Florida man arrested on animal cruelty charges after alleged kitten abuse
A 48-year-old Florida resident was taken into custody on animal-cruelty charges after deputies say he killed two kittens and tried to drown a third as punishment for his daughter.
Law enforcement in Lee County, Florida, arrested 48-year-old David Charette Jr. after a 911 call alleged he was trying to drown his 14-year-old daughter’s two-month-old kitten. Deputies recorded Charette insisting the cat was healthy and needed a bath because it soiled its cage. The daughter reported that her father had assaulted the kitten with a nail-polish bottle and later put it inside a clothes dryer.
Additional witnesses described a pattern of the man abusing and killing family pets to punish the girl when she misbehaved. Earlier incidents include beating a one-month-old kitten and wrapping it in bleach-soaked rag, as well as burning a three-month-old kitten with a blow dryer. The kitten named Luna was taken to an animal hospital and is now recovering, while three adult cats were seized as part of the investigation. Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno expressed outrage at the alleged abuse.
Why it matters
The case highlights severe animal cruelty and raises concerns about child welfare and domestic abuse.
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