Dad Gets Jail Time For Killing Family Cat

Indiana Man Sentenced After Admitting He Forced 7-Year-Old Daughter To Stab Pet

(AP)  A man was sentenced to 18 months in prison after admitting he forced his 7-year-old daughter to kill the family cat by holding a knife in her hand and making her stab the pet.

"I am extremely sorry for what I did," Daniel J. Collins said during his sentencing Thursday. "Everything is my responsibility."

Collins, 39, pleaded guilty to a felony count of animal cruelty and two felony counts of neglect of a dependent. In exchange, prosecutors dropped three other felony charges.

"This is not civilized conduct," Judge Robert Barnet Jr. said as he sentenced Collins.

Under the plea agreement, Collins also must receive counseling and attend parenting classes and substance abuse treatment. The judge also prohibited Collins from owning a pet.

Collins was arrested March 13 after police said he forced his daughter to stab Boots, the family's 8-month-old cat. The girl and Collins' 11-year-old son said their father ordered them to stab the cat because he wanted them to "learn to kill."

Police said the boy tried to hide the cat from his father, but Collins found the animal and strangled it as his children watched.

Collins said he was intoxicated at the time and remembered little about what happened that day.

Deputy Prosecutor Judi Calhoun said she was outraged by the crime but agreed to the plea deal so that the children would not have to testify against their father.

Defense attorney Steve Bruce said Collins, a Navy veteran, has no previous felony convictions.

[govwatch-2009]

I hope the kids have not learned to kill him when they grow up.

[patriot12436]

He is a very sick person. I would hope they would also place the kids with somene other than him for their protection.

[bob5ford]

I hope when he gets out that he is not allowed contact with his or any other children. It has been well documented that children who abuse animals when young become animals (in the criminal sense) when they are older. The hope is that these children were so repulsed as to never harm another living thing.

[l8c6]

Depraved. No heartfelt remorse.

[ladyephesus1]

I am a cat lover and I am just heartbroken over this story.

[erasmus81]

"I am a cat lover and I am just heartbroken over this story." Posted by ladyephesus1 at 09:38 PM : Aug 29, 2008

Me too.


"Under the plea agreement, Collins also must receive counseling..."

Forget the counseling for the dad, just throw his sorry a-s-s in jail and leave him there. It''s the kids that need the counseling.

[psk123-2009]

What a twisted personality. That was a terrible thing to do to a kitten and an even more terrible and horrifying thing to do to his own children. This will be one childhood event that they will both remember the rest of their lives.

[smurfcrusher]

Good solid Republican

[messiahx4eve]

The guy needs to be neutered, live and kicking, so he can experience it and never be allowed to breed again.

[cdfoxtrot2]

He''s clearly unfit to be a parent. Why aren''t the kids up for adoption?

Navy veteran, animal abuser, child abuser. Probably voted for Bush.

[rational_1]

He has to attend parenting classes? Ya think?

On the bright side maybe by his parenting {ahem} skills his kids will grow up to be as indifferent and callous as he clearly is, and consign him without thinking twice to some he!!hole nursing home or ask for the plug to be pulled if he gets to some intensive care unit. ''Hangnail? Sound serious. We can''t let dad suffer - yank it!''

[deacon20081]

Let''s hope "Tyrone" is his cell mate and loves cats.

[platteman]

He has to be a Democrat. No Republican could be this depraved. Hello, parenting classes. He should have had them a long time ago. Time for him to get sober. Maybe "Bubba" will help in out in his cell.

[dan_shields-2009]

sick ***.

[messiahx4eve]

Nope probably not a democrat, it was rumored that he was going to cook the cat and force his kids to eat it because they were complaining of not having any food to eat, NOW that is a true REPUBLICAN, feeds his kids no matter what the cost or price, even if it is a family pet!!!

[cbsfan73]

Maybe they should put him in an arena and see how he fares with a lion?

[wogerwabbit]

He has to be a Democrat. No Republican could be this depraved.
Posted by Platteman at 10:51 PM : Aug 29, 2008

Are you high? The warmongering Republicans are the ones that want to teach other peoples kids to kill for them so they can feel safe and get rich. As far as depraved... starting wars based on lies... how''s that for the textbook definition of depraved? Oh but no, your guy is the a$$hole so it doesn''t count.

Go join the army and live your wildest fatasies and go to war, you f**king coward... learn about life by experiencing death all around you. Cry over your best friends body and later wash his brains off your face... it''s such a rush. Then come back and tell me how glorious it was after you clean out your pants. You cockroach, you know nothing about war you haven''t learned from your G.I. Joe doll, so why don''t you just stay stupid by yourself instead on displaying your ignorence for all to see.

