They just execute the kid. I guarantee you this kid is going to kill someone in the future. In fact, I'd bet $1000 on it. Sexual predators dont "change" and neither do people without a conscience. They cannot be cured, they are broken.

In a few more years, probably by his 30's there is going to be a child missing, and guess who's gonna be responsible. Mark my words. Another little Jeffry Dahmer in the making right before our very eyes.

Sure looks like another serial killer in the making.

The cat killings are undoubtedly horrendous, and I'm a cat owner myself, but to the author of this piece and his vigilante friend "Dave" who left the preceding comment, how 'bout we make sure this kid is the actual perpetrator before we send him to the firing squad, ok?

It never ceases to amaze me how many commentators on these blogs will reveal their vicious, psychotic revenge fantasies when given an opportunity to vent on an anonymous forum. It's like a little window into their own pathology, and I wonder if they realize how transparent their issues are to others.

Dave, you seem awfully angry over this. Since you seem prone to boisterous guarantees and obviously like to place bets, I'm willing to meet your $1000 and raise you a buck that you either lost your kitty as a child, or perhaps a whole gang of sexual predators kidnapped him, or maybe your furry friend was an actual victim of Jeffrey Dahmer himself. I'm so sure, that I think we should execute everybody who even dislikes cats. These cat haters are incurable--they'll inevitably move on from felinophobia to become Communists or Democrats.

To the owner of this site, I appreciate the information you provide, and I unequivocally respect your right to free speech. But the internet is not a forum for you to stage your own little Kangaroo Court to deny pending defendants appropriate due process, just so you can work out your family of origin issues or obtain fame and profit (via grandstanding) at the expense of others. That's called "exploitation"--and in some situations, that's a crime unto itself.

Every criminal starts his\her unlawful career with something, somewhere, and this may be it for Weinman. But if he is guilty of the cat killings, I won't be surprised if he is found not to be such a "normal" kid after all. It takes a lot of anger or hard-heartedness or an evil streak to kill and mangle.

It will be interesting to see what his family and life are like.

And how about this little tidbit from the Herald:
Blatantly, Weinman had joined Facebook group named ''Catch the Cat Killer!'' which had more than 1,000 members.

I agree with Nana. I have 3 cats of my own, and I love them dearly, and this case truly disturbed me. If this kid is the perpetrator, I absolutely agree that he either has tremendous anger, or doesn't care at all about the feelings and emotions of other creatures -- animal or human. These cats were loved by their humans, and the people certainly feel a real loss, sadness, and shock over these cat killings. And the living, breathing cats themselves truly had the capacity to feel pain, suffering, the agony of torture.

The perpetrator disregarded the feelings and lives of the cats and their caregivers/owners. He didn't care. He did not care.

If Weinman is determined to be the perpetrator, is convicted, serves his time (however long or short it may be), and is released, I would not trust him. I wouldn't forget what he had done. And I would really hope that law enforcement would remember him because these cat killings aren't just a phase he's going through.

Wow, Disgusted! Thanks for that tidbit. That freaks me out.

Steve: Killing one of two neighborhood cats might make Dave's assumptions re this kid's future fanciful. Killing 30, however, puts him in the same, rareified company as Peter "Vampire of Dusseldorf" Kurten, Jeffrey "the Cannibal" Dahmer, and Richard "Vampire of Sacremento" Chase. All these serial killers started out by not just killing, but torturing cats, dogs, swans, etc. Kurten & Chase also committed burglaries before moving on to raping & murdering women & children. This young man is going to be on the police's radar for the next 20 years of his life, which is a good thing for all concerned, as that will be the only thing that might keep him from going on to be like Kurten, Chase & Dahmer. I would not be surprised to discover that he was the victim of phsyical and/or sexual abuse as a younger boy, but in any case, if he responsible for the slaughter of dozens of animals, his capacity for empathy is dangerously stunted. Serial killers are a lot like liver flukes, luckily, this one was nabbed in the larval stage.

Dave (the first post) is just as sick as this Tyler character. Both get off on killing. Not only am I opposed to capital punishment because it has been proved that execution does not deter crime, but it is more expensive than a life sentence as well.

Moving on. If the accused is in fact guilty, then I certainly hope that he receives the five years for animal cruelty in addition to time served for burglary. Hopefully he will also receive the treatment needed to become a constructive member of society on his release.

