January 2002
A Florida man, annoyed by his cat's meowing, cut her throat and mutilated her with a steak knife while a friend took pictures. The owner and his accomplices were arrested after Walgreens photo developers called the police. Photographs depict not only the attack, but also the butchered carcass suspended from a shower rail while the blood-spattered participants "mug" for the camera.
The cat's owner pleaded guilty to cruelty-to-animal charges, but the case was delayed for months because of threats that the man made against the prosecutor. After pressure from PETA, the original judge--who was outspoken in his lenient stance on animal abuse--recused himself. The case came before the new judge who gave the abuser 10 months in jail.
Read about the link between animal and human abuse.