FREEHOLD, NJ – Today, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced that Christopher Sanchez, a 29-year-old Howell Township resident, has been criminally charged with intentionally killing his pet cat, named Lilith. Sanchez is now facing a third-degree Animal Cruelty charge for Unnecessarily or Cruelly Abusing a Living Animal, Resulting in its Death.
The investigation into Sanchez’s actions began on Friday, when members of the Howell Township Police Department were dispatched to a residence for an unrelated matter and found the body of the cat outside the home. The subsequent investigation, conducted by the Howell Township Police Department and the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Humane Law Enforcement Division, determined that Sanchez had used a sharp instrument to kill Lilith two days earlier.
Sanchez was charged and arrested on the same day as the initial police response. He was transported to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution (MCCI), pending a detention hearing tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, April 12, at Monmouth County Superior Court. Convictions on criminal charges of this nature can be punishable by up to five years in state prison.