"But the internet is not a forum for you to stage your own little Kangaroo Court to deny pending defendants appropriate due process, just so you can work out your family of origin issues or obtain fame and profit (via grandstanding) at the expense of others. "

Wow...you do know this isn't a courtroom, right? It's the interwebs? A place for people to gab, argue, debate, speculate, etc, right or wrong? I'm pretty sure neither Steve nor other posters have any legal powers. (If they did grant bloggers special judicial powers, then Brangelina or the makers of the new Star Trek would really have to watch their backs.)

It's funny to call someone angry and accuse them of psychoanalyzing a stranger and then turn around and spew angrily while psychoanalyzing a poster.

What is it about crime blogs that make people come out and demand everyone stop posting their opinions for fear of taking away a suspect's rights? It's downright wacky!

Btw, this guy is a sick little bastard and guilty, guilty, guilty. IMHO. (Pounding my imaginary gavel. Wait, that sounded dirty.)

The only good thing about this is:

Let him go to Big Boy Jail...even for 5 years... You know that skinny little boy will be raped daily....

It couldn't happen to a nicer person.........

bbmcrae:

I'm fairly certain my "psychoanalysis" of Dave was presented ironically, and I clearly stated that I respect the right to free speech. I'm pretty much certain that even the most concrete person (for instance, Rain Man), could have caught wind of the fact that my previous post was a lampoon of lynchmobbers like Dave.

However, I do think that sordid, prurient presentations of criminal cases, particularly in their discovery phases, represent examples of trashy exploitation at its worst, especially when journalists profit from others' suffering (think Nancy Grace on Caylee Anthony). These pieces access our most primitive fascination with human pathology, and I am quite repelled by all the cowardly cries from obese couch potatoes sitting at home in their jammies calling for alleged criminals to go to the woodchipper. This is the cyber-equivalent of Frankenstein being pursued by a bunch of ignorant, bloodlusty townspeople with their torches, or to be more literal, Hitler arousing his people to genocide.

The court of public opinion is a real entity, and it does influence the due process. The reporting on this piece is called "rabble rousing", and if the kid is innocent, this stuff can ruin his life forever.

If he did do it, I'd personally like to see him go to the slammer for life. But I'm afraid I am loathe to put too much faith in the Palmetto Bay Police Department. Let's let a jury decide, k?

Cruelity and murder to animals is one of the most evil things that a person can do. It is an affront to God himself. This person is a coward and cannot stand up to a real man. He has to torture and kill innocent animals. This is a very sick person who has been touched by Satan. What does society do with such a person? His next victims will be human.

The laws are not enough. They are too soft on this type of guy. The old Hebrews would say an eye for an eye, even for animals? The answers are not simple.

"An affront to God himself?" Oh for godssake.

Whoever did this crime is mentally ill, nothing more and nothing less. There's no demons involved, Satan isn't out to destroy kitty cats, and we don't need to consult the old Hebrews to sort this one out. The person who did this needs institutionalization and a psychiatric evaluation, and some stiff criminal charges. But the death penalty? Exorcism? Is this blog being haunted by people visiting from the Middle Ages?

It is this sort of thing that makes me worry that every person has the right to vote in elections. Sheesh.

"Let's let a jury decide, k?"

Um...we are going let a jury decide. This is an comments board on a blog. Where people talk about stuff. That's the part I feel you aren't grasping.

"to be more literal, Hitler arousing his people to genocide"

So, blogging about a suspect's possible guilt = Hitler. Sorry, I thought you were being unreasonable for a moment.

Steve, you are my hero. Some people just need a perfect stranger to project all over.

Jeez, creepy shit. So he's all into reggae & Marley? I could just see him skinning cats to "No Woman No Cry". Where's David Lynch?

It sounds like the good people of Miami are taking these crimes seriously, i.e. bond of $154,500 [so if the kid's parent(s) went the bail-bond route it'd cost them more than $15k...likely the kid will sit in jail til the July court thing.] Hopefully that alone will give whoever is supporting this kid pause to think about therapy and carefully monitoring his behavior and free time.

If I were a victim of this crime I'd investigate taking the kid (and whoever is supporting him) to small claims court for the cost of my pet/vet vaccinations/spay nuetering. That times 19 (victimized pets) plus court costs and repeated appearances might stiffle the criminal urge.
These small claims court judgements can also show up on your credit history.

if i was there i would shoot that guy and kill that guy

All Points Bulletin...

