Trial Begins for Man Charged with Horrific Cat Killing

CALIFORNIA -- Early this year, 24-year-old Steven Ullery and his wife walked into the reception area of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (spcaLA) in the P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village on Spring Street, carrying the dead bodies of their two cats, Sylvester (pictured above) and Oliver, whom the couple had adopted the previous month.

Sylvester in photo

After Ullery told the volunteers that the cats were “defective” and then requested a refund, the staff, suspecting animal cruelty, notified humane officers.

SpcaLA and the Long Beach Police Department subsequently launched an investigation and found that in March and May 2013, the Ullerys presented three additional dead cats to the Uptown Animal Hospital.

One cat had died of blunt-force trauma and another had been choked to death, according to L.A. County Prosecutors. It’s unknown as to what the third cat died from.

LBPD arrested Ullery on Jan. 23 in connection with the animal deaths and was released on $60,000 bail. He has been charged with four felony counts of cruelty to an animal and is facing trial this week. If charged with the killings, he faces a maximum sentence of five years in county jail.

According to California Penal Code Section 597, any person convicted of intentionally killing, maiming or otherwise abusing any animal is guilty of a felony. If you are witness to the abuse of any animal, please call Animal Care Services at (562) 570-7387.

(Long Beach Post - Oct 7, 2014)