[cbsfan73]

cbsfan73 wrote:
"Maybe they should put him in an arena and see how he fares with a lion?"

Yes, and we will even let him take his knife...

[lovesamerica]

Okay, no politics here on this one. Just a sick man with no compassion for either his children or their pet. How very horrible that the boy tried to hide the cat only to have his FATHER, find it and kill it. sick sick sick. I have experienced such callouness in my life and believe me, it never goes away. That man needs more than parenting class. he needs a class in human compassion, and his kids will need counceling too. ps where was mom?

[cmp271]

Lets hope he gets strangled in prison as he deserves!!! Thank you to the judge for imposing a sentence on this murderer!!!

[cbsfan73]

"Collins said he was intoxicated at the time and remembered little about what happened that day."

Alcohol sometimes has amazing ability to bring out one''s secrets from the closet.

[cbsfan73]

cbsfan73 wrote:
"Alcohol sometimes has amazing ability to bring out one''''s secrets from the closet."

Yes, cbsfan73, this is why you should never drink with a man you suspect might be gay. You might pass out and wake up constipated.

[sistatee-2009]

That man needs more than parenting class
Posted by lovesamerica at 11:32 PM : Aug 29, 2008

They should dump his asss into a wood chipper in the town square and play CAT Steven''s song, "The First Cut is the Deepest" while the machine rips him to shreds.

[lovesamerica]

my question is, how can people not see the importance of animals? as companions,yes,a food source,and an important part of our very existance. I just do not get it!!!!They should be treated with the same kindness as people,anyone that would hurt an animal is also capable of hurting a person. there is a lack of ... IT...

[apprxam]

What a loser...do that sh*t yourself!

[cbsfan73]

lovesamerica wrote:
"They (animals) should be treated with the same kindness as people,"

I have seen some animals that are more useful than some humans.

[wogerwabbit]

Actually, to inject politics into this sick motherf**kers existance is totally assinine.

But of course, we have paid ''bloggers'' from the McCain campaign infecting the message boards everywhere and so we have to suffer through the annoying background noise of dying neocons pleading for their lives... kinda like crickets, you don''t even notice them after a while.

Stick a fork in McCain losers, picking Bambi as a VP at 72 years old and having gone through 4 bouts of cancer (and I know about what I speak) is absolutely insane and proves how desperately his ego wants to be president... he picks eye candy instead of what''s best for America. Sameful. I knew he lost it when he caved in on torture. He feeble already... do him a favor, put him out to pasture.

[wogerwabbit]

They should dump his asss into a wood chipper in the town square and play CAT Steven''''s song, "The First Cut is the Deepest" while the machine rips him to shreds.

Posted by SistaTee at 11:41 PM : Aug 29, 2008

Feet first. Slowly. Have his kids throw him in.

[lovesamerica]

I agree whole heartedly, animals love unconditionaly{except for my cat that only loves me if I have treats} and do not search out ways to harm others , unless taught by people. We are all animals, but since humans have a ''soul'' it is an abombination that anyone would intentionally harm another living creature. again, this butt head has nothing to do with polotics and everything to do with the missing ...IT.. factor

[erasmus81]

"...and play CAT Steven''''s song, "The First Cut is the Deepest" while the machine rips him to shreds." Posted by SistaTee at 11:41 PM : Aug 29, 2008

I didn''t know Cat Stevens sang that song.

[blackyowe]

This guy should never be able to see his kids again he is way too farked up!

[cbsfan73]

BlackYowe wrote:
"This guy should never be able to see his kids again he is way too farked up!"

If you think about it, this guy is similar to a drunk driver that kills a pedestrian. They blame it on alcohol.

I know of one drunk driver who killed a 16 year old boy in a head on collision with another car.

He walked out the prison door three years later.

[lovesamerica]

He is also like a drug induced mother that sleeps as her child walks outside and is killed, or an idiot that throws a rock from an overpass. I think the difference MIGHT lay in the fact that he knowingly killed something and subjected his kids to the same sickness. while those others victims were the result of an unconcious bad decision.

[jerr11]

Wow, guy kills a cat and got jail time.

and another guy killed over 4000 American troops with 935 lies and he''s still strutting around the white house with his idiot grin.

Only in the US of A!

[rdupuy11]

The main person who is sick here, is the prosecutor who thought 18 months in prison was reasonable.

Its way over the top for killing a cat. And you notice how he had to plead to 3 different crimes, while several others were ''dropped''...all for what was a single crime.

