A Clark County man is accused of killing at least two cats after police found their disfigured bodies earlier this month in Washougal.
Kenneth G. Thurman, 41, appeared Tuesday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of two counts of first-degree animal cruelty. His bail was set at $50,000, and he is scheduled to be arraigned March 3.
On Feb. 7, a Washougal police officer reported finding two dead cats inside containers in the 3300 block of F Place. He said the cats appeared to have been severely bludgeoned. They were found less than a half-mile from Thurman’s residence, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Staff at the West Columbia Gorge Humane Society in Washougal had also contacted Animal Control officers. They said Thurman came to the shelter multiple times in late January and early February wanting to adopt cats. They told police each time he wanted to leave with cats the same day, they explained the adoption process and he left, court records state.
Shelter staff also told police they’d received a complaint from a woman who believed her roommate was killing animals. The woman had reported the same thing to police several months before, according to the affidavit.
The woman told officers her roommate, whom she identified as Thurman, had brought home about 10 cats over the past three months, but they disappeared each time by the following day. She also told police she saw Thurman with a dead cat, the affidavit states.
He had boasted to her about watching videos of cats being tortured, she said, and sent her photos of two cats that appeared to be dead, the affidavit states.
The roommate also described hearing sounds of animals in distress coming from Thurman’s room. The last time she said she heard the noises was the night of Feb. 6, according to court records.
When officers served a search warrant for Thurman’s bedroom, they found blood splatter on the floor and walls, along with cat toys and supplies. Police located Thurman about a week later, and he denied killing the cats. Instead, investigators said he told them someone broke into his room and killed the cats, according to the affidavit.
Court records state officers had tried to contact Thurman multiple times over the past six months due to mental health concerns.
