Man Killed, Mutilated Cats, Say Kentucky Police

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (CBS/WLKY) Police in Kentucky say that they have found the man responsible for the mutilation and murder of at least four cats in the Louisville area.

Alex Phelps, 24, was arrested Dec. 30 after he confessed to torturing and stabbing four cats with a sharp knife.

Bullitt County Detective Tim Waters said investigators were looking into a report of two cats that were found in Hillview, Ky., about 15 miles south of Louisville, with their throats cut and disemboweled, when they started to see similarities in other cat mutilations reported in Louisville, according to CBS affiliate WLKY.

Two cats were found in December behind a grocery store, police said the cats had been bound with duct tape and zip ties - zip ties were also used on the cats found in Bullitt County.

It was a call to the Louisville Metro Police tip line that led investigators to Phelps. After reports of the two cats found in December, the original owner of those cats called the tip line to say that he gave the cats to Phelps after Phelps answered an ad on Craigslist, according to WLKY.

"He ran an advertisement on Craigslist for...cats for free, and our suspect saw the advertisement, contacted the original owner and did pick the cats up from him," Sgt. Troy Thompson said.

Thompson said that based on their investigation, he believes there may be more cases than the four that Phelps is currently charged with, according to WLKY.

Since the arrest police have been inundated with phone calls from people who claim they gave cats to Phelps, many through Craigslist, and want to know what happened to those cats.

After arresting Phelps, investigators searched the basement of his parents' home where they believed he lured even more cats with cat food. They reportedly found several skeletal remains in the area around the house, the station reported.

"He denied any wrongdoing," Thompson said. "He admitted to killing the cats, but beyond that [he] wouldn't go any further with it."

Phelps is facing four counts of torture of a cat resulting in death, which are class D felony charges. He's being held in a Louisville jail.