Police Confirm Cats in Northwest Dallas Were Strangled Before They Were Severed

As I was leaving the house this morning, I was greeted by Senior Corporal Kimberly Crawford, a detective in the Northwest Operations Division and the lead investigator in the neighborhood cat killings. Crawford's out canvassing the area and questioning antsy neighbors, who've taken to patrolling the alleys late at night. Crawford doesn't know who killed Bill and the other cat, since identified as our next-door neighbor's cat Pepper, but she does know how they died: At least one, Bill, was strangled before he and Pepper were severed with "a sharp blade," said Crawford. (Pepper's front quarters still have not been found.)

Investigators know this because, contrary to what the police report said Monday, neither Animal Services nor Sanitation picked up the bodies on Monday. The neighbor who cleaned up the scene before kids got home from school Monday still had the bodies bagged behind her house, and the DPD collected them Wednesday morning. Crawford says a veterinarian examined the bodies to determine the cause of death. As we noted yesterday, the DPD has taken over the investigation of citywide cat killings, and an Animal Services investigator will work closely with detectives. After the jump, CW33's report about the murders and mutilations that aired last night.

Update at 11:49 on Friday: I have posted in the comments a press release from the SPCA of Texas, which is "offering $5,000 as a reward to any individual who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator(s) who has allegedly mutilated and killed cats in Northwest Dallas."