WILTON MANORS, Fla. — A 29-year-old woman is facing multiple animal cruelty and abandonment charges after investigators say she dumped five kittens in a park on Easter morning.
Wilton Manors police say Katherine Luciano left the kittens at Donn Eisele Park around 10 a.m. on Sunday. Surveillance video from a nearby home shows a red sedan pulling up, with a taped cardboard box inside.
Moments later, the five baby kittens spill out onto the ground as the woman walks away.
“While walking back to the car, the defendant is heard asking the male she is with, ”There were five total correct," her arrest report states.
The two then got back into the vehicle and left the park, abandoning the five kittens with no access to food, water, or shelter.
Peter Carey, who was walking his dog at the time, told Local 10 that he witnessed the kittens being abandoned.
“I was really focused on the cats, but it kept my anger from being focused on her,” he said. “Because I really wish that I could just put her in a box and dump her in a field so she could see how it felt. That’s how I feel.”
Carey rescued four of the kittens, while the fifth was found later.
All five have since been adopted.
“Happy to say that they’ve all been adopted,” Carey said. “I dropped off the last kitty last night to a nurse that lives in Aventura.”
After seeing her mugshot, Carey said, “It looks like her. And I hope I never see her again.”
Zachary Rinkins at Broward County Animal Care says they have resources to help shelter or house animals — even strays.
Luciano appeared to smirk when a judge on Friday morning told her that she is not allowed to have an animal while on pre-trial release.
Luciano bonded out of jail Friday night.
She faces five counts of animal abandonment and five counts of conservation of animals: torment, deprive, mutilate or kill. Her total bond was set at $5,000.
It’s not clear if the passenger in the car will face any charges.
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