David Smith, Casey Whitlock and Doug Darby

Leaving a dead cat at PetSmart

Kennesaw, GA

Feb. 16, 2001

David Smith, of Marietta and Casey Whitlock and Doug Darby of Canton, all age 18 were given misdemeanor citations for the improper disposal of an animal. They had left the cat's remains in the PetSmart on Barrett Parkway in Kennesaw.

The 3 teens said they were inspired by an MTV show and admitted that they paraded a mangled dead cat around the Cobb County pet store.

The teens videotaped their bizarre prank and denied they had tortured and mutilated the cat. They insisted the cat was dead when they found it by a roadside in south Cherokee County.

The police did not charge the teens with animal cruelty, which is a felony, because the video does not show them inflicting any damage on the cat. The videotape shows the teens picking up the dead cat from the road, and then jumps to one of them with the cat at a Wal-Mart store. It ends with them wheeling the cat around the PetSmart in a shopping cart.

The medical examination of the black cat revealed its injuries were most probably the result of torture. Its body has been skewered from rear to front.

In Defense of Animals had issued a $3000 reward to help capture the criminals. Police received a break in the case when Smith's father came forward with the videotape and acknowledged his son's role in the incident.

Reference:

In Defense of Animals

The Atlanta Journal - Constitution