There's a homicidal maniac on this board named "Noname" who has declared that he/she is prone to shooting and killing people who have been accused of crimes! Word has it that Mr(s). Noname is a 63 year-old crazy cat lady who lives in the suburbs of Tulsa, OK and likes to watch "Emeril Live" while squishing her toes in Tender Vittles! Film at 11!

geez...really Steve was it necessary to attack Dave so viciously , he does have a point and to suggest the boy would end up Democrat...lol seems you might have some issues of your own to get over.

Anyways, yes animal cruelty is a big deal, the kid obviously has some major mental problems.Where I live animal cruelty is a felony punishable by 5 years in the big house, as it should be. Anyone that would find "enjoyment" in torturing and killing animals needs to locked up, and we all know animal cruelty and serial killer psychopaths go hand in hand. Just remember animals are like the elderly and children, they are helpless and defenseless, so yes he might just be another serial killer in the making just waiting to progress on to other victims, not your cat anymore but on to your granny or your kids.

It can't help him that he drinks underage too - http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/3/l_5868319811b4a1a0979c3b0b02cdf9c8.jpg

Steve, yours is the song and dance we at this blog usually hear from the family/friends of a suspect. Just sayin'.

Here is the boy's mugshot...doesn't look too worried, does he?

http://services.miamidade.gov/corrections/0010148015F.JPG

Geez...

From http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/1097422.html

"Sunday morning, Barbara Wiesinger of Cutler Bay learned that the teen who lived so close to her was accused of butchering her cat.

Wiesinger's calico cat, Cami, is believed to be among the early victims. Found in a neighbor's yard on May 13, her eyes had been gouged out and her snout cut off."

Cutting them open is bad enough but seriously, gouging the eyes out and cutting off its nose? That's some effed-up-shite right there.

Well-said bkb205! I'd simply add that the kid hasn't been convicted of this yet--he's been charged. So the kid doesn't "obviously" have major mental problems--although he certainly will if he's innocent of this accusation and has already been fried in the chair by all the attendees at the internet's version of a gladiator match.

Personally, I think the sentencing guidelines for animal cruelty should be more harsh than they already are. In the U.S., domestic animals are legally considered property, with minimal rights of their own, and they can be largely disposed of however the owner wishes. You have to really demonstrate some draconian treatment of animals to meet animal cruelty guidelines. It's a horrible, archaic view that I think needs to be rethought, but the conservative nature of the AVMA and soulless lobbyists for the farming and food industry will likely keep this matter in the dark ages for the foreseeable future.

Oh, by the way, I AM a Democrat. Can't you guys recognize a joke when you see one (even a lame one)?

John in NC, I live in Dallas, have never heard of this little twit, and have no intention of ever setting foot in Palmetto Bay (or Florida as a whole, for that matter) at any time of my life. I have no affection for criminals, particularly those who abuse animals, but I DO have respect for due process. And I think people on the web who hide behind their anonymity while making all these deranged statements about how they'd cut these perps up into little pieces and flush them down the toilet are truly more pathetic and disturbed than the accused themselves.

Thanks for the ad hominem argument though--those always require a great deal of thought and creativity.

Steve, I was just seeing your slippery slope ("This is the cyber-equivalent of...Hitler arousing his people to genocide") and raising to ad hominem, that's all.

Steve~I understand your point, innocent until proven guilty, but are you aware of the fact he was questioned a few weeks ago about all of this? he actually missed his prom because he was being interrogated by the police,they must have gathered evidence linking him to these crimes since then which lead to his arrest yesterday.

"Steve~I understand your point, innocent until proven guilty, but are you aware of the fact he was questioned a few weeks ago about all of this?"

That's fine, but does it matter? Does that mean he doesn't deserve due process? You've only heard what the media has reported--that is, what makes good copy.

Here's an example of what I mean: During the whole Swine Flu hype-o-rama, CNN sent Sanjay Gupta down to Mexico City to interview the poor 5 year-old kid whom they thought at the time was "patient zero" (I'm surprised they didn't have him interview the pig that incubated the parent H1N1 virus to begin with). The poor little boy looked absolutely terrfied; I'm sure he'll live the rest of his life being called every imaginable name, and feel responsible for the deaths of thousands. Did that phase CNN? Did it matter that the science they reported was B.S.? Nope. What mattered was ratings and creating imaginary drama to fashion a hot story. Period. What you learn from the news, no matter how reputable the journalist, is still only one person's view. Rent "Rashomon" for more details on this one.

