A Florida man is facing animal cruelty charges after the cat abuse case inside a Lee County home turned into an arrest and a wider investigation. Deputies say David Charette Jr., 48, of Fort Myers, was taken into custody Wednesday after they responded to a 911 call reporting that he was trying to drown and beat his 14-year-old daughter’s 2-month-old kitten.
According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, body camera video captured part of the encounter outside the home, with one deputy holding the kitten, Luna, while Charette tried to explain himself. In the recording, he said the cat was in healthy condition and claimed he was giving it a bath because it had soiled itself in the cage. Deputies later removed Luna from the home and took her to a nearby animal hospital, where she was treated and is recovering.
The allegations went far beyond that one incident. Charette’s daughter told deputies that on Aug. 1 he assaulted the kitten with a bottle of nail polish and put her inside a clothes dryer, according to WINK, the CBS affiliate in Southwest Florida. Authorities also said witnesses told investigators that Charette had a pattern of abusing and killing the family’s pets whenever his daughter “act[ed] up.”
Deputies said the cat abuse case included the deaths of two other kittens within the last year. One alleged incident in June involved a 1-month-old kitten that was beaten and wrapped in a rag soaked with bleach. Another alleged killing happened in November, when a 3-month-old kitten was burned with a blow dryer. Officials said both animals were believed to have been buried in the backyard, though only one was recovered after an extensive search of the property.
