A Florida father was taken into custody this week after authorities said he killed the family’s kittens in front of his teenage daughter, allegedly using the abuse as punishment.
Bodycam footage released by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office shows deputies arriving at a home in Pine Manor following a report that a man was trying to drown and hit a 2-month-old kitten named Luna.
David Charette Jr., 48, was arrested on an aggravated animal cruelty charge after investigators accused him of killing two kittens and harming a third.
Witnesses told deputies that Charette allegedly mistreated and killed the family’s kittens in front of his teenage daughter when she “acted up,” describing it as a form of punishment, authorities said.
Body camera video shows David Charette Jr. talking with Lee County deputies after authorities responded to reported animal cruelty at a home in Pine Manor, Fla. (Lee County Sheriff’s Office)
In the body camera video, Charette appeared to defend how he handled Luna while speaking with deputies.
“The cat is in perfectly healthy condition,” Charette told deputies. “I have to give the cat a bath because it soils itself in the cage.”
“It’s covered in crap and I have to give it a bath, and it cries, and she doesn’t like that,” he added.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said the allegations involving Charette’s daughter made the case particularly disturbing.
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A 2-month-old kitten named Luna was taken to a local animal hospital for treatment and is recovering after an alleged animal cruelty incident, authorities said. (Lee County Sheriff’s Office)
“A daughter says that when she acts up or when she’s in trouble, her father kills her kittens. This is sickening to me,” Marceno told CBS affiliate WINK.
Investigators said they later learned Charette had allegedly killed two other kittens over the previous year.
In June, Charette allegedly smothered a one-month-old kitten with a bleach-soaked rag, according to the sheriff’s office.
In a separate incident, investigators said Charette allegedly killed a three-month-old kitten with a blow-dryer.
David Charette Jr., 48, was arrested and charged with aggravated animal cruelty after authorities accused him of killing two kittens and injuring a third. (Lee County Sheriff’s Office)
Authorities said both kittens had been buried in the backyard, but investigators recovered only one during a search of the property.
Luna was taken to a local animal hospital for treatment and is recovering, according to the sheriff’s office.