This type of shenanigans shouldn''t be allowed.
1 crime, 1 reasonable punishment, move on.

Kids didn''t have to testify against their Dad.
Their Dad is going to be in prison for 18 months.
If they had a home, they won''t have one, by the time he gets back to work. Thank the justice system kids.

[voidmaster-2009]

It is not just the killing of a cat. It%u2019s his rationale and method for doing it. Had it been my cat, he would never have been arrested -- I would have been, for killing him.

[yarber63]

to the person who posted this...The main person who is sick here, is the prosecutor who thought 18 months in prison was reasonable.

Its way over the top for killing a cat. And you notice how he had to plead to 3 different crimes, while several others were ''''dropped''''...all for what was a single crime.

This type of shenanigans shouldn''''t be allowed.
1 crime, 1 reasonable punishment, move on.

Kids didn''''t have to testify against their Dad.
Their Dad is going to be in prison for 18 months.
If they had a home, they won''''t have one, by the time he gets back to work. Thank the justice system kids.
your right i was a crime that he got 18 mounths!!!!
he should have got 18 years and no contact with his kids at all!!!!! what kind of person makes his kids stab the cat? what kind of sick person would do that? and what kind of person are you trying to defend him? in my book your just as sick as him. try thinking about what it did to the kids mind set having a DRUNK DAD MAKING THEM KILL SOMETHING THEY LOVE?
your most likly some ex con who hates the law so bad that you can not see or understand that what happened was not about the cat but about what he did to his kids......... think about that!

[sistatee-2009]

"...and play CAT Steven''''''''s song, "The First Cut is the Deepest" while the machine rips him to shreds." Posted by SistaTee at 11:41 PM : Aug 29, 2008

I didn''''t know Cat Stevens sang that song.
Posted by erasmus81 at 12:03 AM : Aug 30, 2008

Written and recorded by Cat Stevens, 1967.

[erasmus81]

VoidMaster

I left a message for you on the "Texas To Track Truant Students By GPS" site.

[andor3]

"Its way over the top for killing a cat."

but that is not all he did. it may be reasonable for forcing a kid to watch a cat being killed. it is probably light for forcing the child to do it. Hopefully the children will never see "dad" again.

[harp1963]

Pellet rifles work much better......just kidding PETA psychos, we should all love cats and be gentle towards them. : )

[voidmaster-2009]

erasmus81, no problem. I would have replied there but the thread got closed before I saw it.

[nothappyatall]

The judge also prohibited Collins from owning a pet."

Wow, that really hurts I''m sure, but once he is out of prison and any probation, the judge can''t do diddly-squat.

[latrocinor-2009]

and another guy killed over 4000 American troops with 935 lies and he''''s still strutting around the white house with his idiot grin.

Posted by jerr11
-------------------
---------

The so called 935 lies were invented by the Democrats during the Clinton Administration.

BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome) strikes again.

[slim1h2o]

The so called 935 lies were invented by the Democrats during the Clinton Administration.

BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome) strikes again.
Posted by Latrocinor at 04:34 AM : Aug 30, 2008

Are you trying to say that the Dim-o-crats are somehow able to look into the future, and was able to tell that Shrub was going to lie about the Iraqi War that was still, at best, 3 yrs away?

So the Dim-o-crats are now "The Amazing Kreskin"?

LOL,That''s hard to believe.

[slim1h2o]

and another guy killed over 4000 American troops with 935 lies and he''''s still strutting around the white house with his idiot grin.

Only in the US of A!

Posted by jerr11 at 01:15 AM : Aug 30, 2008

And there''s plenty of Americans that believe that the Moron-in-Cheif should be in jail for his crimes as well.

Don''t you believe otherwise, either. Hopefully he sees the inside of a jail cell too.

[cusefanjapan]

I''m no fan of cats but I would never think of doing something so hideous and I hate people who are cruel to animals. Along with that, this guy is extremely stupid. What kind of father thinks he needs to show his kids how to kill? He should have gotten 18 years. What is society coming to?

[nojoy01]

Actually this fits, perfectly, within my definiton of ''child abuse'' & deserves a sentence compatible with the damage he inflicted on his children. Unfortunately, as an ''enlightened'' society, we only give convicted felons in non capital crimes a ''time out'' before they are released to resume their miserable lives & inflict their fecal behaviour on some other innocent victim.

[estabwary]

Why didn''t he kill himself then.

I have doubts this is the first and only abusive act he did while drunk.

[scottyusa]

Killing the cat is bad enough but the reason makes me sick. He wanted to "teach them how to kill". This guy is really sick