While it was not disputed that Peter Freshour had fatally stabbed the gray-coated feline that some neighbors called "Pepper" and others called "Baby," the jury had to decide whether the political science and history major killed the cat out of self-defense, as he contended, or if he set out to maliciously end its life.
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| Free to kill other animals |
Following nearly six hours of testimony in the one-day trial, the jury sided with Mr. Freshour, who took the stand and said the stray cat clung his leg outside his apartment and sunk its claws and teeth into him.
"It came at me with ferocity," said the 21-year-old student during his testimony, who mimicked with his hands and a facial expression the look of a cat crouched low to the ground, preparing for attack, hair raised and hissing.
After the cat latched onto his leg and dug into his flesh, Mr. Freshour testified that he first tried to shake it off. When he determined the cat "wasn't coming off," he stabbed the feline two or three times with a knife he was carrying, he testified.
As the cat began crawling away "crying," barely able to move, and gushing blood, Mr. Freshour said he then "finished it off," he testified in the case before Lackawanna County Judge Michael J. Barrasse.
Two witnesses testified they saw Mr. Freshour stab the cat, but they said they did not see it attack him.
Michael Goffer, an assistant district attorney prosecuting the case, said a city police officer called to investigate the stabbing did not notice any injuries on Mr. Freshour and that he never made mention of the attack.
During cross-examination, he rhetorically asked Mr. Freshour why a former high school football player and wrestler who is about six-feet tall and weighs roughly 220 pounds would resort to stabbing the cat when it may have been easier to kick it aside.
"I think that's easy to say in hindsight," Mr. Freshour replied.
However, Mr. Freshour's attorney Paul Walker of Scranton argued that Mr. Freshour has a rare illness called Wilson's disease that has severely affected his health, and he was alarmed what diseases the cat could be carrying, including rabies.
"I received innumerable amounts of hate mail; I had to cancel my Facebook," said Mr. Freshour, after the jury returned the verdict, of what he encountered when he was charged with the misdemeanor crime in August. "I also want to say that I love cats dearly, and I love my cat, Largo."
As he mentioned his fondness for felines during an interview with reporters, a group of local animal rights activists, who sat together through the entire trial and had pinned on their shirts a white ribbon saying "justice for a friendly cat" in black lettering along with printed black cat paws, began laughing out loud in disbelief.
"In my mind, he is guilty, he always will be guilty, he knows he's guilty," said Denise Kumor, who founded Tracey's Hope, a local nonprofit offering care for sick and terminally ill pets.
Freshour's defense attorney, Mr. Walker, was not pleased with their laughter then, and when they started "snickering" during his closing arguments when he made mention of how dangerous cats can be.
"I don't have a problem with them supporting animal rights, but show the appropriate decorum and respect for the courtroom," Mr. Walker said. "It's despicable, and I am disgusted with their behavior."
(Scranton Times-Tribune - Feb 26, 2013)
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