Elizabeth Bergland, 35, faces two counts of willfully torturing and maiming an animal and one count of third-degree arson after police found her two cats dead in the front yard of her home in Sparks.
Bergland's mother had called police early last month saying her daughter was having a mental break down and had burned one cat, said Lt. Chad Hawkins. Police had responded to the call in the 500 block of K Street.
Upon arrival, officers found Bergland outside with her cats, Hawkins said.
"She was clearly upset… and she seemed to think that these cats represented the devil in some fashion, and that's why she did it," Hawkins said.
Police said they found one cat beaten with a golf club and the other strangled with an electrical cord and lit on fire, he said.
"With the help of some of her family, we got her in for a psychiatric evaluation," Hawkins said.
"In the next week or two, she was stabilized enough that we went to the judge and told him it would be better – since some of the help wouldn't be available in jail – for her if she was released, that way she can continue her treatment," he said. "Hopefully she stays stabilized."
Bergland had no previous history of criminal behavior or animal torture, but family told police she's had mental breakdowns in the past, Hawkins said.
Bergland was released from custody and is set for an arraignment at the Sparks Justice Court early next month.
(RGJ.com - Dec 10, 2014)
what an ugly bunch of losers
ReplyDelete"Hopefully she stays stabilized." ???!!! WTF! Hopefully she doesn't kill a neighbor or a kid while she's on zoo release.
ReplyDelete