Even if this kid tortured and killed all these cats, I still don't think it justifies somebody on here boasting that they would tear him limb-from-limb if they met him in person. They wouldn't do any such thing and we all know it; they wouldn't even make such a pronouncement if they weren't shielded by anonymity.

Don't you guys get it? Come on! There is genuine ugliness and sociopathic ideas emerging from some serious creeps lurking on these blogs, and these sordid, tabloid stories are stoking their fires in a very scary way. You think this Hannibal Lecter of the cat world is any more disturbed than "Dave" up there or the wackjob who invoked Beelzebub and the apocalypse? The person you could be commiserating with on here could actually BE Hannibal Lecter!

I'd love to know where the author of this piece stands on all this. For some reason, I have a mental image of Michael Vick, flushed with wealth and cash, throwing meat into a pen of dogs and relishing his profits while the animals tear at each other.

If he is indeed guilty of what he's been accused of, it is pretty disturbing how regular he looks. It's hard not to be reminded of Ted Bundy, in that he didn't "look like" a serial killer. What kind of parents does this kid have, I wonder.

NOTE FROM STEVE (THE BLOGGER): Larkin, his mom, at least, is a very interesting person. She's a "life coach" who promotes the same sort of shtick found in "The Secret." She once ran a how-to website for people who wanted to set up a neighborhood 'haunted house' at Halloween. No links to her sites or any versions of them, though, because I'm sure things are bad enough for this kid's parents right now without sending a bunch of angry cat lovers their way via the Internet.

"You think this Hannibal Lecter of the cat world is any more disturbed than "Dave" up there or the wackjob who invoked Beelzebub and the apocalypse?"

YES! A hundred times yes! BLOG COMMENTS suggesting that this little brat be punished for his actions (EVEN in a violent way) do not even BEGIN to touch ACTUALLY torturing and mutilating over thirty animals. Are you absolutely out of your mind?

Also...

"I'd love to know where the author of this piece stands on all this. For some reason, I have a mental image of Michael Vick, flushed with wealth and cash, throwing meat into a pen of dogs and relishing his profits while the animals tear at each other."

HAHAHAHAHAHA. You're CLEARLY not from around here.

First of all, none of you even know whether or not he's guilty. What if somebody accused Tyler just to get the reward money? What if an honest mistake was made? You don't know what the hell is going on.

Secondly, if he is guilty (Which is highly unlikely; have you seen his Myspace pictures? I'd just assume the crime was committed by one of the Jonas Brothers.) then I think the reason is pretty obvious (or at least it should be): he was severely abused. I'm not justifying his actions in any way (I was severely abused growing up and never resorted to that) but I think that, if convicted, the judge should take Tyler's past into consideration when sentencing him.

I know that any form of leniency will result in an outcry, but honestly, what kinds of kids do you expect to breed with the laws being the way they are? Parents in the United States can do virtually anything they want to their kids. Yet, everybody acts shocked when stuff like this happens. People are so stupid...

We need to let the courts decide if he's guilty, as he is still consider innocent by law in a nation of laws. All this vile and anger is deemed as reactionary psychosis brought on by one sided media propaganda group think. So now we have nuts calling a person a nut aka witchhunt. Good job, if your goal is to breed more insanity.

If he is found guilty, then I suggest he gets 10 years of of jail while cleaning tiger poop at the zoo. Plus years of psychotherapy and paying restitution to the pet owners.

These people exist because society in general is dysfunctional, so start fixing your heads. What I see here is a good example of insane society has become. God forbid the bomb ever dropped, as you folks would go completely psychotic.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA. You're CLEARLY not from around here."

Not from around here? Where? Your DSL switch?

Steve from Dallas: You DO realize that you are accusing virtually every other poster on here of Thought Crimes, right? You ARE aware that you are being a fascist hypocrite and attending to curtail Freedom of Speech, RIGHT?

So the boy's mom is a "life coach", huh? That explains the snotty smirk on his face. Way to put the knife to mom's career. As the saying goes, the cobbler's son goes unshod.

People who commit these types of crimes are sociopaths, plain and simple. I would like to see the evidence before I decide if Tyler is the culprit. If he isn't I hope that he can regain some sort of normalcy because some places are acting like he's guilty until proven innocent. If he did then I hope that he gets intense therapy and can be rehabilitated. Regardless, whomever killed all these cats I don't want within 100 miles of my home and family since a few years down the road it could be my child or even me.

