(DailyAnswer.org) – A Nurse in Florida has been charged with three felony counts of animal cruelty after allegedly poisoning two cats and a pregnant dog belonging to her next-door neighbor. Tamesha Knighten, 51, reportedly threatened on multiple occasions to poison her neighbor’s pets if they did not stay out of her yard. Sheriff Gary Judd explained that Knighten left out chicken strips that had been poisoned, resulting in the two cats – Luna and Pancake – dying within hours of each other and Daisy the Chihuahua dying with eight puppy fetuses in her womb in the incident on August 16th, 2023. When their owners were concerned as one of the cats started choking, Knighten reportedly said that the cat had probably swallowed a frog. The accused is also alleged to have shouted at her neighbors’ children when they were outside playing on the day of the poisoning.
This is not the only arrest in Florida this month relating to animal poisonings; Jeremy Stromwall, 36, was arrested in early January 2024 on four counts of animal cruelty after allegedly poisoning dogs and cats in his neighborhood. After an investigation began in December, forensic studies suggested that antifreeze was used to poison the animals, and upon inspection of Stromwall’s home police found three containers of antifreeze as well as fish-flavored rat poison. After the remains of a dog called Bella, a cat called “Mr Cat,” and two other cats were examined it was determined that all died from antifreeze poisoning. A bowl of tuna mixed with antifreeze was found by police at Stromwall’s home.
The owners of Luna, Pancake and Daisy reported that both cats experienced the same symptoms, including foaming at the mouth, choking, difficulty breathing and were clearly in extreme pain. According to Sherrif Judd, Knighten was seen by her neighbors pacing the yard along the shared fence boundary. After CCTV cameras were spotted in Knighten’s garden the police asked to see the footage from them, which showed the accused putting on a blue glove while handling a white and brown substance in a styrofoam bowl as she talked with a relative and pointed to her neighbors’ yard. All three pets were killed by a very concentrated amount of Phorate, a pesticide used in insecticides. Knighten, a qualified nurse, denied poisoning her neighbors’ pets and claimed that she put the Phorate outside to deal with ants.
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