A man convicted in a disturbing animal cruelty case has been released from jail under a plea agreement, prompting anger among nearby residents and fresh concerns about the safety of their pets.
Thomas Martel, 25, of Wicker Park, Illinois, pleaded guilty to animal torture and aggravated cruelty to animals after prosecutors alleged he killed kittens by drowning them and placing them in a microwave.
Although Martel received a sentence of more than four years in prison, he was credited with over 1,000 days spent on electronic monitoring and was released from the Illinois Department of Corrections on June 23, the same day he was admitted.
He then began a six-month period of Mandatory Supervised Release, during which he is barred from owning animals or having contact with them.
Still, the conditions of his release have done little to ease community alarm, with neighbors disturbed by the nature of the crimes and frustrated that Martel returned home so quickly.
The case first surfaced nearly three years ago, after Martel’s former girlfriend searched his phone on June 18, 2023, according to People.
Prosecutors said she had grown suspicious because several cats and kittens Martel had bought had disappeared.
On the phone, she discovered a disturbing Snapchat video showing a kitten with the caption, “Right before I murdered her,” prosecutors said during an August 2025 motion hearing, according to a transcript obtained by the outlet.
Thomas Martel, 25, of Wicker Park, pleaded guilty to animal torture and aggravated cruelty to animals after prosecutors said he tortured and killed multiple kittens
He was allegedly caught by his ex-girlfriend that went through his phone after multiple cats he owned went missing
Prosecutors said another video showed the same cat being decapitated by Martel.
The girlfriend reported him to police, claiming he drowned multiple kittens in his bathtub in May and June of 2023, the prosecution said.
Prosecutors said that she also claimed that Martel showed her a cat he had microwaved and told her he began killing felines since he was a child.
Now flyers have been posted with his mugshot urging neighbors to beware that Martel is home.
The postings also feature a QR code that, when scanned, shows links to several articles about the case, according to Fox32.
Jackie Groberski, executive director of SAYv Animal Organization, told the outlet that Martel’s case serves as a reminder that pet owners need to take precautions to keep their animals safe.
‘We still don’t know exactly how Thomas Martel obtained all of the kittens he tortured and killed,’ Groberski said.
‘What we do know is that it’s incredibly easy to obtain free animals online.’
Groberski also emphasized that many people are furious that Martel served no additional prison time.
Martel was sentenced to more than four years in prison, but after being given credit for more than 1,000 days spent on electronic monitoring, he was released from the Illinois Department of Corrections the same day he went in on June 23
Many of his Wicker Park neighbors are furious at the sentencing. Flyers have been posted with his mugshot urging neighbors to beware that Martel is home
A petition has also been launched on Change.org demanding ‘that the court impose the maximum sentence permitted by law’.
‘These animals were not property. They were sentient lives,’ reads the petition that has received nearly 100 signatures.
‘The unimaginable suffering they endured deserves to be recognized for what it was: extreme violence against vulnerable living beings.’
‘Far too often, crimes against animals are minimized. We reject the notion that deliberate torture of animals should be met with leniency simply because the victims were not human. A society that values compassion and justice must recognize that intentional cruelty of this magnitude demands the most serious consequences the law allows.’
The petition also called for Martel to be psychologically evaluated and a lifetime ban on owning, possessing, fostering, or having custody of any animal.
