A 22-year old Illinois man has been accused of torturing and killing at least four cats by placing them inside a microwave at his apartment.
Thomas Martel turned himself in to authorities on Monday after a woman filed a complaint of animal cruelty against him.
According to the Chicago Police Department, Martel has been charged with four felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and two felony counts of animal torture.
A police report stated that Martel is accused of mutilating, fatally drowning and squeezing three cats.
Police discovered three cats in a bag at Martel’s Wicker Park home. His girlfriend was the one who called and filed the complaint after discovering what Martel was doing.
His girlfriend told officers that she found out all of the kittens killed by Martel were called Shelly and he would reportedly buy lookalike cats so his mom wouldn’t grow suspicious.
“We’re seeing a pattern of going back again and again,” Judge Kelly McCarthy said during Martel’s bail hearing on Tuesday. “Killing an animal, going out and get a replacement, kill that one, get a replacement, kill that one, get a replacement; and unfortunately, this was allowed to continue for a sustained period of time, and numerous animals lost their lives.”
Martel’s girlfriend initially became aware of his alleged actions after someone sent her a video of him allegedly throwing a pillowcase, which apparently contained his cat named Shelly, into Lake Michigan.
Martel’s girlfriend also told officers, “He was enjoying killing the cats and I found out he had been like that since he was 8 years old. It scared me, what he was doing. I even saw him with my own eyes, drown a cat while he was heavily intoxicated and taking narcotics.”
Before she contacted authorities, Martel had admitted to her that he had microwaved three of the cats and placed them in a plastic bag, which he then stored in a cabinet in his apartment.
On Tuesday, Judge McCarthy set Martel’s bail at $75,000 with special conditions including electronic monitoring, no contact with any animals and all cats being removed from his home. He will next appear in court on July 17.
