Investigators seek clues to cat mutilations

Staff Sgt. Ray Kelleher of the Salt Lake County Animal Services Department poses with a map that pinpoints the locations where mutilated cats and one dog have been found. Story Tools

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) -- If the person who has killed and mutilated 11 cats in the city's Avenues neighborhood is trying to send a message, authorities have no idea what it is.

Eight cats were found last summer, with holes cut out of their sides, or the cat's entire front or back missing. Some were decapitated, others gutted. Three more have been killed since April.

The cats have been dumped in sight of morning commuters in the area north of downtown.

"We have to start asking ourselves if this person is capable of doing this to a human victim," said Temma Martin, spokeswoman for Salt Lake County Animal Services. "Maybe they're desensitizing themselves with cats."

"Maybe this is a young Jeffrey Dahmer in training," said resident Ricky Hall, 44. "He's obviously getting a thrill out of it."

Dahmer, who admitted killing and dismembering 17 young men, reportedly impaled frogs and staked cats to trees in his back yard when he was a child.

An $8,500 reward has been posted. If caught, the perpetrator would face an animal cruelty charge, punishable by up to a year in jail.

Authorities are not sure if the cats are being killed or mutilated first, a detail that could offer insight into the killer's psychology. If the cats are being mutilated first, the person may be thrilled by watching animals suffer.

"If they're interested in the occult they could start torturing it while the victim is still alive because they feel that the energy inside is still alive," said Ray Kelleher, Salt Lake County Animal Services' lead investigator on the case.

However, authorities are not convinced of any connection to the occult. There are no obvious signs of devil worship, such as a pentagram or the number 666, police said.

Only three of the 11 cats had known owners, and all three were found near their homes on the morning after they were let out for the night.

Police are comparing notes with authorities in the Denver area, where at least 24 cats have been mutilated in the past year. However, they said they do not believe one person is responsible for the attacks in both cities.

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