Hialeah man accused of hanging neighbor's cat on wooden fence

Eduard Rodriguez-Monteagudo, 20, confesses to luring cat, police say

HIALEAH, Fla. – A Hialeah man was arrested Wednesday after he tortured and killed his neighbor's cat, authorities said.

According to an arrest report, the victim called 911 after finding the mutilated remains of the cat hanging from a wooden fence.

Police said the cat had a tight rope fastened around its neck, its stomach was slit from the middle to the tail and its left paw was severed.

Detectives questioned the victim's neighbor, Eduard Rodriguez-Monteagudo, 20, who confessed to luring the animal to his home, police said.

Authorities said Rodriguez-Monteagudo said that he was smoking a cigarette outside his home at about 3 a.m. Wednesday when the victim's cat walked into his yard.

He said he lured the cat into his bedroom and played with it.

Police said Rodriguez-Monteagudo told them that he then became upset at the cat. The remainder of the discussion with police was redacted from the arrest report.

The suspect was arrested on a charge of animal cruelty with the intent to injure or kill.

Rodriguez-Monteagudo spoke to Local 10 News reporter Carlos Suarez after he bonded out of jail.

He claimed that he tried to kill the cat, but then "couldn't go through with it."

"He didn't chicken out because what we saw back there was a pretty gruesome sight," the cat's owner, Eddie Martinez, said.

Rodriguez-Monteagudo told Suarez that he tied something around the cat's neck and then let it go. He claimed that he never cut the cat and that it hanged itself.

When asked what the cat did to make him tie something around the cat's neck to harm it, Rodriguez-Monteagudo said: "Literally, nothing."

The man told Suarez that his own insecurities caused him to hurt the animal.

"For once in my life, I pretty much have everything and I've never accomplished any malice in this world," Rodriguez-Monteagudo said. "And I tried to and I couldn't even pull through with it because I'm a (expletive)."                                                                                                                       

The cat's owner told Local 10 News that the cat was named Boo and was 5 years old.

Hialeah police said Rodriguez-Monteagudo was recently hospitalized under Florida's Baker Act for trying to cut off his genitals.

When asked if he would be willing to get help, Rodriguez-Monteagudo said: "Yes, but for other issues not relating to this."

Rodriguez-Monteagudo's father told Local 10 News that he was disturbed by the allegations against his son.


About the Authors:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.