HUNT COUNTY, Texas ( KETK ) — A Hunt County woman has been arrested after allegedly torturing and killing a cat that entered her flower bed, the SPCA said.
An investigation between the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office and the SPCA of Texas’ Animal Cruelty Investigations Unit led officials to believe that Amy Dawn Hagman allegedly smothered and strangled the cat.
Its remains were taken to the Russell E. Dealey Animal Rescue Center in Dallas on Monday for a forensic evaluation.
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The findings from an SPCA of Texas Forensic Veterinarian revealed that twine was wrapped around the cat’s neck twice, knotted and used to secure one of its rear legs. The forensic veterinarian also found abrasions and grass around the cat’s mouth, indicating smothering, officials said.
“The results of the necropsy confirmed what deputies on scene feared: that this animal experienced significant suffering,” Chief Investigator of the SPCA of Texas’ ACI Unit, Courtney Burns, said. “These cases are heartbreaking, but the forensic evidence is critical to ensuring that justice is pursued to the fullest extent of the law.”
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Hagman was taken into custody facing charges for animal cruelty, set at $10,000, and an assault charge set at $1,000, according to jail records. The SPCA of Texas will continue supporting the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office in this investigation…