Man arrested for battery on Kendall woman, killing cat

Joshua Luis Diaz faces multiple charges of battery and animal cruelty

MIAMI – A Kendall man has been arrested and charged with battery on a woman and killing her cat.

Joshua Luis Diaz, 24, was arrested early Friday morning.

Eleanor Wallace said she invited Diaz to stay at her home because he was a "fellow Christian" and needed a place to stay.

"He was homeless," said Wallace. "He didn't have a place to stay. I thought I was being loving and kind."

According to the police report, Diaz claimed he choked the woman because he believed that she was possessed.

Upon moving in, Diaz began stealing from the woman and beating her.

Police said Diaz also beat and tortured her cat before eventually killing it because it had scratched his head.

Wallace told Local 10 News she became friend with Diaz, but he began to change over time.

"He would go into a rage, but a rage where his eyes would look like fire, and his face would contort and he would hiss," said Wallace.

Wallace said she never called police because Diaz threatened to kill her and her pets. She said he tortured both her birds and her cat.

"He literally smashed that cat until ever organ in that cat's body was out of him -- his intestines, his heart, his eyeballs," said Wallace.

Diaz now faces three charges, including battery on a person 65 years or older and animal cruelty with intent to injury or kill.

He is currently being held on a total of $15,000 bond.