Hi - check out my post re: High-Strangeness Florida Cat Mutilations ... this happens to be a high profile case but there is no shortage of precendence. There were 60+ cats and dogs in Destin FLA but they were deemed as natural predation kills and all onlinks disappeared - this about 2.5 years ago .. there's been other cat mutilation sprees in Florida previously (Gulf Breeze comes to mind) - rummage around on-line.

Oh, here we go...the beating of the "innocent until proven guilty" drum.

I would imagine that law enforcement has evidence to suggest that this is the kid that was killing the cats...it's not like the police just up and picked him up out of the blue.

Of course he is going to say that he didn't do it. What kid is going to say, yeah, I killed all those cats? But the fact of the matter is...SOMEBODY killed all those cats and there will most likely be a dead feline decline from here on out...

If it is true that a friend turned him in, well, the friend won't get the money until it is proven that Tyler did it. For all those people who say "Well, what if Tyler didn't do it" I say, well, what if he DID?

Just because he hasn't been convicted in a court of law doesn't mean that he didn't do it. Let's be realistic.

OK, with Nancy Collins and her unbelievable accusation that I'm guilty of thought crimes and fascism, which, by the way, is the most breathtaking misinterpretation of Orwell that has ever been perpetrated by a crazy person, I'm officially done with this debate. I'm sorry, but this blog is a very, very depressing place.

No matter how much I may have argued in favor of animal rights on here and how many times I demonstrated considerable resolve that the person responsible for this crime should be punished harshly, I'm still going to be attacked, because the people who read this thing are clearly so rife with anger issues that they're ready to draw and quarter anyone that Steve the Blogger even suggests may have been in the vicinity of a criminal act. I feel like I've become shipwrecked in a cyber version of Lord of the Flies. Bizarre, bizarre.

Let's just hope they've caught the person responsible for this madness in Florida, so there aren't any more cats that suffer such a horrible fate.

"Darby said:
Oh, here we go...the beating of the "innocent until proven guilty" drum."

No kidding. When it starts up, I just scroll. If they only knew how many times we've read this over years. Steve must tune it out like background noise by now.

I read somewhere (CNN?) that if this gutless little puke is found guilty of all charges he faces 158 years in prison. The burglary charges of course hold the most weight in the eyes of the law.
If I was one of those bereaved cat owners, I'd be gearing up a nice little lawsuit against this fine young man and his mother—he was living under her roof. Didn't she ever see bloody clothes, anything?

Steve said:
"...because the people who read this thing are clearly so rife with anger issues that they're ready to draw and quarter anyone that Steve the Blogger even suggests may have been in the vicinity of a criminal act. I feel like I've become shipwrecked in a cyber version of Lord of the Flies."

Gee Steve, exaggerate much?

By my count - out of something like 42 posts - only 3 people suggested anything close to drawing and quartering the little fella. Relax.

Diane said:

"No kidding. When it starts up, I just scroll. If they only knew how many times we've read this over years. Steve must tune it out like background noise by now."

Yep yep.

People who commit these types of crimes are sociopaths, plain and simple.

That's not at all clear, and it's hardly plain and simple.

First, they're committing crimes against animals, not humans. That by itself doesn't make them a sociopath.

However, it *might* make them a *psychopath*. I'm not splitting hairs here. Psychopathy is a known and untreatable condition which is probably genetic.

If Weinman is guilty, AND he's a psychopath, he should be locked up for life. Otherwise, somebody needs to take a REAL *hard* look at his *parents*. Something about them, which I can't quite put my finger on, reminds me of Dylan Klebold's parents.

Yeah, I'm assuming he's guilty... but if he's not, the cops have somehow managed to screw up a REALLY intensive investigation. I have yet to see one of these "I Can't Believe He'd Do That, He Seemed Like Such A Nice Boy, I Knew His Mother From Church" cases where the kid wasn't guilty of everything and more.

Actually, "sociopath" has become the replacement term for "psychopath" these days. They refer to the same thing - a total lack of remorse, aggressive impulses, gratification from harming others. Fits the perpetrator here to a tee.

I don't understand how brutally and habitually murdering animals would make him less of a psycho- or sociopath, btw. It's a depraved, repeated act of cruelty against victims that truly can't defend themselves.

On a broader note - this board is a small marvel. I'm not sure what about a cat serial killer could possibly divide people's opinions. I guess it's just the inevitable "innocent until proven guilty" drumbeat mentioned before. But it doesn't happen for every suspect in every crime. For some reason, this one has caught fire with a few "IUPG"-obsessed posters.

(A friend framed his for reward money? Really? That's the best you came up with? Maybe the cats all committed suicide, too?)

