Joseph Petcka, a bit part actor and former minor league baseball player, could spend two years in prison if convicted of felony cruelty for killing his girlfriend’s cat.
Lisa Altobelli testified in a Manhattan Supreme Court that Joseph Petcka’s jealousy might have led him to kill Norman, the orange tabby, not self defense as Petcka claims. "You love Norman more than me!" Altobelli told the court Petcka said to her the night Norman was killed. She says she was rudely awaken by Petcka that night, who angrily said that Norman had bit him. After kicking him out of her apartment for the aggressive wake-up, Lisa Altobelli told the court she found Norman dead.
Joseph Petcka will take the stand and is expected to say he beat the cat to death out of self defense. The brawny 205 pound Petcka (brawny enough to play the "Brawny Man" on the paper towel commercials) says he kicked the 7 pound Norman after the cat bit him. An ASPCA specialist is also expected to testify about the broken ribs and extensive internal injuries Norman suffered at Petcka’s mercy.
Source: New York Daily News
GroundReport reported on animal cruelty in circuses earlier this year.