Massachusetts man who told reporters he killed mom, now wants her cats’ names on the murder indictment

MASSACHUSETTS -- In a weird murder case that just keeps getting weirder, a Massachusetts man has asked that the names of his mother’s cats be added to his murder indictment, which already contains his mom’s name.

The judge in his case promptly asked for a psychiatric evaluation.

Matthew McAveeney, 46, of Winchester has previously pleaded not guilty to beating to death his mother, Barbara, and killing her two cats.

But on Wednesday, he petitioned the court to add “Pumpkin” and “Puffy” to the list of his alleged victims, according to WCVB-TV.

He also said he wants to change his plea to guilty and to represent himself in court.

That’s when the mental health review was ordered.

The seemingly befuddled defendant has already confessed on camera to killing his mother and her pets.

After he was picked up in October while on the lam in North Carolina, McAveeney said “To my mother, Barbara McAveeney, and to her cats, Pumpkin and Puffy McAveeney, I apologize deeply,” he told reporters as he was led from a police van.

On Wednesday, he told the Woburn court that his indictment “does not name the animals that were killed. The animals were living beings, they had lives, they had personalities, they had identities. If I am going to be convicted of killing them, I would like them to be known for what they were and who they were by their names.”

(NY Daily News - January 22, 2015)