Innocent until proven guilty, btw, is a purely legal concept for use of the participants in the actual courtroom. It doesn't apply to message boards, or bars, or subways, or phone conversations where people are just, you know, chatting. Not that this will stop anyone from screaming at everyone else here about kangaroo courts and Hitler tactics, but that in itself has turned into pure entertainment, so keep it up!

I also note that the person frothing about how everyone who posts here has obvious anger issues seems, well, really, really pissed off about it.

I believe most people distinguish between a psychopath as being obviously disturbed whether in public or private, and a sociopath as someone who fits into social situations, who everyone thinks is "normal" but who does things like these cat killings in private, keeps their disturbed mind hidden from others. If this is the person who did it, something in the background will become significant.

Photos and comments gave the impression he thought he was a self-conscious clown, but you could probably say that about a million teenage boys.

Yeah, you could. And *assuming* this kid is guilty, being a clown doesn't mean the kid's nice.

One of the class-clowns in my school bullied & terrorized me for years. Everyone ELSE thought he was such a great, funny guy. Those of us on the outs knew better.

This board is highly sensored and comments are not posted based on some whack jobs sensorship. So much for free speech and open debate. This is a place for losers and it is plain to see why. I will be getting the word out about this highly sensored site. What a bunch of nut jobs on this site ! What a joke - truecrimereport. Nothing true here and I plan to tell the world!

The flaying of the cats reminds me of Paul Denyer.
And he went on to kill 3 women at random for no other reason than being a psychotic misogynist.

I'm not saying this kid is a Denyer in the making, and I will hold some doubt until the cops release a statement saying 'we know it's him for sure, we have no doubt.'

I get sick and angry whenever anyone hurts an animal for no good reason, and who ever did this, I agree, is going to move on to bigger prey eventually.
And that's what's scary, animal cruelty is basically a slap on the wrist offense when, often, it can lead to something more sinister.

Sensored, ha ha. Steve, have you been in the incense again? LOL. Oh, wait, that's censer. Sensored. Like an oxygen sensor? Sensored. Ho ho ho.

I know. I don't mean to keep skewing off-topic, but this board has turned surreal and hilarious. Oh, internet, will you ever stop bringing smiles?

Yeah, I wonder what was said in the post that was supposedly sensored?

As for the bantering on if the arrested one is guilty or not, kangaroo court and all that jazz...

There had to be probable cause to arrest the miscreant. If it's good enough for the cops to arrest him, it's certainly good enough for me. We can hold a kangaroo court if we so desire, as this is not where this man's fate will be decided. This is where we get to discuss openly and freely our thoughts about such people and their actions. Don't like it? Use google, you'll find thousands of more places you can spew your support for the cat killer.

NOTE FROM TRUE CRIME REPORT: He basically was ranking on cat lovers. It did smack of the sort of thing someone with no problem with killing cats might say. Also insulted everyone commenting here, basically.

So much for free speech

The constitutional right to freedom of speech only applies versus the government, dearie, not to private boards and individuals.

HLN has the kid's Dad on now--- Dad's a dentist and got the kid out on bond. Dad says they have a family cat (the kid may not live with the Dad.)
HLN is saying there are more suspects.
Although the kid's being released with a leg monitor evidently the neighborhood is in fear.

If it's good enough for the cops to arrest him, it's certainly good enough for me.

But that's just it -- the cops make mistakes (look at recent cases of DNA evidence proving innocence). They're only human. They can and do make the same judgement errors we do.

Being arrested is not the same as being guilty.

I'm reminded very much of the "Satanic cult" hysteria of a few years back, where children were accusing adults of doing all sorts of horrible things, in the guise of a Satanic cult (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_ritual_abuse for the story). Folks were arrested there. Folks were proven innocent, in court, as the evidence was not reliable and was later proven to have been planted by the interviewers and psychoanalysts of the children & adults in question.

The cops' evidence here may be nothing more than other teens saying "oh yeah, I saw him do it, he did it". And bluntly, teens can lie. Teens can be very cruel to those they consider on the outs, right down to fabricating all kinds of rumors and gossip about that person (and teen cliques can & will act in cohort within their group). But the cops will take it seriously, at the outset, because that is their job -- it is up to the courts to determine the truth of the evidence.

