigated and talked with people living along Martinsville’s South Drive. A video of the torture is rumored to exist. “There is believed to be cell phone video out there, but they need someone to come forward,” Fouty explained. Teens in the area have been heard talking about seeing it. Tips have already been sent in because of social media discussions. Anyone with any information that could be used by prosecutors are urged to consider the severity of the mental health status of anyone capable of this kind of animal abuse. Anonymity can be protected.

Anyone with any additional information about the cat murderer in Martinsville, Indiana is asked to contact crime stoppers at (317) 262–TIPS (8477).

[Feral cat photo credit Dawn Papple]