Teens Charged in Extreme Animal Mutilation and Cruelty Case

Animal cruelty charges have been filed against a 16-year-old boy and his 14-year-old friend, for what experts say is one of the worst cruelty cases they've ever seen.

Local 12's Rich Jaffe says the attack on the tiny animal began last Wednesday night and continued into the next day.

The horrific case came to light when two Reading Junior/Senior High School students began bragging to classmates about what they'd done.

Harold Dates, SPCA Cincinnati: "I can refer to the Ohio Revised Code. It says no person shall knowingly torture, torment, needlessly mutilate or maim, cruelly beat, poison, needlessly kill or commit an act of cruelty against a companion animal, almost all of the things in that specific section of the code were done to this cat."

One of the boys told investigators he punched the cat, a family pet, in the face Wednesday night, then bragged to classmates about spraying it in the face with insecticide and lysol. Coming home from school Thursday, he and a 14 year old friend are accused of literally beating the life out of the already injured animal.

"Confronted by the allegations of what they had done by an investigator from SPCA Cincinnati, the two teens admitted to it, and then they took her to a side yard where they had buried the mutilated animal."

"The skull of the animal is totally crushed, there's not an identifying bone there, the cervical vertebrae...they've been crushed too, the scapula or shoulder blade is crushed..."

In addition, the cats eyes were popped out, legs broken, a stake driven into it, and its brain removed.

Dr. Tamara Goforth, Veterinarian: "Most of the trauma was on the front end, but on the back end there is a pelvic fracture, and there is a fracture here on the rear leg that is probably about a month old."

"My main concern is that this individual is helped in some way shape or form so that these acts don't continue and escalate to the next easiest victim."

Both teens are facing the stiffest possibly cruelty charges.

School officials at Reading tell us both teens are still in school, and they are working with the families to see that the children get counseling.

Teens Charged In Animal Mutilation