Yes, I want the person who tortured those cats caught & punished. I own three little darlings; I love cats. But I also don't want to see a teenager's reputation & mental stability destroyed over the Internet over something he may *not* have done. And YES, things said on the Net can and will get back to him, and haunt him. If this boy is truly innocent and the victim of rumor-mongering from his peers, do you want his blood on your hands?

Chris, I did not mean to insinuate that the young man is guilty of the acts, but there must be some grain of truth if they interviewed him during his prom, and then later arrested him. I am not saying that he is guilty at all, but there is something there for him to have been arrested. Arrests are public knowledge for a good reason. And as this is public knowledge, then by all means I think it is reasonable for A) TrueCrimeReport to report it and B) as a regular reader to have the ability to discuss the crime, the nature of the crime, how someone could possibly do this and above all WHY someone has done this. I fully intend to trust the courts and our system do their job and find him guilty or innocent based upon the evidence. Until such time, I'm sorry, but the young man is fair game to comments about the type of crime that was committed and for which he was arrested.

I would venture to say that with his bail being set as high as it was, that there is some evidence not yet made public that would directly point to this individual.

I beg your pardon, but I will not have his blood on my hands! It doesn't matter if I say something on the net that may hurt his feelings, and that is all it could do. The man was arrested for the crime, and that will be the demise of his reputation and mental stability more-so than my opinion, however harsh you may find it.

I do understand the point you made, and I do agree with most of it. If it turns out to be a he said/she said arrest, certainly that will be made known in court. It would be very rare for someone to be convicted on hearsay alone. In addition to the case you mention, I recall the West Memphis 3, and how there really was no hard evidence, and plenty of reasonable doubt. However, I can think of no better system than the one we presently have.

I have five cats, all rescued. But, I worry more about the potential of people being killed en mass by the responsible party to these crimes. My cats remain indoors for this and many other reasons. I suggest everyone else keep their cats indoors, it's the only responsible way to foster animals. They are ultimately our responsibility as their caregivers.

Thanks for the tidbit Steve, and from saving us from the hassle!

Are y'all still posting about this douchebag?

Steve, post something new. How about Jackie O's half-brother getting busted for kiddy porn?

Wowee zowee. Steve, the blogger, who feels, rightly, that animal cruelty laws are insufficient and still believes, rightly, in due process, I don't comment often, but I had to say something to stand with you.

I think the young man should do prison time after having been found guilty of aggravated animal cruelty. Merely being considered the property of a human, like a table, is not at all sufficient protection for animals.

Steve made the factual arguments quite nicely to which I add "hear, hear!"

My heart breaks for all the poor creatures who suffered, because it is clear they were made to suffer. Anyone who takes delight in making another creature suffer is seriously damaged, the product of an unholy mix of bad genetics and bad parenting, with a turbo-boost of a tolerant society. Usually, such things are not fixable by humans. The best we can do is make absolutely sure that they do not have access to potential victims ever again.

But that will, as Steve pointed out, likely not happen. We, society, will be cursed by him for decades yet. Oh yes we will forget him. Oh yes he will get a job in a town near you. Oh yes he will walk among our children. Oh yes he will be your daughter's college comrade. Unless you can stab a GPS in his skull that broadcasts a bubble over his head "I'm the one who tortured and killed 30 cats" you will not notice that he moved in next to you. When was the last time you walked out of your house and went and met your neighbors, learned their names, shared your name?

I am saying we can boast all we like about how he'll never get away with it again with our Town PD watching him, by golly, but the only thing that'll do is improve our opinion of ourselves.

Keep your cats indoors, or in a fenced run in your backyard. Same with your dogs. Have e-tags implanted. Don't neglect them. Notice their comings and goings. Pay attention to them and your neighborhood.

Fight to strengthen the animal cruelty laws in your communities. Harass your city and state prosecutors to in fact prosecute such crimes. Harass your judges to sentence the maximum.

Do it now, if you're really that outraged about this crime.`

What's that high pitched whine I hear in the distance? Incoming! Incoming!

Steve,
I click on your link everyday to see what new things you have to report. If you are writing somewhere else let me know. I miss your prose. Sorely.
~nurse

btw, this kid is a piece of work and I rejoice he was caught. Thank you for the in~depth piece on this case

Steve (the blogger),

I always check this page to find out new stories... but this story has been up for quite a while... will this site be updated again? I know there's more going on in the world than the cat killer.

This article is unsigned; is Steve Huff the author?

I live in west Florida. These cat killings really freaked
me out. I remember, one weekend, five killings.
I have a cat. And a dog. :)

Why is Weinman smiling in his court photos? He doesn't look
scared, and appears to be enjoying the moment.
I smell sociopath.

