Task Force to Probe Colorado Cat Mutilations

July 2, 2003
By Judith Crosson

AURORA, Colo. (Reuters) - A task force of animal experts and police investigators has been set up to find out who mutilated and killed nearly 45 cats in the Denver area in the past year, officials said on Wednesday.

About half the killings have taken place in Aurora, a city of 293,000 next to Denver, making it the center of the investigation. "When you look at the emotion of the owners you understand. It's like losing a member of the family," Aurora Police Chief Ricky Bennett told reporters.

Bennett said the 19-member task force will include prosecutors from the region, animal experts, veterinarians, the Denver Dumb Friends League and a psychologist.

But he stopped short of echoing the concerns of local experts who have said animal torture is often a first step toward attacks on humans. He also said he was not assuming the offenders were youths or members of a cult.

The killings of the cats started in Aurora last summer and lasted until April of this year. Bennett said police need the help of local residents. "Somebody knows something," he said.

Colorado authorities have also conferred with police in Salt Lake City in neighboring Utah where 11 cats and one dog have been murdered since May 2002.

Temma Martin, spokeswoman for the Salt Lake County animal services, said the string of mutilations have similarities in the way the animals appear to have been cut but few strong leads and no suspects have surfaced.

Utah authorities are not ruling out the possibility that the mutilations are connected to some type of cult. Martin said police do not believe the same culprit is operating in both states, but there was a possibility some type of Internet communication might be involved.

Bennett in Colorado said it was hard to explain why no witnesses have come forward. "Sometimes people don't know what they're seeing or people tend not to get involved," he said.

(Additional reporting by James Nelson)

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