Christopher Sanchez, 29, is charged with animal cruelty by unnecessarily or cruelly abusing a living animal, resulting in death, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago.
An investigation into Sanchez’s activities was initiated on Friday, March 31, Santiago said. Howell Township police were called to a residence for an unrelated matter and found the body of the cat outside the home, the prosecutor said.
Members of the Howell Township Police Department and the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Humane Law Enforcement Division conducted an investigation determining that the cat, named Lilith, had belonged to Sanchez.
He is alleged to have used a sharp instrument to kill the cat two days earlier, Santiago said.
Sanchez was charged and arrested on the same day as the initial police response, then taken to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution pending a detention hearing on April 12.
Anyone with information about this matter is urged to contact Howell Township Police Department Patrolman Sean Heck at 732-938-4111, SPCA Chief of Humane Law Enforcement Michael Goldfarb at 732-542-0040, or SPCA Lt. Michael Magliozzo at 732-440-4538.
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