Steve,
Public opinon is what people say and do, send him to prison for life average cost per year to house a crimminal is $90,000, life span another 50yrs = 4.5 million...

With bleeding heart liberals like you, no wonder there is such high taxes, crime rate, deficit.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/06/florida.cat.killer.charges/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

"A South Florida teenager accused of killing and mutilating 19 cats excitedly described to police how he dissected cats in class, and where to find cats for experimentation, according to police.
Tyler Weinman laughed when police told him they had information he was the cat killer, an arrest document said.

It gets worse in its description from there. He's a truly disturbing piece of work. I didn't know what he'll get, sentence-wise, but it won't be enough to keep pets (or people) safe from him down the road. (Of course, talking about all this "evidence" really means he's just being railroaded and deprived of his rights, the poor baby. He's not a hunk of depraved evil on two legs in the least.)

bbmcrae --

I saw that story this morning. Forget everything I wrote previously about this kid possibly being innocent. I'm just sickened.

This is the first time I have read either this article or its comments, and while much has been written I would like to add my own observations.

It astounds me that not one person has noted the fallacy of reasoning that equates animal cruelty with serial killing. Were we to draw a Venn diagram, we would see a small circle of those who are serial killers. This very small circle significantly, but not close to completely, overlaps another extremely large circle of those human beings who have ever treated an animal cruelly. It is just plain stupidity to say that all animal abusers should forever be watched because they are guaranteed to commit worse offenses. It is so very obviously not true. Do people just not want to admit how prevalent teenage animal abuse is? It boggles my mind that this bedrock reality isn't even noticed.

I remember being a teenager in a group of guys who thought it'd be hilarious to shove a firecracker down a lizard's throat and light it. So they did it, and got a kick out of it in a weird sort of video game way. Those teenagers are in their forties now, and not one of them has gone on to commit any criminal offenses other than smoking weed. And I am sure these were not unusual boys. When a child develops to be able to empathize with others and other creatures, he will look back in shame upon his misdeeds, as should anyone who recognizes that his ignorance was cruel. Some take longer to develop this compassion than others.

But you people do not forgive anyone anything. Everything to you is hyped to the ultimate, most despicable degree, just in case, just to be safe. And it amazes me to see that you all feel so smugly superior to those you condemn, when the reality is that your own cruelties are safely hidden from view or discussion, and quite possibly even from your very own cognizance.

There are indeed many corollaries between Steve the poster's analogy and the mob actions that are taking over public discourse in every medium, and from there, legislation, and from there the balance of those scales. The fact that so many can be so unwilling to use logic and reason and exercise that once-vaunted mark of a civilized mind -- thoughtfulness -- is far more frightening to me than any lone madman. If you agree with this statement: “Anyone who commits an intended act of cruelty against an animal is by nature without remediation and should be locked away forever or destroyed,” then you are an idiot. Really, you are a thoughtless moron in whose clutches society will be doomed for all children to come.

If I had one wish right now, it would be that everyone's secret sins would be revealed to all others at the same time on the same day. Places like this, the news media, legislators, and all who make their living by painting pictures of others using their own cherry-picked palette would cease to exist, I think.

Anyway, Thanks for the article, Steve the blogger. And though he'll likely never see it, thanks also to Steve the poster for the attempts to reason with the mob.

Judging people to be forever irredeemable and tainted is the very meat of the Aryan argument. Those who like to laugh and shrug it off are quite entirely missing the point. It is ugliness at its core to dismiss another person's humanity, and not much different at all than the way the kid dismissed the possibility that those animals were real, feeling creatures.

Can the reporters find out what tylers family has to say about his personality? do they or did they have pets in the family? Did he get into trouble inschool for being a weienheimer?

Googled about this little rat basturd today. He was released just a few days ago. Has a nice shiney ankle bracelet. Whilst reading around, it appears he told the police in his interview that if he told them about 1 or 2 of the cats he killed, could they make the rest of the dead cats go away. The Miami Herald has tried to sue for the transcripts to be opened up, but there was a refusal because others may become implicated in the future in aiding and abetting. They found surgical instruments in the parents house. The GPS system in the cars put him where the offenses took place. This kid is guilty. And no, Homo Sapiens, he is not yet a serial killer, but one just never knows how an 18 year old that gets his jollies from mutilating and killing cats only to deposit them back in the yard of the cat lover will turn out, do we? Pffft!